and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,
says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV)
The National Day of Prayer was Thursday, May 2nd, 2013. This blog is the
third in an on-going series about the seven pillars of prayer on which
organizers have asked for prayers from the faithful. Last week, we
focused our attention on the Military. This week, we focus on prayers
for the Family.
Organizers of the National Day of Prayer say God’s model for the family
is being challenged and we are seeing families fall apart before our very
eyes.
Statistics bear this out. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
35% of all U.S. children live in single-parent families. (That’s the average
number. It varies from as low as 21% in Utah to as high as 47% in
Mississippi.) In 1960, the national average was just 9%. Most single-
parent families are a result of divorce, but close behind are children
born to mothers who have never been married.
According to the Center for Disease Control , the probability of a first
marriage ending in separation or divorce within 5 years is 20 percent,
but the probability of a premarital cohabitation breaking up within 5
years is 49 percent. After 10 years, the probability of a first marriage
ending is 33 percent, compared with 62 percent for cohabitations.
In most single-parent families (about 73%), it is the father who is absent
from the home. The result of fatherless homes is not good:
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/
Census) – 5 times the average.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes –
32 times the average.
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless
homes – 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times
the average. (National Principals Association Report)
• 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless
homes – 9 times the average. (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Sept. 1988)
• 71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father. [U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999]
• 90% of adolescent repeat arsonists live with only their mother. [Wray
Herbert, “Dousing the Kindlers,” Psychology Today, January, 1985, p.
28]
• 85% of youths in prison grew up in fatherless homes. –
(Fulton County, Georgia jail populations & Texas Dept. of
Corrections, 1992)
These are just some of the statistics. Clearly, children do better—much
better– in a family made up of a loving mother and a father, just as God
tells us in His Word.
Please pray with heartfelt passion for the Lord to protect, and
strengthen marriages, encourage parents toward His priorities, heal
relationships, and secure His values in loving, caring homes filled with
the love of Jesus.
Today’s Praise
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom
you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region
beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you
dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15 (ESV)