I will pour my spirit upon your seed, and my blessings upon your offspring. (Isaiah 44:3)
Our dear children have not the Spirt of God by nature, as we plainly see. We see much in them which makes us fear as to their future, and this drives us to agonizing prayer.
When a son becomes specially perverse, we cry with Abraham, “Oh, how I wish that this young man might follow your righteous Way.”
Everything happens for God’s good reasons and sometimes the offender, young woman or man, needs to receive God’s punishment in due course to realize the error of his or her ways. Much as it pains us to see this, sometimes lives must follow this path.
The Lord will give His Spirit; will give it plentifully, pouring it out; will give it effectually, so that it shall be a real and eternal blessing. Under this divine outpouring our children shall come forward, and “one shall say, I am the Lord’s: and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob.”
This is one of those promises concerning which the Lord will be inquired about. Should we not, at all times, in a distinct manner, pray for our offspring? Indeed, we should. We cannot give them new hearts, but the Holy Spirit can; and it is made for us convenient to request HIS help. We are told to pray without ceasing, and so we should give God no rest about this. Pray more.
The Heavenly Father takes pleasure in the prayers of fathers and mothers. Have we any dear ones outside of the ark? Let us not rest till they are shut in with us by the Lord’s own hand, by his grace, because we did fervently pray.
