Powerful Parents Pray Over Your Children!

May 3

Listen one of the most powerful things that you can do as a parent, is to consistently pray by using scriptures over and for your children. I am by no means a prayer expert. Or a parenting one. But having raised—and prayed for—seven kids who are now in their young adult years, I am convinced that prayer is the single most powerful thing we can do for our children. Not only that, but it’s what opens the door to freedom from worry and fear in our lives.

Think about it with me for a second. There will be times when we don’t really know what’s best for our kids (or when they won’t listen to us, when we do). And even if we do know what we want—healthy friendships, strong character traits, safety and protection—we can feel like our influence, or our ability to provide blessings like these, is woefully limited. And that can leave us feeling anxious, afraid, or ill-equipped.

Which is where prayer comes in. “Don’t worry about anything,” the Bible commands, “but pray about everything. Tell God your needs and thank him for what he has done.”

Pray. About. Everything.

That’s a command that pops up over and over again in the pages of Scripture; clearly, God wants us to talk to Him about about children! Not only is prayer the power by which His blessings come into our lives, but it’s also a way to acknowledge God as the Source of these gifts.

On the blog today, let’s talk about how you don’t have to do everything right as a parent, but there is one thing you cannot afford to get wrong and that is PRAYER! You see as a parent prayer is our highest privilege with the greatest return on the investment since the dividends are eternal. Literally ordinary parents are turned into prophets as their prayers shape the destinies of their children, grandchildren, and every generation that follows.

One of the greatest tools we have as parents is committing our children and our parenting to the Lord. His ways are higher than ours and we can’t even imagine all the wonderful things he has in store for our kids!

We must trust, believe and declare His promises over our children.

Today, I challenge you to Write down your children’s names and write one thing you can pray daily for them.

One of the most powerful things we can do as parents, is to consistently use scripture to pray over our children.

Two of the best times to pray with your child are on the way to school (assuming you drive him or her) and at bedtime—regardless of age. We lived about five miles from the school our children attended when they were growing up. Every morning we would pray about things most important to our children—tests, friends, teachers, activities. As the car topped the hill right before the school building, we always concluded with the same request: “And Lord, we ask that you would keep each of our children from harm, evil, and temptation this day, that they would experience You at work in their lives and be used by You to influence others for Your Kingdom. Amen.” Once our teenagers began to drive themselves to school, we would use breakfast for this prayer time.

Bedtime prayers can be more personal for each child. Pray for her future mate, relationships, activities, challenges, temptations, and heart for God. Don’t assume that a teenager is too big for you to kneel beside his bed and stroke his face and pray.

Pray offensively. Before your child hits adolescence, pray for his peer group—that he will have at least one strong Christian friend for the teenage years. Ask God to protect your child daily from others who would be an evil influence. Also consider asking God to help you spot your child doing things right so that you can encourage him in making right choices.

Pray defensively. On more than one occasion we sought the Lord’s help in removing a friend of questionable character from our child’s life.

Writing is one a my favorite creative outlets and I love writing to my husband and children such to include scriptures, prayers, and just random conversations to God about them. This is oftentimes my way of coping with the anxiety and the possibility of becoming overwhelmed but more importantly how I am able to prophetically speak into their lives and future.

Despite the fact of having some adult children, I still pray scriptures over them, or family or just at random. And although its done for them trust me it’s also been really encouraging and teaching ‘me’ not to say anything about them that would contradict that which I have spoken over them.

Please use these scriptures to prophetically prayer over and for your children.

Against Anxiety

For God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7

For Peace

You belong to Christ And God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. — Philippians 4:7

To Be Filled With The Spirit

You are filled with the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. — Galatians 5:22

To Be Set Apart

You are a chosen generation, a royal priest, a holy nation, and God’s very own possession. You will grow to show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. — 1 Peter 2:9

For Good Sleep

You will sleep like a baby, safe and sound — your rest will be sweet and secure. — Proverbs 3:24

For Their Protection

The Lord himself watches over you. The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. — Psalm 121:6

To Live with Purpose

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you. — Psalm 138:8

For Strength and Courage

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. — Deuteronomy 31:6

For Good Friendships that Strengthen & Encourage Him

Iron sharpens iron; so one man sharpens another —Proverbs 27:17

To Rest in God’s Grace

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.— 2 Corinthians 12:9

How To Pray over Your Children

The best part about praying over our children, is that in can happen at any time in any capacity. These are simply daily conversations we are having with God that is not bound to a specific event, time, place, or location.

We don’t have to wait until crucial moments like naming ceremonies, or baby dedications in order to communicate with God the desires of our heart concerning our children.

Here are a few ways you can incorporate praying scriptures over your children on a daily basis:

You can whisper these scriptures in their ears right before they go to bed.
You can sing or hum the scriptures while doing dishes or daily chores.
You can prophesy over them watching them run in the backyard, or doing something they enjoy.
You can profess the scriptures while interacting with them in everyday things like handing them their food, or buckling them in their car seat.
You can write the prayers in a journal (and perhaps save it until they’re older and give it to them).
If you are breastfeeding, you can speak scriptures over them while nursing
If you’re pregnant you even hold your stomach and begin to prophesy over them every time you feel a kick (on at any moment).

Moral of the story, as long as there is intention and the desire to do so, praying over your children can become a daily practice we can use to cover our family, and prophetically speak life, goodness, and God’s will into their future.

What are some bible verses or scriptures you use to pray over your children? Meet me in the comments and let’s share and bombard heaven with some scripture that you can PRAY over your children daily!

XO,

Kangelia

Photos by Christina Jones Photography