Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
Is it possible to be grateful for what we have, and yet still feel called to desire more in our lives? Aren’t the desires of our heart just as valid, even if we have a loving spouse, a stable home, and maybe even a child or two?
God has designed us to constantly yearn for more – it’s His will for us to answer his call when he has planted a seed in our hearts. Many adoptive parents wonder if it really is in God’s plan to welcome an additional child into their home. Many adoptive mothers feel guilt about wanting more than what God has already provided. You have your health, your career, your friends and family – and yet, something is still missing. In your heart, you know there is a child out there who is meant to be YOUR child. This need and desire is just as real as anything you could physically hold in your hand.
Yes, I believe there is a reason God puts this desire in our hearts. For example, He has designed His relationship with us to constantly want more. He doesn’t just want us to feel satisfied in our relationship with Him, but He wants us to grow, and learn, and become closer to Him. Just as in a new romance, when we first met our spouse and just couldn’t get enough time with the each other, God wants us to be that in love with him. It is possible to be completely grateful for the blessings in your life, and still want more. It is valid to be at peace with what God has provided, and still feel called to bring a baby into your family. Some women are called to be mothers through adoption – and it is up to us to take action steps to fulfill that calling.
As we go through each day, sharing His love with others, there are few ways to touch people for a lifetime. Adopting a child into our lives, our hearts, and His heavenly kingdom is actively changing a life for our lifetime and for eternity.
His plans may not be for you to adopt, but rather your actions may still fulfill His plans for a child. He may need you as an instrument to affect the lives of others.
What are you doing today and this week to move closer to God’s calling in your life? Spend some quiet time in prayer and listen for that gentle (or sometimes not so gentle) discernment. Continue your research, develop your plan for your adoption, and take the baby steps needed toward fulfilling your calling to adopt.
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption, Domestic Adoption
Stop telling God how big your storm is –
Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is.
— Unknown
Most Christians looking to adopt are not aware of the financial aspects of adoption. Domestic adoptions through public agencies are the least expensive. Adoptions through private agencies, independent sources, and international adoptions can range anywhere from $15,000 to a whopping $45,000. If you are contemplating adoption, these figures should not put you off. Why? Well, think of it as an investment – an investment in a life! Surely this cannot compare with all the other material things we save up for and purchase, such as cars and homes?
If the costs involved in adopting a child appear to be overwhelming, then ask God to provide the financial resources to help you bring home the child He has waiting for you. Jesus is a specialist in impossibilities. So, commit your finances to Him and be confident that God will provide for your financial needs. Of course, you must also work out a specific budget to understand how much you may have to pay. The costs will include adoption agency fees, facilitation fees, home study fees, and additional expenses in case of medical exams, interstate adoptions, and so on. Be sure to contact the concerned professional to get the fee schedule, additional costs, and terms of payment in writing. You may find that you will have to sell a few of your favorite items to meet the costs or scrimp and save for a few months to lessen your financial burden. But, if it will give you a lifetime of loving and protecting a child, it is worth every cent.
If God has placed the desire to adopt in your heart, you can rest assured that He will provide the means for it. As Philippians 4:6 urges, don’t worry about your finances, but praise Him and thank Him in every situation and He will bring His plans to pass.
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
No matter where you are in your adoption journey, it is never too late to include God in your plans to bring home a baby. Even though in Mathew 18:14 Jesus is referring to the sheep that go astray, there is a remarkable message for those contemplating adoption. God does not want anyone to miss out on His free gift of salvation. Many couples question themselves on whether it is really God’s will for them to adopt. This is more so the case when they run into some problem or difficult situation in the adoption process. When things turn rough, it is human nature to doubt if we made the right decision.
God makes it very clear in the Bible that He cares for the orphans and little children. The Word of God also tells us that it is possible for us to know His will. It is God’s will that everyone should be saved (2 Pet 3:9), that we should enjoy everlasting life (John 6:39, 40), that we should be thankful (1 Thess. 5:18), and that we should be blessed through Him (1 Thess. 4:3).
Adoption can be a trying and testing process. You have to make decisions from your heart and your head. You may forget to complete an important paperwork or the birth mother may suddenly change her mind! There are many challenging situations that can crop up. Choose an adoption professional you can connect with and share a good rapport. Better yet, ask God to send you the right person to work with so that the adoption process will progress smoothly. Invite God to be a part of your adoption plans and He will help you find the child He has chosen for you.
The New King James Version., Mt 18:14 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
Chances are you will be celebrating Father’s Day yourself in a short time from now. Your job has already begun. Are you surprised?
There have been many surveys done where men have been asked to rank their heroes in life. Often, the top vote-getter is dear old dad.
What does this mean to you as a dad-to-be?
Simply that the role you are about to fill is one of the most important roles you will ever have. It starts now, before you even know who that child will be.
Your future daughter will look to you as a needed role model to help her in choosing the right boys to date and the type of man she will marry. Your future son will imitate your actions as a man, watching your every move and response for guidance to help mold him into the husband and father he will become.
Clarence Budington Kelland was quoted as saying “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” What will your children observe from you?
Are you feeling overwhelmed yet? I hope not. Truly, it is a huge responsibility but remembering that God is on your side to inspire you and guide you, as you become the father and husband He wants you to be.
Father’s Day is a good time to think and pray about your strengths along with areas of improvements you may have. The Lord will soon guide you to your children who will carry on your name and look to you for guidance as they trust their little lives in your big hands. You will become an instrument God uses in your their lives.
You can become the best father and role model by making God your teacher, the ruler on whose authority everything you do is based. As a father, one of your first responsibilities will be to acquaint your children with Scripture and love and kindness for their mother.
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Will you start today to become the hero they are looking for? The habits you are developing today will become the qualities in building that hero in their lives. Never give up and never forget the important role you will soon be playing for a lifetime in your child’s life. When in doubt, turn to Him for direction. My prayer for you, dear fathers of these blessed children, is one of strength, faith, and steadfastness in your journey to become Godly fathers.
God bless you and know that wherever you are today, we are praying for you and your adoption as fathers-in-waiting.
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption, Domestic Adoption, Open Adoption
Have you ever looked at another person and thought, “Has she got it made! God has really blessed her!”
She has what you want—a child to call her own, maybe great parents, a strong marriage, a spouse who loves Jesus. Maybe you envy her successful professional life, the ease of getting pregnant or adopting, or material blessings that have not kept them from loving Jesus.
Sometimes we look at the blessings from God in another person’s life with a longing to experience the same goodness. We find ourselves fighting feelings of envy or possibly even disappointment with God because we didn’t get what we consider necessary for our happiness… a child, either biological or through adoption.
Until you make Christ the center of your life, dear friend, you’ll never be satisfied or fulfilled. Remember Jesus’ words to Peter when the fisherman wanted to know His plans for another disciple? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. (John 21:22)
Do not worry or concern yourself with what God has done in His timing in someone else’s life. You will only miss out on the blessing God has for you … in His timing he will bless you too. In the perfect way that is best for you with the child he has for just you.
Prayer
I confess, dear God, that I have looked upon people around me with envy, wishing to have their blessings for my own. But You have other plans for me, plans that may test my faith but that will ultimately make me perfect and complete and in your timing, which is perfect. I rest in the knowledge of Your sovereignty. In Jesus name … Amen
Adoption Gifts, Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption, Domestic Adoption
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them; let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilth thou compass him with a shield. Psalms 5:11, 12
Let’s face it, it isn’t easy to rejoice every day, especially when you may be dealing with a wait to adopt or another round of fertility treatments and tests. But the Bible promises that if we simply put our faith in our Savior, he will bless and protect us. Why then is that such a challenge for Christians some days?
I know that there were days it was easy to look around at others who had what I wanted and feel that somehow I was being punished by God or was simply forgotten by Him. Why do we do this? The Bible is perfectly clear, just trust and he will provide. Looking back, I know that His plan is perfect, but why is it so hard to believe in the midst of the journey??
This is God’s challenge to us. To teach us patience, obedience and trust. To show us that He is our Father who loves us and He wants to provide blessings for us. We need to trust Him, not fuss and fight every step of the way.
Spend some time today meditating on this verse in Psalms and find the place in your heart and your mind where you can truly trust God, and simply rejoice.
