Praying the Scriptures for your Children, Part 1: Praying for Your Child's Faith

As a reminder, "When you pray for your children, you join God in the work he is doing in their lives."

Part one of this book is Praying for Your Child's Faith. Chapter one is Praying for Your Child's Salvation.

I believe this to be such an appropriate place to begin. The chapter starts with this verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Many of us have heard this verse many times. So don't read through it quickly without pausing to think about it. Jesus told those around him to not keep the children from him. Let us bring our children to him in prayer.


From the author: "When you pray for your children's salvation, you can be confident that you are praying in accordance with God's will."

The following are among several verses listed as "Prayers you can use" to pray for the salvation of your children. These are the ones I am praying through for Allyson and Lauren today.

I pray that _______ would confess with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and that she would believe in her heart that you have raised Christ from the dead. Cause _______ to call on your name, Lord, and save her.
Romans 10:9, 13

Count _______ as one of your people, and be her God. Give her a singleness of heart and action, so that she will always fear you for her own good and the good of her children. Make an everlasting covenant with ________. Never stop doing good to her, and inspire her to fear you so that she will never turn away from you.
Jeremiah 32:39-40

Other verses listed:
2 Corinthians 4:4-6
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Acts 26:18
2 Corinthians 5:17
John 3:16
Colossians 2:6-7
Ezekiel 11:19
Pslam 125:1
Ephesians 3:18-19

So much to pray for! Don't waste a minute :)

Side note:

I was giving my girls a bath last night and it was the end to a couple of frustrating days with them. You know, the days where you wonder if anything you have taught them is anywhere in their little minds. They are constantly fighting with one another, telling on each other, hitting each other, and so on and so on. They were the kind of days where you are finding it hard to use patience and kind words when interacting with them. So, as I was rinsing the shampoo from Lauren's hair and she was refusing to look up, hold a washcloth over her eyes, or do anything helpful to keep soap out of her face (and yet screaming the whole time about soap getting in her eyes!) and I was ready to ... well you've all been there, I am sure you know what I wanted to do! Then, suddenly a thought occurred to me. These are God's children. He has given them to Justin and I for a short time. He is giving us the blessing of raising them to know him. (Do you ever wonder what he was thinking?!) If Allyson and Lauren are really HIS, how should I treat them? What do I want God to know in regards to my interaction with his children? I want to be found faithful in this, I want to be found trustworthy by him. Discipline is still a part of this, but perhaps how I discipline, the tone of my voice, etc ... is important. Each moment is precious.

So, perhaps besides praying for my girls, I need to be praying more and more for myself also!