I am mommy to one rambunctious toddler boy and one sweet, sensitive infant girl. My son loves trucks, rockets, and climbing onto my shoulders while I am trying to nurse or pump milk for his little sister. My daughter is still quite young, but she is already so different than my son was at the same age. She likes cooing softly to her daddy and me, sitting on our laps, and quiet snuggles. My children are entirely different individuals and each one has unique wants, but they share one significant need: they need my prayers.
I am convinced that one of the greatest things we can do as parents is to be in constant prayer for and over our children. I pray for my own children while I shower, when I hold them in my lap, and as I do chores around the house. Each time they are buckled into their car seats, we make it a habit to pray aloud together as we begin the drive to our destination. I strive to make prayer a crucial part of the way I raise my children and there are several specific prayers I have been praying for my little ones.
Grace for Mom
Before I can pray my children, though, I must pray for my own heart. I confess my sin and ask that God would graciously protect my children from my mistakes. My hope is that God would use my faults as examples of how endless and powerful His grace is and that instead of being ammunition against our Savior, they would be a testament to His mercy and forgiveness.
Responsibility
I pray also that I would always remember what is and is not my responsibility as a parent. While I am accountable for raising my children in a godly manner, my children’s salvation is not in my power. Someone much wiser than I am once told me that we lay kindling when we teach them God’s Word and model His love for them. We lay this kindling for our children and pray fervently that the Holy Spirit would ignite it in their souls. I cannot save my children, but I can pray for biblical faithfulness in how I raise them.
1 – That they would be drawn to God.
Consequently, my greatest burden is for my son and daughter’s salvation. The deepest desire I have regarding their hearts is that they would see just how lovely our God is, so I pray that He would soften their hearts to Him and that He would draw them to Himself. I ask that they would never remember a time in their lives when they actively and recklessly rebelled against our heavenly Father and that they would have the “boring” testimony of coming to know Christ at an early age and subsequently living a life honoring to Him. I pray that they would be like the newborn infants described in 1 Peter 2:2 and
Long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.
2 – That they would listen to instruction.
I pray also that my children would heed instruction and be obedient to my husband and me. Proverbs 10:17 says,
Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
I know well the heartbreak that comes with defiance. I have personally experienced the tragic consequences of rejecting wise, godly counsel. Having tasted the bitterness that comes with wantonly resisting correction, my prayer for my children is that they would see from a young age how sweet it is to submit to instruction and, in particular, the Biblical instruction that their father and I give them.
3 – That they would learn the virtue of self-control.
The prayer for self-control is also a frequent one in our household. The Word of God has so much to say regarding this virtue. Proverbs 25:28 reminds us that,
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
It is hard to feel the full weight of this verse because we live in an era where cities no longer have walls but at the time this was written, a city without walls meant defeat, it meant destruction, and it meant death. Proverbs 29:11 tells us that only a fool gives full vent to his spirit, whereas a man who is wise quietly holds back. For these reasons, whenever my son has an angry outburst or tantrum, I pray through this verse with him. {I pray it frequently for myself, as well, for that matter.}
4 – That they would value the Word.
Because we are surrounded by many who deny the authority of the Bible or who use faulty hermeneutics to twist Scripture to say what it does not say, another prayer I have for my children is that they would have both a high view of the Word of God {Hebrews 4:12} and the discernment to detect false teaching {2 Timothy 4:13}. I pray that they would treasure the Bible and be so intimately acquainted with its passages that no false statement would go undetected, that everything in this world would be filtered through the sieve that is God’s precious Word.
5 – That they would understand purity.
Sexual purity is another prayer I have for both my son and my daughter. Sexual temptation is everywhere. Magazine covers in the grocery store showcase scantily-clad men and women. Movies frequently glorify premarital sex or depict adulterous affairs as glamorous and exciting. Pornography can be easily accessed on nearly every smartphone or computer. We live in a world filled with warped and sinful depictions of human sexuality and I want both my son and daughter to see the beauty of human sexuality as God intended it: as an incredible, intimate gift to be enjoyed within the marital relationship {1 Corinthians 6:18}. For this reason, I pray daily that they would lay their sexual desires at the foot of the cross, view them in light of Christ’s work there, and then express those desires in ways that bring Him honor and glory. I pray that their longing for holiness would take precedence over their desire for sexual gratification.
6 – They they would walk in humility.
Lastly, I pray that in all things, my children would remember the exhortation expressed in Philippians 2:3, which reads,
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
When my son enters his first dating relationship, I want him to view his girlfriend as a fellow image bearer of Christ and treat her as better than himself. If my daughter encounters a classmate who is struggling to make friends, I hope she takes her under her wing and treats her as better than herself. In their sibling relationship, I pray that both my son and daughter strive to view each other in this light as well. Whatever the situation, I hope the humility that comes from viewing others as more significant colors their every interaction.
Being a parent can sometimes feel like a frightening endeavor for me. I see my son and daughter and marvel that God has given them to my husband and me to steward during our time here on earth. I pray we steward them well.
What prayers do you pray over your children regularly? What scriptures do you speak over their lives?
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