Pray Without Ceasing for Our Children

I pray for my children…”Lord I pray they never lose their gift of faith…Lord I pray they love their brothers and sisters…Lord I pray they love their home…Lord please bless them in all they do…” Do you see the prayer pattern? They…They…They…Them…Unless it’s their turn to be the squeaky wheel. And sometimes it seems like once that squeaky wheel child starts squeaking, they don’t stop for a while…and sometimes they get even louder. I’ll get to the end of the day and realize I put a lot of prayer effort into that one child and the rest just got some “They” or “Them” prayers. Nothing necessarily wrong with that occasionally, but day-in-day-out I wanted more from my prayers for children.

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I read somewhere recently about wearing a bracelet for each child–you could add an initial charm if you wanted. Each morning you put all the bracelets on one arm. As you go throughout your day you pick a child to cover in prayer and when you’re finished (or at least finished for the moment) you move that bracelet over to the other arm. Repeat…Repeat…Repeat depending on how many children you are praying for. I’m going to add a bracelet for Chris too.

I ordered this set of bracelets from Amazon and mixed and matched to get the look I wanted–meaning I took out the shiny gold ones. I bought a small initial charm for each kiddo and had Veronica attach them. Each morning I put the bracelets on my left arm and as the day progresses and I pray purposefully for each child, I move the bracelet over to my right arm. My children know this and will sometimes come check to see if I’ve prayed for them yet.

I’m not sure what this says about me as a praying mother, but there are some days when it starts getting late in the evening and I look down and realize I haven’t prayed for one or a couple of my children yet. My obvious goal every day is to pray for them all. This is a great reminder to finish praying for everybody before I go to bed.

I start each prayer “session” for a child by thanking God for them. I typically list one particular thing to thank Him for. Then I offer three Hail Mary’s for their purity in thought, word, and deed. Then I start praying whatever comes to mind. I need to do a better job about memorizing some scriptures verses to pray for them so I can pray God’s Word over and for them. Sometimes these prayers are for me as well, “Lord, show me how to parent this child the way You want me to. Lord, I want to see this child as You see them. Lord, please soften this child’s heart towards me and help them to extend forgiveness when I mess up.”

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I cannot tell you the difference this has made in praying for my children on a daily basis. I go to bed each night knowing I spent time with God in prayer for each one of my children–purposefully each and every day.

Here’s a link to the prayers I composed for myself, my husband, and my children for my Prayer Journal. And some of the books I use to find scriptures to pray over my children:

Praying the Scriptures for Your Teenagers: Discover How to Pray God’s Purpose for Their Lives
Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most
Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments
The Power of a Praying Parent

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