Seven prayers

Had to share this post from Angie Smith, who is the wife of Todd Smith from the Christian musical group Selah. Angie's blog is amazing and nearly every post has something in it that brings tears to my eyes. I was so inspired by her recent post detailing such a creative way to pray for your children throughout the day. I sometimes find myself praying the same prayers over and over for Emma and not really knowing exactly what TO pray.

Every night as I lay Emma down to sleep, I whisper in her ear, "I will lay Emma down to sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make her dwell in safety," which is an adaptation of Psalm 4:8. This is similar to what Angie does with her children, only she's found verses that apply to everyday activities like waking up in the morning, getting dressed, leaving the house, bathing and sleeping, too.

I am going to write on notecards and tack them up in specific places in our home. I'll write the "bathing verse" up on a notecard and tack it up near the bathtub in Emma's bathroom. I'll write the "leaving the house" verse up and tack it on the door to the garage. My hope is that obviously, these verses will bless Emma and also help me learn to pray for her more deeply. But I also hope that by reading these throughout the day, we'll memorize all of them ... and in turn, help Emma grow up with these verses in her memory, too.

Thank you, Angie, for sharing your family tradition! Thank you for encouraging us and giving us new inspiration for prayer over our sweet children!