Does anyone else have a Bible stashed with random papers?   Handouts from old Bible studies, encouraging notes from friends, thought-provoking quotes scribbled on index cards–these are just a few of the items that have been tucked into the back of my Bible over the years.

Over the years, many different items have rotated their way through my Bible pages.  But there’s one old handout that’s held this sacred space for several years.  It’s a simple two-page article, copied for me by a friend, with encouragement to pray for your kids.  I loved how the article offered 31 prayer prompts–one for each day of the month. The poor thing has become so creased and worn, I can barely read the print anymore!  So I’ve decided it might finally be time to toss it out.  But I don’t want to toss out my practice of praying for my kids. My solution?  I created a brand-new prayer guide I can use, and I thought I’d share it here on the blog.

(And yes, I already have a copy tucked into my Bible cover. Big surprise.)

When it comes to raising healthy kids in today’s world, the task can feel so overwhelming. I talk a lot with my kids about what it means to have godly character,  especially as they grow up in a world that’s full of moral compromise. (If you’re interested in sparking some of your own conversations, take a peek at this Fruit of the Spirit study in our shop!)

But there are just so many cultural influences that fight against my values and bombard my kids; and I can’t be there in every single moment to shield and guide them.  So I also pray.  I pray for God to protect them when I can’t. And I pray the Spirit will be at work in their hearts, stirring them to look more and more like Jesus as they grow. 

As I prepared this new prayer guide, I personalized it, adding some of these prayer requests from my own heart (along with a few from the original article). I kept to 31 prayer prompts, because I love being able to pray through my list each month.  (I just double up a couple requests on the months that have fewer days.)  I included a simple Scripture prayer for each day, paraphrasing key Bible verses as a prayer for my kids.

And you know what?  Sometimes I find myself praying these verses over myself too.  I know that character tends to be “caught”–and I want to model these traits for my kids. So what starts as a prayer asking for God to touch my kids’ hearts often leads to a renewed focus for mama’s heart too!

Now I offer this little prayer guide to you.  You can read through the complete list of prayer ideas and Scriptures below if you’d like. Or if you prefer a handy printable Prayer Guide, just click the blue download button below.  And whether you tuck it into your Bible, or your own personal place of inspiration, I hope you’ll find renewed energy to keep your kids (or grandkids!) in prayer. 

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31 Prayers For Your Kids

1. Pray For Them to Know Jesus: God, help my kids to build a personal relationship with Jesus. May they recognize that Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and know they can go to him when “they are weary and heavy-burdened, and he will give them rest” (Matt. 11:18).

2. Pray They Will Be Spirit-Filled: God, fill my kids with your Spirit, to guide them with wisdom and remind them of their worth. “Put your Spirit within them, so they will walk in your statutes and be careful to obey you rules” (Ezekiel 36:27).

3. Pray for a Seeking Heart: God, please open my child’s heart to seek after you.  Open their eyes to your work in the world, and help them to seek your path for them rather than following the ways of the world. May they “seek you and find you as they seek you with all their heart” (Jer. 9:13).

4. Pray for True Repentance: God, help my kids to see sin for what it is—something that pulls them away from your love and good plan for their life.  Help them to turn back to you when they do wrong. “Grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,  so they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil” (2 Tim. 2:25-26).

5. Pray for Godly Mentors: God, please bring other adults into ny child’s life who will provide an example and teach them how to faithfully walk with God. Give them an “Apollos”: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

6. Pray for Faithfulness: God, help my child to remain faithfulto your ways, even when those around them do otherwise. Help them “not to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. So they will be able to test and approve what Your will is—your good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2).

7. Pray for Wisdom and Discernment: God, teach my child to discern your truth amidst all the confusing and false messages of our world. “See to it that no one takes them captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition . . . rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8). Help them to “test them all, and hold on to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).

8. Pray They Will Accept Salvation: God, help my child to recognize their need for salvation, and to seek freedom from their sins in you:  May they “confess their sins” and see that you “are faithful and just to forgive their sins and purify them from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

9. Pray for Good Self-Esteem: God, show my child that they are loved by you and have worth because they were created by you. Help them to realize they are “God’s masterpiece” (Eph. 2:10), that they would believe they are “fearfully and wonderfully made . . . and they will know it full well” (Psalm 139:14).

10. Pray They Will Know Their Purpose: God, help my child to embrace the work you have given them today. And as they grow, help them to discern the purpose you created them for. “May the favor of God rest on them and establish the work of their hands” (Psalm 90:17) and may they find the “good work, which you prepared in advance for them to do” (Eph. 2:10).

11. Pray for A Grateful Heart: God, build an attitude of thankfulness in my child’s heart, even when they don’t get everything they want. Help them to recognize their blessings and to live a life that “overflows with thankfulness” (Col. 2:7) and “gives thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (Ps. 107:1).

12. Pray for Hope and Encouragement: God, send people to “encourage my child and build them up” (1 Thess. 5:11).  Help them to believe in your plans to “prosper them and not to harm them, to give them hope and a future.” May they put their hope in you, and not in people or things.

13. Pray for Love: God, help my child to understand how deeply they are loved by you. And then fill their heart with love for others. Make them willing to sacrifice for the sake of others, to “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Eph. 5:2).

14. Pray They Will Have Joy: God, grant my child blessings that will fill their heart with joy. But help them to find a joyful attitude, even when life is boring or difficult. “Fill them with joy in your presence” (Ps. 16:11) that they may “rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:16-17).

15. Pray for a Forgiving Heart: God, help my child to become a person of peace. May they offer forgiveness rather than revenge when they are wronged. Help them “as far as it depends on them, to live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

16. Pray for Perseverance: God, help my child not to give up when things get difficult, but to turn to you for strength.  Help them to grow through the challenges they face. May “the testing of their faith produce perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that they may be mature and complete” (James 2:3-4).

17. Pray for Peace: God, when my child feels anxious or scared, help them to turn to you so they can experience your peace. Help them to “cast their anxiety on you because you care for them” (1 Peter 5:7) and grant them “the peace that transcends all understanding to guard their heart and mind” (Phil. 4:7).

18. Pray for Patience: God, grant my child patience with the weaknesses of those around them.  Help them to control their anger so they may not be a “hot-tempered person who stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient and calms a quarrel” (Prov. 15:18).  Give them love so they can “be humble and gentle, and bear with others in love” (Eph. 4:2).

19. Pray for Honesty: God, give my a child a truthful heart. May your Spirit prod them to be honest when they might be tempted to lie, and to recognize that lies hurt people, including themselves. Help them “put off falsehood and speak truthfully to their neighbor” (Eph. 4:25).

20. Pray for Kindness: God, give my child a heart of compassion for others.  Help them to be sensitive to the needs of those around them.  May they see that “their kind words can cheer others up” (Prov. 12:25) and may they “be sympathetic and love others, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).

21. Pray for Good Friends: God, please grant my child life-giving friendships that build them up. Help them to find faithful friends—and to be a faithful friend. Help them to recognize that “one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).

22. Pray for Humility: God, help my child to avoid the pitfalls of pride.  May they not boast, but instead recognize that their strengths and abilities are gifts from you (Jer. 9:23).  And help them to recognize the gifts and guidance of others, too for  “wisdom is found in those who take advice” (Prov. 13:10).

23. Pray for Self-Control: God, help my child to exercise self-control in this world that urges instant gratification. When they feel tempted to do wrong, show them the “way out so that they can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13) Teach them to “say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives” (Titus 2:12).

24. Pray They Will Pursue Justice: God, help my child to see the dignity and worth of all people—even those who are different than them.  Help them to speak out when they see people being treated unfairly. May they seek justice because “the Lord loves justice, and he hates robbery and wrongdoing” (Isa. 61:8).

25. Pray for a Generous Spirit: God, give my child a spirit of generosity that’s willing to share with others in need. Help them to recognize their blessings as gifts from you and to remember that “we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ ” (Acts 20:35).

26. Pray for Good Health: God, help my child to take care of their body through good nutrition and exercise.  Help them to see that their “body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” and to make choices that will “honor God with their bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). When they sleep, “may their sleep be sweet” (Prov. 3:24) so that they will be rested for each day.

27. Pray for a Love of God’s Word: God, help your Word to come to life when my child reads the Bible. Guide them with Your Spirit to find encouragement and trutht. Help them to “delight in the law of the Lord, and to meditate on your law day and night” so that they’ll be “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season” (Ps. 1:2-3).

28. Pray for Courage: God, give my child courage when they face scary situations.  May they be brave when they need to stand up for what is right. Help them to “Be strong and courageous. To not be afraid; and to not be discouraged, because they remember the Lord their God will be with them wherever they go” (Josh. 1:10).

29. Pray They Will Work Hard: God, help my child to recognize the value of good work and to work hard. Give them excitement about work as they recognize how you can use them to make a difference in your Kingdom. Teach them in “whatever they do, to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord” (Col. 3:23).

30. Pray They Will Find Rest: God, help my child to understand their limitations and to make time for rest, even though our world never seems to stop. May they learn how to trust their work and worries to you by enjoying “a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;” and “to enter God’s rest by also resting from their works” (Heb. 4:9-10).

31. Pray That Their Light Will Shine: God, help my child not to seek glory for themselves, but to be a light that leads others to you. Let their example encourage others, and give them opportunities to share their faith with people around them. “Let their light shine before others, they they might see their good deeds and glorify their Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).