A Prayer For Children (Any Age)

I get so many parents that write to me with concerns for their children. As a parent myself, I certainly understand that it's a fine line between lovingly parenting your children and crossing a line into control. I have years of experience doing the wrong thing that I'm still learning how to 'undo.' Hopefully I'm improving with age! I can tell you with utmost certainty that trying to force your will into your children's lives when it comes to matters of faith and religious preferences can at times cause them to run in the opposite direction. Fear or faith determines which side of the line we're on. Fear controls and ends up producing rebellion, while faith and love work together in patient endurance, waiting for children to make the choice to find God and make a commitment to Him in their own time. 

So, what do we do while we wait? Pray, of course. :-) And show love. Lots of love.

I modified a couple of prayers I already had so that they could be prayed over children of any age. I also added a little prayer for children to be able to say themselves which is included at the end. The intent of the prayer is to help take the struggle out of making good choices so that they can come to develop a healthy relationship with God and others. Explaining that to your kids is a positive motivation to actually help make their life easier, but again, praying the prayer needs to be their choice.

As you pray through this prayer, just insert your child's name or choose him/her in the appropriate places. You can also pray this over a spouse or other loved ones.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I come before You with thanks for who You are. 

I exalt You as LORD, Savior and King of Kings. 

I exalt You as the Name above every other name that has 
attempted to release oppression over my life and the lives of my children. 

I exalt You as LORD over every circumstance. I thank You that YOU are exalted over (insert name) ___________'s life.

I praise You for the way You lead (_________) by the hand and help 
(him/her) navigate through tight places. 

I praise You for the way You restore our hope and help us 
overcome discouraging thoughts. 

I thank You and praise You for teaching (_______) Your ways, so 
that his/her soul can prosper and he/she can be in health. 

I thank You for getting his/her mind off of unfruitful thoughts 
so that he/she can see your beauty. 

I thank You, Holy Spirit, for sifting out the things that 
don’t even need to be in my prayers. 

I thank You, Holy Spirit, for showing me how to pray in 
such a way as to glorify Christ instead of my fears, concerns or
circumstances. 

I praise You for the way You work through the 
impossibilities of (_________'s) life. 

I praise You that You are in control. 

I praise You that You watch over Your word to bring it to 
pass. 

I praise You because I know that my prayers have been heard 
and I have what I have requested. 

I praise You for the things I can see working in (_________'s) life 
and the things I don’t see. 

I praise You for the way that You are able to take every 
circumstance and redeem it to bring hope and something that 
works for her good. 

I praise You that You are the One who knows how to bring 
the missing pieces together. 

I praise You for being the One who loves (______) and aligns (________) 
for blessing. 

I praise You that You are the One who leads him/her into the 
good plans You have for him/her.

I praise You for showing (___________) his/her true identity in Christ, and that the Spirit of Adoption is released into their life to reveal to him that he is Your son/daughter.

I praise You for helping (_____________) cut off all worldly affections in his/her life and for turning his/her heart towards You.

I praise You for (____________'s) salvation and deliverance that is taking place now.

I thank You and praise You that (___________) is fully committed to living for You.

I thank You and praise You that (_____________) has surrendered his/her life to You. I thank You for making surrender easy for him/her.

I thank You and praise You for releasing the Spirit of Truth into my son's/daughter's life and exposing the lies of the enemy. 

I thank You and praise You for revealing the Fatherhood of God to (________).

I thank You for revealing to (__________) the love of God, Your acceptance and the delight You take in him/her because he/she is Yours.

I thank You that (__________) will praise You for himself/herself and realize that You have good plans for him/her according to Jeremiah 29:11.

I thank You that You have become (____________') compass, drawing him/her to Yourself.

I praise You for my breath. I thank You for breathing life into my child.

I praise You for his/her life, the gifts You've given him/her and that he/she will use them for Your glory. 

I thank You for drawing my children to Your heart and revealing Jesus to them.

I thank You that when I praise You I see You in the highest 
place and my problems come into perspective. 

I thank You that my praise defeats all the power of the 
enemy. 

I thank You that when I praise You my faith is lifted and I 
get a spiritual upgrade. 

I thank You that when I praise you prison doors are opened 
and I am released from captivity. 

I thank You that when I praise You the invisible barriers 
are broken. 

I thank You that when I praise You I receive revelation and 
inspired thoughts from You. 

I thank You that You are the answer to everything I need, and everything my son/daughter needs. I thank You that You are faithful to answer my prayers because You love him/her even more than I do.

I thank You that You are able to get through to those that 
I cannot reach. 

I thank You that when I praise You the heavy yoke falls 
off. 

I thank You that when I praise You my perception of Your 
greatness explodes in my heart. 

I thank You that when I praise You my expectancy towards 
You increases. 

I thank You that when I praise you, I know that nothing is 
impossible with You. 

I exalt You because the name of Jesus is worthy of my 
praise! Amen.


A Prayer for Children to Pray for Themselves:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I ask You to guard and protect me, and help me to do what is right. Help me to be smarter than the enemy and to recognize when he is trying to tempt me to do the wrong thing. I want to be a good boy/girl but I struggle at times with making the right choices. Can you please help take the struggle out of it? Help me not to give the devil a place where he can get me to do the wrong thing. Holy Spirit, I give You permission to take over when I feel tempted. I do not want to struggle and wrestle with the enemy. When I struggle with wanting to do something You would not approve of, please change my mind so that Your will for me becomes my will and my choice in that situation. When I may be prone to having a wrong response, I ask You to change what comes out of my mouth so that I please You, and honor and respect myself and others. I am asking YOU to take over when I am weak or tempted so that my true identity as Your child wins the battle.  In Jesus name, amen.

I hope you find these suggestions and prayers helpful.

Bless you!!