How to Pray for Our Children

O God,
Before I pray for the children around me,
I first will pray as your child:
I thank you for your Fatherly care,
For uniting me to your beloved Son,
For sending the Spirit of Adoption
By whom
Along with my brothers and sisters,
From every era and area,
From every period and place,
We cry out “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15),
Acknowledging in our respective languages
That you have taken us to be your children
And you have given yourself to us.

I marvel over the excellency of your Fatherhood.
You are ever faithful to your family,
Never forsaking (Deut 31:6, Heb 13:5),
Never forgetting (Is 49:15),
Never foreboding (Rom 8:28),
But instead, in your commitment to my welfare.
You forbid the evils that would harm me,
You forgive the evils that would condemn me,
And you fortify my heart
By your grace
And in your grace,
Not in proportion to my performance,
But in proportion to your perfect kindness.

From your Fatherly hand I receive all I need,
Provision of my daily bread,
Protection in my daily battles,
Teaching to strengthen my mind,
Testing to strengthen my resolve,
And tender compassion to strengthen my heart.
Your Fatherhood is a constant shield for my soul
I know no fear,
For you know no failure.
I love you,
For I know that I am loved.

Beneath me I see a rising generation,
A new generation of children,
And I yearn for them,
That they would hear your voice,
That they would heed your voice,
That they would receive your Son,
And so receive the right to become your children (John 1:12)

I pray for these vulnerable children,
That they would have virtuous parents,
That these parents would be faithful in their charge
To nurture their children gently
To discipline them redemptively (Pr 13:24)
To teach them persistently (Deut 6:6-9, Ps 78:1-8)
And to offer to them the promises of God,
Which are received through faith in Christ (Act 2:39)

I pray for these children,
That they would turn from youthful foolishness
And seek your ageless wisdom.
Give them eyes to discern
The deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13)
The deceitfulness of riches (Mark 4:19)
And the deceitfulness of their own hearts (Jer 17:9).

I pray for these children,
That they would turn from their native corruptions
And seek your cleansing power.
Give them eyes to behold
That far better than sin
Is the realness of Christ
The worth of Christ
The potency of Christ
And the love Christ has for his people.

Protect these dear children
From the violent tempers of abusers
Who do not value human life
Or invest in the welfare of their progeny.

Protect these dear children
From the vivid temptations of peers
Who endorse destructive things:
Harmful attitudes, activities, ideas, and substances,
And who insult good character,
Making integrity unpopular, difficult, and costly
But no less right.

Protect these dear children
From the velvet tongues of deceivers
Who seek to abolish guardrails
In the name of freedom
Who seek to destroy foundations
In the name of building a stronger society
Who seek to obscure logic and discernment
In the name of education.
We entrust our children to you, O Father,
Acknowledging that all our children are yours,
That all truth is yours,
And that our children all need your truth
If they are to withstand the day of deception.

Protect our children from old dangers,
As well as new.
From ordinary distractions and idolatrous loves,
From inordinate desires and impure lusts,
From an unengaged heart of sinful ignorance,
From an unyielding heart of sinful arrogance,
From an overyielding heart of sinful compliance;
Though these dangers are old, they take new forms:
And wariness is needed in every context,
Political, ecclesiastical, medical,
Educational, psychological, personal.
Protect and provide for your little ones.

Lead our children into the safety of your salvation.
Lead them into faith in Christ
Lead them into faithful churches
Lead them into faith-wrought works
Until you lead them at last
Into faith-made-sight
When your adopted children are clothed in glory
And we daily dwell in the presence of our Father.

I entrust this generation to you,
Even as I have entrusted myself to you.
Display the unfailing kindness
That belongs to your Fatherly care.
Please be good to our children.
Be gracious to our children.
And be God to our children,
Even as you have been our God,
And will be forever.