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Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe · The Connected Mom

• Becky Harling (00:02.6) We're live. Welcome to the Connected Mom Podcast where we have real conversations helping you to connect more deeply with God, more empathically with your fellow moms, and more intentionally with your child. I am Becky Harling, your host, and I have with me today my amazing co-host, Sarah Wildman. Hey, Sarah, how are things in Arizona? Sarah Wildman (00:26.762) Hey, Becky, doing well. It's great to be here in Arizona. I wish I was in Colorado, though. It's my other favorite state, so it's the best. It's the best. You know, as I was thinking about today's topic, I think that as a mom and a woman who's trying to grow closer to Jesus, that I cannot hear enough about prayer. In my experience, I think that some people, it comes very naturally. Talking to God is just like the air that they breathe. They love it. Becky Harling (00:32.78) I do too. Sarah Wildman (00:56.418) And then there's some of us, and I would probably be more in this camp, where it really has to become a discipline and a practice in my life. And so I'm really thrilled about talking about this. I think it's super applicable to mamas who are in the thick of raising children like myself. So that's a little bit of a tease to prayer today, Becky. So I'm excited to have our guests. Becky Harling (01:18.044) Yeah, I'm excited too. Today our guest is Sharon Jaynes and she has written a new book. She's actually written 25 books, but her latest is Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe. And I am really passionate about this topic. You know, after raising four kids and now my husband and I have 14 grandkids and I pray for each of them every day because, you know, when or as a grandparent, there's always something you can do because you can always go to the Lord in prayer. And so our guest today, Sharon Janes, as I mentioned, she's the author of 25 books. She helped start Proverbs 31 Ministries and then she worked for them kind of as a vice president, I guess, co-founder for 10 years. And she has been a frequent guest on Family Life Today, on Focus on the Family, on all the big shows. In addition to that, she helps Proverbs 31 Ministries with their She Speaks Conference. If you've heard of that one, that's a big conference for communicators. But then beyond that, Sharon's just real and fun and delightful. So I know you're going to enjoy her today. Welcome, Sharon. Sharon Jaynes (02:42.701) Thank you. I'm excited to be with you guys all the way in North Carolina. So cross time zones. Sarah Wildman (02:47.467) Hoo! Becky Harling (02:49.676) Yeah, we've got North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, and hey, I forgot to leave out an important part of your bio. Sharon's husband was a dentist. He has since retired, but interesting little tidbit, he was my in-laws dentist and my in-laws has since passed away, but they used to always talk about our dentist's wife writes books like you do, Becky. And they loved your husband and they loved you. Sarah Wildman (03:11.054) Oh. Sarah Wildman (03:15.434) Wow, what a small world. Sharon Jaynes (03:15.709) Aw, so sweet. He loved them too. Becky Harling (03:20.54) Yeah, they were really sweet and they were prayer warriors. So Sharon, let's dive into this. I mean, you've written this book, Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe. And I love that title so much. First of all, what made you write the book and why that title? Sharon Jaynes (03:38.069) Well, 10 years ago I had another book called, Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe. So as I wrote that book and I got feedback from people, I kept getting emails, you need to write one for kids, you need to write one for kids. And Becky, you mentioned some people, prayer just comes naturally. That was not the case with me. I struggled with prayer. I struggled to not have my mind wander. You know, I'd start to pray and then I'd think, oh, I need to call so and so and oh Lord, I'm so sorry. Becky Harling (04:01.745) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (04:06.701) get back to praying, oh, I need to add this to my to-do list. Oh, Lord, I'm so sorry. So my mind would wander. So with the Praying for Your Husband book, that process of praying for head to toe, which we're gonna get into about starting with the mind and going down 16 different areas all the way to the feet, that was a pattern of prayer that really helped me stay focused and helped me keep my mind from wandering. So going back to the kids and while I wrote the book for children. And I think the subtitle is so important. It's a 30 day guide to powerful and effective scripture based prayer. So we're going to be praying scripture over each one of these areas. And for the past few years, I have seen that our kids are just so under attack. I mean, like never before. We see depressions on the rise. Second leading cause of death for teenagers between adolescents to 21. That's amazing. We see the school shootings. I mean, they keep track of them now. When did they start doing that? And we see the peer pressure that they're under today. And we can talk about that too, but just to throw out, I mean, there's always been peer pressure, right? Since Cain and Abel, there was peer pressure. However, peer pressure today is different because they're not comparing themselves just with people in their school or in their neighborhoods. They're comparing themselves with people all around the world through the internet. So social media has just really, Becky Harling (05:16.477) Mm-hmm. Becky Harling (05:28.556) Hmm. Sharon Jaynes (05:31.097) done a number on our kids and the warfare that we see is just increased so much. So I thought, you know what, it's time to do this. It's time to help all of us parents know how to pray the word of God over our kids because we can't be everywhere. Social media is here to stay. A lot of these problems are here to stay. But we know that when we pray the word of God, we pray the will of God. And here's something else. Becky Harling (05:50.474) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (05:59.165) We know too, girls, that as we talk about these different problems that our kids and grandchildren are facing, what we know as believers is that this warfare is not flesh and blood, right? This is spiritual warfare. And I love what Paul wrote about that. He said, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. So if this is a spiritual war that we're fighting, we're gonna look below the surface, right? We can look on the surface and see what these problems are, but we're gonna look beyond that. And we're gonna see some spiritual problems, really, that's causing this. So we're gonna fight with spiritual weapons. And I love this other verse, and then I'm gonna take a breath. But the, Paul also wrote, "'Though we live in the world, "'we do not wage war as the world does.'" Becky Harling (06:28.648) Mm-hmm. Sarah Wildman (06:49.856) Thank you. Sharon Jaynes (06:54.869) The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Now listen, that divine power right there, that word in the Greek, which is the language of the New Testament, is dunamis. It's where we get the word dynamite. And how do you get dynamite? You've got nitrogen, glycerin, you bring them together and you've got dynamite. Well, when you've got the word of God in prayer and you bring those together, Becky Harling (07:03.414) I'm sure. Becky Harling (07:10.952) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (07:23.061) You've got Dunamos power and that's how we're fighting this war against our children from the evil. Becky Harling (07:30.695) Mm. Sarah Wildman (07:31.44) Wow. So you mentioned that you had started with the praying for your husband from head to toe and then did the one for your child. In what ways are they similar? Do you have a few examples? Maybe even something similar starting with the head. Where are they similar and where do they differ in how you wrote those? Sharon Jaynes (07:50.765) Well, in the book it goes 16 different areas that we're praying over our husband or our child. So, and it's 30 days of this. So 16 different areas every day. And I want to say this too, for some of you are like, oh no, who's got time for that? It takes a lot longer to explain it than it does to do it. So note that it only takes about five to seven minutes a day to do it. So it's going to take us about 30 minutes to explain it. But with both of them, the landmarks are the same. Sarah Wildman (07:54.99) Mm. Sarah Wildman (08:09.39) Fair. Becky Harling (08:17.124) Bye! Sharon Jaynes (08:20.097) We're starting with the mind and what they think about, the eyes, what they look at, the ears, what they listen to, the mouth, what they speak, the neck, what turns their head or their decisions, their shoulders, burdens, and worries. And we're gonna go all the way down to the feet and the path they take. So that part, as far as the landmarks, is the same. But of course, the prayers are different, and some of the scriptures are different. So when we're praying for the mind, We are praying some of the same verses, but the prayers are actually different because once we're a child, and when I say child, I'm talking birth through college. So it pertains to that whole way. When we're praying for our husbands, it's gonna be praying more adult situations that he will be coming up against. Some of the scriptures will be different. We're gonna be praying about sexuality in both of them. However, with a husband, it's gonna be very different than your... the verses that you're going to be praying for a child. So that part is different. But that really, the pattern is the same. And one thing I love about this word pattern is, you know, when sometimes, I don't know what to pray sometimes. I mean, and we, like I said, when we pray the word of God, we're praying the will of God. And when Jesus' disciples said to him, Lord teaches how to pray. So they didn't know how to do that either. And then he gave them what we've come to call the Lord's Prayer, right? Becky Harling (09:35.305) Mm. Sharon Jaynes (09:46.485) Well, I don't think Jesus did that to give us a rote prayer just to say over and over again, which is powerful when we do pray that Lord's Prayer, but it's really more a pattern of prayer. So we're going to praise God for who he is. We're going to thank him for what he does. We're going to pray for our needs. We're going to pray about our sin. We're going to pray that we will not be led into temptation and we're going to praise him again. So it's really a pattern. So this is what the this is whether we're praying for our husbands or what we're praying for children. or whether we're praying for anyone in our sphere of influence using this pattern of top to bottom. And you know, we tend to use this phrase in Christian speak of covering someone in prayer. And this is literally doing that. We are covering them. And also talking about the pattern of prayer. When Paul told us to put on the armor of God, what did he do? He started at the top and went all the way to the feet. So, you know, maybe Becky Harling (10:25.865) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (10:41.985) Paul really came up with this pattern and not me, but we can see that pattern is in scripture a couple of times. Becky Harling (10:45.89) I'm sorry. Becky Harling (10:49.484) Okay, so let's get into it a little bit. Okay, you start with the head and it goes down to the feet. One of the most interesting ones to me personally was, I've never heard anybody else talk about praying for your child's neck. So bring that, I loved that. Okay, so talk to us about that and what do we pray for our child's neck? Sharon Jaynes (11:09.993) Well, okay, well since you're my girlfriends, I'm going to tell you the secret here. A long time ago, a long time ago there was a movie called Big Fat Great Wedding. Did y'all see that movie? Okay, well the daughter was complaining because the father makes all the decisions and she said what the you know what the dad says goes and he makes the decisions. Sarah Wildman (11:12.56) Hmm. Becky Harling (11:16.811) Yeah. Becky Harling (11:24.964) Oh yeah. Uh, yep. Sure. Sarah Wildman (11:26.774) Of course, yes. Sharon Jaynes (11:37.105) And he's the head of the house. And then the mother said, yes. But the wife is the neck that turns the head. OK, that's a true confession. But it's not only that, truly. It's in the Bible as well. It talks about not being stiff-necked. And it does refer to the neck a lot. So the neck, if you think about it, is what turns the head, right? So when we turn our head, that's what's causing us to make decisions. Turning our heads to what we look at, what we listen to. Sarah Wildman (11:44.566) Yeah, we're. Sharon Jaynes (12:05.457) And listen, I want to say too, when we're praying about our eyes, and we're praying for the child's eyes, we're praying what they look at, that is different from what they see. When we pray for their ears, what they listen to, that is different from what they hear. So it's the decisions that will determine what they stop and watch, or what they stop and listen to. So those two things are very important, because we know that if we listen to the wrong voice, we're going to make the wrong choice. and we know what they look at, what they stare at, what they pay attention to, will determine what they think about. So listen to, look at, goes into the mind through the portal of those two things, and then our head is turned, the decisions that we make will determine their actions actually. And don't you just wish sometimes that God just made us and we did everything just like he wants us to. We just obeyed all the time. Becky Harling (13:03.498) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (13:04.821) But unfortunately, or fortunately, I don't know which, God gave us the gift of choice. And so that's what we're praying about with our kids and our own selves as well, is that gift of choice that they have that they will make the right choices. And starts out very small when they're little, which toy to play with, what clothes to wear, very small things, whether to hit or not. And of course we know those choices grow in complexity as they get older. So we're gonna be praying about those choices. Becky Harling (13:10.372) Hmm? Sharon Jaynes (13:34.613) And again, it's scripture and then praying in the scripture all the way down. Becky Harling (13:34.628) Mmm. Becky Harling (13:40.049) Mm hmm. I love that. Sarah Wildman (13:42.098) I like that you're keeping it so practical because I think a tired mom who's trying to focus on her child, we can do that. We can do the head to toe. There's one of my favorite books. I think it's, I love you from head to toe. So it's a really sweet idea to stay with. Okay. So earlier you mentioned about the Lord's Prayer, what we call the Lord's Prayer, and how he did instruct the disciples with some landmarks. I think I know what they are, but what are some of those examples that really pop out to you when you were studying it? Sharon Jaynes (13:54.613) Aww. Yeah. Sharon Jaynes (14:01.787) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (14:10.829) Well, the landmarks for the Lord's Prayer are that first we praise God, we praise Him for who He is, our Father who art in heaven, holy be your name, we thank Him for what He does, we are asking Him to supply our daily needs, we're asking Him to forgive us as we forgive others. So isn't it interesting that in the basic landmark of prayer, forgiveness is right in there. We're asking Him to keep us from temptation. And then we're praying at the end that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You know, that's one of the things that we're, as we're praying, that's what prayer does. That's what prayer is, is that we are praying that God's power and will be on earth as it is in heaven. And prayer is really a conduit through which God's power is released on earth as it is in heaven. So that's a really good definition of partly of what what prayer is. So that's those landmarks there. Some of the major ones that we're hitting on. I think as parents, as human beings, we tend to park on, give us our day, our daily bread, which is really praying for our needs and ignoring sometimes the other landmarks. So we want to make sure as we look at the Lord's Prayer as a pattern of prayer that we start where it says to start. Becky Harling (15:22.757) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (15:34.685) acknowledging who God is, thanking him for what he does, and then ending back with praise and thanksgiving again. But that's an example of landmarks. So that's what we're doing when we're covering our children from head to toe. And I think as we look at our favorites and our important, which ones are the most important, I think for me, the mind is really the most important thing to pray. The scripture tells about the mind and the heart. Becky Harling (15:59.35) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (16:01.917) And I can hardly separate those two. We know it tells us that the heart is a wellspring of life, what comes out of the heart. The words that we speak is from the heart. But I think with the mind too, it's really kind of the same thing, isn't it? Because we can't act differently than we think. And one thing that we tend to do as parents or grandparents is we will pray about our child's actions. We wanna pray for their actions. Becky Harling (16:09.219) Mm-hmm. Becky Harling (16:16.353) Mm. Sharon Jaynes (16:29.481) And Becky, you know, praying about the neck decisions. Again, that's an action. We're praying about that. We don't like some of their actions, but we cannot act differently than you think. So let's back it up and start there and pray for the mind first. It tells us in Romans, do not be conformed. This is an example. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed, not by changing your actions, but by the renewing of your mind. So we're gonna start there and pray Becky Harling (16:43.264) No, no. Sharon Jaynes (16:59.277) child's thoughts will be those godly thoughts that they won't have the thoughts in their mind that are according to the culture and what they see. And you know, as we're praying, as I mentioned before, we're praying the Word of God, right? And it's so important that we pray the Word of God because our culture, and this is so confusing for kids, what was illegal yesterday is now legal. What was wrong yesterday is now right. So we're praying these biblical principles. Becky Harling (17:22.244) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (17:28.133) And as we go all the way down and we get to the legs, that's one of the things we're praying for. When we're praying for the legs, that they will stand on godly principles. They gotta know it in their head first, right? Gotta know it in their mind. So that's part of our responsibility is to make sure that they know the scripture, but we're gonna be praying scripture over them. And then the legs are when we're praying that they will stand on the truth. You know, I don't know about you, but I tend to think that's more of a, adolescent teenage kind of thing, but y'all it's not anymore. I remember not too long ago when a four-year-old that I know well was talking to another four-year-old and the other four-year-old was saying that something was right and it was a social issue and they were saying it was okay for women to get married. Becky Harling (18:02.552) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (18:25.873) And then the other little four year old said, no, it's not. And so they had this discussion, but I watched that and I thought, what is the difference? This is a four year old already being confronted with this. But one was standing on his biblical principles and the other one was listening to what the culture said. Four years old, isn't that something? I was just so amazed at that whole conversation. So we're gonna be praying that they will stand on godly principles. Becky Harling (18:47.943) Mmm. Yeah. Sharon Jaynes (18:55.465) and it begins with the mind and what they think about, what goes in their mind. Becky Harling (19:00.172) Yeah, I love that. You know, Sharon, a lot of mamas struggle with control issues. You know, it seems like as moms we struggle with that because we want the best for our kids, right? And so a lot of moms struggle with trying to control their kids. And you and I and Sarah, we all know you can't really control your kids because they have the power of choice, right? How does prayer help us? Sharon Jaynes (19:13.453) Sure we do. Sharon Jaynes (19:25.485) Yes. Becky Harling (19:28.916) release control to God. Sharon Jaynes (19:32.569) It's interesting, Becky, because this topic came up when I was writing the husband book. And it's very easy to write about we're praying not to control our husbands, but for them to be the men God wants them to be. That kind of flows a little easier, but then it was coming to children, and I had to ponder that, is that true with kids too? And really it does, because we all want to make them the, we want to make them into the best men and women that they will be one day. Becky Harling (19:43.889) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (20:01.469) And we think we know what that is, right? We want little mini-mes, we want them to do what we do. But that's not what we see in scripture. It does say train up a child in the way that he should go. And again, this is not a promise, I wish it was, but it's a proverb, a smart principle, a wise principle. But I have came to discover that I am not the potter. Can you believe that? The Bible says that I am not the potter. Becky Harling (20:04.223) Mm-hmm. Sarah Wildman (20:17.417) Thank you. Becky Harling (20:28.26) Thanks for watching! Sharon Jaynes (20:30.905) God is the potter and I am the clay and that's true with our kids too. He is the potter and our children are the clay and yes, we have the incredible responsibility of shaping and molding these children, but we're not the ultimate potter. So he's going to shape them into the men and women he wants them to be. So in that respect we are relinquishing control to him and honestly that takes some burden off of us as parents. Sarah Wildman (20:44.898) Hmm. Sharon Jaynes (21:00.361) We do the best we can. We give those children to God. We pray, pray for them. We're praying scripture over them. But their ultimate decisions are theirs. And as they become adults, their decisions are theirs. So we're relinquishing control at an early age, as far as them being who God wants them to be as adults. So it's a very freeing thing. It's very hard for mamas to relinquish control. But that's the difference between us trying to manipulate them into being what we want them to be and us giving them up to God for him to make them who he wants them to be. Becky Harling (21:46.912) You know, I always think it's interesting because we come to parenthood. You know, you give birth to this child and you think, I'm going to shape and mold this child, you know? And the irony of the whole thing is God shapes us, right? And molds us through making us parents. And through some of the things that our kids struggle with, God is not just working in their lives. He's working in our lives. And as we're praying, you know, Sharon Jaynes (22:03.277) Yes. Sarah Wildman (22:08.438) Mm-hmm. Becky Harling (22:16.388) And as we're praying for our child from head to toe, God is reshaping our hearts, not just our child's heart. And I just kind of love that, you know. Sharon Jaynes (22:21.837) Yes. Sharon Jaynes (22:27.565) You know, I'm so glad that you brought up struggle. Let's talk about that just a minute, because I know there's someone listening and they've been praying for a child and they just don't see anything happening. And it's so easy just to give up and say, you know what, this prayer thing is not working. God is not hearing me and they just wanna give up. But I want you, just what you just said, Becky, about struggle, think about the times in your life for both of you, think about the times in your life when you have grown. Becky Harling (22:39.598) Yep. Becky Harling (22:44.567) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (22:56.941) the most spiritually and as a woman. It's been during times of struggle, right? So as we're praying for our kids, the tendency is to pray that they won't struggle. Well, that's not a good prayer. That's not a good prayer, because as you look through the Bible, people grow during times of struggle. We've all grown during times of struggle. So it's not that we're praying they will not struggle, but they will learn the lessons God wants them to learn during the struggle. Becky Harling (23:00.477) Mm-hmm. Yep. Becky Harling (23:09.4) Mm-hmm. Sarah Wildman (23:09.43) Right. Sharon Jaynes (23:26.189) So they're gonna struggle. That's just a part of the growing up process. And here's another thing I wanna say to that mama who wants to give up, is that Jesus said, even though when we think that God's not doing anything, Jesus said this about God, his father. He said, my father is always at work, always at work. That means he is working behind the scenes always. It might take a long time before we see the product. Hey, let's look at Joseph for just a minute. I love the story of Joseph. Becky Harling (23:26.596) Mm-hmm. Becky Harling (23:44.628) and then Sharon Jaynes (23:54.989) We don't have time to go in great detail, but you know, Joseph's the fellow that was the coat of many colors. He was the 11th child of 12. He had a dream that one day his whole family would bow down to him, that he would rule over them. His brothers couldn't stand him, so they sold him into slavery. He was a slave and the Bible says, and God was with him while he was a slave. And then he was thrown into prison, falsely accused of attempted rape. And it says, and God was with him. in prison. And I don't think he was doing the happy dance thinking praise God during those 17 years. But then he did become the second in command under the Pharaoh. His family did come to him and bow down to him and honor him. But look it took 17 years for that to happen. So God was working behind the scenes in all of that. And I want to assure you that even though we might not see God doing a work in our kids' lives as we pray, He is working. Sarah Wildman (24:32.43) Mm-mm. Sharon Jaynes (24:53.645) Jesus promised it. He's always working behind the scenes. In another book I wrote that God is working to make our meanwhile worthwhile. And He'll do that for you and your children too. Becky Harling (25:03.085) Mm. Hmm. Sarah Wildman (25:06.818) great encouragement. Becky had pulled this quote from your book and it's so good. I'm going to read it and then would love for a few more thoughts on that, Sharon. You write that prayer is the conduit through which God's power is released and His will is brought to earth as it is in heaven. Can you explain that for our listeners? Sharon Jaynes (25:28.397) Yes, and we just mentioned that verse, not that verse, and we just mentioned that sentence a little bit ago, but I don't understand everything about prayer. I don't think anybody does, but I do know that this is how God set it up. He set it up, it says that God wants to lavish us. He loves us lavishly. And I think sometimes we tend to think about prayer as we're trying to get something from a... God's stingy hand, you know, we have to say it right and say the right words and do it with enough faith. And it's like we're just trying to pry something out of his stingy hand. But you know, that word lavish is the very opposite of stingy. He wants to bless us. He wants to give us blessings. And he has set it up so that he wants us to ask. That is the conduit that he's set up for us to bring his will from heaven as it is to earth. Sarah Wildman (25:56.631) Right. Becky Harling (26:08.068) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (26:22.221) And you don't have to have a lot of faith. Just have to have a little bit. It's just a mustard seed of faith. Hey, remember that father that brought his son to the disciples and he had a demon and they couldn't cast him out. And then Jesus came and the man said, you know, I brought my son to them. They couldn't do anything. If you can do something, please heal my son. And Jesus said, if I can. He said, if you have faith, you know that I can, he said, I do have faith, but Lord help my unbelief. I believe, he said, but help my unbelief. And then God healed his son. So the man didn't have a lot of faith, he had a little bit. And I think we could probably all say, I do believe, but help my unbelief. So just know, you just don't have to have a perfect faith. You just have to have a present faith, just a little bit. And God hears your prayers. Becky Harling (27:17.572) Hmm. I love that because I think you're right, Sharon. I think a lot of moms think, well, I don't have enough faith to really pray these big prayers, but Scripture always reminds us that just a little bit of faith is enough in God's kingdom. You know, another quote that you write, Sharon, that I love is, through prayer, the enemy's plans are intercepted. The principalities and authorities are defeated. Through prayer, the enemy's the power and provision of God flow into the lives of his people. And so for our listeners, for the moms out there whose kids maybe are really struggling or wandering away from faith right now, and they're thinking, okay, but I'm praying and it doesn't seem like the principalities and powers are being defeated. It seems like evil is winning right now. What would you say to them to encourage their hearts? Sharon Jaynes (28:16.301) It is warfare and sometimes war takes a long time and we believe that this is true because it's in the Word of God. That's why I said when you pray the Word of God, you pray the will of God and this is true. We see many times in Scripture where someone prayed and then it actually took a while before something happened. So just know that even when they were walking around Jericho seven times, seven days and then seven times on the seventh day. I bet those on that sixth day, see the army didn't know what the battle plan was. Just Joshua did. And I'm sure they were thinking, you know, throw me a brick. Let me see something happen. Right. But then on the seventh day, we know it fell and I don't know what day this is for you, but it might be the last round. So don't quit playing praying because you don't see the principalities falling around you and see the enemy being defeated, but they are being defeated. And you don't know too, what you're holding back from happening. Becky Harling (28:55.949) Mm-hmm. Sharon Jaynes (29:16.365) When we pray, we're holding back even from happening. So we have no idea what's being held back because of our prayers. And I wanna say too that, as we're praying, one of the landmarks, we didn't go through all of them. I think we got to the shoulders, then the back is the spiritual and physical protection, which is exactly what we were just talking about. We're praying for their heart, who and what they love. Becky Harling (29:16.824) Mmm. Sharon Jaynes (29:43.821) were praying for their side and this is who they walked through life with. So as you're praying for your child, I think a tendency is for us to pray that they'll be surrounded by Christians all the time. But you know what? I became a Christian through a praying mother, but it just wasn't my mother. So I was raised in a very difficult home. My parents were not Christians. I felt a lot of alcohol and violence in my home. And by the 12 years old, I was just Becky Harling (29:48.498) Mm. Becky Harling (30:02.988) Mm-mm. Sharon Jaynes (30:12.589) I scared little girl. But there was a mama on the next block is my friend's mama, Mrs. Henderson. And I started spending time down there at her home and she would pray for me. I started going to church with them. And as afraid as I was of my dad, she told me I had a heavenly father who loved me. And she told me about Jesus. And when I was 14, she asked me if I was ready to accept Christ as my savior. I told her I was. So this mother changed my life. Becky Harling (30:32.196) Hmm Becky Harling (30:42.488) Hmm, I love that. Sharon Jaynes (30:42.541) It was a praying mama who wasn't praying, wasn't my mama. And then listen to this, this is the icing on the cake. Three years later, my mom gave her life to Christ. And three years after that, my father gave his life to Christ. And that all started with a praying mama who was praying for a child that was not her own. So as you were praying for your child, you're gonna, I encourage you to also pray for the children that cross your child's path. And don't think any, Becky Harling (30:52.868) Hmm. Becky Harling (30:56.709) Hmm. Sarah Wildman (31:03.167) Wow. Becky Harling (31:09.446) Oh, sorry. Sharon Jaynes (31:12.045) of it's accidental. God puts people in our path for a reason. So pray for their kids. You might be the very conduit through which another child comes to Christ that's not your own. Becky Harling (31:24.38) I love that so much, Sharon. Hey, we are out of time, but this has been so great. And you moms that are listening, I hope you've been encouraged today. Definitely order your copy of the book, Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe by Sharon Janes, and pick it up and start doing it. Start with their head and make it all the way down to their toes. Those of you who are grandmas, this is a great way to pray for your grandkids. and you can take some of the principles and pray them for your adult kids as well. Sharon, would you just close out our time by praying for our listeners? Sharon Jaynes (32:02.061) Lord, we thank you so much for this ability to be able to come on the internet and to share and to talk with each other and to minister to each other. Lord, we pray for all the mamas that are listening. We pray for ourselves as well. Pray against discouragement that so many feel right now. Lord, we thank you that you have given us your word that we can in turn pray back to you like we've seen so many times in the Bible. We pray for protection for our children, protection from evil, protection from the warfare that's going around, the physical war that's going around, and the spiritual war that's surrounding them. Lord, I pray that you will open our eyes to see your truth and to learn how to do a pattern of prayer and bring to mind other scripture that we can pray for our children. I pray for the mamas not to be discouraged, but I pray that you will encourage them today, and I pray that they will... know just how much you love them, that they are your children, and that you are a heavenly father who loves them more than they could ever know. And we pray this in Jesus name, amen. Becky Harling (33:12.62) Amen. Hey friends, thanks for joining us today on the Connected Mom podcast. We hope you'll join us again next week where we'll have another conversation that will encourage you to connect more deeply with God, more empathically with your fellow moms who are your friends, and more intentionally with your child. And hey, if you liked this episode, would you please like us in the app and share it with a friend? Because I guarantee your friends also. Sarah Wildman (33:12.802) Amen. Becky Harling (33:40.532) need to learn how to pray for their kids. So we'll see you next time on The Connected Mom.