By contributor Robbie Crane, Lead Chaplin and Operations Director at Dakar Academy Schools in Dakar Senegal, Africa.

Two great privileges as a follower of Christ are raising godly children to follow Him with you (Malachi 2:15) and teaching other godly men and women to do the same, replicating the process (2 Timothy 2:2). This process is defined in one word… discipleship. However, once you enter this process it can’t be, and won’t be, a simple and tidy endeavor. Where do we start? What do we teach them? What are majors and minors? The list goes on and on. We obviously should begin with prayer. I suggest our beginning prayer be seeking wisdom from the Lord for both us and the ones we disciple. This is perhaps an overlooked virtue in making spiritual sons and daughters and even in raising godly offspring.

Who is the wisest man to ever live? According to the Bible, it was King Solomon (1 Kings 3:12). God gave him wisdom above any man before or after him. Why? Well, the obvious is because he asked for it (1 Kings 3:9). I think there’s another, less obvious, factor at work as well. Allow me to draw your attention to a labor of love that took place before the wisdom and work of Solomon blessed the people of God.

Before Solomon petitioned God for wisdom, his father, King David, asked God to give it to him! As David commissions his son to build a great work for God, the Temple, he speaks a powerful word to him in 1 Chron. 22:12,

Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

1 Chron. 22:12 – CSB

In essence, David is saying “My son, I’m asking the Lord to give you wisdom and understanding… and I’m praying for you to obey His Word.”

As we undertake the task of discipleship, we must petition God to grant wisdom and understanding to flourish to those we are discipling before they even know to ask for it or how to ask for it. We must pray for them to obey the Word of God before they fully grasp the implications. Much of the success of the children we raise and the people we disciple hinges on how we pray for them and what we pray for them. What a challenging thought!

I would add that David not only prayed for his son to have wisdom and understanding, but he paved and prepared the way for Solomon to have success as well.

Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparations for it.” So, David made abundant preparations before his death.

1 Chron. 22:5 – CSB

Don’t miss this, David made abundant preparations for his son to succeed in the work. David’s preparations for the kingdom of God were meant to outlive him… and they were meant for someone else to flourish! As you continue reading through the book of First Chronicles you find that David had all the stones cut for the temple, all the gold, silver, and iron stockpiled and ready for use, and he even had the blueprints drawn up! Solomon was set up for success.

It seems David was pretty wise as well (2 Samuel 14:20). He set his son up to go further than he could go himself. He did much of the work and allowed his son to get the credit. Why? Because David realized a bedrock truth to succeed in the kingdom of God. This is not about me! This is about my god & his kingdom! That’s why he charged Solomon to do the work well and stay true to his God so that future generations would know & follow the Lord. If we listen closely, we might hear David say, “This is not about you either Solomon… it’s much bigger than you!”

This is the heartbeat and foundation of discipleship, of a disciple maker. Pray fervently for wisdom to disciple. Pray fervently for the children and men/women you disciple. Prepare diligently, extravagantly, and abundantly, not just for your success, but for their success. Do you want to launch your disciples and your children further than you could ever reach? If so, praying for wisdom and preparation for their success is your starting point. Why? Because the call to advance the Kingdom of God is bigger than both us and the ones we raise up. It is about our glorious God & his kingdom! May our God give you wisdom as you set your life to this wonderful work.