In Nehemiah 4:14, scripture states, “After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.’” As parents, I can think of no mightier way to fight than on our knees with our heads bowed in prayer! As parents, it seems like a given that we would pray for our children. But what do we pray for when we pray for our children? I wanted to share a few ideas to help you in this area.
- Pray for their salvation. The highest priority in the lives of our children is that they understand what Jesus did for them and accept His gift of salvation. When we pray for this to happen, we must also do our part to be sure they know what Christ did for them. What an honor to teach your children the ways of the Lord and how to enter into a relationship with Him.
- Pray that they fall completely head over heels in love with Jesus. Once in love with Jesus, so many other things simply fall into place. A relationship with Jesus is precious.
- Pray for your sons to grow up and become the spiritual leaders of their families.
- Pray for their future spouse and their parents. Those parents are shaping the person your child will spend the rest of their life with.
- Pray for protection from the evil one. Spiritual warfare is real and your children are not immune to this danger.
- My son hated that I prayed this over him constantly, but pray that your children would get caught when they make wrong choices. When our children are confronted with their bad choices, they not only have to face the consequences, but it gives us, as parents, the chance to have a spiritual conversation with them about God’s desires and about what sin is. It also gives us the chance to teach them and help them walk through repentance and forgiveness.
- Pray that your children will not only love God, but that they will love people. Be sure your children know that God desires us to love ALL people, saved or not. Model this behavior.
- Pray that God’s will would be accomplished in the lives of your children.
- Pray that your children would bring glory to God.
- Pray that your children would make good choices that please the Lord.
- Pray that your children would fall in love with God’s word.
- Pray that your children would be thankful people who give of themselves and what they have to others.
This list is not all-inclusive by any means, but it is a wonderful place to start. You may wonder why some things didn’t make the list. But truthfully, God is in control of our circumstances and many times uses them to bring glory to Himself or to grow our character or faith through adversity. I would rather my children and I accomplish what God desires over ease in life. And I would much rather have children that love the Lord and want to live a life that pleases Him over anything else this world can offer.
Parents, as the Faith Builders in the Home, you can start here:
Resources
For a complete Bible story worship experience with your child, please go to ministrygrid.lifeway.com and create or log in to your free account. Then follow this link for this week’s lesson: Paul Wrote About the Lord’s Supper.
0 Comments