“The righteous man is cautious in friendship,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray”
(Proverbs 12:26).

The friends of our grandchildren can have a great impact on their lives especially when they get to school and in their teenage years. Their peers and education influence their lives more than anything else, except for their home and family.

The quality of friends is more important than the quantity. We can pray they will choose friends with godly, courteous, trustworthy, honest, and helpful traits. However, encourage your grandkids to guard their hearts and recognize the characteristics of traits of their close friends. It is important that our grandchildren become acquainted with children who have different personalities, abilities, and interests and be kind and sensitive to the differences of other children.

Pray for your grandchildren to become a positive influence and encourager to their friends.

Have your grandchildren tell you about their friends, they will be happy that you are interested in their friends. Then also ask for their names so you can pray for them.

There is a story in the book Grandparenting with a Purpose on page 72 about a mother in Dallas, Texas who was discouraged about her son and his friends in his teen years. She started praying for his friends and God used her prayers in a mighty way. It’s a very interesting story.

The recently published book Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren by Lillian Penner will challenge you and give you more creative ideas to pray intentionally for your grandchildren. From cell phones, photo prayer journals, and Scriptures to Pray you will find tools that will work for you. The book is available at www.christiangrandparenting.net