Raising Well-Rounded Young Children

youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. –Daniel 1:4

It has been said of leadership, if you want to know how successful your leadership is, look at what happens to the organization within the first year or two after your departure. The scripture says something similar, “Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Luke 7:35) While needing a few qualifiers and context—for instance, our aging children are responsible to make their own choices—this Divine emphasis on the importance of parenting should both challenge and encourage us to know that what we do really matters, despite culture telling us otherwise.

Of any honor children could bestow upon their Christian parents, the greatest would be to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and live a well-rounded life that glorifies Him. This is what Daniel and his friends did in the Babylonian court, though separated from the direct influence of their parents. While they faced tremendous temptations that would fall many men twice their age, they continued to walk in the fear of the Lord, wisdom, and restraint, holding true to their upbringing. What a great example of homeschoolers!

They were not only handsome on the outside, but they were pure on the inside, graced by God with “knowledge, understanding learning, and were competent to stand” in the presence of the greatest king in the known world at the time. If they were not already homeschoolish enough, they also had a love for reading … “to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. “Talk about the complete package!

While the ESV uses the word “endowed,” the KJV also uses the word, “favored.” These verbs suggest something they received, not something they did. In other words, it was granted to them by something outside of themselves. God had prepared them for the opportunity at hand.

We parents feel such a responsibility in the upbringing of our children, as we should; however, whatever our children become is a result of the grace of God in their lives and not what great dispensaries of wisdom we are as parents. Yes, we teach. Yes, we instruct. Yes, we seek to be a good example. But when all is said and done, the depth of our children’s receptivity is directly correlated to God’s intervention in their lives. This means our greatest responsibility is to pray for our children. That is the motivation behind the monthly day of prayer and fasting. We can do everything right but without the breath of God blowing on the bones of our children, they will have the looks of Christians but not the life.

I continue to encourage parents to discuss these requests with their children, especially their teenage children, to give them a vision for what their education can look like. When we raise the bar, our children will put forth their best effort to clear it.

Join us this month as we pray that God will endow and favor our children with a well-rounded approach to life. (All scripture is ESV unless otherwise noted.)

1. Pray that God will endow our children with wisdom that the world cannot refute.

• And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. –1 Samuel 3:19 (KJV)
• But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. –Acts 6:10 (ESV)

2. Pray that God would endow our children with a wise and thoughtful tongue.

• There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. –Proverbs 12:18 (KJV)
• The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. –Proverbs 15:2 (KJV)
• The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. –Proverbs 16:23 (KJV)

3. Pray that our children would be endowed with discernment, knowing what to do in all types of situations at all levels of society.

• Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. –Gen. 41:39 (ESV)
• Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” –1 Kings 3:9

4. Pray that our children will be endowed with discretion (knowing how to act in all situations from private life to public life).

• discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, –Proverbs 2:11
• Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. –1 Cron. 22:12

5. Pray that God will give our children outstanding favor, not simply for their benefit but for His glory.

• And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. –Exodus 11:3
• And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. –Luke 2:52

6. Pray that God would endow our children with a proper sense of decorum in regard to protocol, manners, grammar, and time-honored traditions of men when situation demands it.

• Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. –Proverbs 22:29
• A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully. –Proverbs 14:35
• He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. –Proverbs 22:11

7. Pray that God will endow our children with a generous and large mindset, rather than being critical, envious, or small-minded.

• But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. –Galatians 5:15
• Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. –Eph. 4:29
• I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, –Col. 4:8

8. Pray that God would endow our children to be solution-minded, able to see problems in a different or unique way that would bring benefit to all. Pray that when others run away from problems our children will run to them, understanding the opportunity before them.

• Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. –2 Kings 6:17
• Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. –Is. 43:19

9. Pray that God would endow our children with Christ-like courage that would not capitulate to the pressures of men, culture, or life situations, and that they would continue to rise to the top in the ebbs and flows of society.

• If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” –Daniel 3:17,18
• In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. –Proverbs 14:26
• for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. –Proverbs 3:26

10. Pray that God will both teach and endow our children with supernatural contentment and appreciation for life, both in times of abundance and in times of scarcity.

• Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. –Phil. 4:11
• For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. –2 Cor. 12:10

11. Pray that our children will be endowed with a spirit of mediation and reconciliation, having the ability to genuinely see both sides of an issue by finding middle ground, yet remain uncompromising in their personal understanding and application of truth.

• All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; –2 Cor. 5:18
• Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” ²⁸ And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice. –1 Kings 3:27, 28