“Thank you God for my Mama, my Mimi, my Pa Pa, my Daddy, my Nana, my Papa, for Ethan, and Ella…and for Lady. In Jesus name, Amen,” prays Matthew every night – in 5 seconds flat. Ella prays the identical prayer to mine and adds a sentence of her own. Ethan says a heartfelt prayer that lasts at least 10 minutes. He prays for everything that has been laid on his heart…and that is a lot.

I feel blessed to be part of my children’s growing and maturing prayer life. Goodness knows it has been an ongoing journey for me!

Sometimes the need for prayer in my life can be overwhelming. I could pray all dang day for all the hurt in this world. As a mom though, I try to really focus on praying for my children. They are my world. They are young (8 year old twins and a 6 year old) and have so much to look forward to.

Here are the ways I pray for my children daily:

1. His Words. The most powerful way to pray to God is to pray His words back to Him. I have some of my favorite scriptures for each prayer point.
2. Their Protection. Although we have issues here and there, we are so fortunate to have pretty healthy children. I praise God for that blessing, and recognize that it may not always be that way. I ask for God’s wisdom to guide my maternal instincts about their care. Help me be their advocate when needed. I also prayer for a hedge of protection around them each day. After watching the news, some times I don’t even want them to walk out the front door!  (Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Also, Psalm 91, Job 1:10, Psalm 5:11)
3. Their Faith. Ethan and Ella are new Christians and Matthew is continuing to seek. I pray for them to persevere in their faith. I want them to ask questions and for God to guide my answers as I lead them. I also recognize that being a Christian in today’s world is not as easy as it was when I was a child. I ask God to strengthen and help them stand tall in their faith.  (Ephesians 6:10 “ Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Also 2 Peter 3:18, Jeremiah 17:8)
4. My parenting. I implore God to give me the discernment about how to parent each of my 3 children according to his or her individual needs. What works for one doesn’t work for them all! I also ask for guidance about skating that line of authority and friendship. I want them to respect my authority, but I always want to be approachable to my sweet babies. Also I beg for a lot of patience…every. dang. day. (Proverbs 22:6 “Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. Also Isaiah 40: 30-31, Galatians 5:22-23)
5. Their Behavior. I pray that their behavior is a good example of Christ’s love. They are kind, forgiving, brave, and loyal. I want them to be Jesus to someone in this world. (Romans 5:5 “God pours His perfect love into my imperfect heart.” Also Matthew 5:16, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 6:14, & again Galatians 5:22-23)
6. Their Friends. I have impressed on my kids what I have learned in my life – it is not the quantity of friends you have, it is the quality. I don’t care if my children win any popularity contests. I care if my kids have a core group of really good friends. Friends that are kind, encouraging, loyal, and forgiving. (because they are gonna mess up sometimes!). (Proverbs 13:4 “He who walks with the wise grows wise.” Also 1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 27:17)
7. Their Teachers. Since my kids are all in elementary school now, we have unfortunately, moved into the era of their lives where they spend most of their awake hours away from me. (Pardon me while I wail and beat my chest ;)) It is so important that their teachers are absolutely covered in my prayers. I pray that their families and administrators will be supportive and encouraging. And because they are with 20 kids all day – I pray for their patience. Every. Dang. Day. (Colossians 1:11 “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Also 1 Peter 4:10)
8. Their Future Mr. or Mrs. A wise woman once told me to pray for my kids’ future spouses. I am not gonna lie. I wasn’t even ready to go there mentally… and I thought it was kind of weird. Now I am older (and slightly wiser) and I realize how important it is. This person is going to become my baby’s other half, why wouldn’t I pray fervently for that person? Not only that, he or she will become another one of my babies. How awesome is that? Oh yes, I desperately want to pray for them too! (Titus 2:4″ …encourage young women to love their husbands.”  I also pray for them to have the qualities in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)
9. Their Future Career. I pray for my children to be in tune with God’s whispers in their heart about where He wants them to serve. I pray that I will be supportive and encouraging no matter where they are led to go. God has blessed them all with unique talents and personalities to do just what only they can do for Him. I want to do everything I can do to encourage His plan for them along the way. (Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Also Psalm 32:8, Psalm 188:6-7)

I know it seems like a lot. I don’t go through the list and pray each of these every day. That would take me forever, and I fear would turn too monotonous. I don’t want it to be a “form prayer.” However, I do try to hit each of these areas every few days.

Except for the patience. Every. Dang. Day. 🙂

Special Thanks to my Mama and my sister for their help with the scripture references!  xoxo