If you’re a parent, you probably do a lot for your kids. OK… that’s an understatement. You feed them, dress them, listen to their stories, cries, complaints, and joys. You make sure they eat their vegetables and get to bed on time. You do most everything for them.
What We Can’t Do for Our Kids
I can discipline my kids when they do wrong, but I can’t make them want to do right. I can take them to church, but I can’t make them love God. I can expose them to people who are hurting, but I can’t give them a compassionate heart. I can model thankfulness, but I can’t give them a contented spirit. I can talk to them about making good choices, but I can’t give them a heart that wants to follow God.
The things I can do for them are important – even life-giving. But the things I can’t do for them are pretty important, too. And that’s where prayer comes in.
The Power of a Parent’s Prayer
While my own mom couldn’t give me a heart for prayer, she certainly modeled it for me. One of my most vivid memories as a child was catching my mom on her knees early in the morning, praying for me. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but she knew that praying for me was a way she could ask God to do the things she couldn’t.
Biblical Examples: The Power of Intercessory Prayer
In Exodus 32, after God’s people build a golden calf to worship, He tells Moses He’s ready to destroy them. But Moses prays on behalf of Israel, and God shows mercy instead of wrath. This shows that God can use our prayers to bring about change, even in situations that seem beyond hope.
Later, in Ezekiel 22:30, God says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap… but I found no one.” God sought an intercessor, but when no one stepped up, the people faced the consequences. There was no one to stand in the gap.
Comparing the two stories and their very different outcomes, my first thought is, “If I don’t stand in the gap, in prayer, for my kids, who will?” I may not completely understand how prayer works, but what I am certain of is that it does make a difference. My prayers for my kids matter.
How to Pray for Your Kids
A powerful way to pray for your children is by praying Scripture over them. Here are a few verses to get you started:
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- Ephesians 3:14-19 – Pray that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith and that they would know how deep His love is for them.
- Romans 12:2 – Pray that they would not conform to the world but would be transformed by God’s will.
- Romans 12:9, 21 – Pray that they would reject evil and cling to good, overcoming evil with good.
- Psalm 19:13 – Pray that God will keep them from sin and that their words and thoughts will honor Him.
- Philippians 1:9–11 – Pray that they will be pure, blameless, and filled with the fruit of righteousness.
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Conclusion: The Impact of Your Prayer
As parents, there’s so much we want for our kids—things we can teach, model, and encourage. But the most powerful thing we can do is pray, asking God to do what only He can. Let’s be the ones who “stand in the gap” for our children, praying that God shapes their hearts and guides their lives in ways we never could.
When we pray, we invite God to work in their lives beyond our own limitations—and that is a gift only He can give.