This is one of my favorite things ever written. Gen. Douglas MacArthur wrote this prayer for his son.
A Prayer For My Son
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee — and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goals will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, give him, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.
Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”
An absolute classic. I get a lot of comments on this, and if you enjoy it, then chances are good you’ll also appreciate this piece, called “Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier.”
that is a great poem..beautiful…
My mother had typed out this poem and mounted it on the wall in our hallway. I passed it each day. The prayer is amplified by MacArthur in the speech that he gave accepting the Thayer award at West Point. See http://www.west-point.org/real/macarthur_address.htmlVery emotional
a very wonderful poem and prayer that i pray for all 4 of my sons!!
perfect prayer/poem…
Wow.. i just sent this prayer to my buddy Pete. We have just recently been blessed with Sons, Alexander and Harry. I will be saying this prayer for my son daily.
I said the prayer for my son (only child)and my grandson,God bless you and yours Thank you.
Jimmy, thank you. Children are the GREATEST gift.
It touch my heart very close to me I have a son too
Thanks you Jim.. If you dont mind Im going to post on my facebook
Esta é a oração que eu precisava rezar neste momento,e ofereci aos meus dois maravilhosos filhos.obrigada meu Deus!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Ed. note: Google translates as: "This is the prayer that I needed to pray right now, and I offered to my two wonderful children. thank my God!"]
what a wonderful poem, was thinking of my son one who is in Afganistan. , I have 4 sons and each one has lived their lives doing for others. . and making each day , better for the people in it. There is no other words that could explain them. It is how I feel about them and what more can a Mother ask for….
My favorite poem at all time.
I like to print this precious prayer with pretty font on handsome paper stock for new fathers. Tomorrow I am presenting it to a friend’s son-in-law at his baby boy’s shower. It is a true blessing to have people like the General who composed such a beautiful prayer to inspire us all.
Thank you for your kind words. While I didn’t write this prayer, it certainly meant a lot to me while I was growing up and means even more to me now that I have a son of my own.
Thank you for such a beautiful prayer. My son is only 7 but wrote it down to him. God bless.
It’s a very nice prayers, I would pray these to my son, whose addicted to heroin!