When my friends, W and M, and I were just out of high school, we both married 'older' men in their late 20s. Their husbands were best friends and looked for young women to marry. They said that way they could raise them right. Wow! They didn't know W and M if that's what they thought. Nobody can change another person.
This idea has been compared to farming. The farmer can't force the seed to grow and bear fruit. However, nourishing and nurturing that seed provides the best chances for the seed to reach its potential. So what sort of nourishing and nurturing provide the best chance to help our loved ones reach their full potential?
It's always the same answer.
Prayer-
"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" Luke 18:1 (endurance)
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (peace)
Acts 12:1-17 (divine intervention)
"...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16 (needs)
Intimately acquainted with the faults of our family members, who better to plead for them before the bar of God? Since the beginning, the scriptures have been family oriented. Maybe this is one of the reasons. Familial intimacy allows us to see and pray for the spirit, the mind, the attitude, the stewardships, and the safety of those we love the most; let God raise them right.
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you," Matthew 7:7
