Dear Father,

I know you see your beloved one, your beloved son gazing for the first time into the eyes of a little soul who will one day call him daddy. I know you see him and rejoice with him as tears brim in his eyes and as he holds that little one close and as his heart expands in every direction. I know you see how he tenderly brushes his newborn’s cheeks with just the tips of his fingers and plants soft, gentle kisses on baby’s forehead. I know you see how he marvels that the tiny being whose kicks he used to see bump up and down from his wife’s belly is here, is touchable, tangible, real. Thank you for giving him this sweet, sweet gift that suddenly puts the whole world into perspective. 

I know you see your son as he tries his hardest to be a good partner for his wife in these early days. I pray that you can equip him to be her strength – physical and emotional – as she navigates through the labyrinth of postpartum recovery. Fill him with supernatural patience, kindness, and understanding as he sees a side of his wife, his new mama-bear wife, that he has never known before now. Give him endurance through the long nights and the ability to encourage his wife in just the right way. Equip him to be her biggest cheerleader.

Dear God give your son everything he needs to parent this child’s unique heart. Maybe this baby will grow up to be just like him – same interests, same vices, same personality bents. But if this child is very different, give him a heart that desires to know this little one and what makes them tick, what makes their heart sing, what fills their eyes with tears. Set his heart ablaze with exactly all the ways he needs to customize his life’s approach to parent this little one’s heart. Help him to see just how important it is to be a safe place for that child’s heart to land.

I pray that this man will be the best father he can be to this new little one. I pray that he will draw from the goodness in all the strong male figures he has known and be the best version of himself for this little person. I pray that he will not be discouraged if his own father did not lead well or live worthy of emulation, but that he will know he can walk apart from what he saw growing up. I pray that he knows that he can look to You as the ultimate example of a strong, just, loving, and sacrificial father. Equip him to be the father he desires to be, the one his child needs him to be.

I pray Lord that you would give him the humility to recognize that, apart from you, he cannot lead his family well. I ask that he would seek what is best for his wife and child through prayer, through wise counsel, and through what You reveal as he spends time in Your word. Father, you tell us that your word will never return void and so I pray that this man will fill his mind with your truths, with the scriptures that will be the very sword with which he will battle the enemy, the one who seeks to swallow his family up into the darkness of this world. Motivate him and equip him to build his paternal foundation on the solid rock that will not be moved. 

Father God, the world tells us that more and bigger and busy is better. Give your son the wisdom to know when to say no to more work hours, to more activities, to one more night out with the guys. Give him wisdom and discretion with his time because babies don’t keep. And give him wisdom and discretion with his finances for the good of the future of his sweet new baby and dear wife. Equip him with eyes to see that sometimes, oftentimes, small, quiet, and modest are the best ways to live.

And, above all Father, in this broken world that is cruel and unforgiving at times, give this new daddy comfort in what your Child has given so that his child can be promised an eternity of perfection and peace. Give this father faith and trust in you, that you have a plan for his baby, and one that guarantees the title of “best.” Help him to live in a way that is mindful of the life after life so that it can be modeled for this child in his care. Give him eyes to live in light of eternity and let all the peripherals to fall into perspective because of it.

I pray these things in your Son’s name, Amen.