Covering Our Kids in Prayer

Please give a warm welcome to guest blogger, Jessica Schweikardt. Jessica’s blog, Forever and Evie, focuses on the highs and lows of motherhood and the things less talked about. Please be sure to follow her on social media and like her Facebook page. In this post, she guides us through covering our kids in prayer.

Covering our kids with prayer
Photo courtesy of Unsplash

As parents we all want to raise good people to leave for this planet. If you’re like me then you are a little bit scared that you’re doing it all wrong and you’re going to mess them up forever and whose idea was it to put these precious kids in your care anyway??

Well the answer is simple, God did. God gave you these little ones to raise and mold into kind and caring adults. He has entrusted them to you that you might bring them up in His word and teach them about His love. This is no simple task, especially in this day and age when this world is just waiting to pull our kids down with its dark weight. I, for one, know that I need help. I can’t do this alone, and even though my husband and I share the exact same goals for what we would love our children to become, we know that we are fighting against a force that we just do not have the power to battle without the help of the one who created everything.

Covering Our Kids in Prayer

So, I pray. I pray for my kids every single day. I pray for things that we are currently dealing with, situations that may arise in the future, and I pray that a love for God is sparked in my children and that they always seek to know and please Him. I pray against sickness, heartache, and anything that might be bring harm or pain to my children’s lives. I pray for their future spouses, future children, and for their future careers. I pray for next week, next month, next year. That my kids continue to grow up strong and healthy, and that they continue to learn and try new things.

Some of my prayers come from within my own head, and things I think about when they come up, but I also get a lot of my prayers from a couple books written by Aaron and Jennifer Smith. I highly recommend them. A few years back my husband and I started a 30 day prayer challenge, also written by the couple. So when I heard that they had written prayer books geared towards parents who want to pray over their children, I quickly snatched them up.

These books have a prayer for each day, for 31 days, as well as challenges and spaces to write down prayers of your own or any thoughts/gratitudes you might have. My plan is to use these books over and over throughout the years while adding in my own thoughts and prayers and I know that God is listening to my prayers for my children, and if it is His will, that He may bless us with all that we ask of Him.

Books

Some things I pray for that we currently face:

  • That both of my children continue to grow and develop and that I gain the wisdom to guide them through new life skills
  • That illness does not touch them this flu season, and if it does that I have great knowledge and discernment when taking caring care of them.
  • For my sharp tongue when I get frustrated or run out of patience. That I am always correcting and disciplining out of love, not anger. (I fail at this way more than I would like to admit)
  • That I am quick to apologize when I am wrong and that my children are quick to forgive my mistakes now and the many in the future I will surely make.
  • That I can step out of the way more often, and let my daughter learn by trying things on her own. 

Prayers For Their Future

  • That my son is respectable and upstanding, that he seeks and loves God, also seeking his council when starting a family of his own and values his wife and children above all humans or possessions.       
  • That my children are quick to forgive family/friends but also capable of standing their ground and speaking out for themselves or any injustice they may see.
  • That the anxiety that I face every day not be passed on to them but rather they first seek Jesus and his peace in every situation, and not worry about the outcomes.
  • That my daughter knows how valuable she is and that any man who is worthy of her, that seeks her attention, will first seek after and love God more.
  • That my son is respectable and upstanding. That he seeks and loves God, also seeking his council when starting a family of his own and values his wife and children above all humans or possessions.    
  • That both of my children bring up their own kids in the word of God, and they pray these things over and over again for their children, just as I have done. (And will continue to do for my grand babies as well!)
  • That both of my children know the value of hard work and dedication. That they work hard to provide a good life for themselves, not expecting anything to be handed to them.
  • That my kids are kind and loving, sweet and caring individuals that love others and will pray for and help anyone they can. That they are never intentionally mean to someone, or try to belittle or bring anyone down. That they are always uplifting and always a source of joy to others.

These are just a few examples of the prayers that have been/will be said for my children. It is so important to cover them with prayer, and speak life into them. I highly recommend the books 31 Prayers for my Son, and 31 Prayers for my Daughter by Aaron and Jennifer Smith. The prayers are more specific and more encompassing, and can be used over and over throughout the years, as I plan to do!


The post, Covering Our Kids in Prayer, first appeared on My Beautiful Mess

Agree with us in prayer this month. Learn more about February Scripture Reading: Love & Kindness

She Does Him Good

She does him good. That is the motto of the Proverbs 31 woman. Enjoy this month long devotional of prayer prompts for your husband.

She does him good
Photo courtesy of Unsplash

“She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:12

There are certainly many ways to bless your husband, but the best way certainly has to be praying for him. To make sure I do this for my husband daily, I put an alarm in my phone that goes off just minutes after he leaves in the morning. In the stillness of the morning, before my day gets too frantic, I pray for him. This is where us wives must be careful not to complain about him to God, but rather to pray for him. If you’ve never prayed for your husband, I challenge you to commit to it for 31 days and see how it not only changes you but your spouse. Here are a few ideas, based on my own prayers.

31 Days of Praying for Your Husband

1.Pray that he desires to go to church.

2. Pray that he is blessed with wisdom and discernment.

3. Pray that he finds friends who are Christ-centered and will hold him accountable.

4. Pray that he finds favor at work.

5. Pray he will find the Lord’s help when he is sexually tempted.

6. Pray he will love truth and hate lies.

7. Pray he is a wise financial steward.

8. Pray he will find joy in family life.

9. Pray he will forgive easily and quickly, extending grace to those who may not deserve it.

10. Pray he will confess any sins that are hidden.

11. Pray he find freedom from any strongholds.

12. Pray he assumes the role of wise leader in your family.

13. Pray he uses his gifts and abilities to magnify the Lord.

14. Pray that he cultivates deep relationships with his children.

15. Pray he will desire to read scripture.

16. Pray he will use scripture to make decisions.

17. Pray he operates with equal truth and grace.

18. Pray he love Jesus above all things.

19. Pray he will never despair.

20. Pray he will desire to protect your marriage from anything that might destroy it.

21. Pray he have a heart of gratitude.

21. Pray he rejects Satan and all his empty promises.

22. Pray any feelings of envy or jealousy leave his heart.

23. Pray he tempers his words carefully.

24. Pray he will ask for help when he needs it.

25. Pray he will discern when to listen and when to speak.

26. Pray he protects his five senses from things that are not holy.

27. Pray God strips away selfishness from his actions and heart.

28. Pray his ego decreases and humility increases.

29. Pray for the blessing of self-control and self-discipline.

30. Pray he submits to God’s will.

31. Pray he become God’s perfect design.


Before You Go

If you’re looking for other devotionals, see my Scripture Reading posts: