Praying for Your Special Needs Child

Praying for Your Special Needs Child
By David Rizzo and Mercedes McBride Rizzo

Searching for a new way to pray for your special needs child and your family?  Look no further.  This excellent book is the perfect companion to your faith journey.  The Rizzos share a plethora of heartfelt, practical prayers and much more than that, a way to pray for each and every situation.  Their experience with their autistic child, Danielle and their three other children gives them a deep knowledge of the daily obstacles that many parents face.

What surprised me was the detail in the prayers!  I grew up always feeling a little self-conscious about asking God for too many things, but the Rizzos opened my eyes to the idea that we can ask for all of the details of our lives to be sorted out. As a parent of non-special needs children, I was taken with the fact that God can never be outdone in generosity…even at the bus stop.

“Help us balance our parenting responsibilities with the need for gainful and productive employment.  Allow us to cover the gaps in our schedules, so that when we are at work, we can devote our full selves to the tasks at hand.  Help us cover unexpected snow days and early dismissals, school holidays and teachers’ in-services.”

This is just one example of this detail-oriented way of prayer, and the Rizzos cover everything from potty training to empty nesting, when the special needs child may be out on their own.  They advocate staying grounded in the present moment, and offer words of wisdom to counteract the worrying that fills all parents with dread.  The end-of-chapter reflection questions are very helpful, and always point us back to prayer and relationship with God. I highly recommend this book.