4. Our Prayers Give Us a Purpose

As we age, we may sometimes feel that we are no longer useful. The truth is, God has a significant purpose for us. Just as the Old Testament Queen Esther stood in the gap for her people when their lives were threatened, we can stand in the gap for our grandchildren and their parents as their lives are threatened spiritually. Perhaps at no other time in history is a call to prayer more urgently needed than it is today. Together we can link arms in prayer for the sake of the next generation.

My great-grandfather’s prayers had a ripple effect on my whole family—on my grandparents, my parents, my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, and me. If you do not have a Christian heritage, you have the privilege of starting the ripple effect with prayers for your family.

Sometimes our grandchildren see the results of our prayers. My oldest granddaughter warmed my heart when she sent me the following note:

Grandma, your phone calls, cards, and e-mails were encouraging and made a significant impact on my life, especially in my teenage and college years. Your prayers and encouragement have been rock-solid reminders of God’s truth in my incredible, crazy life-shaping years, and now in my married life. Your prayers help me surrender the craziness of my life to God.

A few years ago on a sunny autumn day, my husband and I were traveling in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Mesmerized by the reflections of the rugged snow-covered mountains and golden aspen trees on a pristine lake, I could not help but ask myself: Do my children and grandchildren see God’s love reflected in my life in the same way? Do they see Jesus in me?

Pondering the answer to these questions led me to realize that the sun must shine on the mountains and trees to create a reflection. In order for God’s love to reflect from my life, the love of Jesus Christ must be shining in my heart, which means that I must be reading and obeying His Word.

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