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Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast Episode 066 Praying Scripture With Children

Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast Episode 066 Praying Scripture With Children

Welcome to the Terri Hitt – Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast
Episode #066 – Praying Scripture With Children

Thank you for entrusting and investing your precious time with me to grow in Jesus together. I am blessed to be back with you to discuss more ways to live with eternal perspective.

Thank you for joining me for this conclusion to the prayer series this month. This final episode was actually unplanned, but I strongly felt the Lord urging me to add specific scripture verses to be prayed with children. Letting your child hear your heartfelt, genuine, and loving prayers lifted to God on their behalf coupled with them seeing you live a life that honors and praises God, despite the storm, while visibly seeking Him through His word daily has a mighty effect that lasts for eternity.

I get several questions from mothers, often from parents of teens. The absolute best advice I can give is to begin teaching our children about Jesus from the instant you have them. Pray for them before they arrive, and never stop praying, even after they are grown. My heart yearns to help every mother see her need for Christ and encourage her deepen her personal walk with Him in such an obvious, intentional way that He overflows into the heart of her children. I want to impress the importance of shaping the heart and mind of our children and grandchildren so that they naturally chose Jesus over culture.

Last week we learned verses and prayers crafted for us to pray for our family, spouse, and children. We discussed the truth that as we live with eternal perspective, our heart must beat in unison with God’s, stirring the hearts of our precious family members to do the same. The verses and prayers we discussed in Parts 2 and 3 of this series also help us to humbly approach God with reverence and honor.

As I said in previous episodes, it is extremely important that we regularly and faithfully pray for our spouse and children. I sincerely desire that the verses and prayers mentioned in the preceding episodes will be used as is or as a framework for you to design prayers from your own heart. It is also my hope that the prayers crafted in this episode will be of eternal value for you and your family.

There is absolutely nothing more important than shepherding our child to Christ. Through a loving lifestyle of maturing our walk with Him and exhibiting a faithful, growing relationship with Jesus, we are modeling an eternity-based mindset and instructing our children or grandchildren to rely on Him for all needs. We also show them how to build a healthy sense of esteem based on Christ and His purpose and desires for them.

Praying scripture verses with our children or grandchildren builds awareness of God’s holy word and thought patterns and instills a healthy knowledge on which to build godly esteem.

Let’s examine God’s promises and instructions through examination of His beautiful and holy words, but before we begin, I want to add a reminder that God’s word is perfect. Flawless. We do not want or need to add anything to it. What we are doing is using specific verses from God to use as the foundation of our prayers.

This week we pray with our child present and participating in bowing before the Lord to petition for what He built in and desires for them. Repeating this practice of praying for our child with our child allows them the experience of hearing God’s word prayed over them and learning the importance of praying for others with God’s word. Our Father’s holy words become stitched into their spirit, binding the fabric of their emotions and feelings, thoughts and words, actions and desires with His truths.

Psalm 18:30 says, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”

Let’s study several verses and use example prayers to lift to God with His words as the foundation. These are beautiful prayers to speak with your child present to hear the cries of our heart for him or her. Of course, you may add their name in the prayer in place of “he” or “she.”

Father God, You alone are perfect. Your word is flawless. Help my child to seek You above all else in this world. I pray he understands that You are his refuge in this weary and broken world. Help him to rely on You.

Just as we did in the earlier praying scripture episodes, think of qualities you feel the Lord calling you to specifically pray for your child. As every person is unique, each child has special gifts and talents, flaws and fears. You have been blessed with the exact children you have and as we know, God does not make mistakes. The Lord is calling you to surrender ego and pride as you kneel to Him to show you the way to the heart of your child. Allow God to guide you in discipling your child or grandchild for Jesus.

Petition our Heavenly Father to show you the needs of your child and the ways you can pray.
Eternity will arrive before any of us realize and the molding of your child’s soul is one of your most important responsibilities.

Take each moment captive with all you can do to shepherd your child to God.

Praying for specific areas and needs is of extreme importance.

Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.”

Most productive habits develop through daily or lifelong routines. After being established, we usually don’t even think of them as they become a necessary part of our life. Make this habit one that you do ponder as you continue maturing yourself to be the guide pointing your child to the perfect role model, Jesus.

No prayers we release for our child will be a waste of time.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Father God, Your word is alive and powerful, sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, joint and marrow. Please use Your holy words to expose the innermost thoughts of my child and I. Show us where we need to release selfish desires and reveal to us how to do it. Make us alive with fresh hearts that seek Your ways and give You great joy.

Let’s examine several prayers to be used for any child.
1 John 2:5 says, “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.”

Dear Heavenly Father, Your perfect word tells me that those who obey it truly show You how completely You are loved. Show my child and I that we are authentically living in You. Give us a passion to please You and help us remain steadfast to a lifestyle of honor for You.

John 8:47 says, “Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

Father, may my child gladly listen to You because he is a child of Jesus. Please help him commit his life to You and steadfastly remain in Your hands because his faith is strong and courageous.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Father God, may my child always do his best to present himself as one approved by and for You. May he be a worker without shame as he obediently and faithfully handles Your word of truth in every area of his life.

As I shared earlier, God knows the exact needs our children have. He yearns for us to run to Him for advice and direction. As our Heavenly Father desires for us to shepherd our precious children back to Him, He calls for us to allow Him to shepherd us.

I encourage you to make a list for each of your children or grandchildren of the needs you know they have. Perhaps they need more confidence, a more godly heart, more courage, more understanding of God’s word, esteem built on God’s opinion of and design for him, etc. These will be the first verses you will want to lift to the Lord. An overarching general theme of spiritual needs will be next, as were the verses and prayers we spoke earlier.

A few examples of prayers for specific qualities could be as follows:
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Gracious Heavenly Father, there is none like You. Through Your merciful gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit for all who believe in You, You have allowed us to live with the fruit of the Spirit. Please allow my child to possess a deep faith in You with an obedience and trust that allows them to carry love, joy, peace, and patience, as well as kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that comes from You alone.

John 15:10-11 says, “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

Father, in Your goodness, You desire that I have Your joy. Please help my child to remain in Your love by keeping Your commandments with a loving, purposeful heart that desires You. Allow him to attract, treasure, and maintain Your joy always.

Psalm 120:2 says, “Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.”

Dear Heavenly Father, You are truth. Your holiness demands truth from Your people. Father, please guide my child in truth. May his lips flee from deceit. May his heart and mind desire truth as You do.
Psalm 119:9-11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

Gracious Heavenly Father, please equip my child to keep his way pure by seeking You with his whole heart and guarding it according to Your holy and perfect word. Do not let him stray from Your commandments. May he never desire to sin against You for his faith is true and his devotion to You deep and pure.

James 2:22 says, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

Father God, our Gracious, Holy, Heavenly Father, by Your word we see that faith alone can justify us, yet faith never remains alone. Faith that is true always exists with acts. When our faith is true, we demonstrate it by the works You spur in our life. We understand that works do not save, but they are a loving and obedient response to the love and faith we have for You. Please enable my child to have a faith that multiples and is exhibited by works that please You in their purity and joy. Help my child to believe in and follow You more each day.

I pray that these examples are a starting point for you to craft a lasting legacy of prayer with and for your child. I’d love to hear what you design specifically for your home and children or grandchildren. Together, we can all grow in depth and width of faith and devotion for our Lord.

There is strength in believing the power of God’s holy words and promises to us. Gift your child with a mature faith that models the way Jesus showed us to live. Allow him to see the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit growing within you and permit them the honor of praying over them daily in their presence. It will become a sweet time of shared fellowship and a direct line to the throne of God you will both treasure.

Titus 2:7-8 says, “In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed to have nothing bad to say about us.”

Father God, please, in everything show me how to be an example of You for my children and grandchildren. Through your perfect words and Jesus’s model for us, may I show integrity, dignity, and wholesome speech that is above reproach so that my children and grandchildren are attracted to Your beauty and transforming power. May I never lead them astray. In Your precious name I pray. Amen.

Thank you for listening to this last podcast episode regarding praying scripture. I truly pray that it is a help to you in crafting a prayer life worthy of our perfect and holy Heavenly Father.

I invite you to visit terrihitt.com to access podcast episodes housed in one convenient location, read blog posts, transcripts, and access additional resources designed to mature your walk with Jesus through an eternal perspective and encourage you to raise or influence children to choose Christ over culture. I pray this podcast draws you nearer to God and helps you cling to Him, despite any circumstances in your life. Until next week, keep looking Up while focusing on ways to Live With Eternal Perspective.

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