I believe one of our jobs as believers and parents is to seek Christ and ask Him what He wants for our children and how we are to help achieve those things through Him. When our children are very young, they will not always know in which direction to pray for their life. Certainly we can teach them. It is so important that we intercede for them just as Jesus Christ intercedes for us.
I stepped away from this blog for a minute to ask my 5 year old son what I should pray for to God for him. His response was, “Make the sky super, super cool!” When I asked him what he would like to ask for, he told me, “To go to the park.” Yes, we are to come to Him like little children as shared in Matthew chapter 18. There is such a bigger picture than what our children can see.
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
This is pretty heavy. Certainly there is an enemy that is after our young children and teens as much as they are us. It is so important to understand there is power in prayer! We are born with a sinful nature. This nature needs to be tamed so that we can be the children God would have us to be. I think this comes through discipline and prayer. When your children are struggling with something, offer to pray with them that God will step in to help. Give them too the tools they need to do prayerful battling themselves. “Jesus, please help me,” or, “Satan, flee in Jesus name!” are just two examples. Teach them how to submit to God and resist the devil so that he will flee (James 4:7). Pray too that God would show you what to pray for your children. Many nights in prayer for my boys I’ve felt the Lord bring to mind some other specific things to pray for regarding my boys. I pray for my kids’ development and behavior. I pray that they will grow to love the Lord and serve Him.
I’d learned from my aunt’s example, as she would pray over her kids before sleep, she would ask the Lord to minister to their spirits. What a wonderful thing to do, praying that the Lord would guard over your child’s mind even in their sleep.
It doesn’t hurt to pray for their future too. I have heard of people praying for God to prepare the right spouse for their child one day. I pray that my children will make wise choices and they would never want to stray from God. I pray that I would be the mother God wants me to be for my kids.
Please check out my other Christian parenting blogs from this series:
Getting into Your Kid’s Business
Honoring Your Mother and Father
Teaching Our Children Self-Respect
All Scripture referenced was quoted from the NKJV.