Want to intentionally pray for your kids? These tips will help you do just that! Make sure to grab the printable prayer cards!
Have you ever thought about how to pray for your kids? As I send my kids back to school, I have a mixture of emotions and prayer has been constantly on my mind. Part of me is so eager for the routines of the school year and yet part of me is clinging to the relaxed days of summer.
In the flurry of excitement over a brand new school year, there is also some nervousness- for the kids and me! There can also be the fear of the unknown and the fear of letting go.
With all of the fears, excitement, and nervousness bottled up, it can leave everyone feeling a little out of sorts. Guess what? You are not alone and there is an action step you can take today!
You can pray for your kids!
There is so much power in prayer. This is an area that I often lack focus in so I am working to be more intentional in it. I have realized there are four main times throughout the day when I can stop and pray for my kids.
As a helpful note, remember you do not have to pray long prayers. You can pray Scripture over your kids or you can have everyone in the family pray one line. Keep in mind, especially for families with little ones, the attention span of children and stick to short and simple.
Get the free prayer cards here!
4 Ways to Intentionally Pray for Your Kids
1. Pray together as a family in the morning.
Trust me, I know how crazy before school time can be. There is the last minute searching for lunch money, homework, or the yellow shirt for “yellow day.” However, in the midst of this chaos, we can stop and pray. In fact, I have found that when we do this, it often is a little restart for our hectic hearts.
2. Pray in the car on the way to school.
This is one of my favorite times to pray for the kids. There have been times where one of my kids is feeling a little anxious over something, and we are able to focus on that. I love being able to speak truth into them as we drive to school. We have a short drive but then we sit in the car rider line and are able to talk before they head into school.
Here’s a tip- put your phone away while waiting in the car rider line (well except when you are waiting to pick them up because I have found that to be a great time to check email). These moments before your kids hop out of the car can be so meaningful and life-giving. I know there were times when I would be absorbed in my phone, completely oblivious to the fact that we could be talking.
3. Set an alarm on your phone to pray for your kids and teachers during the day.
This is a simple way to cultivate a daily prayer rhythm. A few years ago, I started this by putting an alarm on my phone for 11:00 am. Each day the alarm would go off and I was reminded to stop and pray.
4. Pray together before bedtime.
The before bedtime is often one of our most chaotic times of the day. Everyone is trying to squeeze out more minutes of awake time. As crazy as it can be, we try to stick to our bedtime routine (night snack + watch a quick show, brush teeth, go to the bathroom, read, pray).
I know this can be an exhausting time of the day. However, taking a moment to sit in your child’s room and pray with them is such a simple way to cultivate a strong relationship.
These four ways to pray for your kids are so simple and within the everyday moments of life.
As you decide to step forward in cultivating these habits, I encourage you to write reminders or set alarms on your phone. It takes time to build a new habit but eventually, you will be doing this without even realizing it.
One way to stay focused during the time where you pray is to pray specific verses over your kids. I have put together six of my favorite verses to pray over my kids and thought you may enjoy it as well! These verses are to pray for compassion, self-control, courage, kindness, love, and hard-working kids.
You can download the verse cards here.
Ready to join me in this for the new school year? I am so excited to partner with you in praying for our kids. Remember, it is within the everyday moments that we can build meaningful and life-giving times.
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