Praying for our Kids
This is the fourth in our “Prayer and the Family” series! This week, we look at prayer and our kids. Many resources encourage us to pray with our kids and teach them how to pray. Acronyms and journals provide a great touch point for kids to connect with how they talk to God.
Today, I ask you to consider another side of prayer and your kid: praying for them. Some people may use the term praying over your kid. In this context, they mean the same thing. We rightfully spend a lot of our energy teaching our kids to pray because it is their primary connection to God. But do we pray over our kids in the secret spaces where we meet God and are honest with him? Are we intentional about it? How do we pray for them?
There are so many ways to pray for our kids that we can reach the point of not praying because we don’t know what to pray. The best place to start is God’s Word (nothing new there 😉). Not picking and choosing randomly, but by considering what we’re asking for and using appropriate verses accordingly.
For example, if your kid has not yet confessed faith in Jesus, you can use the verses from the classic “Roman Road” as a framework:
God, my son is a sinner who falls short of your glory. He doesn’t understand
who you are and doesn’t revere you. Because of this, he is going to hell,
a very real place of separation from you. Please reach into his heart
and let [kid’s name] see the gift of your Son and the eternal life promised.
Draw him to you, Jesus. Transform him like you transformed me.
Any judgment he feels, let him know and feel the freedom he will have
in you alone. God, I feel so inadequate to help or lead my kid, so I’m asking you
to speak through me and make my heart sensitive to the moments you’ve ordained
for me to share the Gospel truth with [kid’s name]. Let my life and my words be
an honest reflection of you. Forgive me when I’m failing him. I entrust [kid’s name]
to you; he’s yours. Thank you, Father! Amen.
Rom 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Rom 3:10-18 - There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 10:9-10 – If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
Rom 10:13 - For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Rom 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, q we have peace r with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 8:1 - Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Rom 8:38-39 - For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God j that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
This type of prayer is just one way we can pray over our kids. We long for them to have saving faith in Jesus, so asking God for that is a natural reflex. There are so many other ways to pray over our kids; Scripture is our foundation.
Check out the verses provided below and consider how you can use them to pray over your kids once a week. Start there together, mom and dad. Today is the day for us to champion our kids’ hearts for the Gospel. The world is out there bearing down on them. Satan seeks to destroy them (1 Peter 5:8). Following Jesus’ example, our first and primary source of defense and offense is Scripture (Matthew 4).
The war for our kids is raging, friends. In the secret place with Jesus is where we engage in the battle.
Saving Faith in Jesus Christ
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
God’s Protection from/for Their Generation
You, Lord, will guard us; You will protect us from this generation forever. Ps. 12:7
A Pure and Strong Heart
God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps. 51:10
Open to Godly Discipline
One who listens to life-giving rebukes will be at home among the wise. Pr. 15:31
Temperence in the Face of Adversity
A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. Pr. 15:1
Wise in Choosing Friends, Ultimately Leaning on Jesus
A man with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother. Pr. 18:24
A Priestly Parent Blessing
“Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.” Num. 6: 23-26
Understanding Honor as Part of Life
Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. Eph 6:4
Growing Up Holistically
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people. Lk 2:52
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