We Pray Wednesday: How to pray for your Children

                Psalms 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 

                When my children were just babies, my wife and I took turns praying with them every night before they went to bed.  We still continue this tradition now and my children are now 15,13, and 6.  We began to pray for some specific things that God would do in their lives.  These are a few things that all parents should pray for their children on a daily basis that God will do in their lives.  This is not an exhaustive list by any means.  Every situation is different, but we should go to God for our children daily.  There have also been times in their lives that they were dealing with some specific issues that we prayed about until God has answered our prayers in these matters. 

1.  SALVATION

                It is my hope that every Godly parent would pray this for their child until God answers the prayer.  This is the most important thing that can happen in a person's life.  It's a matter of eternal life and death.  After they have been saved, you can begin to thank God for answering the prayer.

2.  SPOUSE

                The second most important decision that a child makes in their life is whothey marry.  This means that we should pray that God brings the right person into their life at the right time for them to marry.  We should also pray that their spouse is saved and trusting God to bring along the right person for them to marry.

3.  WILL OF GOD FOR THEM

                We as parents should pray daily that our children would do God's will no matter what God wants them to do.  We should be careful not to direct them toward something that we think they would enjoy, or that would make them secure financially.  We should show them that God always has the best for them if they will believe and follow His leading.

4.  WISDOM

                The best way for a child to be wise is not by school or book knowledge, but by reading and receiving knowledge from THE BOOK every day.  The wisdom of God is far better than any piece of paper that they receive from a school.  This does not mean education is unimportant, but the wisdom of God is the most important.

5.  PURITY

                We should pray daily for the purity ofour children.  Purity is not just being pure of body, but also of mind and spirit.  This will not happen by accident.  We must be vigilant of what they are seeing, doing and listening to on a daily basis.

6.  PROTECTION

                We should daily pray that God will protect our children physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  In this world that we live in, we cannot know everything that may happen to them on a daily basis.  God, however, does know what is coming, and our daily prayers for them could mean the difference between a tragedy and a miracle.

7.  LOVE FOR GOD AND HIS WORD

                If we as parents will love God and His Word, our children will have a taste also.  We must also ask God to give them a desire for it so that they will love it, follow it, and obey it their entire life.

8.  HATE SIN AND BE CAUGHT WHEN THEY DO SIN

                This is hard to pray for because your child may get in more trouble than others.  This will, however, keep them from having a lot of the guilt and baggage later on in life.  If they also hate sin, they will see it as sin, stay away from it, and go in the right direction.