The Power of Praying for your Adult Children

Resource Description

Full Review:

No one reading this review is naïve enough to believe that praying for our children stops when they graduate from high school. In fact, we all know that our “kids” as young adults can have much bigger problems than they ever did when they were little. As a result they need our prayers more than ever! But how do we pray for our adult children who may not even share with us some of the things we ought to be praying for the most?

Last Christmas when our daughter-in-law Jen, Doug’s wife, gave Donna and me The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children by Stormie Ormartian, bestselling author of The Power of a Praying series, we knew right away this was a book we wanted to read. We did, and we’re glad of it. It’s biblical, insightful, easy to read, and faith-filled.  Mrs. Ormartian’s book is saturated with Scripture verses! In addition, she has a good handle on human nature. She knows from personal experience what it’s like to be the parent of adult children and possesses good insight into what young adults in the US are facing today.

To get this review rolling I’d like to share a quote from near the beginning of the book: “If you have an adult child who has grieved you or worried you, or caused you problems for himself (herself) or for you or others, ask God to pour out His Spirit on him (her) right now. Don’t waste your time blaming yourself, the other parent, or your child. I am not saying your adult children don’t bear any responsibility for what happens in their lives. They certainly do. But the overriding factor is that only an outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God on your adult children is powerful enough to withstand the onslaught of the spirit of evil coming against them.”

Mrs. Ormartian spells out in her introduction seven things every parent should know – they’re powerful:

1. You need to know it never ends.
2. You need to know you can’t fix them.
3. You need to know God can change everything.
4. You need to know you must stop blaming yourself.
5. You need to know you have to forgive.
6. You need to know there is only one perfect parent.
7. You need to know you can wholeheartedly say, “For this adult child I prayed.”

When praying for your adult child there are several truths you must be absolutely sure of:

1. Believe that God loves you and your adult children and he will hear your prayers for them.
2. Believe that God can deliver you from any fears you have about your adult children.
3. Believe that God can give you and your adult children what you need when you ask for it.
4. Believe that no matter how big your adult child’s problems are, God is greater.
5. Believe that because the love and power are poured out in you, your prayers for your adult children will always have power.

Sitting back?

Though the book is about praying for our adult children, Omartian believes there are rare occasions when we need to confront them about hard matters. She writes, “… we cannot just sit back and let our adult children do damage to their lives when we see a dangerous situation brewing. We have to say something. My husband and I both had to do that with each of our adult children. And each time we did it in love, not in anger. Showing love at that time was not our natural reaction, but our wise pastor told us that this was the only way to respond if we wanted to see good results.” Happily in both cases, after Omartian and her husband had prayed fervently about this and spoken in love to their children, they “were immediately repentant and did a major path adjustment in their lives. In both cases, they had allowed the influences of ungodly people to steer them in the wrong direction.”

I have a slight concern with the book’s view of healing and perhaps at times something that borders on “name it and claim it.” However, I would need to talk to Mrs. Ormartian personally to know for sure. You can come to your own conclusion especially after reading the chapter entitled, “Experience Good Health and God’s Healing.” (By the way, personally I think it’s good at times for us to read books by people like her who have a healthy dose of faith in God believing He can do anything!)

P.S.

A couple of post-scripts: one of the best things about The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children is the well worded Spirit-filled prayers at the end of each chapter – they help you pray for your child regarding the issues the author has written about in the chapter.

The Power of Praying might not tell you a great deal you don’t already know, but it puts those thoughts in clear concrete ways with living examples. I have no doubt that this book will enrich your prayer life and remind you to commit yourself to praying even more fervently and faithfully for your adult children and/or your adult grandchildren.

HG