5 Daily Prayers for Your Baby
I was overwhelmed praying for my first baby. Even before I knew her name or gender, before I knew she would be born with a head full of dark brown hair or love people and animals so deeply, I was trying to pick the perfect words to submit every detail of her little life to God. I knew even then prayer was the best gift I could give her. I wanted to get it right.
So many thoughts and dreams competed in my mind. Should I pray for health? A smooth birth? A good sleeper? Should I ask God to provide her with good friends? A good husband? Give her wisdom when choosing a career? There were so many details I wanted to lift up to God, and trying to choose words felt overwhelming.
I wanted to boil it down. I wanted to find a prayer that would cover all the details and leave her life in God's hands. What mattered most when it came to praying for my daughter?
Shortly after we met, I began praying the same prayer for her each night, and now I pray over my sons too. Sometimes the details change or I add lengthy requests, but the core prayers stay the same. I hope this peek inside our nightly prayer routine will encourage you and get you excited to create your own!
pin for later:
Pray they will know and choose Jesus
Although it's tempting to dream up scenarios and try to plan out all the details of our kids' lives, I know I need to release control and trust the decisions they will make. I know if God is at the centre of those decisions, my children will have so much more peace and wisdom as they walk through life.
I find great comfort in knowing I don't get to choose their faith for them. This is a decision they will have to make on their own when the time is right, but I pray daily for their walk with God. I also pray I will reflect God to them in the best way possible. Acknowledging their faith walk is outside of my control gives me the freedom to passionately present Jesus to them without stressing about the outcome.
If I'm short on time, I always prioritize praying for their relationship with Jesus.
Pray for wisdom
Proverbs 4:7 says The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
It's hard to think about wisdom without thinking of Solomon. In 1 Kings 3, God allows him to make a request. He could have asked for riches or some other earthly possession, but he chose to ask for wisdom. I remember being confused by this story as a child. Money seems like the obvious answer to me! I thought he could've done so much with money. But the more I've learned about wisdom, the more I've discovered its importance.
I pray my children will seek godly wisdom and that God will fill their lives with wise people to learn from. I now know wisdom is essential to living a godly life and stewarding earthly resources well. I pray my children will see the value in acquiring wisdom from a young age.
Pray for them to find security in their identity in Christ
Every bad decision I've made can be traced back to a misplaced identity. When I try to find my worth in something other than God, I make unwise decisions or I miss God-given opportunities. I can't count the times I have turned down an opportunity or neglected to pursue something God put on my heart because I felt insecure. That embarrassing old fear of what people think has stopped me from pursuing a God-given dream more times than I care to admit.
I pray my children will have supernatural confidence to pursue God-given dreams. I've spent so much time overanalyzing my decisions when I could have been relying on God instead. I want my children to be free from the fear of man and instead take confidence in their God-given gifts and identity.
Pray over the people God uses to influence their life
I’m thankful to know I won’t be the only person to point my children towards Christ. Of course, I take my role seriously. I know my husband and I have the most significant impact on their lives and spiritual development. But I know we are not meant to disciple them alone and there will come times my children need to hear godly wisdom from someone other than me. I pray God will fill their lives with good and godly teachers, Sunday school teachers, bosses, family members, friends and more.
I pray God will give my husband and me wisdom as we make decisions about our own friends and social groups that impact our children.
Pray for yourself
I pray for my husband and myself often. I pray God will continue to give us wisdom and mould us into the father and mother he made us to be.
I pray God will bridge the gap between my best efforts as a mom and who my children need. (I stole this prayer from a fiction book). I don't want to mother on my own strength. This role is far too important to let pride or laziness get in the way when it comes to handing it over to God.
pin for later:
Final thoughts
Of course, there is no wrong way to pray for your children. I'm so glad you are committed to lifting them before God in prayer!
I take great comfort in Romans 8:26:
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
The Holy Spirit is praying for our children on our behalf. If you don't know what to say in prayer for your children, you can still step into God's presence and ask Him to help you find the words. You can still ask Him to draw near to you and your family. God chose you as the mother of your children on purpose, and He doesn't leave you alone at any point, even in prayer.
May God bless you and your family as you seek to build a vibrant prayer life!
