Pray for your kids to get caught

If you don't receive the daily devotion from Proverbs 31 ministries you are really missing out on some great stuff. Today's devotion by Micca Monda Campbell was all about praying for your kids to get caught in their mistakes while they are little so that they can learn from them and avoid the big mistakes and consequences when they are grown. One example she gave was her son getting a speeding ticket rather than crashing his car into a tree.
I wish I had read this when my kids were growing up. It would have changed my prayers and my reactions. However, I do have a true life experience where my son got caught and God used it to change the direction of his life. He got caught driving after drinking while he was still in high school. His actions had consequences at school in the area of athletics - but the biggest effect getting caught had was that it forced him to look at why he had had that beer. He realized that he was trying to be popular with his peers rather than trying to please God. He turned his life back to the Lord and began growing spiritually. God honored that decision by helping him to grow, and by having the ticket for drinking disappear. He never had to go to court. But even if he had, God would have been there with him, and would have continued to teach him through it.
Even parents who don't believe in prayer should be thankful when their kids get caught. Isn't it better to have detention after school than to end up in jail? Isn't better to get caught cheating on a test than to lose a job for cheating?
So - pray for your kids to be caught! And when they do, don't get mad, but be thankful you have the opportunity to help them to grow.
(And keep reading Proverbs 31 devotions!)