Prayers for Parents of Travelers
Beverly Webb prays alongside her son Matt at her daughter, Rachel’s graduation. The biblical education Beverly’s kids have received at the Institute has been so transformative that she and her husband have also enrolled.
Beverly Webb, mother of two Institute students — one a veteran, shares advice on prayer when your kids are far away.
Like many other nights, the bedside clock glowed red at 3:00 am. I was awake wondering about my kids. Where are they? Are they safe? Are they well? In the early years, I could go to them, hold them, listen for their breathing, watch the rise and fall of their chests, press my lips to their foreheads, and know if they were feverish or sleeping well seemingly safe under our roof. During the waking hours, I could see their smiles, hear their laughter, share in their triumphs, kiss their scrapes, wipe their tears, and protect them like a mother hen.
…and then the nest is empty. They are on their own, yet never alone. I knew, despite the anxious moments that could turn into days, weeks, or months, there was a hedge of protection around them. The Lord hemmed them in, going behind and before them. One of them spent several years traveling every six months often to unknown areas of the globe with limited contact. The other went to college nearly 18 hours from home and was diagnosed with Lupus in the second year.
Rachel (Webb) Hartnell shares a testimony in a Rwandan church in Bombo. Rachel went on Summer Internship in 2014, then enrolled at the Institute where she committed to serving in East Africa.
As I reflect on those years, the emotions surface once again reminding me of my utter dependence on the One, the only One, who orders our steps and our children’s steps. I prayed often, fervently, on my knees both mentally and physically for their protection and well-being while also praying for my often faltering righteousness to be effective. In one journal I wrote,
“Father, are you near? I ask, yet know you are, how else could I live? I know not. Though the Psalmist’s words ring true, you are my fortress, my shelter, my strength, my comforter, my peace, my anchor in the storm, I can find no words of my own to cry out other than “protect them.” ‘Those who are with them are more than those against them.”
My prayer has always been that they would know and love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). Then in 2012, one went on Summer Internship with G.O.D. International followed by the other in 2017. While different settings, circumstances, and considerations, the desire to protect and safeguard them remained, …remains to this day, but with a different flavor.
They can count on two things: 1) the Lord and 2) their mother’s prayers.
Matt Webb (center) helps create a rocket stove for a widow in Uganda during his internship. Rocket stoves are a more affordable, healthier cooking option. A gift of the stove can change the health of a family forever, beginning with the mother.
We cannot ever know for certain where our children will be called to serve the Lord, but we can know that He is faithful. Trusting in Him is the only way. So I will continue to pray fervently that not only will they be safe, but that they will continue their dogged pursuit of the One who loves them most.
Without a doubt, their experiences on G.O.D. Summer Internship transformed their lives. A Biblical education with The Institute continues to inform their lives.
Knowing this, I will “trust in the Lord with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5-6). He can use even my meager attempts to train them up. They are not departing from it! They are being used to bring light in the darkness for many, to advocate and empower those who have no voice.
The 2021 Institute interns are doggedly pursuing the Lord! Parents! They are not departing from the way they should go! When you are anxious about their internship, remember Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, and with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Pray.
The G.O.D. Summer Internship is in its twentieth year. 31 interns joined us for a Boot Camp experience in Nashville followed by mission experiences in El Salvador and Uganda. The Institute for G.O.D. incorporates Summer Internship into its curriculum with every student receiving college credit.
5 Scriptures to Pray for your Child on Mission:
Pray “the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous” because prayer avails much (James 5:16b).
Pray the Lord would “hem them in, behind and before, and lay His hand upon them” (Psalm 139:5).
Pray that “no weapon formed against them would prosper” (Isaiah 54:17).
Pray they “love the Lord their God with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their minds” (Luke 10:27).
Pray they “keep the book of the Law always on their lips; meditating on it day and night, so that they may be careful to do everything written in it” because it is their source of life (Joshua 1:8).
…and know that when you lift up your eyes to the hills, the One who never slumbers nor sleeps will guard their going out and their coming in from this time forward and forevermore (Psalm 121).