Praying for Your Child

Nearly 14 years ago, Focus on the Family published a great list of 30 ways to pray for your child. As March begins, this is a great way to focus your day-to-day prayers on the spiritual life of your son or daughter.

A Parent’s Prayer Program

By Bob Hostetler
Focus on the Family, February 2000

1. Salvation—Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.(Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10)
2. Growth in grace—I pray that they may “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
3. Love—Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love through the Spirit who dwells in them. (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22)
4. Honesty and integrity—May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection. (Psalm 25:21)
5. Self-control—Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be “alert and self-controlled” in all they do. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
6. A love for God’s word—May my children grow to find Your Word “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey form the comb.” (Psalm 19:10)
7. Justice—God, help my children to love justice as You do and to “act justly” in all they do. (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8)
8. Mercy—May my children always “be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)
9. Respect (for self, others, authority)—Father, grant that my children may “show proper respect to everyone,” as Your Word commands. (1 Peter 2:17)
10. Strong, biblical self-esteem—Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are “God’s worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:10)
11. Faithfulness—“Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],” but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts. (Proverbs 3:3)
12. A passion for God—Lord, please instill in my children a soul with craving for You, a heart that clings passionately to You. (Psalm 63:8)
13. Responsibility—Grant that my children may learn responsibility “for each one should carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:5)
14. Kindness—Lord, may my children “always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
15. Generosity—Grant that my children may “be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19)
16. Peace, peaceability—Father, let my children “make every effort to do what leads to peace.” (Romans 14:19)
17. Hope—May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
18. Perseverance—Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to “run with perseverance the race marked out for [them].” (Hebrews 12:1)
19. Humility—Lord, please cultivate in my children the ability to “show true humility toward all.” (Titus 3:2)
20. Compassion—Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion. (Colossians 3:12)
21. Prayerfulness—Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)
22. Contentment—Father, teach my children “the secret of being content in any and every situation…through him who gives them strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)
23. Faith—I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them. (Like 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40)
24. A servant heart—Lord, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly “as if [they] were serving the Lord, not men.” (Ephesians 6:7)
25. Purity—“Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,” and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions. (Psalm 51:10)
26. A willingness and ability to work hard—Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, “as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)
27. Self-discipline—Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire “a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.” (Proverbs 1:3)
28. A heart for missions—Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples. (Psalm 96:3)
29. Joy—May my children be filled “with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6)
30. Courage—May my children always “be strong and courageous” in their character and in their actions. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Whose Purpose Are You Serving?

"For David, after he had served God's purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay…" Acts 13:36

Chances are good that we all know the account of King David from the Bible…the ups and downs of the life of this man after God’s own heart. I’m struck by this one little phrase from Acts 13:36: “after he had served God’s purposes in his own generation.” We are ALL serving someone’s purposes in our own generation, so the question I’m asking myself is, “Whose purposes am I serving in my own generation?” We each get one turn at this life, and I know that I want to spend my life serving God’s purposes…not my own, not another human's. So what does that look like in the culture we live in that screams at us to do what feels good, to serve yourself, to get ahead no matter the cost?

I’m grieved when I see young people who say they love the Lord serving purposes other than God’s. Sports. Music. Entertainment. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-extracurricular activities. I think there are great benefits to team activities. But I AM anti-activities that become lord of your life. Activities that become the reason you live and move and have your being. None but Jesus deserve that place.

So the question is: whose purposes are you serving? Whose purposes are your children serving? I want to be able to say along with Joshua that "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."