Praying for Your Children
Last night some friends were over and we made “Prayer Cards” for our children. We printed out the 7 Prayers below and then put them on scrapbook paper and decorated them.
Aren’t their cards adorable?!
I laminated mine!
Parenting is a challenge and we must not try to do it alone! Remember we have access to the God of the universe and we must never fail to pray for our children.
Every phase of life has it’s challenges with our children. It seems that as soon as my children are trained in one area they begin to fail in another – or often times I am disciplining them over and over in the same area – and I wonder “will they ever get it?”.
Remember that God is at work in your life as much as he is at work in your child’s life. He is purifying you both through this process. Through our children, our weaknesses (and sinfulness) are revealed.
I never realized how selfish, short-tempered and inpatient I was until I had kids! And those are some very ugly character qualities that I must not accept into my life.
So, as I battle my flesh I must walk closely with God – pray hard – call on his name in times of trouble and temptation and model for my children a mom who is loving, kind, patient, joyful, at peace, gentle, and self-controlled. None of these qualities come naturally in our flesh – they come by walking in the Spirit and through prayer and God’s word we draw close to God and he enables us to walk in the Spirit. So as this holiday weekend is upon us, I encourage you to get on your knees and pray for your children.
If you don’t, who will?
Here are some beautiful verses I found at Angie Smith’s website to pray over our children:
7 Prayers a Day to Pray Over Our Children
1. When they wake up:
“Let the morning bring (child’s name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul.”
(Adapted from Psalm 143:8)
2. When they are getting dressed:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
(Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)
3. While they are eating:
“Teach (child’s name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength.”
(Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)
4. When they go out of the house:
“(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
(Adapted from Romans 12:2)
5. While they are taking a bath:
Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
(Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)
6. When they are going to bed:
“The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
7. While they are sleeping:
“I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing.”
(Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)
Walk with the King!
Sorry I missed it. I’m a little bummed about that. I guess I’ll have to make them at home by myself. 🙂 They do look very nice!!!
Hey Courtney,
It’s Jamie from Learning His Book. I haven’t been able to get into my blog for some reason but was able to today. I started a new blog at http://carlosandjamie.blogspot.com so I’ll be following you from there. I love the post today! Great ideas!!!
I had a blast making them!!They turned out great. Today I read through a few of them with Reagan while she was eating breakfast and she loved it. I told her they were prayers to Jesus for her and she got so excited and had fun saying amen at the end of all of them!I love that she will know that i’m praying for her everyday!!
Such a practical idea, Courtney, and I copied your prayers, so that I can make cards. I’ll pass on that idea to the moms in our church.
Great idea!
Wish I could’ve come! My brother was home from OSU so we had dinner with the fam. I’m definitely going to make the prayer cards though- great idea!
I like this idea Courtney! You are so right about needing to pray for our children because someone needs to do it and it ought to be us!
In my journals, I’ve mentioned how I have prayed for each of the kids since before they were even born. I hope that someday they will read that and see not only how loved they were (and still are), but how God has been working in their lives all along.
Blessings to you Courtney! Have a wonderfull Memorial Day!
I must admit – making the prayer cards was the EASY part – remembering to use the cards and pray for them all day long – well that is a bit more of a challenge. This is a work in progress – just being honest. Maybe it’s been harder because it’s been a holiday weekend and we’ve been so busy – hopefully once Memorial Day weekend is over we’ll find some normalcy and I’ll do better with my praying!!!
The cards are beautiful! I love all the bright colors.
Love Love Love! Thank you! Can’t wait to print and laminate mine too! Love your website Courtney! God bless you and your family 🙂
Thank you for this idea, I really appreciate it! I don’t have any kids, but maybe one day I can use them, however I would be happy to share this idea with family and friends:)
These are just beautiful prayers and you all decorated them so beautifully! Thank you for sharing this Courtney. God’s blessings be with you and yours!
Courtney,
This is great. I have a list of Scriptures that I pray over my kids, and their future spouses, every day. But I love how you broke this down to pray over them throughout the entire day. What a great reminder for me to be pointing them constantly back to the Lord. I think I may just print out my own Scripture cards and use your cues to be continually praying over them all day. Thanks so much for a great idea!
Blessings,
Tiffany
Hi! Will you please share the scriptures you pray over your childr and husband? I would love to use them to do the same. My email is haleycupp@gmail.com thank you!
Courtney – I too struggle as you do with learning just how selfish and impatient I can be! I’m so glad to hear I’m not alone in my struggles! Thank you for being open with us. It is truly encouraging!