A Warrior for the Next Generation

He prayed every night for a week until my friend, Paula, randomly called. I hadn’t heard from her in months. She lives in the Bay Area, and we live in the mountains.

“Hey, I was cleaning out my garage and found two guitars that my sons totally lost interest in. Would your boys have any use for them?”

I almost dropped the phone. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m going to be up there this weekend, and I’ll just drop them off at your house.”

Paula walked in with two electric guitars that were just what Roman wanted. He cried like a baby. It has been three years; he has not lost interest in his guitars, and I don’t have to ride him to play them. He plays weekly and receives lessons at school, so no time is taken away from the house.

So that was definitely God. God built the faith of our son by answering his prayer, and faith is hugely important for success. This has been monumental because now he knows when he wants something to go to God, not just Mom and Dad. Now whenever he comes requesting something else, he knows the answer. At this time, he wants a snowboard, and I’m not buying a $500 snowboard for an 11-year-old. Can I afford it? Yes. Am I doing it? No. Sorry!

“I don’t know why you’re asking me. Why don’t you pray and ask God? Your brother, Cabe, asked for the same thing when he was about your age, and he received the same answer. Why don’t you pray and ask God? Someone gave Cabe the bindings, the board, the boots-everything, and that’s the board Cabe is still using. So I don’t know why you’re asking me. You’d better start praying.”

“OK … OK.”

I reminded Roman of the guitars God gave him. “You prayed, you asked, and He gave. Not me; He did it!”

This builds their faith in Him, not in their parent’s bank account or in a Sugar Daddy. So keep reminding them again and again how God answers prayers. It’s important; otherwise, what happens when Roman is 35 (and God forbid) he loses his job? Who should he trust as his Provider then? Do I want him to freak out and get on antidepressants because he can’t provide for his family? Of course not.

So it’s important for Roman, as well as our other children, to learn this lesson now. If they don’t learn it now, it will be difficult to learn as an adult. At that point, they will have to unlearn all the wrong behaviors acquired as kids and then train themselves to step out in faith, trusting an invisible God to be their Provider. That’s who I want them to go to for provision.