About ten years ago, a man I deeply admire shared this prayer with me. He and his wife were about ten years ahead of my husband and I in raising their family. They had five children who were grown and launched into adulthood, and I couldn’t help but notice something that mattered deeply to me: all five of their children were still practicing their faith and following Jesus. As a mother raising my own children, that was the kind of fruit I hoped for in our family.
At some point, he told me that he attributed much of that to the prayers of his wife—particularly a prayer of protection she prayed over their family every day. So, of course, I asked him to send it to me and almost immediately, I added it to my own morning prayer routine.
That was more than ten years ago and I’ve been praying it for my family ever since.
WE CAN’T GO EVERYWHERE OUR CHILDREN GO
When I first began praying this prayer, our family looked very different than it does today. My children were much smaller and our lives were somewhat simpler. So much of their world still happened under our roof.
As children grow, that changes. They go to school. Eventually they drive away without you. They leave for college. They travel. They begin making decisions and building lives that you aren’t there to oversee.
And perhaps one of the most challenging and most difficult parts of parenting is realizing that we were never really in control in the first place. We can teach and guide them. We can build a home rooted in faith. We can try to make wise decisions about what we allow into our family life and what we keep out. But the reality is we cannot be everywhere. Prayer has been one of the ways I’ve learned to entrust the people I love most to the One who can.
THE PERIMETER PRAYER
For more than ten years, what is commonly referred to as the Perimeter Prayer has been part of my morning prayer routine. I’m sharing it here in the hope that it might become a blessing to another family, just as it was given to me all those years ago.
PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE PRAYER →
BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how easy it is, while we’re raising children, to become consumed by what’s immediately in front of us. Diapers. Meals. Playdates. Grades. Sports. Schedules. Friends. College. All of these things matter, but every once in a while, we need to look farther down the road and ask:
What do I ultimately desire for my children?
For me, the answer has never been success or happiness as the world sees it. My goal and ultimate desire is and has always been, Heaven. I want my children to know that they are deeply loved. I want them to love one another and the people God puts in front of them. I want them to love and follow Jesus with their whole heart, mind and soul and eventually live with Him forever in Heaven.
I know I can’t guarantee that outcome, but I can pray for it. So every morning I do.
Gather. Connect. Cultivate.