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Pray big, bold, and biblical prayers for the next generation by Pastor Kevin

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GCF is striving to become a house of prayer, and no doubt, one of our biggest target areas of prayer is our children. Our precious children who come into the world so completely helpless and cute. Pretty soon they are not so cute and parents and children alike need plenty of prayer. Can I get an AMEN? Ok, I will trust that heaven recorded a unanimous round of Amen in perfect unison from parents everywhere on that point. 

It is completely natural for parents to pray for their children out of necessity. What do I mean by this? I mean parents pray because they are naturally prompted to do so. They love their child. They feel scared for them. They want them to be safe. They want them to succeed. They want them to behave normally. They want many things for which they feel completely powerless (especially for normal behavior) and prayer is the natural progression.

But does the Bible envision more? Does Scripture prioritize safety and success as highly as we do? When we get beyond the “tyranny of the urgent” are there biblical ideas or themes that we are neglecting in our prayers for our children? 

Perhaps. But why does it matter? Isn’t it enough that I pray for my children? Why does it have to match up so much with Scripture and God-centered and Christ-exalting and all that? Here are a few reasons it matters that our prayers are lining up with Biblical ideas:

Power
Do you want power in your prayers? Maybe that is a dumb question. Of course you do. They need to be biblical, then. God is pleased to take the word he has inspired and bless it when believers cling to it in faith. 

Additionally, it can be hard to know what to pray for our children/youth. Prayer can feel a lot like meal planning, can’t it? Most households eat the Power
Do you want power in your prayers? Maybe that is a dumb question. Of course you do. They need to be biblical, then. God is pleased to take the word he has inspired and bless it when believers cling to it in faith. 

Additionally, it can be hard to know what to pray for our children/youth. Prayer can feel a lot like meal planning, can’t it? Most households eat the...same 5-7 meals over and over again. That’s no problem, especially if they are tasty and healthy. Before I start salivating or adding unneeded calories let me get back to prayer. Oh yes, Prayer. It can be the same way. Cant it? How many parents have their go-to prayers and rattle them off without giving it much thought? I can definitely relate. I need help and there is great power when I am praying God’s will for my child. 

Transformation
The very last thing I said under Power could also be added to alignment. When we pray biblically we not only have the assurance that God is with us in what we are praying but we know our own hearts are being aligned to God’s heart for our child. The danger of turning our most basic desires for our children into prayers is that it doesn’t ensure that our desires are truly God’s desires. Last time I checked parents need to be “transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2). Isn’t this right? Indeed, the desires we have for our children very much needs constant transformation that can only come from gaining God’s eternal perspective. Thus, praying biblically for our children and teens is one of the very best ways for parents to surrender to God pray for our own transformation through parenting. 

Freedom
I could have titled this surrender, you know. I could have. Maybe I should have. However, freedom seems more appealing. And...and, freedom is the outcome to surrender. The world suggests surrender is slavery or even failure but God promises that surrender to Him is freedom. In fact, it is the counter intuitive way we discover freedom. However, how does this relate to parenting and praying? On two levels. First, our children will only find true life and true freedom in surrender to God, which biblically saturated prayers are leading us to. Second, it is freeing for parents. In our child dedication classes we ask parents to “surrender all worldly claims upon our children in the hopes that they will belong wholly to God.” As parents align their purposes for their child with God’s it frees them in a number of ways to allow their lives to go ultimately they way God desires rather than the way the parents do. 

Are you on board? Please consider joining in to praying these big, bold and biblical prayers for the next generation. May our children come to know the joy of the Lord all of their days and may we as parents align our hearts with God’s kingdom purposes. Thats where we will find power, transformation and freedom. 

In Christ,
Pastor Kevin



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