“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Prov. 30:5)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps. 119:105)
In today’s culture, the word “truth” is allergic to the word “the”. Instead, the truth is something fluid and unstable; in fact, there is no such thing as “the truth”. Instead, there is “my truth” or “your truth” or “his truth” or “her truth”. This replacement of the definite article with a pronoun is no small thing; it is evidence of a world which has unhitched itself from the anchor of the truth. And this is a reality for which we must prepare our children and a reality which will require us to frequently go before the Lord in prayer.
God’s Word is a Refuge Because It’s True
We must pray that God’s Word would be a refuge for our children. And we must pray three things in regard to this: first, we must pray that our children would become convinced of the utter truthfulness of God’s Word. Prov. 30:5 states, “Every word of God proves true.” God’s Word is true and is the standard against which we must compare all other facts and opinions. Our culture does not like this because an objective standard does not leave much wiggle room; it is “judgmental” and “mean”. There are a thousand and one different ways in which our culture will seek to cow our children regarding the utter truthfulness of the Bible. We must pray for them to hold fast to the truthfulness of God’s Word.
God’s Word is a Refuge Because It Reveal His Character
God’s Word would be a refuge because it reveals the character of God. Prov 30:5 continues, “He [God] is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” Our children need God’s Word because God’s Word reveals who God is; it likewise reveals what God has done for his people. The culture seeks to corrupt our children’s understanding of who God is through changing his attributes: God’s kindness becomes license; God’s mercy becomes toleration of sin; God’s jealousy becomes an embarrassing holdover from an pre-modern age. But if God’s Word is God’s truth, it alone contains the truth of who God is and we must pray that our children would take that seriously.
God’s Word is a Refuge Because It Reveals Our Duty in Life
We must pray that God’s Word would be a refuge because it reveals how our children must live. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” writes the psalmist. God’s Word lights up the beauty and the folly of the world around us; it keeps us from a thousand follies; it guides through difficult situations. Our children need God’s Word to navigate the difficult historical moment in which we find ourselves just as every previous generation needed God’s Word in their moments of difficulty.
We should pray not just that our children would honor God’s Word or even just read God’s Word. We must pray that God’s Word would be their refuge; they would run to it in moments of peace and in moments of conflict; they would read joyfully even in times of suffering; they would hide themselves in it as the world around them slips into madness. Therefore, we should pray for our children:
Mighty and All-Holy God who has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ and through Holy Scripture, we come before you thankful that You have given us Your Words. Your Words are truth; Your Words are life: Your Words are the rule and guidance we need. We pray, O Lord, that our children would make Your Word their refuge. We pray that You would use Your Word to comfort, afflict, encourage, and exhort them; we pray that You would use Your Word to turn their hearts to You for the rest of their lives, even as those around them clamor against Your Holy Word. Help our children to read, study, and apply Your Word to every facet of their life. Thank You, O Gracious God, for using Your Word to mold and transform us and our children. In the Name of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen!
Ancient Words 