Pray For Your Children

Praying for our children is a compulsory responsibility we are held accountable to by God. Prayer is communication with and confiding in God through our spirit, those deep things that our minds cannot translate into ordinary words on this side of heaven.
Pastor Chris says, “Human prayer with human language will not go far enough and cannot adequately communicate with a holy God”.
There are things that will not happen for our children if we do not pray for them. Through Prayer we exercise our authority in Christ over the lives of our children.

A child is outcome largely depends on the methods, style and strategies adopted in the course of raising that child. Parents must understand that they must have themselves been distinctly equipped to raise their child, in the nurture and admonishment of
the Word of God. Children are God’s heritage and He is the one who gives us through His infallible Word the blue print with which our children are to be raised and prepared for His use.

In these perilous times that we are living in, praying for and with our children is pertinent and deliberate. The scriptures are replete with prayers that we can pray for our kids. For the scriptures that will guide your prayers for your child, I will recommend using the Living Bible or Amplified Translations

In our Ministry praying for our children involves several important guides recommended in the scriptures-

Vision:

This is a tool that God’s word gives to us when we spend valuable time in prayers for our children. The Word of God helps us to see our children exactly the way God wants us to. Through God’s Word

in prayer, we in partnership with the Holy Spirit mould, shape, orchestrate, define, regulate, mobilise engineer, determine, mastermind, manoeuvre and direct the symphony, activities, choices, decisions, influences circumstances and situations of our children’s lives towards favouring engaging with and fulfilling God’s righteous course, plans, purposes and dreams for their lives.
Psalm 127:3-5

“Children are a gift from God; they are his reward. Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows to defend him.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. That man shall have the help he needs when arguing with his enemies”. (TLB)

“Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.” (MSG)

It matters how you see your children. Your seeing determines your methods in raising your child.
What happens when we pray? When we pray we are filled with the spirit and also led by the Spirit. Praying for our children helps us come into the fullness of the Spirit. When we pray for our children, we see visions, our spiritual eyes are opened.

Joel 2:28 KJV
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions….”

Without the Holy Ghost it isn’t possible to see visions. How do we know the things we are supposed to do in raising our kids in the nurture and admonishing of the Word of God? With speaking in tongues we will see visions. But when we are done we will know that we have sorted things out in the realm of the Spirit. When we are done in prayer, God can work in our kids “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” and He can perfect all that concerns them.

Praying in tongues:

Pastor Chris says that, “The Holy Spirit chooses the best words to appeal to the mind of God concerning us. What you cannot say in human words, you pray in tongues and the Holy Spirit helps you communicate adequately and at a highest level with a Holy God”.
Through this kind of praying we exercise our jurisdiction and
authority over our children’s lives. God made us custodians of the lives of our children until they attain the age of accountability and have learned to pray for and by themselves: and even then we still pray for them and our children’s children too…Through praying in tongues we are enforcing and establishing the will of the Father in the lives of our children. When we pray in tongues for our children, we receive guidance from the Holy Spirit on how to teach and guide our children in His ways. The Holy Spirit is the greatest teacher of all things about life itself.

1 Corinthians 14:2
“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries…

Praying with the Spirit:

Prayer is a privilege and a divine responsibility. In the place of prayer we receive guidance from the Spirit about our children. This kind of intercession is important for us to gain insights and foresight on life’s varying issues concerning our children. Through praying with the Spirit, our spirit prays for our children but our understanding is unfruitful. We do not understand what we are saying, but our spirit knows and speaks mysteries to God about and concerning our children when we pray with our spirit. We are settling issues in the realm of the spirit concerning our children.

Romans 8:26-28 (TLB)
“And in the same way—by our faith – the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will, And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.

Romans 8:26-28 MSG
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good”.

The Holy Spirit helps us to pray with groanings and deep sighs that cannot be uttered. Through praying like this we can cause changes in any area we desire as we stir ourselves to take a hold of God.

This kind of praying is useful for when we are not in the same location with our child, or perhaps we sense danger concerning our child, or our child is not doing or acting right etc. Through prayer we can effect changes in the realm of the Spirit, rebuke, disarm and hinder the activities and corrupting influences of the world over their lives.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15
“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.”

Pastor Chris says, “Praying (for our children) is an investment into eternity and a true romance of righteousness”.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Pray without ceasing”. KJV “Always keep on praying”. TLB “Pray all the time”. MSG

We rarely do stop praying for our children as well as for our loved ones. God holds us to account for our custodianship of our children, before they reach the age of accountability. They are our first audience, watching, observing and effortlessly becoming what we and who they have seen us to be and are. Through praying for them, we allow the Holy Spirit swing into His full Ministry in their lives; so also we facilitate and unleash the ministry of angels which becomes evident in their lives as they grow up learning who and whose they are in Christ Jesus.

Praying in the Spirit:

Pastor Chris taught us that, “Praying in the spirit (for our children) brings us in synchrony with the Holy Spirit. He gives us the utterance and helps us to communicate with the Father articulately beyond earthly expressions”. The Holy Spirit helps us to take the next and right steps, choices or decisions concerning our kids and to guide them to do the same.

Romans 8:25
“The Spirit also helps our infirmities…” KJV

This means that the spirit bears us up, props us up in our praying. Sometimes there are limitations, infirmities, weaknesses then the Holy Spirit takes over the prayer. When we pray like this, we are taking care of things in the future.

Prophecy:

Pastor Chris defines Prophecy as, “a word of power spoken to either foretell events or bring forth God’s Word into a solution in the now’. To prophesy then would mean to speak words of power, words filled with the ability of God to cause changes and make things happen.
These words have in them the divine ability and power to back them up and make them come to pass or work. When we prophesy over our children’s lives, we are speaking words of power that affect their bodies, academics, behaviour, actions etc; words that order the course of their lives today and shape their future.

In prophesying over our children’s lives, we are speaking words of faith to exhort (encourage or urge), comfort (strengthen or console) and edify (instruct or educate)

When we prophesy it is the revealed Word of God by which He leads and guides us. When we prophesy we speak forth ability of God’s Spirit. Through prophecy we are able to bring about changes that will affect our children’s lives positively.
With prophesy we are not at the mercy of life’s circumstances, we can control our children’s destiny, guide and lead them in God’s pre-ordained paths or change anything that doesn’t seem right.

Praying in the name of Jesus:

The glorious thing about praying for our kids, is that we can pray in the name of Jesus and have our prayers answered. Jesus said.

“….I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John14:6)

Jesus gives us express permission and access to come to God through Him. He gives us the power of attorney to use His name.
“At that day ye shall ask in my name and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you”.

Jesus tells us that we don’t really need to ask Him to speak to the Father on our behalf. We can do so ourselves because the, “Father himself loves us”. We have full and direct access to God when we pray in the name of Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:19
“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, and earth and heaven. A yes on earth is a yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.” MSG

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors you open on earth shall be open in heaven!” TLB

Praying for spiritual growth.
Growing in spiritual strength and better acquaintance with our Lord Jesus Christ -2 Peter 3:18
Growing in the understanding, deep insight, discernment and wisdom of God –Ephesians 1:17-20.
Cultivating overflowing love for others, growing in spiritual insight and telling clearly the difference between right and wrong– Ephesians 3:14-19, Philippians 1:9-10
The Child learning to know God better and what He wants him to do, pleasing the Lord and being pleasing in his sight- Colossians 1:9-10
Practising and walking in love
Praying that our children may learn to live a life always living and walking in love through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling them – (Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:2)

Praying that our children delight in the word of God – (Isaiah 58:14; Proverbs 4:20-22)

Praying that our children through the word are cultured by the word to persevere, delay gratification, to be tenacious, persistent and stay the course of Christ in their lives- (Philippians 3:12-14 TLB and MSG)

Praying that our children Honesty and integrity be their lives preservative- (Psalm 25:21 KJV and MSG)

Praying that as you teach your children respect for self, others, rule of law and constituted authority: they would practise this in their daily lives- (1Peter 2:17 MSG)

Praying over them that they would walk in the boldness and courage of the Spirit ad nothing in life would faze them or their faith and trust in God and His Word. (Joshua 1:6-8; Deuteronomy 31:6 TLB and MSG)

Praying that our children demonstrate, live examples of lives cultured by the Fruit of the Spirit within –(Galatians 5:19-25)

Praying that our children learn to be responsible for their lives – (Colossians 3:15 TLB)

Praying that our children would live lives of gratitude and thanksgiving – (Ephesians 5:20 (KJV); Colossians 2:7 MSG)