Laura's dedication

We, as a family, attend church every Sunday. Our church practices baby dedication instead of infant baptism. So last Sunday we dedicated our youngest daughter, Laura. Baby dedication was a ceremony in which we, as a family, made a commitment before the Lord to submit Laura to God's will and to raise her according to God's Word and God's ways. Brian and I made this promise to the Lord to do everything within our power to raise Laura in a godly way, until she can make a decision on her own to follow God.

I wrote a dedication prayer based on the prayers I read from Stormie Omartian’s book “The Power of a Praying Parent” given to me by my friend’s Mom. Our pastor Paul, Brian and I took turns reading parts of the prayer. Here is what we prayed for:

Lord, Brian and I submit ourselves to You. We realize that in order to parent Laura (Veronika and Erika) we need You to help us. We want to partner with You and partake of Your gifts of wisdom, discernment, strength, and patience, along with a generous portion of Your love flowing through us. Teach us how to love the way You love. Where we need to be healed, delivered, changed, matured or made whole, we invite You to do that in us. Help us to walk in righteousness and integrity before You. Lord, may the beauty of Your Spirit be so evident in us that we will be godly models for our children.

Proud Daddy and Daddy's girl

Lord, we come to You in Jesus’ name and give Laura to You. We are convinced that You alone know what is best for her. We rely on You in everything, and this day we trust our child to You and release her into Your hands.

Lord, we lift Laura up to You and ask that You would put a hedge of protection around her. Protect her spirit, body, mind, and emotions from any kind of evil or harm. Hide her from any kind of evil influences that would come against her. Help her to walk in Your ways and in obedience to Your will so that she never comes out from under the umbrella of that protection.

Lord, we pray for Laura to feel loved and accepted. Manifest Your love to this child in a real way today and hep her to receive it. Lord, we pray that You would help us to love this child unconditionally the way You do, and enable us to show it in a manner she can perceive. With each day that she grows in the confidence of being loved and accepted, as she comes to fully understand the depth of Your love for her, make her a vessel through which Your love flows to others. 

Lord, we bring Laura before You and ask that You would help her grow into a deep understanding of who You are. Open her heart and bring her to a full knowledge of the truth about You. May she call You her Savior, be filled with Your Holy Spirit, acknowledge You in every area of her life, and choose always to follow You and Your ways. Help her to fully believe that Jesus laid down His life for her so that she might have life eternally and abundantly now. 

Pastor Paul praying for Laura

Lord, we pray that You would pour out Your Spirit upon Laura this day and anoint her for all that You have called her to be and do. May she not be a follower of anyone but You, but may she be a leader of people into Your Kingdom. May the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, grow in her daily (Gal. 5:22).

May the truth of Your Word be firmly established in Laura’s heart so that her faith will grow daily and navigate her life. Help her to trust You at all times as she looks to You for truth, guidance, and transformation into Your likeness. We pray that Laura will have faith strong enough to lift her above her circumstances and limitations, and instill in her the confidence of knowing that everything will work together for good.

The whole fam