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Parenting is tough. Anyone that tells you different is lying.
As tough as parenting is, I think praying for your kids is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. It is powerful and effective too. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16 ESV)
Sometimes I pray out loud with my kids so they can hear me. Other times I pray for them quietly when I am by myself.
I almost always pray over them at night.
If I don’t get to pray with them at night, I try to make sure that I do pray in the car on the way to school in the morning.
Mimi Greenwood Knight posted some suggestions on In Touch that I have used in my prayers. I took some of her ideas and adapted them to share as suggestions for what to pray for your kids.
1. Pray for wisdom. Pray for wisdom concerning a specific situation they are facing. Pray that they would make wise choices throughout their life.
2. Pray for their hearts to stay sensitive to God. Pray that their heart would not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Pray that it would be filled with love, grace, and forgiveness.
3. Pray for a spirit of excellence. Pray that they will give their best to everything they attempt. Pray that God will help them to discover their strengths and gifts. And they would use them for His glory.
4. Pray for a desire to know God. Pray that your child will have a hunger and thirst to know God more every day—and an undivided heart to seek and serve Him.
5. Pray for direction. Pray that your children will learn at a young age to seek God’s direction and guidance in all things, so by the time they make the big decisions—like college, career, and marriage—they’ll be in the habit of following His plan every step of the way.
6. Pray for favor. There’s nothing wrong with praying that your children will have favor with teachers, school administrators, coaches, and eventually employers—as well as with classmates, teammates, and coworkers—and that they’ll be liked and appreciated for who they are.
7. Pray for discernment. Ask God to let them see as He sees, be attracted to what pleases and glorifies Him, be repelled by the things that displease him, and understand the difference clearly and consistently.
8. Pray for the right friends/spouse. Pray that God would put the right friends in their life and help tune out the bad influences. And it is never too early to begin praying for their future spouse.
9. Pray for their protection. Ask God to give them safety when they leave your home. Pray that they would be delivered from the evil one. Prat that God would grant them long healthy lives.
10. Pray for them to fulfill God’s call on their life. This is one I like my kids to hear me pray out loud.
There are many more things we can pray for our kids. If you have other ideas to share, take a moment and share a comment.
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