Also by this author: 5 Things to Pray for Your Parents: Prayers That Change Things for an Older Generation
Published by Good Book Company on May 1, 2021
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life
Goodreads
The Bible calls us to honor our parents--and one way we can do that is by praying for them. Little children often see their mothers and fathers as the ones with all the answers. It's not until we grow up that we realize our parents are just like us--regular people in need of prayer.
This guide will help you to pray rich, intentional prayers for your mother or father--be they biological or adoptive, working or retired, frail or fit, married or separated, believers or not yet Christians. Whatever their situation, if we want to love them well, we need to pray.
Each of the 21 prayer themes in this book takes a passage of Scripture and suggests five things to pray for a particular area of your parents' lives. You can use this book in any number of ways: work through it as part of your daily quiet time or pick it up whenever a particular need arises.
The command to honor our parents comes with a beautiful promise--"that it may go well with you" (Ephesians 6 v 3). The hope of this guide is that you will reap this blessing as you come before God with prayers that change things for an older generation.
In this small book, Chelsea Stanley shares short, themed lists of prayer prompts. Each list is based on a particular Scripture passage or book of the Bible, and Stanley organizes each of the five points around a brief verse or phrase, sharing specific, concrete ideas for how someone can pray for their parents according to this message or concept. There are lots of different ways that someone could use this book, and it also includes a few blank lines with each list where readers can jot down particular prayer points for whatever their parents are going through at that time.
5 Things to Pray for Your Parents: Prayers that Change Things for an Older Generation is specifically designed for the adult children of older and aging parents. Some of the sections and prompts are more general, addressing God’s work in the parents’ lives, their spiritual health, and their relationships, but other sections specifically address age-related life transitions, sickness, memory loss, and death. People whose parents are not anywhere near retirement or needing intensive care can still benefit from this book’s scriptural perspective and the prompts that are relevant to them, but this is best for adults who are currently in or approaching a caregiving role in their parents’ lives.
Stanley wrote the prompts with two parents in mind, but communicates at the beginning that people can adapt this to whatever situation they might be in. Also, she acknowledges the different prayer concerns that people have related to Christian parents or those who do not share their faith. She also occasionally acknowledges challenging situations or ways that parents have sinned against their children, and includes prayers at the end that the reader can pray for themselves. This book cannot represent everyone’s unique situation or relationship with their parents, but readers can benefit from the prompts that apply to them and use the book as a starting point for prayers more specific to their situation.
This book is simple but powerful, with clear and specific ideas for how people can become attuned to their adult parents’ needs, take their concerns before God, and care about the ordinary details of their parents’ lives. The author never makes false promises or guarantees any magical results from praying in a particular way, but helps guide readers towards regular reminders of their parents’ needs and thoughtful, Scriptural prayers that will support them.