Children are one of God's most wonderful blessings. Through them, He teaches us the true meaning of grace, shows us the depth of His unfailing love and faithfulness and molds us into the people He created us to be. I can't tell you how many lesson the Lord has taught me through my boys!
Whether you are a believer or not I think we can all agree that, as parents, we want the best for our children and would go to great lengths to protect them. But sometimes I think we forget the best defense we have to protect them against harm is right there in front of us, readily available any time of day or night. What I mean is, of course, prayer! And what better way than to pray the sweet, precious promises God has already given in the Bible? I remember when my boys were younger I would always pray God's word over them. It gave me indescribable comfort to know that what I was praying God has already promised. And He is always faithful even when we are faithless!
Here, I've complied 10 scriptures to pray over your children. These are scriptures near and dear to my own heart but this is far from an exhaustive list! Feel free to use these as a starting point but don't feel like you need to stick strictly to these words only. God wants you to share your heart with Him so don't be afraid to add your own prayers to these. And don't be afraid to go searching for more beautiful promises of God in the Bible to pray over your children!
Without further ado, here are 10 scriptures to pray over your children!
1. "...so is My Word which goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I send it." Isaiah 55:11
I love this scripture because it declares the sovereignty of God and His word. I would always start with this scripture when praying over my boys because it is a reminder that our prayers are not only heard, but if we are praying in alignment with God's will (i.e. His word) we can be sure they will come to pass.
I love this scripture because it declares the sovereignty of God and His word. I would always start with this scripture when praying over my boys because it is a reminder that our prayers are not only heard, but if we are praying in alignment with God's will (i.e. His word) we can be sure they will come to pass.
2. "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord 'He is my refuge and my fortress. My God in whom I trust.' " Psalm 91:1-2
This is such a sweet, sweet promise of God! This world is full of scary and painful things. As a mom or dad it can be a paralyzing thought to send your kids out into the world on their own. When we "dwell in the shadow of the Almighty through trusting Him and obeying His word, we stay under His umbrella of protection. Pray that your children would always dwell in the shadow of the Almighty and declare Him their refuge and fortress!
3. "Do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you; love her and she will watch over you." Proverbs 4:6
The world will offer our children all sorts of "wisdom". Most of which is not really wisdom at all but foolishness. I am constantly praying for them not just to have wisdom but for them to seek the wisdom of God above the wisdom of the world. Part of gaining the wisdom of God is not simply sitting around waiting for it to pop into your head but to seek it out through prayer, reading of the Word and being in relationship with other God-seeking Christians. God promises that His wisdom will protect us. Let's pray that our children become active and relentless seekers of that precious wisdom!
4. "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" Job 5:17
Children are sinners just like us and they will no doubt make plenty of mistakes. We should always be praying for their hearts to receive the discipline we give with trust and humility. We may discipline our children all we want but if their hearts are not receiving it with a humble spirit, it will do no good. One scripture I always direct my boys to when we are disciplining is Hebrews 12:5. I try to let them know that we discipline because we love them and not because we want to harm them. It is important to lay a foundation of receiving correction with trust and thankfulness while they are young and under our authority. When they are older, it will help to foster a greater faith and obedience to God.
5. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
Before we even attempt to discipline our children, we should be praying fervently for the Holy Spirit to help us do so according to His ways - in love and not anger. Believe me, I understand just how angry our children can make us at times. But when we discipline out of our anger instead of love, we totally miss the entire purpose of discipline set forth by God. Our children are a blessing from God and our purpose as parents is ultimately to help them become more and more like Jesus daily. Discipline, when given in love and with a heart that is fully submissive to God, supports and nourishes this process.
**As a side note - we will no doubt mess this one up a time or two. Don't beat yourself up. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive us. We all get cranky and short-tempered. If you find you've been overly harsh with your child, confess your sin to them and humbly ask for forgiveness. By doing this you can model the proper way to come to the throne of grace and help them learn how to handle it when they mess up themselves.
6. "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you can take your stand against the devil." Ephesians 6:10-11
This day and age, our children are facing more temptations than ever before. There is so much pressure to conform placed on them by friends, social media, movies, music... And each temptation is designed cleverly by their adversary to pull them a little bit further away from God. But let's declare these powerful words over our children's lives and pray that they would always take up ALL of God's spiritual armor. We can only do so much as human parents and then we have to send them out into the world. But let us remember they have a Father in Heaven who is never taken by surprise or caught off guard. Let us pray they will be properly equipped to fight the spiritual battle in God's strength and that they will be victorious! And speaking of friends...
7. "He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Proverbs 13:20
No explanation needed here! Let's pray for our children's present and future friends that they will also be wise and God-seeking. And while we are at it, let's pray for their future mates. Besides the fact they will greatly influence our children's future lives, they will also be family someday. No harm in praying for good ones! 😅
8. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms." 1 Peter 4:10
God gives us all different gifts and talents to be used for the furthering of the Kingdom. Let us pray that our children would nurture and grow their spiritual gifts and be passionate about serving the church with them.
9. "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?' ” Hebrews 13:5-6
One of my deepest prayers for my children is that they will always find their joy and happiness in Christ alone. In a world that not only fosters but praises a rise-to-the-top-and-never-give-up kind of attitude, it can be easy to get caught up in striving for the material things of this life. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God gives us but when they begin to replace Him on the throne of our hearts, we've gone off course. Let's pray that our children would be content in the Lord and develop grateful, humble spirits that do not cling to the things of the world.
10. "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19
Last but certainly not least, let us pray that our children will have a full knowledge of the Savior they serve and their position as children of God. That they would possess a supernatural understanding of Christ's love and that everything they do and say and think all the days of their lives would stem out of that understanding.
I pray these verses are a blessing to you and your family. God is always faithful even when we are faithless! If you enjoyed reading, would you mind sharing so others can benefit from these precious promises of God as well? Thanks friend! <3
This is such a sweet, sweet promise of God! This world is full of scary and painful things. As a mom or dad it can be a paralyzing thought to send your kids out into the world on their own. When we "dwell in the shadow of the Almighty through trusting Him and obeying His word, we stay under His umbrella of protection. Pray that your children would always dwell in the shadow of the Almighty and declare Him their refuge and fortress!
3. "Do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you; love her and she will watch over you." Proverbs 4:6
The world will offer our children all sorts of "wisdom". Most of which is not really wisdom at all but foolishness. I am constantly praying for them not just to have wisdom but for them to seek the wisdom of God above the wisdom of the world. Part of gaining the wisdom of God is not simply sitting around waiting for it to pop into your head but to seek it out through prayer, reading of the Word and being in relationship with other God-seeking Christians. God promises that His wisdom will protect us. Let's pray that our children become active and relentless seekers of that precious wisdom!
4. "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" Job 5:17
Children are sinners just like us and they will no doubt make plenty of mistakes. We should always be praying for their hearts to receive the discipline we give with trust and humility. We may discipline our children all we want but if their hearts are not receiving it with a humble spirit, it will do no good. One scripture I always direct my boys to when we are disciplining is Hebrews 12:5. I try to let them know that we discipline because we love them and not because we want to harm them. It is important to lay a foundation of receiving correction with trust and thankfulness while they are young and under our authority. When they are older, it will help to foster a greater faith and obedience to God.
5. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
Before we even attempt to discipline our children, we should be praying fervently for the Holy Spirit to help us do so according to His ways - in love and not anger. Believe me, I understand just how angry our children can make us at times. But when we discipline out of our anger instead of love, we totally miss the entire purpose of discipline set forth by God. Our children are a blessing from God and our purpose as parents is ultimately to help them become more and more like Jesus daily. Discipline, when given in love and with a heart that is fully submissive to God, supports and nourishes this process.
**As a side note - we will no doubt mess this one up a time or two. Don't beat yourself up. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive us. We all get cranky and short-tempered. If you find you've been overly harsh with your child, confess your sin to them and humbly ask for forgiveness. By doing this you can model the proper way to come to the throne of grace and help them learn how to handle it when they mess up themselves.
6. "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you can take your stand against the devil." Ephesians 6:10-11
This day and age, our children are facing more temptations than ever before. There is so much pressure to conform placed on them by friends, social media, movies, music... And each temptation is designed cleverly by their adversary to pull them a little bit further away from God. But let's declare these powerful words over our children's lives and pray that they would always take up ALL of God's spiritual armor. We can only do so much as human parents and then we have to send them out into the world. But let us remember they have a Father in Heaven who is never taken by surprise or caught off guard. Let us pray they will be properly equipped to fight the spiritual battle in God's strength and that they will be victorious! And speaking of friends...
7. "He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Proverbs 13:20
No explanation needed here! Let's pray for our children's present and future friends that they will also be wise and God-seeking. And while we are at it, let's pray for their future mates. Besides the fact they will greatly influence our children's future lives, they will also be family someday. No harm in praying for good ones! 😅
8. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms." 1 Peter 4:10
God gives us all different gifts and talents to be used for the furthering of the Kingdom. Let us pray that our children would nurture and grow their spiritual gifts and be passionate about serving the church with them.
9. "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?' ” Hebrews 13:5-6
One of my deepest prayers for my children is that they will always find their joy and happiness in Christ alone. In a world that not only fosters but praises a rise-to-the-top-and-never-give-up kind of attitude, it can be easy to get caught up in striving for the material things of this life. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God gives us but when they begin to replace Him on the throne of our hearts, we've gone off course. Let's pray that our children would be content in the Lord and develop grateful, humble spirits that do not cling to the things of the world.
10. "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19
Last but certainly not least, let us pray that our children will have a full knowledge of the Savior they serve and their position as children of God. That they would possess a supernatural understanding of Christ's love and that everything they do and say and think all the days of their lives would stem out of that understanding.
I pray these verses are a blessing to you and your family. God is always faithful even when we are faithless! If you enjoyed reading, would you mind sharing so others can benefit from these precious promises of God as well? Thanks friend! <3
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