One of the greatest moments in the lives of a married couple is that time when they discover they're expecting a child. Joy and awe fill their hearts at the thought of a little life in the mother's womb. At the same time, one of the most comforting thoughts for those expectant parents is the promise that God has made to His children, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household" (Acts 16:31 NIV).

In both instances when my wife, Tex, and I found out she was pregnant with our children, we prayed immediately. We laid hands on her womb and committed our children to the Lord. We asked God to one day bring them both to the wonderful knowledge of Jesus as their Savior. We stood on that promise in the book of Acts. We didn't just pray for a day, a week, or until the children were born. We prayed week after week, month after month, and year after year. We prayed for them, and we prayed with them. Although we failed often, we attempted to live out our faith in Christ before them.

Both of our children prayed to receive Christ during our family devotions. Since that time, we've watched them grow - then struggle ... grow more, and struggle more. We observed them as they walked away from what we taught them, and then watched them come back to God. We've wept tears and shouted for joy. But through it all, we can only say, "Great is His faithfulness!" He has been faithful to answer our prayers.

Both Dave [our son] and Renee [our daughter] are serving the Lord as adults. Dave is presently director of Eternal Concepts (formerly Ambassadors for Christ), an international missions/discipleship internship ministry, and Renee works with him. Dave and his wife, Kelly, now have three children: Taylor, Riley and Braden. Renee and her husband, Paul, now have two girls: Kendall and Mia. It's such a blessing to see what God has done in their lives.

But our children's walk with God hasn't always been such a rosy picture. Both of our children made decisions while they were in the university that took them away from their spiritual heritage. Tex and I were helpless to change what was creeping into their hearts. We had only one hope - that God hears and answers the prayers of His people. We stood on the promises of Acts 16:31 and other scriptures God had given us. And God proved to be faithful. I'm sure there will be other trials we'll have to face. But we've learned that God loves our families much more than we do. We can come to Him, and He understands all of our family's needs. He will hear and answer.

One of the greatest privileges of prayer is that God bids us to share our hearts with Him. The deepest and most tender parts of our hearts are often reserved for our families. We hurt when they hurt. We're excited when we see blessings in their lives. We love them, live with them, and we must pray for them. We need to understand that we can participate in their lives through our prayers.

I'm convinced that when we get to heaven, we're going to discover how influential the prayers of saintly parents were in the lives of their children. We'll understand the full power of the promises of God in our own families. Things may not look very good for your family, but don't despair. Don't trust in your circumstances, but, rather, stand on the promise of God. He will be faithful.