Christian parents pray for their kids.
At various seasons, these prayers range from intentional to consistent, and from sporadic to desperate.
Prayer is powerful. God works through prayer. Here are some of the promises in scripture.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
As I’ve been reading through the Bible this year, I recently ran across this small verse in 1 Chronicles 29:19 where King David is older and is praying a prayer over his son, Solomon.
His prayer is this:
“And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
Based on this moment in the story, here are three specific ways we can pray for our children:
For Wholehearted Devotion to God
You can teach your child every single thing they need to do. But we must pray that they learn how to grow in devotion to Jesus and his word. As they grow and learn to grow, they will develop a heart for God that will keep them moving forward through all of life.
For Wholehearted Desire to Keep God’s Commands
God’s commands are designed so our lives might reflect his love. They are designed with our best interests in mind. Keeping God’s commands helps us grow in community with him and stay motivated to live on mission in the name of Christ.
For A Commitment To Build The Church
David wanted to build the temple, but the timing wasn’t right. For the most part, he did his best, and set the stage for the next step – the temple being built. Part of his prayer was that his son would keep the momentum going and finish what was started. He prayed for him to keep a commitment to keep moving faithfully and keep building! It’s the prayer we can pray for our kids – that they learn to serve Jesus by being committed to his church and the mission.
Praying for your kids never stops.
This verse in scripture comes at a time when David was old and his son Solomon was a grown man. We need to follow the example and keep praying for our kids long after they’ve grown.
God can do amazing things through people who are wholeheartedly devoted to him, the word and the church.
