“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.””
“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled”
“The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase”
“But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven””
Children are a precious gift from God and the future of every generation lies in their hands, therefore it is very important that we prepare them first spiritually and then physically. There is so much going on in the world where our children live. We cannot take them out of the world like Jesus said in John 17, but must bring them daily and consistently before the quarry site so that the Lord will help us mold them into their God given purposes. The prayer in John 17 was a devoted prayer of Jesus about the children of God. We must follow his example. The devil also knows the potential of our children and like in the days of Jesus, Moses, Samuel, etc, he wants to steal what belongs to God. It is our responsibility to stand against the devil like Moses’s mother and declare that our children will not die, but fulfil God’s plan. Can you imagine what would have happened to Moses if not for his mother? When we pray for our children, the Lord provides that which is good (Psalm 85:12).
1. Psalm 127:3 says "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Let's thank God for the gift of children
2. Matthew 19:14 " But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Pray that we will not be a hindrance. That we will not let our words, actions and activities hinder our children from having a true relationship with Jesus
3. Job 1:5 "When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. Many times we complain about our children but do we take time to intercede for them? Let's intercede for mercy for our children.
4. Job 1:5, Job consecrated his children, meaning he set them apart unto God. Let's pray that our children will be consecrated unto the Lord. That they are set apart for God's work in school, at home, on social media...everywhere they go.
5. Let us plead for salvation for our unsaved children. Just because they have grown in a Christian home doesn't mean they are saved. The world is feeding them lies and conflicting information. Let's pray that they will experience God for themselves.
6. Plead with God to remove their heart of stone (stubborn, rebellious and defiant heart) and replace it with a heart of flesh that seeks after God. Ezekiel 36:26; "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
7. Pray against the ploy of the enemy. That according to Isaiah 54:17 ,no weapon of depression, darkness, homosexuality, identity confusion, anger, malice...etc formed against our children shall prosper. We condemn every tongue rising up against their destiny in the name of Jesus.
8. Pray against the spirit of suicide. John 10:10 the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy the lives and destiny of our children. He targets them from a young age. Pray against the spirit of suicide of the soul, body and spirit.
9. Hebrews 8:10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Pray that our children's hearts and minds are filled with the word of God. May their minds be in Christ. Even when their hearts and minds stray away, the Lord will give them a way of escape
10. Matthew 18: 2-3 "He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.. nowadays children want to be adults. Children control their parents. Children no longer have the mindset of children. Let's pray that our children will truly come to God as children so that they can Inherit the kingdom of heaven.
11. Pray for the spirit of obedience and against discouragement. Obedience to the Word of God and the grace to overcome peer pressure Eph 6: 1-3 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
12. Declare that because our children are being trained in the ways of God, even when they are old, they shall not depart from the faith. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
13. 3 John 1:4 “ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” Pray that our children shall work in the truth
14. Eph 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Pray that parents shall not provoke their children to sin and disobedience. Out of fear, parents shall also not project their behaviors on their children such that children resent the things of God. But parents shall be a model of godly characters and righteous living
15. Joshua 24:15 " As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Declare that as for our children, grandchildren and future generations to come, they will serve the Lord
16. Declare God's protection upon our children. May the Lord shield them from stray bullets, accidents, gang activities, drugs and arrows of the enemy
17. May they seek their identity in Christ Jesus and not in things or people for they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Matthew 5:14-16