The Nana Prayer Group

FACE TO FACE

The Nana Prayer Group

Pat Cirrincione

So, what’s all the hype about prayer groups? I had never heard of them before I came to College Church. I didn’t know what they were about and was quite content in not being part of one. How little I knew, and how much I was about to discover.

More than ten years ago I was invited to a knitting group where I was introduced to a lovely group of women who were Bible study leaders, and I loved hearing them talk of their different prayer groups and fellowships. Imagine that, I thought, groups that get together and read the Bible, study a portion of Scripture, and then prayed for one another. The idea was completely foreign to me yet held a certain intrigue.

I was pleasantly surprised when one of the women asked if I would be interested in joining a Nana Prayer Group, she was thinking about putting together. A group where a small number of women would pray for their children and grandchildren. I said yes, without my usual comment of “can I get back to you on that?” I had learned over the years to talk to God and my husband first before joining anything, as it always felt like the right thing to do, but this time I jumped in without doing either and have been blessed in so many ways.

I grew up thinking I knew what praying was all about, and it involved praying to other people, not God. I never prayed to him, only to these intercessory people to whom I had been taught to pray. It worked, or so I thought. I also grew up lighting candles and sending up a quick prayer to whoever I thought might be listening to me in the moment, thinking that they would get word to God for me. Since I saw many of my prayers answered I figured something was working right between me and heaven.

How young and naïve I was. It wasn’t until I came to College Church that I began to realize that prayer was my direct link to God. That I could go straight to our Lord and Savior with every thought, with every concern, with every hope, and anything else that I could think about! It was beyond exciting, it was exhilarating, and so amazing that I could speak directly to God. It was the icing on the cake in God’s gift of bringing me to him and teaching me that he was my Lord and Savior; that he was the one who sent his only begotten Son to die on the cross for my sins so that I would have eternal life! What gifts! Eternal life and praying! Who would have thought? It was the beginning of something precious and amazing.

So, it began. At our first meeting, where we met one another, we decided to meet every other Friday. It was at these prayer gatherings that we learned to use prayer as our first line of defense in lifting our children, grandchildren, and each other to the Lord.

As Jodie Berndt wrote in her book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children, that “all of us were praying about something (or a bunch of things) in our children’s lives. All of us were counting on God’s mercy and His love.”

Our prayers have been many and varied. We pray for our adult children living with girlfriends or boyfriends; for crippling addictions; for jobs; for children coming back home to live (including their dirty laundry). We pray for infertility; emotional and mental health issues; money troubles; spiritual uncertainty. Does this sound familiar?

Through all our years of praying, we have learned that God does not grow tired or weary hearing from us. Another thing we discovered is that “children improve your prayer life.” (Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children by Jodie Berndt) We have discovered through God’s grace that it is never too late to pray for anything or anyone. We have been blessed with praying for God’s best for our children and each other.

Being in the Nana Prayer Group has also taught me that: 1. We are not alone, and there is no perfect family. 2. It’s not too late to pray the Scriptures for your children.

3. You can have peace even in life’s hardest and merriest moments.

(All the above also from Jodie Berndt’s Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children.)

Through this wonderful prayer group, we have been able to grab a hold of God’s peace. We have come to learn that God loves us enough to answer many of our prayer requests, although not always exactly for what we asked, but usually better than we could have thought of ourselves.

Where we may have become weary or discouraged in praying on our own, we now have a “warrior team” that prays together, and because we are not alone in our prayers, we are boosted up to keep praying without ceasing. We know that we can come alongside one another in prayer, lifting our words to our Father, who art in heaven.

So, what have I discovered about prayer groups? That we have a Father in heaven who walks beside our children, grandchildren, our spouses and each other. That we have not launched our family into the world alone and unprotected, and that God will never leave us or forsake them. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

As John Daly, president of Focus on the Family, said back in 2017: “Prayer is our first line of defense. Our role in our children’s lives may be different once they’re living on their own, but there is great assurance in the knowledge that our children have a Father in heaven who walks beside them through all of life’s ups and downs. Our work isn’t done when our children leave home, and we do some of our best parenting on our knees.”

He further stated: “Prayer is one of the most important parenting assignments we’ve been given. It is an eternal investment in our children’s hearts and souls, and we must never underestimate its impact.” (Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children by Jodie Berndt)

I have also learned that although there are many attributes that we, as parents, may desire for our children, such as truthfulness, trustworthiness, patience, obedience, helpfulness, generosity, self-control or faithfulness, that it is only with God’s guidance and our daily prayers for our children that God will give them what they need—so remember, as you pray, pray specifically, regularly and expectantly. And maybe even begin a Nana Prayer Group of your own.