Praying for Our Children (Where is Ring Man)

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Where is Ring Man?

Where is Ring Man?

Here I am.

Here I am.

How are you today sir?

Very well I thank you.

Run away.

Run away.

Well, here we are. We found Ring Man. So far we have looked at Thumbkin, Pointer, and Tall Man as we have used our hands to give us an outline to help us pray for our children. Ring Man gets his name because he is the finger that is usually adorned with jewelry, especially the wedding jewelry.

Now why this finger for the wedding band?

Here’s an interesting Chinese teaching on that 🙂

Did you try it?

Pretty neat ain’t it!

Now I suppose you might think that as I looked at Mr. Ring Man I chose to use this finger to remind us to pray for our children’s future spouses and the no sex before marriage purity prayer. We, in the church, are in the midst of the “purity movement” as we combat the “make love not war” movement that has swept over our society and culture like a raging tsunami. You will find me right there cheering this purity movement on, because it is a never ending battle in our present day.

Yes, by all means pray for your children’s future spouses. If they are already married, pray for your children’s marriages. They are and will be under attack. Satan hates marriage… it is the first blood covenant instituted by God (Genesis 2:24-25) and it most represents the picture of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:31-32). Satan wants it destroyed. He wants this picture marred and faded and crumpled and twisted and torn.

However, as I looked at Ring Man, it was not physical purity that the Lord encouraged me to speak on… it was spiritual purity…

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:2-3

Here’s the deal moms and dads. As much as I support the purity movement… here is where I find the problem with it.

Teaching our children that they are to guard their purity for the sake of their future spouses is setting them up for disappointment and delusion.

Here is why I say that.

No where in the Word of God, does God promise us a spouse. No where in the Word of God, does God promise us that we will never be the victim of someone else’s sin.

No where.

So moms and dads, let us NOT be guilty of speaking promises that our God never made.

If we place upon the shoulders of our children that purity is merely a physical thing… a gift to be offered to someone else… then what happens to their soul when that someone else doesn’t come or when a someone else steals that gift?

I will tell you what happens. Demonic condemnation. Satan is right there ready to fuel the flames of disappointment, delusion, and doubt… and he can even use the church to help him.

Yes, Jesus wants the rose.

Mom and Dad, you have no clue what lies in store for your children. You have no clue the choices they will make, how far God will allow them to stray in order to bring them to a walk with Him that is secure and sincere, or what God will allow them to experience in order to be who He needs them to be in the work of His Kingdom.

I can tell you in my own life that I spent years mourning my past… and the more I learned of God’s sovereignty the more confused I became because I knew He could have shut doors and kept me from that evil path… but He didn’t. He allowed me to walk it.

 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:31-32

If you are reading this and think you are hearing me speak from a lily white past let me assure you that is far from the truth… I stand here in full confidence and boldness and tell you that yes, Jesus. Wants. The. Rose.

You can experience spiritual purity even if, for whatever reason, physical purity has been lost.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood

Psalm 24:3-4)

If you are reading this and you find yourself standing at the base of Mt Sinai… that mountain of the Law of God, and you know that you are unworthy to touch it… remember beloved that the mountain we have come to is not the one that cannot be touched… we have come to Zion (Hebrews 12:18-29). Yes our God is still a consuming fire… but He doesn’t want you to be consumed by His fire, but with it.

He wants you to step into the fire that purifies… because of the hope that is ours in Christ.

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

1 John 3:3

Pray that your children would be pure in heart.

It is the pure in heart that see God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8

***

He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.

Proverbs 22:11

I have no doubt that there are a many a church goer that is physically pure, but their heart is absolutely filthy. There are those whose physical purity might be in tact, yet they use this as a standard to condemn instead of encourage. They use this as a stamp of superiority instead of a blessing of grace.

I have no doubt that there are a many a church goer that is physically pure, even in marriage they are faithful physically to their spouse… yet their heart is covered in the deceit of hidden lusts as they hide in the vast opportunities of pornography and imagination.

So mom let your prayer for your children be for their spiritual purity. Pray that they not fall into the lies that it’s okay as long as its not done physically… and don’t let them fall into the lies of condemnation that because their physical purity has been lost that God is through with them.

Teach them that purity is about the heart, the mind, and the souls devotion to Christ… not a future spouse.

Teach them also to crave the purity of sound doctrine…

…in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:7-8

Teach them to long for the pure milk of the Word of God

…like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation

1 Peter 2:2

We live in a day of false gospel teachings and are surrounded by those who preach doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1-3). We are no doubt in the last days, the signs are all around us and with the quickly counting down of the last days comes the intensity of deceitful teaching. The line between what is true and what is false is becoming ever more blurred. It is imperative that you feed your children the pure milk of the Word and raise them up to chew the meat of it (Hebrews 5:12-14).

So we must teach our children to think on things that are pure…

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

because as they think within themselves so they are (Proverbs 23:7).

Therefore, when you see Mr Ring Man, don’t just pray for the purity of your children’s body, but pray for the purity of your children’s heart…

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

Matthew 15:19

It’s the condition of the heart that determines the course of the rest of the body… and beloved only God can cleanse a heart… and the very best part is that He wants to!

and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful

Hebrews 10:21-23

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