A Prayer for My Adult Son

Father, my son is a grown man now. My hands did their work for eighteen years and more; Yours were at work before he was born and will be long after I'm gone. So I place him in Your hands again — gladly, and a little tearfully.

Guide him in the weight he carries now: the job, the bills, the decisions nobody else can make for him. Give him wisdom beyond his years and friends who are good for his soul. If he has a family of his own, make him faithful to them — steady, present, gentle.

Lord, You know the things I wish I could still fix, and the advice I've learned to swallow. Teach me my new role: to pray more than I speak, to welcome more than I warn, to be a safe place he wants to come back to.

If there is distance between us — miles or otherwise — keep the road between our hearts open. And if he has wandered from You, go after him the way You went after me. You are patient with wanderers. I remember.

Bless my son, Father. I am so proud of him. Let him hear that from me while I can still say it.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this when he's moved out and the house is quiet, after a phone call that worried you, or when you're tempted to call with advice he didn't ask for. Pray first — sometimes instead.

A Verse to Hold On To

"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." — Isaiah 54:13 (KJV)