One night at youth group our pastor invited us leaders to share something from our hearts to the students for their upcoming year. I kept feeling a tug at my heart to simply pray for them; beyond wisdom or advice, I just wanted them to be blessed and know that I was praying for them. The Lord brought to mind all the prayers that Paul prayed at the beginning of his letters in the New Testament. This one in Philippians felt appropriate for the moment:

And now months later, as a friend and I planned a workshop about parenting we felt a pull toward prayer. In Ephesians 6, Paul spends a lot of time discussing the armor of God and how to protect ourselves from the devil’s schemes. The very last verse touches on prayer: 

I’ve always prayed for my kids, but I often hit a block when I’m thinking about HOW to pray for them. I get stuck, or pray the same things over and over. We are supposed to pray for our kids, and the structure in Philippians provides a perfect place to start:

1.”…that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…”

Pray for our children to love knowledge and insight: More than anything in the world I want my children to love the word of God, and the knowledge and insight of wise counsel. We’re going through Proverbs with our kids and it has been so fun reinforcing the value of wisdom in their little minds. I know what it looks like as an adult to be unable to humble yourself and submit to God and/or wise counsel. I want to start praying now that my kids would know it, seek it, and love it.

2.”…that you may be able to discern what is best…”

Pray for our children to be able to discern what is best: Especially in today’s world I want my kids to know what is best for them. And I want them to be able to discern truth from the lies the world so wants them to believe. The devil is prowling around and disguising lies as truth, and our kids need to be able to discern it. I can provide them with all the tools in the world, but I also want to pray that their little hearts will soften to the Holy Spirit, and be able to discern what is best.

3. “…and may be pure and blameless…”

Pray for our children to resist temptation: Again, we know the devil is prowling around looking for ways to trick our children. But, we also know the Lord always provides a way out. I want to spend time praying that my kids will be able to discern what is best, but also be able to resist what isn’t good for them. The power of God is within them, I want to pray they’ll tap into it. And I also know specifically what temptations my children struggle with; I want to pray for those things.

4. “…filled with the fruit of righteousness…”

Pray for our children’s lives to produce fruit: My children love Jesus, and they love church. But more than that, I want them to love our world with the love of God. There is no junior Holy Spirit, and in the same way there is no junior fruit of the Spirit. My children can make a difference in the lives of their friends, their siblings, and their classmates. I want to contend for those things. 

5. “…to the glory and praise of God…”

Pray for our children to glorify God: We know that the point of all creation is to live for Him. And we know that when we are glorifying God there is fullness of joy. My kids can also feel this joy, and we can pray for them to find purpose and learn to glorify God at any age.

These are the ways in which I would like to pray for my children, and I hope that you will join me. Let’s create a prayer-covered generation of kids who are influencing the world and loving Jesus deeply with their lives. 

Attached are these prayer points in a helpful FREE printable so you can pray every day for your kiddos!