Lord, I prayed for this child,
and You have granted me what I asked of You.
1 Samuel 1:27
These Scripture-based prayers are dedicated to this most important responsibility and privilege of a parent or grandparent or teacher for children of all ages.
Lord, what do You want for my children?
Guide me by Your Spirit as I pray for my children according to Your will. I release them to You so that You can accomplish Your will for their lives. Work the life of Christ in them and give them Your best.
I pray that my children would:
1. Receive and love Jesus as their Savior... May they understand that You love them so much that You gave Your only Son for them, and when they believe in Him, they will have life forever with You. John 3:16
2. Commit their lives to make Jesus Lord and be filled with Your Spirit... May my children recognize that Jesus is the Name above all names and confess Him as Lord of all. I pray that they will trust Him with all their hearts, not lean on their own understanding, and acknowledge that He is Lord; thus, You will guide them in Your best way for them. May they be filled with Your Holy Spirit to the fullness of Christ. Phil 2:9-11, Pro 3:5-6, Eph 5:18, 1:23, 4:13
3. Know the true and living God intimately and cherish and live in all Your names... I pray that my children will desire to know You intimately, Father. May they love You and apply Your names and truth to their needs. Dan 11:32b, Phil 3:10, Ps 9:10
4. Learn to pray and praise... I pray that my children will learn to communicate with You, their loving Father. Put Your praise in their hearts and on their lips. Lead them to be entirely dependent on You for everything, so they talk with You about everything and give You the honor that You deserve. Mark 10:14-15, Matt 21:16, Phil 4:6
5. Know who they are in Christ... I pray that my children will know how precious they are to You. Teach them to base their identity and security in Christ. Give them Christ-centered confidence and worth. Give them Your mind about how You see them and how You feel about them. Help them to know who they are and what they have in Christ and what they can do through Him. Eph 1:4,7,11-14; Col 1 :27
6. Be protected from the evil one by the blood of Jesus... Cause my children to know the power of the blood to defeat all the works of the evil one. John 17:15, 1 John 4:4
7. Receive the love of God the Father... I pray that my children will know Your Father-heart and have the assurance of Your great love. Let them know by experience how extravagantly and unconditionally You love them. Father them with Your holy love, so that they know that You are always working in their lives in love. 1 John 3:1
8. Love the Word of God... I pray that my children will treasure Your Word more than wealth. Teach them to base their lives on it as their standard of life. Give them understanding as they seek You in Your Word. Teach them to plead Your unbreakable promises and to defeat all the lies of the enemy with Your truth revealed in Your Word. Ps 119:127-130,159-162
9. Learn to hate sin and love holiness, righteousness, and the fear of the Lord... I pray that You will write Your Word on the hearts of my children, so that they will choose to hate sin and love Your holiness. Work in their lives the holy fear of You. Help them to desire to please You in all they do. Create in them a pure heart. Make them wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. Move in them to dedicate their life to You as a living sacrifice. Ps 119:9,11; 2 Tim 2:22, Rom 16:19b, Pro 8:13
10. Grow up into maturity in the Lord... I pray that my children will be built on the foundation of Jesus and grow in Your grace with a conscious sense of Your presence conforming them to be like You. May they be built up with Your wisdom, favor, truth, love, life, faith, strength, and thankfulness. Luke 2:52, Eph 4:15, Col 2:6-7
11. Glorify God in their bodies as Your temple... I pray that my children will honor You by keeping their bodies pure as the temple of Your Spirit. Teach them the great price You paid in the death of Jesus for their holiness. 1 Cor 6:19-20, Rom 12:1-2
12. Respect those in authority...I pray that my children will submit to the authorities You have placed over them for their good. Cause them to obey and not reserve for themselves the right to choose whether to obey, which You call rebellion. Give them a joyful, grateful heart as they submit to authority. Rom 13:1, Eph 6:1, 3:22-25
13. Have healthy, edifying, wise friendships... I pray that my children will develop friendships based on the drawing of Your Holy Spirit to righteous companions. Give them friends who are true, wholesome, and mutually encouraging. Give them wisdom in choosing relationships that will honor You. Ps 119:63, John 15:13-14
14. Know the truth and renew their minds in God's Word... I pray that my children will know Your truth in their hearts as well as their minds. May they base their life on Your truth instead of Satan's lies, so that they will experience all the freedom that Jesus died to give them. I pray that they will daily renew their minds in Your Word and set their thoughts on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. John 8:32, Rom 12:2, Phil 4:8
15. Walk wisely in the ways and wisdom of God... I pray that my children will commit everything they do to You and trust You to show them the blessings of obedience. Teach them to put You first in everything. Let their actions reflect Your goodness, righteousness, truth, and wisdom. Day by day fulfill all Your will for them. Ps 37:4- 6, Pro 3:5-6, Eph 5:8-10,15-17
16. Have the joy of the Lord... I pray that You alone will be my children's joy. Fill them with Your joy, so they won't pursue the world's pleasures. Phil 4:4, Neh 8:10
17. Seek to please God, not self, and serve others... I pray that my children will desire to please You in their thoughts and actions and not be people-pleasers. May they have servant's hearts and give to others like Jesus who did not seek to be served. Matt 4:10b, Ps 19:14, Mark 10:43-45
18. Learn who the enemy is and resist him victoriously... I pray that my children will humbly submit to You and resist the evil one, thereby defeating him. May they discern his tactics and not entertain his lies nor be entrapped by his snares. I pray that they will receive Your strength and resurrection power for every spiritual battle. 2 Cor 2:11, Jam 4:7, Eph 6:10
19. Maintain their first-love devotion to Jesus... I pray that Jesus will be the first love of my children. Give them a passion for Jesus. Cause them to love Him with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. May they prize His affection above all else. Phil 3:13-14, Luke 10:27
20. Find the godly life partner that God is preparing, a mate who will complement them in their obedient walk with the Lord... I pray that You will bring my children the life partner You have chosen for them. Develop the character of Jesus in them. May their walk together with You be a testimony that You made them for each other. Make them a mighty witness for You. Bless them with Your best. Pro 12:4, 31:10; Ps 112:1-2
In Jesus' name, amen.