Do you worry about whom your children are in contact with?  One of the blessings of being more organized is that it helps us to focus.  It helps us see more clearly what is important in our lives and those of our loved ones.  And what is going on.

There were times when I didn’t like my child’s teacher or friends.  And as a parent, we are to keep an eye on our children.  But I also knew I was supposed to trust God for we can’t be with our children all the time.  So what do you do if you can’t be there to oversee your children?  What if you have to leave them in a situation you are not comfortable or happy with?

Hannah, the mother of Samuel, was placed in this tough position – and she chose it herself.  From 1 Samuel 1:11- 2:26 we read:

“And she made a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt remember me and give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.”

Hannah had been unable to conceive a child and after many years of being barren, she was destitute. So she prayed this prayer to God and He answered her!  He gave her a son.  And, what is so remarkable is that she remembered her vow to the Lord.  As soon as her son, Samuel was weaned, she took him to the temple to be a servant of God to the priest Eli.

Now, the little boy Samuel was only around the age of three!  Could you have left your three-your-old child and gone back home?  I never could have.  But Hannah trusted God; she left her son with the Priest which she had promised to God.  However, the Priest’s two sons who lived with him were not godly men

“Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young.  And she said (to Eli) ‘Oh, my lord!  As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord.  For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him.  So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.”

“And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men: they did not know the Lord.  The sin of the young men was very great before the Lord…Eli heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

“Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.”

Wow!  This little boy was living with the wrong type of men.  And yet, God was with him and protected him from them and blessed young Samuel as he grew into a man.

I believe one reason the story ends on such a good note is because his mother prayed for him.  She trusted God to take care of her son.  She followed through with her promise and then continued to serve the Lord.

God honors our prayers!  If your children in are in a bad situation now, go before the Lord and pray.  We may not see any change immediately, but God is working even when we can’t see.

May God bless you and your family as you learn to trust God more and more each day.

Manna from Heaven

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

Emotional Fit-Fact

A recent study found that adolescents’ involvement with religion was associated with more time spent on homework and lower levels of truancy.  The study also found this effect endured over time.

Taking your children to church / youth group is a vital way in instilling the moral character that a child must have to succeed in this life.  Look for a church that is a Bible believing and teaching church and where the leadership is totally devoted to the Lord Jesus.

Even if your child falls away from the Lord, the early foundation will never leave him.