Dear Grayson,
Happy Birthday #7.
Maybe you know this. Maybe you don’t. But I pray specifically for you every week. Nona 
and I pray for all of you grandkids generally but Monday is my day to pray specifically for you.
I thought I might share with you some of the prayers that I pray for you. The Apostle Paul had a habit of telling his friends just how he was praying for them as a way of encouraging their soul. So here are a few ways I pray for you.
I pray that you will be protected from the evil one – This is one of the ways that Jesus prayed for his friends in John 17. The evil one is indeed real and he is a liar and a deceiver and a schemer and he will do all that he can to overthrow the work of the Lord in your life. My prayer is that he will be thwarted and frustrated at every turn.
I pray that you will find your joy and satisfaction in Christ alone – The world that we live in will offer you many counterfeit ways to find and experience happiness. But true joy can only be found by pursuing the One who created you and who loves you more than you can ever imagine. My prayer is that the temptations of this world will look pale and grungy compared to the beauty and majesty of Christ.
I pray that the Lord will use you to be a tremendous influence in the Kingdom of God – The ways that you have been gifted are beginning to surface and it is exciting to watch how the Lord is already using you through your passions. My prayer is that the Lord will equip you in the years to come to be an agent of change that will produce gospel impact in the lives of millions of people.
I pray that the Lord will mature you and develop you into a godly man who abides deeply in Christ – And to that end, my prayer is that you will have a hunger for the Word of God and that your soul will be nourished daily as you fellowship with our Father. And that as you do so, you will grasp, in a way that most people do not, how long and wide and high and deep is the love of Christ for you.
I pray that the Lord will even now be preparing for you a godly young woman who will gladden your heart and be a partner in ministry – whether that is vocational or avocational – Just as we prayed this prayer for our kids beginning when they were young, so I pray it for you. I pray that the Lord will direct your steps and hers toward each other and that she will be a surprise of joy when the day comes that your paths sovereignly cross.
There are other ways that I pray for you but these here will be recurring themes throughout the next 15 years of your life.
Never forget that you are very loved!
Pop Pop
P.S. – I hope you enjoy your pocketknife.