12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:12-14

The imagery in this parable is vivid.

The shepherd is out in the fields calling, searching for that lost sheep. The sheep knows its voice, as the scripture says later. The shepherd knows the dangers the sheep will face if he doesn’t find him soon. He knows that coyotes and wolves could easily devour a small sheep without a second thought.

Similarly, Jesus does not want any of those children to perish. Unfortunately, life rears its ugly head and the forces of evil seek to destroy the innocence long before is necessary.

We see this destruction in our schools, on the television, in movies, and in music. The willful and harmful indoctrination of alternate lifestyles and behaviors began in the 1960s and has incrementally worked its way into those institutions.

Today’s children face battles that you and I have never faced nor would we want to. The pressures and burdens placed on these children by parents and teachers alike are a lot for kids to bear.

This generation of children will need our generation to pray them through a lot of junk. We know the dangerous teachings: homosexuality, transgenderism, Islamism, witchcraft in literature, “if it feels good, do it,” exploring and experimenting with early childhood sexuality, and tearing down the fundamentals of Christianity.

Not all of these are taught in school every year, but in 12 years they will get an unhealthy dose of each.

Now that we know how to pray for these children, we need to pray these kids through their formative years, beginning today.