From the time my children were very young, I tried to emphasize how important it was to have a servant’s heart. I remember clearly the day when, while entertaining guests, one of my children came stomping into the room where I was talking with the mom of the children my child had been playing with. He was  angry because he  had tried to do something nice for the other children and they weren’t interested in what he had offered.  “THEY WON’T LET ME SERVE THEM!” He yelled.    

This story is somewhat humorous, but it is revealing as well. It is a clear example of the fact that we can teach our children the concept of what it means to have a servant’s heart. We can give them examples of what that means, emphasize it on a daily basis, and even praise them when they do acts of service. But until God moves in the heart of our children, their best efforts to serve may not come from a servant’s heart but from a desire to please us as parents or to “do” what they perceive is the right thing to do. 

The only way my heart, your heart, or the heart of our children can become the heart of a servant is if we allow God to do that work in us. He has to be the one to take a heart that is born with a selfish nature and transform it into one that genuinely wants to serve others.  

​4 Verses to Pray to Help Your Daughter Have a Servant’s Heart

1. Open Her Eyes.

Open my daughter’s eyes to see her need to be like Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve, and who ultimately gave his life (Matthew 20:28).

2. Give Her a Loving and Humble Heart.

Please work in my daughter, a heart of humility and a Christlike love, so that she will desire to serve others with humility in love (Galatians 5:13) .

3. Work in Her a Heart of Compassion.

Please work in my daughter’s heart a desire to live a life that is characterized by a servant’s heart in her actions and words (1 John 3:18).

4. Work in Her a Heart That Genuinely Wants to Serve.

In the same way that the Son of Man came to serve, and not be served, cause my daughter to have that as her goal. That she might give her life to servant living (Mark 10:45) .

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Your daughter is in the process of growth and learning. The best thing you can do for her is pray for God to grow her and mold her into the image of Christ. In Him we see the greatest example of living a life of service to others. Then, you can ask God to continue changing your own heart so that you will be a living example of what it means to have a servant’s heart, for your daughter to observe during the years she is in your home.  Take time to pray for God to show you how to better live this way in front of your children. 

EXTRA VERSES TO PRAY

See the other posts on praying for your daughters: woman of integrity,

Gina Smith is a writer, author, and has been married for 32 years to Brian, a college professor and athletic trainer. For 25+ years she and her husband served on a Christian college campus as the on-campus parents, where Brian was a professor and dean of students. They reside right outside of Washington DC and are the parents of two grown children, one daughter-in-law and one son-in-law. Now an empty-nester, Gina has transitioned her ministry from full-time mom and part-time writer, to being a mom who is available to her adult children as much as they need her and writing as much as she can at her blog. She’s the author of Everyday Prayers for Joy, a 30-Day Devotional & Reflective Journal for Women.

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