I recently received an email from a grandmother who asked me to pray with her because she was estranged from her granddaughter. Her heart was broken, and she was having a very difficult time dealing with the situation–not an uncommon experience for many grandparents today.
In the mid-life of our lives, it’s perfectly normal to look forward to becoming grandparents. There are few things more exciting than the birth of our first grandchild. In fact, the birth of every grandchild is an amazing and joyous moment. Unfortunately, there are also many grandparents with broken hearts because they are estranged from their children and grandchildren.
Negative emotions are one of the consequences of being estranged from your grandchildren. Sorting out those feelings and developing an approach for dealing with them is vital for your health, both mental and physical. On the one hand, anguish is a constant companion when you find yourself estranged from those precious grandchildren you love so deeply. On the other hand, you are better able to understand a tiny bit of what our Heavenly Father feels about all those who are separated from Him.
However, God is still answering prayers, even if it is not on our timetable. So, we ask God for patience to wait until He is ready to answer. Sometimes we have to wait in His waiting room while He is working in the hearts of our grandchildren and their parents. God’s timing is always best. Do you believe that?
I have found the passage in Romans 8:26-28 very helpful when I don’t know how to pray for my grandchildren and their parents. Paul writes, “The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us when we don’t know how to pray.” When I ask the Holy Spirit to make intercession for me according to God’s will, it keeps me from telling God how to answer my prayer, which I am prone to do. Ask the Holy Spirit to make intercession for your estrangement, and let Him carry the burden instead of you. Let go of your agenda and ask Him to show you His.
Here are two suggestions for estranged grandparents:
- Don’t give up. Keep trying to gently stay in touch. Send cards and letters to your grandchildren keeping the tone of any communication loving, but light.
- Pray intentionally and regularly for your grandchildren and their parents. If you don’t know how to pray for them, I invite you to sign up for my weekly prayer blog. When you sign up I will send you 31 Scriptures to Pray for your Grandchildren which you may download and print for free.
Prayer
Dear Father, I pray You will give estranged grandparents wisdom to know how to face their separation from their grandchildren. I pray Your Holy Spirit will make intercession for them trusting You to carry out Your agenda in Your timing for their healing. Encourage them and give them peace as they intentionally pray and patiently wait for the parents to allow them to be a part of their lives again.
In Jesus’ name. Amen
