Praying for Boys with Brooke McGlothlin
Today my friend Brooke McGlothlin releases her new book Praying for Boys. Brooke is Co-founder of Raising Boys Media, where moms and dads come to discover delight in the chaos of raising boys. You can find her writing about fighting for the hearts of her sons at the MOB Society blog, or living a life in pursuit of Jesus at her personal blog www.brookemcglothlin.com. A normal day finds Brooke homeschooling her two boys, wrangling two large Labs, Toby and Siri, writing to bring hope to the messes of life (in the midst of her own messy life), and falling more and more in love with the man she’s had a crush on since the third grade (who just happens to be her husband).
Below is a short Q & A with Brooke about her fabulous book. I got a sneak peek at the manuscript and even the honor of endorsing the book! Here is what I had to say, “While our sons grow tall, wearing out the knees on their jeans from tumble and play, we mothers too find our fabric worn thin from kneeling in prayer for our soon-to-be men. Brooke’s practical book, full of vulnerable sharing and deeply rooted in God’s word, will become a useful tool as you seek to make prayer a priority and model for your boys just how to run hard after Jesus.”
Be sure to leave a comment on today’s post telling us about any boys you pray for. They can be sons, nephews or the rambunctious boys you teach in a class at school. One person will be chosen at random to receive a copy of Praying for Boys.
Brooke, what do you feel is the greatest obstacle moms must overcome in order to be women who make prayer for their boys a priority?
We give priority to the things we find most in important in life. For example, I’m pretty partial to eating. I get sick and grumpy very fast if I don’t eat when I’m hungry, so because of that, I tend to place a high priority on meal time. I make time for it. Some of my friends are dedicated to exercising, so they find time for it and let others things on their to-do list slide to a lesser priority status. So it is with prayer. When we know how powerful a praying life can be—not just because it allows us to join with God in shaping the hearts of our sons, but also because it keeps us connected to His heart, shaping us into the kind of parents HE wants us to be—we make time for it. So really, the greatest obstacle to overcome is how important, or unimportant, we believe prayer really is.
What has been the biggest answer to your own “mama prayers”?
I actually touched on this in Praying for Boys, although I didn’t refer to it as my big answer to prayer. We went through a very hard season with our boys during the first part of 2012. We homeschool, and my youngest son, then in Kindergarten, grew bored with his curriculum within about a month. What should have been a sweet, playful first year of school for him quickly turned into a nightmare. He would tantrum every single time I mentioned that it was time to start school. Every day was a battle, and in early November, after another horrible day, I sat down in my family room chair and told God I was giving up. I’m not sure I prayed anything more specific than, “God, what do I do? Will he EVER learn to obey? Will he EVER stop tantruming all the time?”
As I sat there, weeping and telling God, “I quit!” He dropped the memory of a Bible story into my heart. I opened my Bible, re-read the story, and God met me in a powerful way. I essentially felt like He was telling me that my boys needed someone to fight for them, and that He had chosen that person to be me. I heard Him whispering to my heart, “don’t give up on him. He needs you not to give up.” It wasn’t like God gave me a specific answer to a specific prayer. Nothing really changed about our situation. But my heart had changed. I was encouraged to keep going, and felt less like a failure and more like a fighter. That 30 minute prayer session has done more to energize me as a mom and child of God than anything else that’s happened to me since.
Praying for boys not only changes them, it changes moms too. How has it changed you?
Do you remember from grade school math that any time you change one part of an equation, it changes the answer? So for example, if you’re adding 2 + 3 and get 5, and then read the word problem again and realize you should’ve been adding 3 + 3, you can’t expect the answer to still be 5. Something changed. And when even just one thing changes, it affects everything else…changes everything else, even if just a little. Praying keeps me in the right place with God. Keeping my mind focused on the fact that He is God and I am not helps me put all of life in perspective, and it changes the way I live my days. Ultimately, spending time talking to God brings me closer to Him, and helps me know Him better. There’s no better way to be a better mom than to get to know God better, and listen to Him as He directs our paths. As we change, our families will change too.
Thanks Brooke for visiting with us today!
Now, to be entered in the giveaway, tell us about the boys you pray for.
I pray for my 2 sons. It’s a tough time with my 11 year old. He’s going through a phase of not being motivated by anything… Hoping it’s just a phase. :)
I pray for my son. He’s 6 and a very neat kid.
I have wanted to have my own son. But God has not seen fit to give me a son. However I am blessed to have two step-sons and LOTS of nephews, three of whom lived with me for a while during their mother’s illness. Boys are definitely different than girls. I have the wonderful privilege of praying for these boys, as well as my daughter and nieces.
I pray for my sons aged 2 & 5.
My hubby and my son are the boys in my life I pray for most often. I also pray sometimes for my friend’s boys.
I’m praying for my two boys (a two-year old and a four year old) that they would love God above everything. I believe that if they truly love the Lord with their whole being, everything else will follow.
I have the privilege of praying for my two sons, ages 30 and 17. And the greater privilege of watching God answer prayer in ways I never expected and watching my young men look more like Jesus!
My sons, 5 & 13. My Sunday school boys and the youth my husband and I teach at our congregation. Also, all the young men we work with at Bible Camp each summer.
My husband, as he is still “a boy” and my nephews, Logan Michael and Luke Henry :)
I pray for my 12 year old son.
I honestly don’t pray enough for my 2 boys and Want to make that a priority. Want to pray more and fuss less!!! I get tired of hearing myself!!!
Thank you for this book. My nieces also have 2 boys and can’t wait to share this info.
I pray for my 3 boys…9,8 & 4. I pray they will love God more than anything else in this world…even their mommy!
I pray for my three sons (ages 9, 5, and 4). I find that I can grasp more fully how to pray for my three daughters, because I remember what it was like to be a girl. I can sure use some guidance on how to pray for my lively, athletic, energetic, rambunctious boys!!! Thanks for the chance to win the book…I’d LOVE to read it!
My boys are 12 and 3 (there is a girl in between). I been frustrated, at the end of my rope, hoarse…you name it. My main prayer is that they will serve the Lord and walk out His purpose for their lives and that they will have a real, personal relationship with Him. This article was just one of the sign posts I have gotten recently, that I need to increase my time in prayer for my children. Thank you.
I re-posted this article on http://www.sisterskeeperblog.wordpress.com
I pray for my almost 23 year old son. I know he knows the truth and is a child of God but seems to have lost his way. I pray that the Holy Spirit would convict and that God would bring him back to Him. I also pray for my nephew who is 22 and facing some real challenges based on bad choices he’s made in the past and for my 7 year old nephew.
So excited about reading your new book— Thank you for coming alongside us to encourage us towards Christ as we all press on hard day after day!
I pray for our two sons ages 15 and 13. We pray for them to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. We pray for their friends and for the boys at our church— and for the boys at All Things New Orphanage in Haiti.
May they all grow up to love the LORD!!!
So excited to read this. I am 8 months pregnant with my first child, a boy named Josiah. As each day grows closer to his arrival, I’m nervous to take on this responsibility, but I am encouraged by the idea of praying specifically for his walk with God.
What a fantastic sounding book! I think it would be wonderful to read it! I have three boys (well 4 if you count my husband) that I pray for and it sounds like I would find great encouragement here. My boys are 22,18, and 13, it amazes me how quickly they’ve grown! I have made some poor choices in my life that has caused them pain, but I have always prayed for them, even if I wasn’t sure how or what to pray. I want my boys to love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength as well as their future wives. They all 3 have scars from my poor choices and need my prayers and God’s help and strength. I do as well. Thank you for writing this book!
I have two sons, 4 and 7, whom I homeschool. My oldest is very angry and sometimes talks about dying. Needless to say, I pray for him a lot. :’-(