A Servant’s Heart (21 Days of Prayer for Sons)

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

I plopped down on the bed, discouraged beyond words.

“I’m such a bad wife,” is all I could mutter. We’d only been married a few months and already I’d been feeling the guilt of not living up to the ideal I held in my heart. I was working full time at a very stressful job so my attention to cleaning, laundry and cooking was not as directed as I’d hoped. I felt like I was failing my husband within our first few months of wedded bliss.

He laid down next to me and gently responded, “I’ve never viewed it as only your job,” he assured me. “We’re in this together.”

The weight that had been pressing down upon my shoulders lifted in flight and I embraced him with deep gratitude.

EARLY TRAINING

I have his mother to thank. She taught my husband to do his own laundry, cook his own food, vacuum the house and do it with a servant’s heart. Honestly, I haven’t vacuumed more than a handful of times in our twelve years of marriage. I am completely blessed to have a husband with an amazing heart to serve others.

The balance has shifted just a little bit as we’ve welcomed children into our life and I am now primarily a stay-at-home mom. I do much more around the house but my hard-working husband still serves us tirelessly through his job and at home when he can without complaining.  I can’t remember the last time I heard him utter negative works about work he had to do for our family or for others. He continues to model a servant’s heart for our children and I am especially blessed that he is such an example for our son.

MY RESPONSIBILITY

I know that just as his mother taught him to serve others I have a responsibility to teach my son to have this same heart. And I have an even greater responsibility to pray for this heart. As I lay this request before the Lord for my son, I can already see his heart bent toward others. He always wants to hold doors for women and pitch in to clean up toys. In the years to come as we continue to pray and model and help guide our son to serve others, I trust we will be lead by the Lord according to our child’s unique gifts and personality traits.

I am praying for strong character to develop within my son according to his God-given uniqueness. I am asking God to reveal ways I can help him develop a servant’s heart according to his tendencies. He started holding doors for others on his own. He is quick to give a compliment even at the young age of three. Prayer, combined with eyes to see these tendencies, will help mold a child with a servant’s heart that uses his gifts to bless those around him.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What are some ways you can teach your boys to serve?

Throughout the day, pray the ten scripture prayers found at the end of the Servant’s Hert chapter in Praying for Boys!

Jessica Wolstenholm is co-founder of Grace for Moms. After 15 years in the music and publishing industries, Jessica came home to be with her two small children. Although the transition from the corporate world to the playground has been an adjustment, she is learning every day to access the grace available to us through Christ as she navigates the full time job of motherhood. She is the co-author of The Pregnancy Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey to Motherhood and The Baby Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey Through Baby’s First Year. Jessica lives in Nolensville, TN with her husband, Dave and two miracle babies, Hope (6) and Joshua (3).