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In the past 3 weeks, I have spent 2,471 minutes nursing our newborn baby. Crazy, isn’t it, when you consider how much time is spent feeding a little one?!
To be honest, I have been convicted about how I’ve been spending that time. While it’s easy for me to hop on Facebook or Instagram or get further ahead in one of the books I’m reading, God has been reminding me what a unique opportunity this time is to pray for my children!
The reality is that we have moments like this sprinkled throughout our days. We might not have 30 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time, but we do have the few minutes we’re washing the dishes or waiting in the pickup line at camp, sports, or school. We have 5 minutes while we clean the bathroom or 10 while we mow the lawn. We have longer stretches on sleepless nights while we snuggle a little one back to sleep.
Will we take advantage of those little moments and pray?
One of my favorite ways to pray is to pray Truth — to take Scripture verses and pray them right back to God!
There is great power in praying God’s Word — praying Truth. Not only does it buoy up our faith as we pray God’s very words to Him, but when we pray Scripture, our prayers carry the power of God’s Word, which is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and will not return empty but will accomplish what God purposed for it to do (Isaiah 55:11)!
God reminds the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:12, “I am alert and active, watching over my Word to perform it” (AMP).
Praying Truth – praying the very words of God – is powerful, and will also encourage us, strengthen our faith, and give us words to lean into when we don’t know how to pray.
Though I have many Scriptures I pray often for my children, I’m sharing five today that are very close to my heart and that I pray over their lives:
1. PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S SALVATION, IDENTITY, AND PURPOSE
Lord God, I fall to my knees before You asking that out of Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower _______ with inner strength through Your Spirit so that You, Jesus, may dwell in her heart through faith, making Your permanent home there.
May _______ be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, so that she/he may have the power to apprehend and grasp with all of God’s devoted people the extravagant dimensions of Your love – how wide and long and high and deep Your love is!
May _______ actually experience the love of Christ, which far surpasses simply knowing about You, that she/he may be filled in all her/his being with the richest measure of Your presence and become a person who is wholly filled and flooded by You. Lord, allow _______ to live a full life, full in the fullness of You! (Ephesians 3:14-19 based on the ESV, NLT, AMP, and MSG)
2. PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S SALVATION
Father, I pray that _______ will confess with her/his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in her/his heart that You have raised Christ from the dead. May _______ call on Your name, Lord! Save her/him so that she/he will become one of Your children! (Romans 10:9,13; Colossians 3:12 ESV)
3. PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S CHARACTER, HEART, AND ACTIONS
{If your child has not yet trusted Christ for salvation, I would first pray the prayer above and then modify this one.}
Father, thank You that _______ is Your child! You have chosen her/him to be holy, and she/he is dearly loved. Out of that love, may _______’s life be marked by tenderhearted mercy, by kindness, by humility, by gentleness, and by patience.
I pray that _______ will be quick to forgive an offense, forgiving as quickly and completely as You forgave us! And above all else, I pray that she/he will live a life of love that binds us all together in perfect unity.
May _______’s heart be filled with the peace of Christ and thankfulness. Please cause the message about Christ, in all its richness, to fill her/his life, compelling her/him to sing, sing, sing her/his heart out to God! Let every detail of _______’s life — words, actions, whatever — be done in the name of Jesus, thanking You, God the Father, every step of the way. (Colossians 3:12-17, based on the ESV, NLT, and MSG)
4. PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S DESIRES AND LOVE OF GOD’S WORD
You tell us in the Bible, Lord, that a person can keep their way pure by living according to Your Word. I pray that _______ will seek You with all of her/his heart. Do not let her/him stray from Your commands. May she/he hide Your Word in her/his heart so that she/he might not sin against You. I pray, too, Lord, that _______ will rejoice in following Your statutes, meditate on Your precepts, and consider Your ways all the days of her/his life. May she/he delight in Your decrees and not neglect Your Word. (Psalm 119:9-16 based on NIV84).
5. PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S FAITH AND SUBMISSION TO GOD
Lord, I pray that _______ will trust in You with all her/his heart, leaning not on her/his own understanding but acknowledging You in all her/his ways. As she/he does this, Lord, lead and guide her/his steps and make her/his path straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 based on NIV84)
Resources for You:
Pray Truth: Praying God’s Word for the Hearts of Our Kids
Praying God’s Word for Your Kids: A Resource List
Pray Truth: Praying God’s Word for my Husband’s Heart
Blessings,
Erika
I first published this post on the For the Family blog. Click here to read the post there.
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