06/20/2021
Today we celebrate Father’s Day, and we remember our fathers everywhere by gathering together around them, and also remembering those who have left us in death. But lest we forget amidst all of the celebration, we should, above all else, pray for them. We should lift them up, and pray that they will always be good fathers, even as God is our good Abba, and our good Father. We should pray that they love us, our mothers, and the Lord our God. Moreover, we should pray for their salvation, and for them to receive the grace of God as they profess Jesus Christ to be their savior. If we do this then we will have given them the best Father’s Day gift that a child can give. Likewise, every father should pray these words over his children:
“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,”
Ephesians 6:18-19 ESV
Fatherhood is much more than a biological event that takes but a moment to complete, it is more than contributing to the joining of a sperm and an egg, it is far greater than any obligation or commitment to the children we have conceived, as we protect, and provide for them. Fatherhood is a new life for every man; not just the life he holds in his arms, but the one that he lives out as he lovingly teaches his children lessons in living, and faith. It is leading them to love God.
“Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
Psalm 34:11 ESV
Some men view the number of children they conceive as a sign of manhood, but nothing could be further from the truth. The sign of manhood is not in the number of our progeny, but in how we love and raise our children in faith. This is the blessing that a man receives from fatherhood; this is the heritage he receives from the Lord… from those we conceive ourselves, those we adopt as our own, and those we father in so many other ways.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
Psalm 127:3-5 ESV
So we now know what true fatherhood is, and its reward, and we know to pray for our fathers as they struggle mightily to obtain God’s blessing that we, their children, represent to them. Later, as we become fathers ourselves, we know to ask our children to shower us with their prayers, and to honor us as we love them, and lead them in faith. In this way they will give us the greatest of Father’s Day gifts… evidence of our success; the prayers of faithful children.
““Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:2-4 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the Fatherhood you provide us, and for our earthly fathers who strive to be good as you are, and love us as you do. Help every man to know you Lord, and come to you through Jesus so that he can teach all things of faith to his children, and receive your reward. Thank you Heavenly Father for our children who pray for us, and over whom we pray every day. Help us to be the fathers we should be, and to raise up Godly children of great faith. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God and Heavenly Father. Praised be your name for every man you lead in righteousness, and for using our them as earthly fathers to teach us of you, your Word, and Jesus Christ. Merciful are you Lord who adopts the fatherless, and leads them to righteous men who can become earthly fathers in their lives. Bless every father today, and help them as they strive to be loving fathers in your image, let your Holy Spirit enlighten, them, and reveal your Word to them so that they can become teachers of faith, your Word, and the gospel of Jesus. Teach us Holy Spirit how to pray for our fathers, and to pray for the prayers of our children. Father, wash us in the blood of Jesus, and see only His perfection in us as we come before you, taught by our fathers to love and obey you, and heirs, and joint heirs, with Jesus. Welcome us home Holy Father, and seat us at your table in the place reserved for us, that has been waiting for our arrival since the foundation of creation.
““You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 ESV
Rich Forbes