Dear God, I was listening to a podcast this morning, and they were talking about the revival at Asbury over the last month. Reportedly, it started with the person up front asking, “Is there anyone out there who doesn’t feel loved by someone?” Eighteen people apparently came forward and stayed to worship and pray after the others left, and then the others came back when they heard that the worship and prayer were still going on.

Hearing this story immediately made me think about my children. If they were in a similar gathering, would they count themselves as people who feel unloved or would they have been in the group that left and then maybe returned later? I know I hope they feel loved by my wife and me, but, frankly, I really don’t know. I know we’ve done everything we can to show them love, but have they experienced that, or have seeds of doubt been planted in their minds over the years that have grown into them feeling unloved by us?

I will say this about our son. Leading up to the first time we met his girlfriend, she asked him what he thought we would think of her. He told us he told her, “All my parents are going to care about is that I’m happy and that you are good for me.” I told my wife later that that was the greatest compliment he might have ever given us. He knew we didn’t care about how anything looked on the surface. All we cared about was what we saw as best for him.

Of course, I have to go next level on this. Even if both of my children do feel loved by my wife and me, our love is obviously imperfect. How can it not be? But your love is perfect. It is everything. It’s amazing, in fact, that you bother to love us at all!

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I want to pray for my children today. Help them to know in the depths of their hearts that their parents love them because we really do. We root and cheer for them. We hurt with them when they hurt. We are willing to sacrifice what we want for their best. But also help them to really understand our limits as humans. That we fail. That we make mistakes. That we are imperfect. And that you are there, above all. They happen to have parents who really love them, but they also have a God who isn’t interested in punishing them or coming down hard on them. You too want the best for them. You root for them and cheer for them. You hurt with them when they hurt. You were willing to sacrifice for their best. Do something in their lives this very day, raise up someone or something in their lives today, that will be your voice and help them to know that you are there and you love them so much.

I pray all of this for your glory in this world through my children,

Amen