A Prayer for Our Children
Heavenly Father,
We confess that you are God. You are both in control of all things and you are good. You know what you are doing when it comes to the plans for each one of us. And in your power and in your goodness you do know how to weave together joys and sorrows.
In this world we experience both Father. At times we abound, and at times we are brought low. In the world of parenting and in the world of children there are millions of various situations, some filled with gladness and some filled with tears. Children in whatever scenario create opportunities for us to learn more about ourselves, about the gospel, and about you Father God.
Father, For those here among us that are feeling pain and sadness and have tears because of situations pertaining to children, I pray for peace and comfort from Jesus. I am so thankful that just because You are in control of all things it’s not as if you don’t feel pain. Jesus wept. And your Bible says “The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I ask for peace for us this morning. Grant us peace. We all need peace in our hearts and Jesus offers that peace because he died on the cross to fix and make perfect all shortcomings and anxieties.
We are thankful this morning Father for these little ones here. We experience great joys through the gift of children. And these little ones enter our church family and I am thankful for them.
For the parents, I ask Father that they would give themselves fully to their child, not asking for anything in return. But continually getting their joy and satisfaction from you Father as you are a fountain of living water such that these parents don’t need praise from their children. That their joy would be in the Lord so that they could continually serve their children and not be served.
Father, please guard their hearts from anxieties. That they would not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and supplication they would turn to make their requests be known to You God. Let them put the burden of parenting that weighs on their hearts onto Jesus. And let these parents, parent freely because their identity is in Christ, and not meeting some perfect standard.
Father we ask for great joys and happiness and fun in these homes as the kids grow up.
For the children, I ask for peace in their hearts. That you would bless them from early on to rest and be content in their parents love and guidance and discipline. I ask that these little ones would trust their parents and enjoy their leadership. This is of course an impossible thing given the nature of children. But, with your immense grace and mercy you can break into our homes and send your Holy Spirit and move like the wind moves and make this happen. Yes, with parents alone this is impossible, but with You Father all things are possible.
And as these children grow up, we ask and pray for their hearts. We do not ask for mere external good behavior and we do not ask merely that they’d look and act great. But we ask for their hearts. We ask that you would move inside of them that they would repent and put their faith in Jesus. We ask that they would not rely on their goodness or their works or rely on how smart they are, but rather set their hope on God. For you God are able to handle this request. You alone can change hearts. And you alone can save.
And when trials come, when sadness comes, when disappointment happens, I pray we’d all trust you Father. We are a family here and we are all in this together. I ask for this congregation to walk side by side with these parents, that these parents and all the people in this church family would not feel alone. Grant us the grace and mercy to let our hearts move us to joyfully serve one another. When needs pop up, and they will, grant us the giftings to help meet those needs.
Not our will but your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
In Jesus’s name, Amen!
This prayer was first delivered at our Child Dedication service on April 18, 2015.