17 comments

Erin Davis

Practical Ways To Pray For Your Kiddos

Posted on 07.02.12 by Erin Davis | Twitter: @ErinGraffiti

Prayer. Add it to the list of things I feel guilty about as a mom right below never wanting to do crafts with my kiddos and being too cutthroat during games of Candyland with my four-year-old.

I know that I am supposed to be praying for my kids. In fact, I am fond of saying that as a mom prayer is my primary work. I mean that. I do. But sometimes I just don’t know what to pray.

I mean, I start to pray for protection and then I realize I don’t want them to crave safety. I want them to take risks for Jesus but not risks that land them in the ER. How do I pray about that?

I start to pray for their mate’s but then I realize they may not marry. I hope they do (I’ve always thought skipping parenting and going right to grandparenting is where it is at). But I want them to be open to God’s plan in this area. Another stumper.

And I really, really want to pray that they live with me forever and always hold my hand and never roll their eyes. But I predict that at some point I will want to pray that they move out and stop holding my hand so I can get a manicure. As for the no eye rolling, I’m not sure my faith is big enough for that one.

So, how then shall we pray as mommas? Here are a few ideas.

Pray a Life Verse
I’m a big believer in praying God’s Word. In fact, I wrote a whole post on choosing a life verse for your child and praying it often over the course of his/her life. If you’re short on time, here’s the mini version: choose a verse that specifically applies to your child (ask for direction from God) and then pray that verse often. I have one friend who had her children’s life verses painted by an artist and she hung them over their beds. If you are less crafty (like me!) simply write them on a note card and put them in your child’s room.

Pray Scriptures
In addition, here are some other prayers adapted from Bible verses to pray for your kiddos:

Store up your word in ______’s heart, that he/she might not sin against you (Ps. 119:11).

Help _______ to receive wisdom and treasure your commandments. Make him/her attentive to wisdom and drawn to understanding (Prov. 2:1-2).

Teach ________ to rely on the joy of the Lord for strength (Neh. 8:10).

Help ________ to know that you have plans for him/her and that those plans are to help them prosper. Show him/her how to rely on that when the future is uncertain (Jer. 29:11).

I also love this PDF of prayers to pray for your children from iMOM. It’s practical and biblical.

Pray Routine Prayers
My husband and I wanted meaningful bedtime prayers. So, we thought through what we wanted to pray and we wrote it down. We pray the same prayers for our kiddos every night. Yes, it is routine, but kids thrive in routine. Here is what we pray:

For Eli (4): Eli we pray that you will remember that your life was marked before you were born and you were healed for a purpose. May God bless you richly and give you mercy.

For Noble (2): Noble we pray that the gentle and quiet spirit God has given you since birth would be a tool to draw others to you. May the joy of the Lord always be your strength.

Davis children: May you be like iron sharpening iron, spurring each other on toward righteousness and good deeds. May you always feel like you belong because you have each other.

Pray Without Ceasing
1 Thessalonians 5:17 
simply says, “pray without ceasing.” Worry less about what to pray and just start praying. Pray all day long for your kiddos. Big prayers about big things. Little prayers about little things.

Ditch the guilt or the worry about not praying enough or correctly and just start a conversation with your Heavenly Father about your needs and your children’s needs.

I’d love to hear about any tools you use to pray for your kids. In fact, we’ll give away free CDs of Nancy’s interview with Fern Nichols and Marlae Gritter on how to pray for you children to three of you who will leave us a comment this week on how you pray for your kiddos.

Comments

  1. This was exactly what I needed today. Praise God for a timely word.
    posted by Toshi
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:07 am
  2. Perfect! What a blessing! I am going to read this again and again.
    posted by J.
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:10 am
  3. That was awesome, did not know there was another Christian Mom who dislikes crafts and is competitve at board games. Made me feel warm and fuzzy and not less than. Good prayers, if your husband is not a prayer person, do you just keep going or do you try and get him to verbalize more?
    posted by Christina
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:36 am
  4. Hello there, beautifully articulated and well done. Thank you.

    I have a 5 year old daughter and I pray for her in this way. Hope this helps the other.

    1. That she will always put her trust in Him, obey Him, love Him and share Him all the days of her life.
    2. That she will set her mind on things above and not on things below.
    3. That she will flee from youthful lusts
    4. I pray that the lord keep her away from the distractions that the devil might bring in all her seasons of life and that she guard her purity.
    5. I pray that god give her a discerning heart and wisdom, which will keep her in the way of righteousness.
    6. I also thank god that He loves her more than I do and anybody else could.

    7. I also often tell my daughter that although I love her, there is someone who loves her more than me and watches over her all the time and it's Jesus!

    8. I pray that god use her for His ministry and to establish his kingdom, if He so wills.
    posted by Shreeja
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:48 am
  5. I've heard people say they have a life verse or verse for a year that they pray for their children. I love that idea! I am going to the link you posted to choose verses for my three! Thank you for this post.
    posted by Jennifer
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 9:26 am
  6. I like to pray for my family using John Piper's "9 Ways to Pray for Your Soul." http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/9-ways-to-pray-for-your-soul
    I have passed this on to others who have found it helpful, especially as our kids enter into the teen years and adulthood.
    posted by Ali G
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 9:55 am
  7. Why is it so much easier to "do" and to "work" for my kids and grandkids than to consistently "pray" for them? Thanks for the reminder to do the best first!
    posted by Dianne
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 10:17 am
  8. Oh Erin, thank you so much for this post! It was so very needful and encouraging! May we all strive together to pray without ceasing for our children!
    posted by Vy Howard
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 11:08 am
  9. I am big on having a constant conversation with God and am always praying that the Lord will give me the words to speak to my children so that I can minister to them even at a young age. I love the verse idea and being a crafty person by nature (though not always having the time) I am definitely going to do this and be more consistent about praying with my boys every night.
    posted by Christi
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 11:16 am
  10. I've been looking for systematic ways to pray for my children so thank you for this blog entry. I did run across this on line and think I'll try it out:
    fmcusa.org/Magazine/PDF%20Files/31-Days-Calendar-Color.PDF
    posted by Connie
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 11:58 am
  11. As I am doing my daily Bible reading, I pick a verse or lesson learned from it to pray for them. It helps keep me from getting so overwhelmed by all the things I "should" be praying for them.
    posted by Stephanie
    on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 9:06 pm
  12. Here's how I pray for my children:
    1. For them to honor their dad and I because:
    -it is commanded by God
    -there is a promise if they do so

    2. To obey us as parents because:
    - In the Lord, it's the right thing to do
    - Their obedience pleases the Lord

    3. For them to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.

    4. For their choices to honor God more tomorrow, as the Lord wills, than they did today.

    5. Just about every night I sing the Aaronic blessing over them as they settle in for sleep.
    posted by Terra Beresford
    on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 7:59 am
  13. Although I don't have children of my own, I do sponsor children overseas. I often will pray for character traits that are reflected in Scripture verses, and when I write letters to them, share the verse with them and let them know that I am praying.
    posted by Rachel
    on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 12:12 pm
  14. When I pray for my children or any concern that I have, my constant request is that the Lord would be glorified. I believe that when we put God's glory above everything else, He blesses beyond measure.

    Thanks for the great post.
    posted by Heidi
    on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at 12:47 am
  15. I don't have kids but I find myself thinking the same things when I pray for my friends- thank you for the tips, Erin!
    posted by Megan
    on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at 6:44 pm
  16. I complete agree with 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing.” I am constantly praying little prayers throughout the day, whether it be for patience with my kids, energy to get them to their activities, or wisdom to know what to do with a decision. I also pray for them if they are having trouble with something, and I pray when I just want to send a shout out 'THANK YOU' to God as well. I also pray before bed, for thanks of my beautiful life and the health of myself and my loved ones, and for forgiveness of my shortcomings and to be the best mom I can be for each of my children. I believe prayer should be an open conversation with the Lord about what is on your heart, good or bad. The Lord is truly my refuge!
    posted by kristin
    on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 2:20 pm
  17. Wonderful post! Praying scripture over our children is priceless! and the ministry of Moms in Prayer is a great tool to help you grow in your own relationship with the Lord and in prayer for your children! I've been in the ministry of MIP for 10 years and highly recommend it!
    posted by Stephanie
    on Friday, July 13, 2012 at 12:13 am

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