HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover by Nicole Dougherty
Back cover author photo Michael Gomez Photography
THE POWER OF A PRAYING is a registered trademark of The Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark THE POWER OF A PRAYING.
THE POWER OF A PRAYING GRANDPARENT
Copyright 2016 by Stormie Omartian
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-6300-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6301-5 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Omartian, Stormie, author.
Title: The power of a praying grandparent / Stormie Omartian.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016016701 (print) | LCCN 2016017735 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736963008 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780736963015 ()
Subjects: LCSH: GrandparentsReligious life. | GrandparentsPrayers and devotions. | Intercessory prayerChristianity.
Classification: LCC BV4528.5 .O43 2016 (print) | LCC BV4528.5 (ebook) | DDC 248.3/20853dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016016701
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The mercy of the L ORD is from
everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to childrens children,
to such as keep His covenant,
and to those who remember
His commandments to do them.
P SALM 103:17-18
Contents
A n amazing thing happens in your heart when you see your grandchild for the first time. Its difficult to explain. Though its different from having your own children, the experience is what every grandparent has told you for years that it would be. Nothing else is quite like it. There is an instant and deep connection. There is unconditional love that is unimaginable before that moment. It is profoundly special. Uniquely moving. And irrevocably life altering.
This doesnt minimize the unconditional love we felt for our own children or the moving and life-altering experience we have when they come into our life. But, as grandparents, we dont have the major physical and emotional journey of getting our grandchildren here. They are gifts that are laid in our lapsoften literally. Thats not to say we arent constantly prayerful and concerned for the safety and health of our daughter or daughter-in-lawthe one who carries her precious cargo to what we pray is perfect development. We also pray for our son or son-in-law to be a good support for his wife, an excellent provider, and a great father for his childrenwhich can seem quite overwhelming to most new fathers who are in touch with the reality of all that.
I remember when Michael and I first became parents. The process engulfed us. Whether it was self-doubt about our ability to be good parents, or we feared what could happen to our child, or we felt unprepared, the process was our focus. No matter how many books I read on child rearing or classes I took on what to do after our child was born, the journey consumed me. And that is true for most peoplewhether the child was theirs biologically, or by adoption, or through marriage. The road to the childs arrival could seem scary, and there were no guarantees.
Our grown children may have many of those same fears too.
Besides all this, the process of bringing forth and raising children is exhausting. The sleep factoror lack thereofcomplicates things when parents are trying not to neglect their spouse and marriage. This can seem like an overwhelming task. If one spouse is not even in the picturefor whatever reasonand the parent raising the child is a single mom or dad, the worry factor goes up greatly. A single mom or dad may be the only one in charge of the rent, mortgage, food, clothing, medical care, schooling, and every other need of the child or children. Without having the emotional support of someone to share the duties of being a good parent, the responsibility can seem impossible.
As grandparents, we usually dont fully carry the same burdens the way a parent does, although these things concern us greatly. That is, unless the child is not only laid in our lap, but also the total responsibility for our grandchild is laid entirely on our shoulders because the parent or parents cannot care for their daughter or son. Many grandparents experience that.
Whatever your situation, consider yourself blessed to have a precious grandchild. So many people are grieved because they will never have one, or the one they had is no longer in their lives. Thank God every day that you have the privilege and the power in prayer of affecting your grandchildrens lives in ways you may not even imagine.
The Gift of a Praying Gramma or Grampa
Grandchildren are a gift from God to you. And your prayers are a gift to them that can touch them for a lifetimeeven after you are no longer around to see all of the good results. God has an important ministry for you to your grandchild or grandchildrennot only in word and deed, but also in prayer.
Personally, I didnt have a praying mother or fatherat least, not to my knowledge. But I did have one praying grandmother. I didnt realize this for years because I only saw her twice in my lifeonce when I was about six, and another time when I was around twelve. She was my fathers mother, and she seemed to be a kind, gentle, and caring person.
It was later in my life, after I was married and had two children of my own, that my severely mentally ill mother died of cancer at the age of 64, and we asked my dad to come live with us. He was in his mid-seventies at the time, and we gave him an entire wing of our house that allowed him three rooms to himself plus a small parlor, all at the front of the house where he could have privacy and yet be with the rest of the family whenever he wanted. Every day he sat in the parlor watching for the children to come home from school. They were in grade school and high school during that time, and they loved to sit with him and hear him tell stories about his life. Hed had so many near-death experiences, such as being struck by lightning twice , hit by a train, shot with a gun, falling into a ravine on horseback, and losing control of his truck on an icy mountain road and going over the side of the mountainjust to name a few. It was amazing to think that he lived to be 93 and died quietly in his own bed as he slept.
