June 2020

Have you ever sat back and thought, “How lucky are our kids that they are growing up in a Christian home”? Before they were even born we are praying for them. I feel as a Christian parent it is our responsibility to be pouring Christ’s love into our kids. It is a parenting technique that will work wonders for your family. 

As our girls grow up they will be seeking love, acceptance, and self worth. We need to constantly be telling them they can find all of those things in Christ. Them knowing this may help them from trying to find these things in sexual relationships or attaching their self worth on outward appearances. For boys, they may search for their acceptance and respect by becoming bullies, loners, or outcasts. I truly believe our children can find their self worth, love, acceptance, and identity in Christ. Knowing where to find all of these things in Christ will give them a healthy emotional well-being. 

Our kids need to know that they are precious in God’s sight not because of anything they do but because they belong to God. We should also be helping, praying, and asking God for our kids to know that they are fearfully and wonderfully made and that God sent His son to die on their behalf, and absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love! 

Teaching and praying for our children to know and understand forgiveness will also encourage a healthy emotional well-being. When teaching our kids to forgive others when their feelings are hurt or physically hurt will help them not bottle up their anger and bitterness. It will set them free from anger and bitterness and lead them to contentment, peace, and Joy. When we are raising our children in a Christian home, we should be teaching them to love their enemies and bless those who don’t like them and pray for those people. Pray for your child to have a forgiving spirit and to always follow Luke 6:31, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

So what is the secret to teaching our children contentment and joy? I would say there are three things we need to instill into our children. They are (1) God is good, (2) He is in charge, and (3) that He loves us and wants what is best for us. Praying for our children to put their trust in God’s promises and to depend on God’s love will give them pure joy even when things do not go their way. 

Look at each child. Proverbs 27:19 says, “As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” What do your children’s hearts look like? If you see negative habits forming or want to prevent them from beginning, start working on their self worth. Fill their minds with the knowledge that they are precious in God’s eyes and that they belong to God. Read, pray, and memorize Psalm 139. Read the book of Philippians. It is full of Christian joy and gives advice on how to fend off things that may steal your joy. And finally reaffirm your trust in God’s promises. John 15:10-11 says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy  may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Here are some scripture based prayers you can use,

Heavenly Father....

Cause _____ to love her enemies, to do good to those who hate her, to bless those who curse her, to pray for those who mistreat her. Help _____ do to others as she would have them do to her. 

Luke 6:27-31

I pray that _____’s identity will be firmly rooted and established in Christ’s love, and that _____ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that she may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Ephesians 3:17-19

Do not let _____ be enslaved by her emotions. Christ has set her free, so let her stand firm, refusing to let herself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

Galatians 5:1

Join us on Monday June 27th, at 7pm for the next Next Generations Prayer meeting.

For more scripture based prayers for this topic please email me amoll@harvestpittsburghnorth.org 

Citation:

Berndt, Jodie. Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, Chapter 11. 2001

Life Application Bible, NIV