No words can express how amazing it is to hold your newborn child in your arms. Parenting is such a holy and life-changing opportunity. One of the most powerful things a parent can give their child is their prayers for them. In this 5-day Bible plan, Evangelist Matt Brown shares 5 powerful prayers you can pray for your children every day.
Think Eternity
Day 1
Scripture: Philippians 3:8
No words can begin to describe the feeling of love and joy that my wife Michelle and I experienced with the birth of our children. It is a feeling far beyond anything we could have imagined.
My purpose in life changed dramatically with the birth of our firstborn son, and now our two other children. Now, one of my top goals in life has quickly become to spend as much time with our children as I can and to love them with everything I’ve got.
As a parent, I can’t help but think of my hopes and dreams for my children. This gets me thinking about what I’m praying for their life and future.
Our greatest hope for them would be that we would live out genuine faith in front of them that would build a deep legacy of faith in their hearts that would always stay with them.
Over the next five days, I want to share the five prayers that I pray for our children. I hope these will guide you in your prayers for your own children. Maybe these will inspire you in what your regular prayers for your children will be, and maybe you will add some of your own prayers in addition to these.
Most of all, I pray “that our children would know the joy of a close relationship with God.”
The greatest joy and most meaningful part of my own life is walking closely with God. I yearn for our children to know this profound joy and overwhelming sense of meaning that comes from walking closely with God, more than anything else I want for their life.
I pray they would know the joy of walking with Jesus:
The joy of daily communication with God.
The joy of hearing from God through His Word.
The joy of sensing God’s presence in the midst of everyday life.
The joy of sensing God’s purpose and direction in their life, and following and obeying that calling.
The joy of worshiping Jesus with every part of their life.
There is no greater desire I have for our children than that they would walk with God, and live to worship Jesus with everything they are.
The Apostle Paul talked about this joy when he said: “I consider everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)
Day 2
Scripture: Matthew 20:26
The second thing I pray for my children is “that they would have the heart of a servant.”
My heart skipped a beat when I saw a plaque on a friend’s wall: “If we want our children to become great, we must first pray that they become servants.”
It then listed Matthew 20:26, which states Jesus’ words: “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”
Jesus taught us to live opposite of how the world lives. Jesus taught that the greatest among us, must be the greatest servant. Jesus showed us a different way of living – that a heart of humility and serving others is God’s main objective for our lives.
I am praying our children would grow up with a great love for serving others:
That they would someday learn to serve their spouse.
That they would serve the local church.
That they would serve their community and society.
That they would see clearly the abundant joy in abandoning selfish desires and talk, and instead expend themselves for the sake of others.
This humble verse from the book of Matthew teaches us that the “greatest” thing we can all do is exactly and only what God leads us to do. No parent decides their children. It is God who calls us each out by name, and summons us to His great purposes for our lives – that we would be fruitful to the glory of Christ. And God’s main call for each of us is to live a life of serving others.
Day 3
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 4:10
My third prayer for our children is “that God would save them from unnecessary pain.”
1 Chronicles 4:10 records the prayer of a man named Jabez who was all but forgotten over the years until an author rediscovered and wrote about his simple prayer. In the Bible, this man named Jabez prays: “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”
While I know that God mysteriously works through our pain to reveal Himself and His plans and purposes for us, I am simply praying that God would, in His great mercy, shield our children from all unnecessary pain and suffering.
While I know that some pain and hardship will be inevitable in this life and that Biblical truth tells us “we all must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22), I pray that our children will be protected from any and all but the most necessary hardships.
Day 4
Scriptures: Luke 2:52, Psalms 1:1-3, Proverbs 9:10
The fourth prayer I pray for our children is that “they would become people of wisdom”
I firmly believe that God does not just want to save our souls, but rather move every area of our lives on to the path of godly wisdom.
I am praying for our children that they would grow more like Jesus, in “wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
I am praying that they would build their whole life on the gospel, and on godly wisdom that is rooted in the reverential awe and fear of the Lord. As Proverbs 9:10 teaches, “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”
I am praying that our children would see God’s Word as foundational to this life of wisdom. I am praying that they would live their life by Psalm 1: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3)
Day 5
Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23
My fifth prayer for our children is that they would “be full of the fruit of the Spirit”
Jesus has given us a clear guideline of what He wants from our lives, and what He produces in us when we are truly drawing closer to Him: a whole lot of love, a whole lot of joy, a whole lot of peace and the fruit of the Spirit.
I pray our children would desire and grow in these fruits that the Holy Spirit produces in us as we submit to Him:
I don’t want them to be known for irritability, but great love.
I don’t want them to be known for agitated discipline, but great joy.
I don’t want them to be known for picking fights, but as people of peace.
I don’t want them to rudely represent their faith, but be full of kindness.
I don’t want them to chide their opinions, but be people of gentleness.
After all, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives is what makes us fruitful in our world.
I hope sharing these personal prayers will inspire you as you formulate what you want to pray for your own children.