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A Father’s Prayer

I don’t believe there is a day that goes by but what I am reminded, as a father, of the great, awesome, and inescapable responsibility it is to be a father. I am keenly aware that I will be held strictly accountable for my actions in relation to my family. Therefore, it is my constant prayer that my children will cherish what I cherish, and serve as I have tried to serve. I don’t believe that I’m alone as a father in such sentiments. Years ago these lines were penned by General Douglas MacArthur. They are classic, and where he refers to son, I would add daughter as well. He said:

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud of unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son, whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be, a son who will know Thee – and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

“Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm, here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“After all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may not always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

“Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.’”1

Now, to those fathers whose lives are worn out in service to, and yearning for their families each day, as my noble father did, I salute you and ask you to remember one thing: “One cannot raise heaven’s child without heaven’s help.”2

God bless you, you are loved, and Happy Father’s Day.