by Patricia Dotten

For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose hearts are completely His (2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB).

When my son was middle school age, and my youngest daughter was around 7 or 8 years old, we went on a family walk through a nearby neighborhood. It was October and getting close to Halloween — not a good time to go on a walk with your family! My son and daughter were walking together and passed a house with graphic, grotesque Halloween decorations. They really shook up my young daughter. I later learned that her big brother had immediately begun praying out loud over her that God would take the images out of her mind, protect her, and not allow the enemy to have any place in her mind or heart.

What a joy it is when God gives us glimpses of the work He’s doing in our children’s hearts! And what is the work that the Lord wants to do in our children? As I discussed in last week’s blog, 2 Chronicles 16:9 reveals that He wants their hearts to be completely His. The exciting thing is that God invites us to partner with Him in that work! How can we come alongside what God is doing? We can begin by building strong relationships with our children.