Someone in my previous generation prayed for me.

Have you contemplated the same thought? Is it amazing to you how you survived some of life’s obstacles and tragedies? Have you experienced adventures you never would have dreamed of?

Faithful pray from the previous generation is the only way I can explain how I survived coming from a legacy of alcoholism, clinical depression, and poverty. It is only possible through the efficacy of prayer and the grace of God that a little girl, rejected, and thought of as stupid and worthless, decades later, would become a teacher, travel the world alone, have public speaking opportunities, train others in education and trauma, excel in higher studies, and given the blessed prividedge of raising an abandoned special-needs child.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (emphasis added, James 1:17).

Only through prayer and the grace and power of God.

I believe I know my prayer warrior… my great-great grandmother, Priscilla.

In 2014, one of my assignments for a psychology class was to discuss my family heritage and the generational effect on me.

Let’s see…. my mom… and my dad… and… finished! I possessed limited knowledge of our history. My grandparents died before I was born. I never knew them. My mother was undescriptive about her father and mother. My father never mentioned his parents… let alone his grandparents.

There were sometimes rumors about having an Indian or Irish heritage, but with no validation.

My professor encouraged me to try one of the many genealogy sites. That assignment inspired my life. I joined a “search your family tree” site, and with hopeful anticipation, typed in the search bar with what diminutive information I knew.

The same astonishing excitement as when my foster child became my son came rippling up inside of me. I shrieked, tears flowing down my face.

I HAVE A HISTORY!!!

Another sojourner who was in search of family truth, next to the line, had already discovered some treasured gold. There, before my eyes… names, a place, a heritage!

Endearingly granted, I know that my real heritage lies in Christ.

“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17).

But here on earth, treading the path before me, were my great-great grandparents, William and Priscilla, from… somewhere near Belfast, Ireland! I have searched periodically to find pieces of the puzzle. Only known, they arrived in America in 1866. Where they came from, where they came to, I do not know… but somehow, over time, weaved their way to southern Indiana.

Priscilla bravely survived the Great Irish Famine, boldly endured the coffin ship with three small children, and she would have four more children in America. She somehow extraordinarily overcame rejection and poverty, loss of her homeland, and everything which was once familiar and dear to her. Yet, she miraculously persevered until she was 81.

I had the blessed opportunity to visit the area where the family lived in southern Indiana; I walked the same streets they did, walked past the wool factory the family worked at (now a high school), and visited the church Priscilla was a member of, although this church had burned to the ground three times! My heart rejoiced in discovering the headstone of Priscilla and William. As I sat there and prayed and reflected on their life, I felt God’s presence.

Something happened though… somewhere along the generation, the family forgot about God. It was my eldest sister, though, who convinced my mom to attend a church when I was approximately five years old. I accepted Jesus in my life when I was eight. That decision was the secure foundation that would protect and hold me together through decades of abuse and loss.

I strongly believe that Priscilla’s bold faith in an omniscient God sustained her for her lifetime. I know my faith, wavering occasionally, has taken me on journeys I would never have dreamed of in my younger days of poverty and heartbreak.

If you read through Exodus in the Bible, you will find how God miraculously saved the Israelites and provided for them continually. Yet, they would forget multiple times and complain to God. I can never forget how God not only saved me eternally, but saved my physical life, not once, but three times, if not more, times that I am unaware of. Still, I am not perfect. I have had my inconstant share of doubt.

These are the reasons God says to record what He has done. Write it down! Tell others! Our memories are unnerving!

In Deuteronomy, Moses taught the commandments of God to the people and reminded them, “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (6:7, 9).

Lest you forget.

It is essential to instruct our children on the commands and promises of God, modeling them in our everyday life.

Lest they forget.

It is of paramount importance to record and share the faithful stories of God in our lives.

Lest we forget.

Most significantly, we must fervently pray for our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, neighborhood children, and those not even born yet.

My devotion is to continue a beautiful legacy of praying for generations to come.

Father God,

We entrust our children in dedicated prayer to You. This generation, and the generation yet to come.

Save Your children by Your grace.

Draw them closely to You.

Safeguard them.

Illuminate their path.

If they should wander from the chosen path, realign their steps.

If they lean toward sinful choices, convict their hearts.

Help them to be disciplined, persistent, and run the race with endurance.

Help them to live with a grateful heart, rejoicing always.

Help them to love You with all of their heart, soul, and mind, and love others above themselves.

Help them to be pure and holy, as You are holy.

Guide them in Your word, in prayer time with You, listening for the calling that You have for them.

Advance them in kingdom work.

Magnify Your name in them.

Amen

May we all leave a legacy of faithfulness.