Why you should pray OVER your family 👇
Over the last year or so, my son has had a stretch of “bad dreams” and general fear of being alone in his room (I’ve written about this here).
It was tough at times. Nights of waking up at 3am and jumping in our bed, asking to sleep with the dog etc.
Every time he was feeling scared (minus a few times in the middle of the night when I did not model patience), I would pray over him. I put my hand on his head and audibly call on the name of Jesus to draw near to us, drive out scary thoughts and vanquish any spiritual attacks in our family.
It honestly didn’t seem to help that much at first. The routine stayed more or less the same for a while. I just kept praying over him.
Then, something changed. I started noticing that every night at bedtime, before he had vocalized any fear, he started asking ME: “Daddy, will you pray over me?”
Now, night after night, he makes this request before he goes to sleep. He just asked me a few minutes ago.
And here’s the thing: he’s sleeping great. Not only do I think God answered our prayers, but I believe his subconscious mind is continuing to learn there is only one place to turn when we are overwhelmed by fear.
He also has this verse memorized:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
Men, pray over your family. Other than the power of this type of prayer, you also welcome them into WITNESSING God’s answered prayers when they actually happen. They heard the prayer come out of your mouth and they get to see God’s faithfulness vs if you pray only privately for them.
*Disclaimer: Prior to a couple of years ago, I never prayed OVER my family. I prayed for them - but never over them. If I can gently encourage you to start praying over your wife and kids. Put your hand on them and let them hear your heart’s message for them to the Father. It might feel weird at first - but man, i promise you it’s a powerful tool in your tool belt as a dad. Keep fighting for your family, dads 🤝