My first Daily Walk Bible was a used one. When it finally fell apart twenty-five years later,  I searched for another copy of the  1987 edition.

The Internet was faster but not as much fun as perusing that used book  shop, where I found that Daily Walk Bible; nor was it as  careful. The seller sent two copies.  Returning one has been complicated. So, for now, I have two copies, one in better shape than the other.

Opening the more care-worn edition, I discovered a folded note—7 Ways to pray over your Children. It caught my heart. I remember those suggestions!

The verses were familiar  — good patterns for prayer, when we don’t know what to pray, especially Proverbs 19:21—

 You can make many plans,
       but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Yes, I noticed the first slots for prayer were empty – maybe it was hard to write down all the suggestions and personally apply them. How often have I left prayers before connecting them with God’s promises?

So I looked in my worn out DWB copy to see which verses impressed me.  It seems like one set of verses impressed me!

Ephesians 1:19-20  still gets to the root of some of my worries:

¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Even, though nothing  under the sun is new or surprises God, today’s normal takes my breath away, given the brutality and volatility in today’s uncertain times.I fumble prayers for our grown-up kids who have grown-up problems, letting fear and worry derail my efforts.

My bad: I never imagined the world we live in – and I thought I had a good imagination.

What I need to remember is God’s mystery and majesty are more real  than all the possibilities of artificial intelligence, social engineering, and globalism that define the post-Christian era.

Cease not to pray, and if the answer tarries, wait. God will come and He will never be late. DWB, Page 674

Whatever technological marvels or terrors the late 21^stcentury will produce; whatever our kids achieve – or fail to achieve — nothing compares to knowing God, and being known by Him. (Jeremiah 9:24)

I hope this stranger’s prayers have been answered. I hope ours are too, dear reader.

Scripture lends itself well to pray persistently; but arrow prayers work too.

If you can’t find a Bible, or memory fails, a prayer a friend shared with me is a simple one, but covers a lot of bases:

God, be as merciful to my child as you have been to me.

1 Corinthians 10:13