How to Pray for your Children (Or Grandchildren, or neices, nephews, cousins, friends)

When I was pregnant with Mack, my sweet friend Heather gave me a special gift. She created a prayer book for me that included scripture from the Bible along with his name and prayers that I could pray for his little life. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love this little book so much and wanted to share some of it with you. Because I'm lazy rushed for time, I decided to copy and paste some information for you from the North Carolina Baptist Association's publication called "How to Pray for Your Children". It contains 31 things to pray for your children, as well as scripture you can pray for them in regards to: their relationship with God, godly attributes and character, family relationships, relationships with friends, and for protection.

There are 21 passages you can pray for your children by name and I like to include several of these each day in my quiet time. From the 31 things to pray section, I pray whichever one coordinates with the date. For example, today is the 25th, so I'd pray #25- that they would "know that they are deeply loved".

I cannot stress enough the importance of praying for our children. We live in a world that seeks to destroy their little hearts, to corrupt their minds and to shake their faith. I want to make every effort to protect them and the best way to do that, friends, is on my knees. I hope this blesses you as it has me.

31 Things to pray for your children
1.    for their moral purity (Prov. 5:7-23; 1 Thess. 4:3-8)
2.    to obey and respect authority (Ex. 20:12)
3.    God would draw them to Himself at an early age (John 3:3)
4.     protected from the schemes of Satan (Eph. 6:10-18)
5.    know and love God’s Word (Ps. 119:9-11)
6.    that they would glorify God in whatever health or life circumstances He gives them, rejoicing always (1 Thess. 5:18)
7.    for them to be wise (wisdom of the Lord— Prov. 1:7)
8.    have and be a special friend (David and Jonathan — 1 Samuel 20)
9.    they would endure hardship in fellowship with Christ (Col. 1:24)
10. that their “yes” would be “yes” and their “no” would mean “no” (Matt. 5:37)
11. equally yoked to a godly spouse (II Cor. 6:14)
12. humble, desiring for God to have the glory  (II Tim. 4:18)
13. that their life would be used to promote God’s Kingdom (Matt. 28:18-20)
14. understand grace and so live out the law of Christ (Titus 2:11)
15. that my girl(s) would have a quiet and gentle spirit and my boy(s) would be the spiritual leader of his family
16. hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness (Matt. 5:6)
17. identify with femaleness/maleness
18. hate evil and avoid it and get caught when they disobey (Prov. 4:14)
19. hard worker (Col. 1:28-29)
20. think biblically (II Cor. 10:5)
21. an encourager to others (Heb. 10:24)
22. love the Church (Eph. 4:14-16)
23. be salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16)
24. be secure in who God has made them to be (Eph. 1)
25. know they are deeply loved (Ps. 103)
26. live selflessly, not selfishly (II Tim. 4:5)
27. love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength (Matt. 22:37-39)
28. love others (Matt. 22:37-39)
29. that they would have honesty with the Lord, themselves and others (1John 1:1-9)
30. be faithful stewards of all the treasures and talents God entrusts to them (1 Tim. 6:6-10)
31. live by an eternal perspective (Phil. 3:20)

Pray for their relationship with God

• that ___________ may know with ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”- Ephesians 3:17-19

• that ___________ will know Christ at an early age. - II Tim. 3:15

• that ___________ will allow God to work in his/her life to accomplish His purpose for him/her.- Phil. 2:13

• that ___________ will earnestly seek God and love to go to church. - Psalms 63:1 & 122:1

• that ___________ sins will find him/her out and that he/she will be caught and corrected when guilty - Ps 119:71

• that ___________ will submit to God and resist the devil in all circumstances - James 4:7

Pray for Godly Attributes and Character
• that ___________ will be protected from attitudes of inferiority or superiority - Genesis 1:27& Phil. 2:3

• that ___________ will respect authority - Romans 13:1

• that ___________ will hate sin - Psalm 97:10

• that ___________ will be able to control his/her anger - Ephesians 4:26

• that ___________ will display the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control- Galatians 5:22-23

Pray for Family Relationships
• that ____________ will obey his/her parents in the Lord - Proverbs 1:8 & Colossians 3:20

• that ____________ will accept discipline and profit from it - Proverbs 3:11-12; 23:13

• that ____________ will love his/her siblings and not allow rivalry to hinder their lifelong positive relationship - Matthew 5:22

• that we may live so before ___________ as to entice him/her to the banqueting table, not drive him/her away - Matthew 5:16

Pray for Protection
∙that ____________ will be protected from the evil one in each area of his/her life - spiritual, emotional and physical - John 17:15

• that ____________ will be protected from drugs, alcohol and tobacco - Proverbs 20:1, 23; 31-32

Pray for Relationships with Friends

Proverbs 20:1, 23; 31-32

∙that ____________ will choose godly friends who will build him/her up in the Lord

- Proverbs 27:9 & Ecclesiastes 4:10

• that ____________ will desire the right kinds of friends and he/she will be kept from harmful friendships that will lead him/her astray

- Proverbs 1:10

• that ____________ will be firm in his/her convictions and be able to withstand peer pressure- Ephesians 4:14

• that ____________ will befriend the lonely, the discouraged and the lost- Matthew 25:40 and Philippians 2:4

You can download this brochure in its entirety by going here:

http://www.ncbaptist.org/fileadmin/ncbaptist.org_graphics/Resources/Event_Graphics/docs/pray_4_children_color.pdf

Print this out, put a copy in your Bible, a copy in your bathroom, a copy in your car- wherever you will see it and remember to stop and pray.

Love to you all!