Looking to 2023

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. –Isaiah 51:1 (ESV)

Sometimes the best way to see forward is by looking backwards. It was in July 1961 when the Green Bay Packers came to training camp after losing the NFL Championship six months earlier, despite carrying the lead into the final quarter. It was at this camp that Coach Vince Lombardi gave his famous, “This is a football” speech. His legendary emphasis on fundamentals led his team to five championship titles (precursor of the Super Bowl) in seven years.

Similarly, U.C.L.A. coach, John Wooden, was so focused on the basics that each year’s first practice consisted of him demonstrating to his players how to put their socks and shoes on correctly. Freshmen were described as thinking it was a joke initially until the upper classmen quickly informed them otherwise. Like Lombardi, Wooden was an exceptional coach, winning seven national championships in a row and ten altogether. In 27 years he never had a losing season.

As I look at 2023, one thought sticks out to me among others: we need to return to the basics. Isaiah wrote something similar when he told the people to look back to the rock from which they were hewn, from the quarry from which they were dug. What he was saying was to go back to doing their first works, seeking the face of God. This is the football of the Christian life. This is how we put our socks on and tie our shoes. Do not allow glossy advertisements cause you to think otherwise.

2 Timothy 3:7 describes the last days with, “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” This describes our culture today. We have so much technology, so much knowledge, yet we seem so ignorant of the most elementary truths. When our political leaders think printing more money is the answer to our economic woes, it is time to go back to the basics. When we do not know there is a difference between a man and a woman, it is definitely time to go back to the drawing board. When Christians act more like the world than like Christ, it is time to repent and return to doing the first things (Rev. 2:5).

In 2023, as our country continues to spin in dizzying circles, we need to teach our children to observe the fundamentals that God initiated in creation. Regardless of the boasting and bragging of cultural icons and the few exceptions to the rule, man’s wisdom ultimately fails, while God’s Word remains forever (1 Peter 1:25).

Homeschooling works, not because parents have impressive educational pedigrees. Statistics show that the parents’ educational levels are not indicative of their children’s success in school. It is not effective because we have perfect curricula—though it is wonderful good compared to the public school. It works because God has chosen the family to be the building block of society and not institutions of man’s making.

May next year be the year we look to the fundamentals of God’s Word more than we ever have before to know how to raise our families and homeschool our children. This is the focus of this month’s prayer prompts. We are praying that God will move upon parents’ hearts to make sure their children have a solid foundation of fundamentals on which to build subsequent generations.

I also want to publicly thank all those who signed up to pray and fast for ICHE in 2022. We have been doing this monthly for almost ten years. Truly, God has heard us and has answered our prayers, but I would love to have many more households join us in 2023. If you are interested in committing to pray for homeschoolers throughout Illinois and the Midwest, please send an email to ksmith@iche.org. What would God do if a hundred households were pleading for His grace upon the homeschool community? While we usually reserve the second Tuesday of each month as a prayer and fast day, each person or household can choose the day/time that works best for them. Also, we leave it up to each person to choose what form and duration of fasting works best for them.

May God bless 2023 with His amazing grace.

1. Pray that our children would learn there are no short-cuts in life. They must put the necessary time and energy into their education, character, vocation, and life.
   1. Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty. –Proverbs 21:5 (TLB)
   2. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. –Proverbs 28:20
      
2. Pray that our first response to the challenges of life, both inside and outside the home, will be prayer. Pray that children will see their parents praying together, and that God would give them a desire to spend time with Christ.
   1. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. –Col. 4:12
   2. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, –1 Timothy 2:1
   3. pray without ceasing, –1 Thes. 5:17
      
3. Pray for a supernatural desire and application of God’s Word in every single Christian homeschooling household in the Midwest.
   1. But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” –Matthew 4:4
   2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: –1 Peter 2:2 (KJV)
   3. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. –James 1:22 (KJV)
      
4. Pray that each homeschooling household will be established with character and integrity, causing children to build upon the shoulders of the previous generation.
   1. … till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. –Job 27:5 (KJV)
   2. The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. –Proverbs 20:7 (KJV)
      
5. Pray that our children will conduct themselves with proper protocol, maturity, and manners that will make them stand out from among their peers.
   1. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. –1 Timothy 4:12
   2. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. –1 Peter 2:12
   3. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. –Daniel 1:19, 20
      
6. Pray that our children will be self-starters, problem solvers, and have a strong work ethic.
   1. The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. –Proverbs 12:24
   2. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. –Proverbs 31:15
      
7. Pray that we will truly understand the importance of having God’s favor and seek for it more than silver or gold.
   1. A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. –Proverbs 22:1
   2. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! –Psalms 90:17
      
8. Pray that Christian homeschoolers will prioritize the fear of the Lord in their homes in 2023.
   1. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. –Psalms 25:14
   2. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, –Psalms 33:18
   3. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! –Psalms 128:1
      
9. Pray that Christian homeschooling parents will have increased faith in God and His ways than trusting in the world’s ways.
   1. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. –Psalms 118:8
   2. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. –Psalms 146:3
   3. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. –Psalms 20:7
      
10. Pray that in a world of confusion and conflict that Lord would supernaturally grant homeschooling households peace, joy, and unity in 2023.
    1. Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind –1 Peter 3:8
    2. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. –Romans 15:13
       
11. Pray that God would supernaturally supply physical and economic provisions to the point financial stress would be light, allowing fathers more time and energy to invest in their children.
    1. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. –Phil. 4:19
    2. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. –Psalms 111:5