Prayers That Build a Legacy
Psalm 69:16 — Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.
I was thinking about my dad the other night, just sitting with my thoughts, and it hit me how different his life turned out from the rest of his family.
Most of them, well… they made choices that led to messy, hard roads. But my dad? Somehow, he just became this steady Godly person. If you’ve ever met him you know he’s just so good and kind. And I know where it started—his grandmother.
She prayed over him from the moment he was born. Not casual prayers, either. She would take him in her arms and declare things over his life like, “You’re not going to be like the rest of your family. You are going to be a great man. You are going to do what God’s called you to do.”
Can you imagine believing that kind of thing over someone you love? She did. And she prayed and believed with her whole heart. Now, she didn’t live to see him grow into that person unfortunately, but her prayers changed everything. Every time I look at my dad, I see her prayers answered.
I mean…wow! God is so good. I think about my own prayers sometimes about the people whose lives I am asking God to move in. They feel so far away from Him, and there are days where I’m praying and it feels like my words are just hitting the ceiling. Like nothing is changing and nothing is happening.
Then doubt sneaks in and whispers, “Does it even matter if I pray?”
And then I look at my dad. I see the life he’s built. The way he loves people, the way he carries himself with integrity, and the way faith just seems to flow through him. Its such an answered prayer.
There is this prayer in the Psalms that reminds me so much of my grandma praying for her son. It says, “Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me” (Psalm 69:16).
It reminds me that God’s movement isn’t measured by what I see. But He is mighty and merciful and patient. He is breaking through like only He can. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it.
But prayer is generational. It travels. I may never see it in my lifetime, but that is okay. Maybe I’ll never even see the result, but they are just like those slow, invisible, chain breaking prayers that shaped my dad. They’re part of a legacy.
So, I am going to keep on praying. And I want you to keep praying too. Even when it feels difficult. Even when it feels like it doesn’t matter because every word carries weight. Every time we cry out to God it matters. God is moving, and your prayers are shaping a future far beyond what you can imagine.
He will answer you because God is good and His abundant mercy never fails.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Who has prayed over your life in ways you may not have fully recognized yet?
- Is there someone you’ve been praying for where it feels like nothing is changing right now? How does this story encourage you to keep going?
- What doubts creep in when prayers seem unanswered—and how can God’s unfailing love reshape those doubts?
- What legacy of prayer are you currently building, even if you may never see the full outcome?
