“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” 2 Timothy 1:5

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4

My faith is strengthened by the knowledge of the impact my faith will have on future generations. God revealed to me that through me strongholds in my family will be broken. For a long time I thought that meant I would see this promise fulfilled in my children. However, after a conversation with a few of my law school sisters I realized that (1) there is no guarantee that I will live to see that promise fulfilled and (2) I am limiting God if I think that He wants only to strengthen the foundation of faith within my family through MY (future) children. You see, God thinks BIG whereas we think small; God starts small whereas we think that we need to start BIG (that is another blog post). This realization made it clear to me that the future generations of my family includes my younger cousins, future nieces and nephews, and not just my future children. It also gave me a very practical reason for why I should live righteously.

Children are less likely to take God seriously if their parents and other adults in their lives do not. It is integral that my little cousins, god-children, etc., not only hear me talk about my faith but see me live accordingly. It is important that they see me going to church; it is important that they see me loving others and treating others with respect; it is important that they see me using discernment when it comes to my music and t.v. show selections; it is important that they see me living life in a way that pleases GOD; MOST IMPORTANTLY, it is important that I tell the next generation of how God is working in my life and what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ.

The seed of faith was planted in me by my maternal grandmother. My grandmother picked up my brother and I several days a week and took us to church. My grandmother is the first prayer warrior I have met. She was a prayer warrior before I knew the meaning of the term and the importance of prayer. My grandmother is the reason I know God.

Some of us have pillars of faith in our families, others do not; yet we have all been called to be pillars of faith in our families (our families are micro-units of our communities). We have been called to be prayer warriors.

From the very start of my life I have survived events that should have left me dead. Due to that knowledge, I have always believed that there is a guardian angel protecting me. One day while home from law school, my grandmother told me that she was not worried about me because she, along with a group of women, has been praying over my life from the moment she found at that my mother was pregnant with me. WOW! My jaw dropped and my faith rose. Thoughts and memories of how I have been protected started to flash through my mind. It was at that moment that I could fully grasp the importance of prayer and being a pillar of faith.

It is reassuring to know that you have someone interceding on your behalf; it makes you feel loved, cared for, and protected. I have friends whose parents are constantly covering them in prayer. Until this very moment, I did not realize that it saddens me that I cannot say the same about my own mother. I want to be a mother/ aunt/ cousin/ niece/ granddaughter/ friend who understands that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, I must take up the whole armor of God, so that my family may be able to withstand in the evil day (Ephesians 6:12-13). I want to be a woman who prays fervently. I want to be a woman who helps the next generation understand the importance of doing the same.

The thing I want more than my own freedom is the transformative freedom of Jesus Christ for my loved ones.

It is time that we start taking the salvation of our loved ones and communities seriously. The generation before us prayed for us, who is praying for the generation to come?

How are you impacting the next generation?

• Have you surrendered your life to Christ? Does your life show this?
• Are you praying fervently for the next generation?
• Are you demonstrating Christ’s love?
• Are you leading by example?
• Are you sharing your testimony with the next generation?
• Are you spending time with the next generation?

Song of Intercession Listening to this song helps me to remember that the change I want to see must start with me.

Victory Belongs to Jesus will be the song I will sing as I watch each of my loved ones be transformed by the blood of Christ.