Turning the Hearts of the Fathers

My husband and I have recently finished reading through the OldTestament, ending with one of my constant prayers: Malachi 4:5,6

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Over my life I have seen God turn the hearts of many fathers to their children, and many children to their fathers. We have known a young couple for several years, and have prayed for them as they yearned many years for children. When they were married, the husband told his wife he wanted children, but he also wanted her to work even when children came along. They worked many years, hoping for children. When it seemed they would never have any, the wife became pregnant! What joy for them to welcome a beautiful little girl into their family!

Then the "impossible" miracle happened-- God turned the heart of the father toward his daughter! Though he wanted many children, he did not realize just how precious a child is. When his wife had to take the baby to a sitter and go to work, the husband cried! He told his wife he never wanted her to work again-- he did not want anyone to care for their daughter and rear her apart from her own mother at home.

This father loves to care for his daughter-- he even read books to her and talked with her before she was born! He plans his work schedule around his wife's work schedule so that their daughter will at least spend most of her week with her own parents. He and his wife are praying and planning for the day when only the father will have to go to work.

The mother gets up early to feed her daughter one more time before going to work. As she nurses the baby, the mother reads Scripture aloud so the child will grow up hearing God's Word from her mother's lips.

Please pray with us for these parents whose hearts have been so mightily turned toward their precious daughter! May God bless them with their hearts' desire to have mother and child at home.

Psalms 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.