Praying for Our Kids {Resource List}

“Lord, teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1)

The words hopped off the page and convicted me to the core.

This portion of Luke 11:1 is my daughter’s Cubbies verse this week, and here I am at 32 years old, logging years of prayer history with God, and I am still praying the same thing: “Lord, teach me to pray!”

Like so many, my prayer life has peaks and valleys. Though I can and do enjoy talking with God all throughout the day, I lack discipline in listening, and often I fail to make time for uninterrupted, intimate times of fellowship with Him.

Other times, I don’t know the words to pray, so I let busyness replace solitude.

I know I’m not alone in this. Some of you have confessed the very same challenges to me.

More than Blanket Prayers

Between my last blog and this one, we have had quite a few “Pray Truth” prayer challenges, as a way to encourage all of us to pray faithfully and specifically. My hope was that these challenges would help kickstart your prayer life and mine.

Even more than being a catalyst, however, I wanted to challenge us: no more blanket prayers. God put it on my heart to help us get into the Bible and apply His Truth to our prayers and our lives, thus the name Pray Truth.

I find, however, that when I’m not intentionally praying for my children, when I’m not committed to a challenge or when it is not a part of my everyday routine, my prayers for them are more general and sporadic. But, Parents, we need to be praying for our kids!

The Power of a Parent’s Prayer

Stormie Omartian, author of the Power of a Praying Parent reminds us:

“The battle for our children’s lives is waged on our knees. When we don’t pray, it’s like sitting on the sidelines watching our children in a war zone getting shot at from every angle. When we do pray, we’re in the battle alongside them, appropriating God’s power on their behalf. If we also declare the Word of God in our prayers, then we wield a powerful weapon against which no enemy can prevail.“

When I’m at a loss for words or don’t know how to pray,

when I want to pray according to God’s will,

when I want power in my prayers: I find there is no better way to pray than to pray God’s Word right back to Him! That was the foundation of the Pray Truth challenges — praying specific Scriptures for specific people for speicific situations.

In the foreword to the book Praying the Scriptures for Your Children by Jodie Berndt, Fern Nichols, founder and president of Moms in Touch International, writes:

“I believe the greatest influence a mom can have in the life of her child is through prayer. As she stands in the gap for her beloved child, the Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth hears and answers her prayers . . . One of the most powerful [prayer] principles is Scripture praying. When we pray the promises of God for our children, our faith increases because we are praying back the very words of God.”

With what regularity do you pray for your children? How would you describe your prayer life as it relates to praying for your children?  Thriving? Sporadic? Nonexistent? Somewhere in between?

These questions are not meant to condemn but to help us reflect, evaluate, and improve. Do you need encouragement in prayer? Do you have encouragement to give?

Resources to Help us Pray for our Kids

The Pray Truth books are about ready to be released! But until then, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite resources for praying God’s Word for our kids. Many of these  have helped me incorporate specific prayers for my children as part of my everyday quiet time.

 

Power of a Praying Parent (Stormie Omartian) — Like my copy of Power of a Praying Wife, this copy is marked up, tattered, and falling apart from use. Not only are the prayers powerful, but the short chapters (1-3 pages), are relevant and really helpful in addressing and understanding that day’s prayer topic.

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children (Jodie Berndt) — This book was on my Amazon wishlist for over a year, and it’s now one of my favorite resources for praying Scripture for our kids.

Pray Big for Your Child: The Power of Praying God’s Promises for Your Child’s Life (Will Davis Jr.) — Not only does Pray Big include tons of Scripture and Biblical examples, in it Will Davis includes real life testimonies and addresses questions that you and I have asked. Questions such as: “Is it silly to pray for …?”  or “What exactly should I pray for my kids?” {I loved this book, but in all honesty, the format overwhelmed me a little bit. Instead of listing out a prayer, different “pinpoint prayers” are interspersed throughout the chapter. The appendix does include “a month’s supply of pinpoint prayers,” which is really helpful, but I don’t think it includes all of the verses and prayers he included in the chapters. I still want to go through and organized them all for my own use so that they are a little more user-friendly. Appendix 2 gives ideas for “praying for your child throughout the day,” which I love.}

Praying Circles around Your Children (Mark Batterson) — This is a short little book and super inexpensive, but it’s like a shot of espresso for your prayer life! Need a little encouragement to pray for your kids? Read this book.

Expecting: Praying for Your Child’s Development-Body and Soul (Marla Taviano) — Though I have read a few other books by Marla and I follow her blog, I have not actually read this book. The book description reads in part, “Just as the heart of your baby begins to beat and as little ears take shape, speak words of prayer asking for a heart that beats for God and for ears that listen for His leading. This beautiful prayer book will guide you as you pray for your child’s physical growth as well as his or her spiritual growth.” I’m wishing I had this when I was expecting. If it’s all I hope it to be, this book will be a perfect gift for expecting Moms!

Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most (Brooke McGlothlin) — I love Brooke’s heart for raising boys into men and depending on Jesus the whole way. She depends on Scripture and helps us do that as well.

Pray Truth: Praying God’s Word for the Hearts of our Kids — This is your 31 day prayer jumpstart to lead you into prayer for your kids. Every prayer is saturated with Scripture because every prayer is taken right out of the Bible. You can know that you’re praying God’s will because you are praying his word! This helpful resource covers so many foundation things our kids need and has helped many families immensely.

 

FREE Resources

I have quite a few upcoming posts about praying with our kids, ideas for creative prayer times, and how to speak blessings over our kids. Subscribe by e-mail so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming posts!

Question for You: 

What questions do you have about teaching your kids to pray?

Resources for You:

Pray Truth: Praying God’s Word for My Husband’s Heart