God-given Gifts and Talents

By Kelly Bridgewater

In my Married with Children Sunday School class, we spent the summer going through Stormie O'Martian's book The Power of a Praying Parent. I found some good advice on what to pray for my boys. I have been praying for their future spouses and for them to fall in love with God and keep that childlike faith. But O'Martian gives 29 other tips and areas for lifting your children up in prayer.

Here our a few:
Releasing My Child into God's Hands
Securing Protecting from Harm
Feeling Loved and Accepted
Honoring Parents and Resisting Rebellion
Developing a Hunger for the Things of God

Plus, many more.

The one chapter that really stuck with me was: Identifying God-given Gifts and Talents.

My oldest loves to build things and mathematics. So what could I do, as a parent, to give that love and watch it grow. We have signed him up for Lego club, where there is competitions all over the state. Plus, he does advanced Math over the summer to improve his skills.

My middle child is a loving child who is all boy. He loves to ride his bike and get dirty. He loves to hunt, fish, and listen to loud music.  A perfect clone of my husband. Pray that your child will develop and excel in the gifts and talents God has given him and let him know he has a unique purpose and significance in this world.

My youngest is very competitive. He turns everything into a competition. From chores to eating his dinner first. For Christmas, he received a soccer ball, so we go to the nearby park and run some drills.Our city has a soccer league, but all their games are on Sunday. We won't sacrifice church for a sport. Sorry!

O'Martian says, "When God gives you a glimpse of your child's potential for greatness, love and pray him into being that. The Bible says, 'Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not excel before unknown men" (Proverbs 22:29). Pray that your child will develop and excel in the gifts and talents God has given him and let him know he has a unique purpose and significance in this world.

Each child has special gifts and talents. We need to pray for them to be identified, revealed, developed, nurtured, and used for God's glory" (111).

As a young child, I was always reading books. From the many trips to the library to check out books. From heading to the local bookstore at the mall, I was always surrounded by books. My father and grandfather had a love of the written word and education, so they passed that love onto me.

Writing. I would sit under the tree in our front yard with a notebook and write away the hour, allowing my imagination to roam free. Writing has been a part of my life since I was nine years old. I can't imagine not writing. It is like breathing. Happens all the time.

Your turn: How old were you when you discovered your passion of writing? Looking back as a young child can you trace your love of writing and reading?

O'Martian, Stormie. The Power of a Praying Parent. Eugene: Harvest House, 1995. Print.