How to Call Upon God as Your Co-Parent

You may think you’re parenting alone but you can upon God to help you parent every step of the way. Here’s how and why God wants to be your co-parent.

when you feel alone as a parent

Parenting solo can be a lonely journey.

You question if you make the right decisions.

You doubt the punishments you hand out.

You feel isolated when your child slams the door in your face, and you return to the quietness of your home.

Are you doing this parenting thing right? Who do you ask when you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas and questions off of?

Related: How to Co-Parent with Grace

When you’re in an argument with your child, and you need someone to take over and let you gain your composure, but there isn’t anyone, what do you do?

Sure, you can talk to your friends or your family members.

But they aren’t there with you and your kids all the time.

They don’t understand how your child goes from happy to irrationally upset so quickly, how the dynamics in your household shift and are out of your control in a split second.

Plus, none of them love your child underneath all the frustration like you do.

But there’s someone that does.

God.

He wants to help you co-parent your children. If only you would let him in.

Related: What Does It Mean That God is Our Redeemer?

co-parenting with God

I can hear your rebuttals.

He's not here physically. I need someone to help me physically. 

The Holy Spirit has more power than a physical person if only you would ask and let Him move in you.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 8:11
I don't think God cares about all my day to day problems.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26
I don't know how to ask God to help me. 

Pray God’s word back to Him. Here are some Psalms to pray when you help.

Making Mistakes

Parenting is a process where we all make a ton of mistakes daily. And as a single parent, each mistake feels huge.

But if you continue to try your best, confess your shortcomings, and ask for forgiveness, you will make progress.

Related: What Your Kids Need From You After a Divorce

The more you trust God with your kids’ lives and future and give up your obsessive control, the more time you will find for yourself.

As you let God do his job and take care of your kids, which he loves more than you, he will give you more time to take care of yourself. Which, in turn, will make you a better parent.

god as coparent

Parenting in Different stages

As I move into parenting teenagers, I’m learning to let my children experience their own natural consequences.

The experts say it’s better they do so at home at an early age than in the harsh, uncaring world.

Sounds easy and obvious until you try to implement it. Watching your children fall and suffer consequences is never easy, especially when you see them coming.

This parenting approach requires a lot of reliance on God. Only He can be with your children 24/7.

I’m learning not to manage my kids’ time, tell them what to do, look over their shoulders, or engaging in pointless arguments. I may ask them to do something once; then, they will have to figure out what the consequences are. I’m not trying to save the day anymore.

Related: Overview of the Best Co-Parenting Apps

Don’t get me wrong; letting go of perceived control is a hard habit to break.

It requires full trust in God.

Sometimes I walk away from a situation, knowing my kids will forget or make a wrong decision. And I wrestle with myself to let them fail. But I remind myself if I sweep in and fix it, I’ll be fixing it until they move out.

Mirror God’s Parenting

Allowing our children to make mistakes is a mirror to how God continues to raise us as parents.

He endlessly pursues us, but at the same time, allows us to feel the world’s consequences of our sins and does not demand obedience from us. He invites us in.

Knowing I have a Perfect Father who wants me to succeed gives me hope and strength to try each morning again, especially after those days, I’ve failed so terribly.

I ask God each day to step alongside me in parenting. I may be a single parent here on Earth, but God is my co-parent if I look to Him. He has trusted me with these children for a reason.

Related: Single Mom Stories of Hope and Encouragement

And He’s trusted you with your children.

He doesn’t expect you to do it alone.

He’s there, waiting and willing to help you.

Ask Him for guidance, wisdom, and understanding. He’s a God that gives freely.

How to Call Upon God as Your Co-Parent