I have a different prayer focus for every day of the week. It helps me to stay on track. On Mondays I pray over my family. Recently, in a time with the Lord, my heart’s cry was “Lord, help me to love my kids more intentionally.” And then it hit me, one way to love them more intentionally is to pray for them more intentionally! And so this is how I am praying over my kids this year. But it is also a good prayer guide, in my opinion, for anyone important in your life, including yourself!
5 Ways To Pray Over Your Kids
1. Pray over their sense of PURPOSE.
I know firsthand the power of purpose in a teenager’s life and I am praying it over mine. I’m praying that God will give my kids visions and dreams (Acts 2:17) and that they will understand that He has good plans for them— to prosper them and to give them a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I pray not only for their future purpose, but their present purpose—asking God to help them realize they are missionaries to their school NOW, that God wants to use them NOW, and that He has created them for such a time as this! I pray against the confusion of the enemy and for the clarity of the Holy Spirit as to what God has called them to do and be—both now and in their future.
2. Pray over their PURITY.
For every child, this is a big one. My prayer is that my kids will have discernment in what is right and wrong in this day and time. My prayer is that they will not allow the culture of the day to eliminate Christ and Holiness from their lives. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will convict them so they will be young people of conviction and that they will above all else guard their hearts(Proverbs 4:23). My prayer is also for Carla and I—that we will serve as watchmen on the wall and keep close watch on the influence of the world in our home. I pray that we will be a Godly example for them as we challenge them to be an example in life, in speech, in faith, in love, and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12). My prayer is simply that they will hunger and thirst for righteousness and that the Holy Spirit will cultivate this hunger in their hearts (Matthew 6:33).
3. Pray over their PASSIONS.
This might similar to their purposes, but by passion I simply mean that God will help them to identify what they are good at now and that He will give them favor and influence in whatever they put their hand to. We pray that our kids will become leaders in the classroom, on the playing field, and in their future jobs. Every night my wife prays this prayer over each of our kids, “God surround them with your favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). We pray a strong FAVOR FACTOR over our children.
4. Pray over the key PEOPLE in their lives.
I pray that God will bring my kids good, Christ centered, friends. I don’t ask God to make them popular, but to have, as I’ve mentioned, favor with key classmates and teammates that will be a good influence on them and vice versa. I pray for their friends who do not know Christ—that my kids will commit to being a witness in their world. I pray against the drama that fills the world of so many teenagers today, and they my kids will base their self esteem on what the word of God says about them and not the words of those around them! And yes, I pray over their future spouse as well, that God will give them contentment to wait and wisdom in who to marry.
5. Pray over their PURSUIT with the Lord.
Ultimately, the first four boils down to this last one—my kids’ personal relationship with Christ. My prayer is that my kids will continue to come into a faith of their own and that they will take ownership of their walk with the Lord. My prayer is that God will cultivate a “one thing” desire within their hearts based on Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask from the Lord; this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” My prayer is that God, by His Holy Spirit and through the disciplines of our family, will cultivate a love for His presence within their hearts. And finally, I pray that as my children seek the Lord that a Spirit of wisdom and revelation would be upon them so that they might know Him better—from the heart! (Ephesians 1:17)
I’m grateful for the privilege of prayer and that God hears us when we pray—especially when we cry out to Him concerning our children!
Can I get an “Amen?” 🙂
Mike