For every age and every stage

Prayers for My Children

Praying for your children is the long game of parenting: it continues after the advice stops being welcome and reaches places you cannot go. These prayers are for the daily covering of your kids, whether they are in a crib, a classroom, or a home of their own.

A daily prayer for my children

Father, I put my children in Your hands again today, the same place I put them yesterday. Watch over their bodies, their minds, and their hearts. Give them courage for whatever today asks of them, kindness toward the people around them, and the quiet sense that they are loved beyond reason, by me and far more by You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer for my children’s faith

Lord, more than grades or trophies or careers, I want my children to know You. Let all my children be taught of the Lord, and great be their peace. Give them a faith of their own, not a hand-me-down of mine, one that survives hard questions and bad days. And let them see enough of You in me that the path looks worth taking. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer for my children’s protection

Father, I cannot be everywhere my children go, and this world can be careless with small hearts. Be with them where I am not. Guard them from harm, from cruel voices, and from dangers I have not thought to pray about. Surround them the way Your angel encamps around those who fear You, and bring each one home safe today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer for the parent I am becoming

Lord, my children are watching me more than they are listening to me, and some days that is a frightening thought. Give me patience when I am tired, gentleness when I am frustrated, and the humility to apologize when I get it wrong. You began a good work in them and in me; keep performing it in both of us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

From Scripture

Verses for this prayer

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

Psalm 127:3-5

Children are called a heritage and a reward, and also arrows: something aimed at a future beyond the parent’s own reach.

“And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”

Isaiah 54:13

A verse parents have prayed over children for centuries: God Himself as their teacher, and peace as the outcome.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

A proverb about trajectory. Early direction shapes the long arc of a life, even when the middle chapters wander.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

3 John 1:4

An old apostle names the deepest satisfaction a spiritual parent can have. Most praying parents recognize it instantly.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain.

Common questions

Questions about this prayer

How do I pray for my children every day without it going stale? +

Pray specifics, not summaries. Pray about the spelling test, the friend trouble, the coach, the college decision. Some parents assign each child a day of the week for deeper prayer, or pray one verse over each child, like Isaiah 54:13, inserting their name.

Can I pray for my children when they are grown and far away? +

Yes, and it may be the most useful thing you can still do. Distance does not weaken prayer. Many parents find their prayer life deepens after the children leave, because prayer is the one form of parenting that never gets too old.

Does Proverbs 22:6 guarantee my children will follow God? +

Proverbs are wisdom about how life generally works, not contracts. Faithful parents can have wandering children; the Bible is full of them. Train them, pray for them, and trust God with the outcome; their story is not finished.

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