The Prayer of a Father

The Prayer of a Father

Build me a son, O Lord, who be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid.
One who will be proud and unbending in defeat but humble and gentle in victory.

A son who will know that to know himself is the foundation stone of all true knowledge.

Rear him, I pray, not in the paths of easy and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm … here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men. Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high. One who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep. One who will reach into future, and yet not forget the past.

And after all these are his, add, I pray, enough sense of humor so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself seriously – a touch of humility, so that he will always remember the simplicity of true greatness – the open mind of wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then, I his father, will dare in the sacred recesses of my own heart to whisper – “I have not lived in vain.”

Great prayer for our sons, men! I am so thankful for my four sons – Josh, Zach, Jon and Garrett! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Nahum 1-3; Psalm 20; Proverbs 23

Compass Pointers: It is idleness that creates impossibilities; and where people don't care to do anything, they shelter themselves under a permission that it cannot be done. Robert Smith

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 29:5; Level 2: Proverbs 29:22-27

Anchored to the Rock: Ultimately there is no better index of one’s spiritual state and condition than one’s prayers. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones