'I AM' A Praying Mama:13 Powerful Prayer Topics. -

I Am,

A Praying Mama.

Becoming a praying parent is one of the most precious blessings that any woman could ever experience. The changes that occur in your body as God creates a baby that was freshly and uniquely knitted inside of you are a beautiful journey, even through the gross and challenging moments. Or even when you realize that God trusted you to become a mother to His child, giving you almost complete control in raising them.

Oh boy, does that come with a lot of mental awareness of life and parenting styles, or even the “what would you do/ how would you handle this?” scenarios you play in your mind before the baby has even arrived! Although we cannot control the outside world and fully control the life that our baby or children will live outside of our homes, we do have a promised control that is even better than what we Mamas could ever give our children. That promise is called authority.

We, Mamas, have the authority to pray over our children, teach them, and discipline them so they can have long, fruitful lives here on earth.

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Luke 10:19

Praise God! We, Mama, can trust in the Power that the name “Jesus” provides through prayer. When you’re in your current season of pregnancy, call on the name of Jesus and reclaim your thoughts as well as your actions by speaking life into your child who is within you. When you feel like your children are being defiant or that they are personally attacking you, please, Mama, do not take things personally. Your child is not the problem, but the enemy is! Resist the thoughts that your precious baby is targeting you, look in the mirror in your prayer closet, and pray to God not only for your child but over yourself as well and your character when facing such times.

It is easier said than done. I get that, trust me, but sister, I am here to remind you of some truths written in God’s Word about the Power in the name of Jesus through a mother’s prayer over her child. Such actions remind you that God is in control and that you need your Father to Father you in this season of your life. It also shows a mother truly surrendering her child’s life to God, our Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name. No matter the experience of being a parent, or even if you are pregnant with your first child, praying over your child starts today! If you do not know where to start, that is okay; I have topics below with scriptures on what you should pray for over your child. I will also pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you every day of your life as a parent and that He will intercede through you to pray what ought to be prayed for.

1. Love

The first thing we should pray for (not that you should go in order of prayers) is that your child knows what love is and is given that love from you and your husband. We cannot control our husbands right now and force their love on a child, so I will focus on you, Mama. Knowing what, or might I say, who love is, is vital in your relationship with God and your relationship with your child. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8). There is nothing better than knowing that God Is love, and 1 Corinthians 13 has guided us on what love looks like towards one another. If you want to go even further, God has shown us through His son on the cross a perfect display of love put into action with one ultimate sacrifice for those who knew no better. Similar to our children, right? We, mothers, feel like we have sacrificed so much to care for our children in the best ways we can, even when we feel like we are being tested by pick a moment that had occurred in the day through our child’s actions, yet because they do not know better (I mean the fullness of their actions and the weight of it Spiritually) we breath in and out and continue to love our children.

God shows us grace and mercy daily because of His love for us, and your children should be given the same grace and mercy that we receive daily. Children need to see love through physical touch, words of affirmation, eye contact, your full, undivided attention (so put away electronics and any other distractions), and good deeds. Through our love for them, they can gradually see and learn the love of our Father through our actions and display that same love for others that we need to always pray for. Genuine love given and received by you, Mama, and from your actions, will allow you to receive that same love back.

2. Healthy Family Relationships

Growing up, my daddy used to tell me and my sisters, “I love you and will always love you, but if something happens to me, then I will need y’all to stick together because y’all are all y’all have. Then take care of your mother because she will need y’all more than ever.”

Due to interracial love from my parents, they were both rejected by many people. Most of them were their family. My parents learned to start as teenagers from the bottom with nothing and worked hard to be positioned right later in life with a beautiful family. (I do want to include that my black side accepted us, and I was raised knowing them) but outside of them, it was clear to my sisters and I that we were all we had. My daddy also used to say, “A family that prays together stays together.” He prioritized that despite the challenging years we all faced as a family.

Honestly, because my sisters are my first best friends, having the best sisterhood that I could not imagine living without, I always tell my toddlers what my daddy used to say to me and make sure that we pray together daily.

I know that not everyone experienced the livelihood that I was blessed to experience, and don’t get me wrong, we endured some things that created unhealthy trauma, anxiety, depression, and other things, but my parents made it a goal to make sure that our relationship with everyone in the family was loving and fruitful relationships. They were so focused on raising us tight-knit that it made my sisters and I feel like a team they could not go against because we would defend each other and face consequences together. (We were a bit extreme, but that was us!)

Pray for your family dynamic. Pray for healthy relationships among the individuals in your house because there are many years of y’all as a family living together, and you want the environment to match the relationships. Peaceful, loving, caregiving, and filled with the Holy Spirit. As Paul and Silas had said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.” (Acts 16:30-32). If the Holy Spirit is present in your home by just one person, then the person’s life imitates the likeness and Identity created in God; that person can be the light transforming everyone in the home. Can you imagine praying for your whole family to be like Jesus and having healthy relationships with one another? Can you imagine your children and husband sharpening one another in the Word of God through His word, prayer, worship, words of affirmation, and the special loving acts of serving one another, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17)? This is why it is vital to pray for your family, and over the health of the relationships that they form with one another. They will help each other with accountability and support one another through God’s love in walking life’s journey.

*I want to quickly mention that it has been said that the bond one forms in one’s relationship with a family member is pretty much an indicator of the kind of relationships one will have with the peers one chooses to have later in life. I believe that to the T because every group of friends I have had growing up has been like my sisters. I am not even joking; I have friends who are doppelgangers by the characteristics of my sisters.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Romans 12:16

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

3. Godly Friends & Role Models

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Birds of a feather flock together” or “You are who you hang with,” perhaps you heard your parents tell you, “Show me your friends, and I can tell you what kind of person you are.” My Dad used to say a classic line to me daily: “Not everyone is your friend.” If you have never heard of any of these phases, then here you go! These phrases are accurate but can have exceptions when God is involved. I will elaborate a bit about those exceptions, but first, let me start off with your children’s friendships. Praying for your children’s friendships and peers is important because your children are around them daily for hours and will be exposed to things their friends are into. Things that may not align with your liking and approval of such exposure. This can include un-wholesome music, inappropriate topics, sex, alcohol, drugs, and bad behavior. These types of exposures in close friendships can lead your child, vulnerable with curiosity, down the wrong path physically, mentally, and Spiritually.

You can start praying for your children’s friends right now! There is no better day to start than today. Pray for your children’s encounters with people and friendships, even in adulthood. Pray that God will send the right people at the right time to walk life by the Spirit with your child so that they are not steered in the wrong direction. Pray even for the former friends and their family to be saved by God and have a change of heart. Express to your children that though they are no longer friends with their peers who were not healthy relationships to have, tell them they can still love those people by praying for them and speaking God’s word over them.

For the people that your children look up to, ask God that they are wholesome people who are Spiritually mature and have pure intentions of guiding your children in the right direction as well. Pray for their lives and their friends that they will have a long, healthy life. Pray that they will, too, have good peers to keep them on the right track because we know it takes a village, accountability, and support to remain on that narrow path that not many will be faithful to walk. Have your children pray with you and separately for their friends and express to them how they are called to spread God’s love and truth to everyone around them, and that if they love their friends, then they will too speak life into them and pray with them.

I said before that there is an exception to some people whom you, Mama, may disapprove of the friendship. That is okay, but remember that we are called to be the light amongst the darkness. Your child does not have to partake in sleepovers and hangouts outside of the school grounds but do remember yourself and encourage your child to be aware of their friendships and also to love on the broken souls that need God. Tell them that they had an encounter with the broken, lost soul for a reason, and that reason is to be used by the Holy Spirit and speak life and the Word of God with them. Their actions toward the lost sheep will be seen by God and rewarded for having such a love to help them. Mama, we are personally not to condemn anyone but to be led by the Spirit. It may not be for everyone, but your child, no matter the age, is a walking testimony to Jesus and is called to spread the Gospel. You can try to tell your child about discernment on people and knowing who their real friends are compared to acquaintances or not-so-good people, from whom they need to remove themselves. You can also include how they need to discern when they are losing sight of who they are or themselves entirely while showing love to the lost people. Still, I want to encourage you to pray for those moments and that God will allow His will to be done and not your own with the situation.

*I have not reached the parent phase of expressing this to my boys since they are still toddlers, but after my fair share of “friends,” good and bad, I hope to be as brave as the words I type to trust God and the Holy Spirit with the decisions my children make when establishing friendships. (So please, Mama, take this lightly but still stand on God’s truth and promises in this area)

The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
Proverbs 12:26

4.Health

When I was pregnant with my second baby, I remember the concerns the doctors had over my pregnancy. It was not concerns of my body handling the pregnancy but my baby testing positive for some rare blood and oxygen disease that they wanted to do further tests on to see if I would have to go as far as moving my family to California for him to receive life treatment. I did not understand how this could happen, especially after having my first child months before. (Yes, back-to-back). I compared pregnancies to how drastically different they were and questioned in the hospital chair on each visit if I were to blame for this condition. It did not help that the doctors mentioned that the disease was a genetic disease passed down from either side.

Thankfully, upon telling my husband about everything that I was facing during the pregnancy, including more doctor appointments and tests, my husband immediately shut down every word that every doctor had said about our baby. He told me that our baby was good and not to believe what the doctors had said to me about the babies and many appointments. (He had to learn about everything later because he was at an academy.)

Initially, I was nervous to hear my husband out and match his faith. I still attended some check-ups by specialists until one encounter with a doctor whose words I knew immediately that I had to shut them down and out of my mind in receiving. That day, I learned that I would pray so hard for my baby and trust God, my baby’s Heavenly Father, whom He knitted and was still growing in me, that He will come through for His baby. I prayed over not just his health but my firstborn and the babies to come through my body after.

I thank God for doctors, but there is a moment when we Mamas must know our first doctor—the only doctor who can truly heal and restore proper health. We should not align our thoughts to the enemy’s thoughts when the doctors try to diagnose our children, let alone assume ahead of time a diagnosis that was not fully and thoroughly confirmed. Either way, our children need us to step in like the Holy Spirit steps in and intercedes, to pray for our children’s health on good days and bad days. We must not settle for anything other than the goodness of God and what He can and will do for His children. With beautiful and authoritative prayers over our doctors in moments like that, God can use doctors to assist our needs and help us, but we must not forget our first doctor.

In the end, in the middle of my pregnancy towards the end, I decided to trust God and the good health that I not only prayed for but that He had already established in His/ my child and stopped going to the appointments. Let me add that my baby was born with perfect health and no signs of any diagnoses that were spoken on him. (Even in the last 3 months of regular check-ups, the doctors did not pick up anything they had before).

PRAISE GOD!!!

(I am not against doctors; I love my children’s pediatrician, but I want us Mama to speak and declare good health over our children and not always accept doctors’ diagnoses or assumed diagnoses immediately. Never question the Holy Spirit if He is tugging on you about information that you have received. Pray for discernment and the right doctors, and listen for confirmation from your Father!)

Beyond just the doctors, pray for your children to have good health in how they care for their bodies. Many foods these days contain bioengineered chemicals, affecting the human body in more ways than one can count. A few ways listed are

They can alter hormonal imbalances.
Cause early menstruation for female children as young as elementary.
A lot of foods are injected with an addictive chemical that makes your body want more of that particular food.
Diseases and Disorders are formed from fake foods and decrease good health drastically.

AND MORE….

Let’s inform our children of good health and the benefits of maintaining good health through eating the right foods, exercising, meditating on God’s Word followed by alone time, eliminating noise and screen time that takes away focus, and rest.

Pray and be an example, already establishing that lifestyle for your children to live by, and those ways will be engrained in them forever. When they have children, from the lifestyle that you brought them up in, they will be able to teach their children about good health and pray over their bodies, establishing a new generation of healthy children and adults.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

5. Healing

I know we, Mama’s, are well informed and experienced about the day-to-day healing that we pray for when our children are physically hurt and possibly sick. Those prayers in such conflict can be more potent than the rushed down prayers we do occasionally over our food. That same urgency to pray for your child in need in that current moment is the same urgency in prayer that is needed over and throughout their whole life.

You may ask, “Why would I want to pray ahead on something bad that has never happened?” Well, I will tell you this. Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33). We always pray that our children will never endure such hardships and experience pain, but that is not reality for humans, let alone a child of God who is running a race where they need to face uncomfortable things that will grow them Spiritually mature.

So again, I say, use that same urgency of prayer for their future healing. You may not know exactly what the prayer will be for, but we know that praying for healing is beyond the scrapes and bruises on the surfaces and the stomach bugs inside. Healing is also for children and adults who face mental, physical, and Spiritual health issues. It’s for those who, from childhood to adulthood, have carried the weight of unforgiveness and need to be healed. For the trauma victims and the heartbreaks that come with living life for some time. Maybe there was something that you have missed in your children going to school, and perhaps you have overlooked the signs of a bully victim or sexual harassment and assaults from even family members that your children have never mentioned. Let’s not forget the anxiety that was maybe created at a young age or from school performance testing that showed up in other areas of your child’s life into adulthood. So many factors that we pray would never happen could happen, especially if not prevented. (Not in all cases, but some).

As much as we, Mama, want to take complete control and play God by shielding our children from everything, we must accept that we can’t. There is still evil out there, big and small. There might be a break-up that may hurt your child, but it would allow them to find the one they are grateful for later. Or that test they flunked, but it made them realize that the path from that course was not created for them. Either way, we cannot stop life from happening, BUT we can pray for the healing in their hearts along the way. We can pray that they will always receive and know the truth about healing and live a free and wholesome life.

He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
psalms 107:20

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’
Jerimiah 30:17

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

6. Protection

We all live in the same world where we have access to every breaking news story, local news story, and social media post regarding some type of tragedy involving an innocent person—a person who was someone’s child. Us Mama can’t help but feel anxious and stressed while figuring out how to raise our children in this world without them being a victim of anything.

We may not even need to go that far. How about the stages from newborn until they are 18 years old when you are accountable for their life no matter the cause? You may have repeated to your toddler 100 times not to touch the stove or to not jump on the couch because of accidents, all to find yourself feeling judged by doctors in the hospital from the incidents as if mom guilt is not enough for you to carry alone.

To say the least, our children will always have a mind of their own and do what their curious brains want to do because they feel as if they need full confirmation to learn for themselves what you have been trying to engrain in their brains about what not to do. All of the safety lessons and the videos of other people going through things you use as learning lessons for them are out the window. It may not be all; they might grasp a few things here and there, so please do not stop warning them, but please increase your prayers for your children daily. I know that life will happen for us all, but if we are led through the Spirit, we can also be warned ahead of time and live a longer life being obedient to the Spirit. Pray that your children will hear God clearly in those moments. Pray that they will be in the right place at the right time and that God will continue to have His angel armies on the hillside working to protect your child left and right. Did you know that we are assigned angels? Whew! Pray for those assigned angels to continue doing the good work that they are assigned to do. Pray that your child’s senses will be heightened Spiritually so that they can see, hear, and smell in Spirit, which can bring guidance all around. And praise God daily for each child waking up and coming home to sleep in their bed.

They will have no fear of bad news, their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:14

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
Psalm 91:11

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Matthew 18:10

7. No fear

After facing fears as an adult, and maybe currently, can you imagine the concern that your child is facing or might face in their upbringing? Fears of not just the scary harms that can occur but also the endeavors they can pursue. It is natural to face fear from time to time, which Is one reason Scripture encourages us children to read the bible day and night. Fear can appear at any waking moment and in our dreams, but we will pray right now that the spirit of fear will not rule us, Mama’s, nor the generations that come through us, and so on.

Father God, I pray, Lord, that you will increase a faithful, trusting heart on my fellow sister, that she may walk fully being an example of a fearless daughter who knows her Father so much so that her children are motivated and encouraged through her actions to become fearless too. I pray, Father, that her children will be brave and be aware of who their Father is, who lives inside them. Let them be reminded that fear is not of you in the sense of this world, but if one fear was to remain, that it would be the fear that you call us to have in reverence towards you. Father, drive out any darkness and make your presence and light known in their home and their heart. In Jesus name, Amen.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

8. Gifts & Talents

Just like adults, children are not only gifts from God but are distributed gifts and talents meant to serve themselves and be used to serve God’s children for the Kingdom of Heaven. Mama, I advise you never to become too busy in your schedule, even as a SAHM, navigating through your daily schedule to the point where you miss out on observing your children’s gifts and talents. Pray and ask God to open your awareness to your child and to reveal their given gifts and skills so that you can help them nourish and grow in it and so that you can also pray over what God has revealed to you about the mission that He has for His child using their given gifts and talents. You can explain to your child what they are blessed with and ways they can bless others with their gifts, or along the way; you can explain to your child how they can hear God’s voice when he wants to use them for His glory. Another thing I would add is do not stop praying for their gifts and talents. If you are unsure what it is now, pray to God about that, and in His timing, you can see it. In the meantime, it should not stop you from other qualities and skills that you can show them and model for them to obtain, but when you are revealed such news, then nurture it and pray over it. Sometimes, God gives us gifts that we start using for Him but then start to misuse such a blessing for the world, which is not fruitful nor glorifying to God. So again, pray that your child never misuses their blessings but that they will always have a heart to serve God with them.

Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Proverbs 22:29

I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
1 Corinthians 7:7

A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
Proverbs 18:16

for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Romans 11:29

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

9. Learn to speak life

Have you ever had a moment when you were having a breakdown in front of your child, and suddenly, you heard your child say something familiar to you that calmed you down? Maybe they said, “It’s okay, Mommy, just breathe. Count to ten and breathe in and out.” Or perhaps they said, “It’s okay, God is going to heal you. You are going to be okay. He is healing you.” I have had those moments many times throughout the day after I stepped on a random toy that hurt my foot. All to say, Mama, what you say in the very same moments that your child is going through something matters. Your children pick up everything you say and do and, thankfully, it is expressed back to you when you need it.

Thank God for His truth and promises!

I want to encourage you to start speaking life into your children. Speak life even in the most chaotic moments of your day, followed by good actions. There is nothing like having a moment where your mama makes a mistake, and when you apologize to your child, they respond, “It’s okay. I forgive you because Jesus forgives us. I love you.” Our words are compelling and crucial even in our moments, but the beauty is that God uses our children to be pure physical images of His displaying unconditional love when we need grace and love.

Keep pouring out the Word over them. Keep speaking life over them and pray they will also have a heart to speak life over others. Pray they will have the confidence, bravery, and faith to speak life to that person who needs it the most, although they look intimidating. Express to your child that everyone needs God and to experience His love, and it can only be done through a child of God who is driven in love to go out into the world, pouring out all of their love for others. Most importantly, always remind your child how much weight words can hold. Every word said to someone matters and will be accounted for in Heaven.

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Matthew 12:34

10. Breaking chains & Generational curses

I have seen things in my family that I have always sworn my children would never face or see when they were born. Unfortunately, that was not the case entirely for me. I had witnessed my mother endure MANY trials with her in-laws. For her, it was a race issue, given the fact that she was white with a black man (who her family also kicked her out at the age of 13 for being with). After seeing her face hardship in her marriage because of her in-laws, I thought that if I naturally loved mine from the start, I would not have to face what she had faced, but that was not the case for me either. I was not accepted and faced the same difficulties and challenges. It was not until my 3^rd year of marriage that I finally expressed to my mother what I had been facing after realizing that I was now living in the same shoes that my mother had walked in for her entire marriage with my dad until he passed away. So today, I tell myself that it ends with me. I realized I could not display a heart of unforgiveness despite everything done towards me and what I had endured because of my in-laws. Still, I said that I would never want my children to think it is okay to not pray for their enemies and love them despite the damage that has been done. I want my children to always see me as a mother and child of God who displayed God’s love, not as fake, but because my heart had changed and genuinely showed through how I lived. I told myself I would never be what my mother and I experienced with the girls my sons bring home. I needed to end it with me. I know I am speaking in a place with toddler sons. Still, I strive to be a loving person filled with faith who will pray for my children’s relationships and keep praying for them to know God so that God can do what I cannot do IF it is a toxic relationship.

This goes beyond the in-laws, but I wanted to use that example. This can apply to sexual immorality, which has those demonic spirits lingering in your home and around your children if you have never been free from them. This applies to depression, anxiety, a heart of fear and unforgiveness, anger issues, diseases, mental health, instability, poverty, oppression, and more. You may not see the effects it has on you because of you growing accustomed to the lifestyle of such sin and curses that it has become a norm to you, but look back on your family’s life with that curse. Look and tell me what you see. Did this curse bring trauma, unhappiness, and a miserable life? Before you became accustomed to it, can you pinpoint a time when you noticed that there was a generational curse (or issue) lingering around that made you dream of a different life when you could escape at a later age or that made you say that you will never have your children go through such things like you?

Breaking chains is not easy. It takes a willing heart to work to make changes and live uncomfortably until the chain is entirely broken. Curses that linger and still try to linger on your kids, the new generation needs to be broken, and it starts with you choosing to let it end with you.

“A good way to see a negative trait broken in your child is to see it in you first. The best place is to identify any sin in your life. Wherever there is sin, you need to confess it. If that sin is given place time again and again, it will become more and more entrenched. Then identify any sin in your parents and grandparents that you feel could be affecting you or your children and pray about that also.” (Omartian).

Generational curses will be faced not by you, face to face, but by you, with the Holy Spirit cleansing every shape and form that the curse has tried to present itself to you and your family. Mama. This is your time to be grounded in your Word so that you can be on your knees praying, declaring truth over it all, and seeing the chains be broken in the midst. Keep declaring and thanking God our Father for His will being done on earth as it is in Heaven because we know in our hearts that He is our defender, and He has already won that battle that we can claim victory over today. Pray without ceasing for your children and the generations to come!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
Matthew 25:34

11. Purity & Spouse

My heart is very heavy on this topic, and I have included more scriptures below. I can’t express enough how important it is to pray for your child or children’s purity and spouse. I know you may think that they are too young for you to pray for their spouse, but that is so far from being true. Your prayers will be received and answered at their given time, so God forbid something happens to you earlier than expected, then the prayers you have prayed over your child for their future will not go void. They will be answered.

Why is it important to pray for their purity and spouse? Let me tell you. Purity is not just about losing one’s virginity to another person; it is beyond that. God mentions how he checks our hearts and knows our thoughts, and having impure thoughts of another individual who is not unified in one body with your child can be harmful to both parties. It can develop a dark spirit of sexual immorality and perversion, which can lead to other things that are not called holy and death. Even then, if we want to go in-depth with their bodies and purity in the context of being a virgin, it can still be harmful to them to open up and tie their soul to someone who is not theirs either. Your child’s exposure to things of this sort can lead to a road of destruction that brings a challenging recovery when they are finally woken up to the harms and dangers that it does to them Spiritually.

Did you know that when you have sex with someone outside of marriage, the men and women can transfer energies, “demonic spirits,” to each other? It can last for seven years in a person as well.

If you can, explain to your child the importance of keeping their bodies pure when they are old enough. (Even as toddlers, I always express to my babies how important privacy is and how important it is to keep their bodies private from everyone but doctors when mama and dada are with them and us as parents at home). You can go on to tell them the harms that can happen if they have sex prematurely, which can lead to a lack of self-control and discipline (which are the fruits of the Spirit that we are called to have), can lead to deadly diseases, it can harm their spouse and create insecurities for their spouse in the marriage, it affects their Spiritual life, it creates false temporary gratification which can lead to addiction, and it is displeasing to God to take something beautiful that is worship when done with their spouse in a sacred bond to just exposing their private bodies meant for one person to every person.

(Click here for more information on this topic: The Dangers of Sexual Immorality: {Lust, Porn, Masturbation} – )

Mama, it does not stop at purity. Again, we need to pray for their spouse. We need to pray for the timing when they meet their spouse and that the two will be good to each other, loving each other as they are called to do, and always praying with and for each other. That they will display a 1 Corinthians 13 love. We need to pray over their marriage and that though temptation is everywhere, they will not be moved nor shaken because their marriage will be formed on a solid rock foundation, God. We need to pray for their family, who will be the new generation, and that they live wholesome lives pleasing to God. And finally, although we can continue this for hours, we need to pray that your child and their spouse will honor their vows to God and then their spouse because our vows are promises made to God first.

*If you have pre-teens or teenagers who have been exposed to something or are in relationships and you have that talk, ask them, “Why is it important for you to partake in something this special right now? If you think that person is the one, do you need to do it right now, or are they special enough for you to wait for when y’all get married?”

We need to express the importance of respecting and honoring other people’s bodies as well as their own and how important it is to wait on things, even if they live in a world where instant gratification can happen with just one click from their fingertips.

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
1 peter 2:11

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:4

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James1:12

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Matthew 12:25

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 18:22

Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Malachi 2:13-16

12. Heart of forgiveness

There will never be a time when your child will face a moment of injustice, heartbreak, or betrayal by someone in their life. It is natural for us all to face these things and have emotions from it. But praying that they have a heart of forgiveness is what they need in those times. Even if it makes sense for your child to feel some way from what they have endured from such a person or situation, the heart of forgiveness will free them from even themselves. You see, when you have your mind and heart wrapped around justice and unforgiveness, then it can physically, mentally, emotionally, and Spiritually drain you and make you sick. Not only that, but it can strip your child of the freedom they are given in Christ when they hold on to the hurt that has formed into bitterness. Their perspectives change towards everything and everyone, and they become defensive, which hurts them in the end because of the loss of opportunities for new relationships of any sort or the life they could have had through connections. Even then, it could stop them from pursuing the dreams or missions God has called them to.

I hope that you can pray that your child will display the same heart that Jesus showed us on the cross when He died for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may have eternal life. It may seem much to put such weight on your child to live up to. Still, suppose you pray for your child’s heart posture and remind them almost daily of the gospel and how Jesus forgave us for even the “smallest” things that we think are not a big deal in comparison but are all weighed the same and remind your child of the grace and mercy that’s renewed every morning that we wake up. In that case, there is a high chance that at some point they will display the heart of Jesus and forgive just like Him.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-15

13. Repent

“Confession and repentance are two life principles we must insist upon for our children, because unconfessed sin will put a wall between them and God. Repentance, which literally means “turn away and deciding not to do it again,” is manifested when the child says, in effect, “I did this, I’m sorry about it, and im not going to do it again… Confession is a chance for us to clear the slate. Repentance is an opportunity for us to start over. Our children, as do we, need both.” (Omartian).

Omartian explained it so beautifully above that I feel there is nothing more I can add to the truth stated. But I will say, Mama, pray that your child will know where they stand with God so that they can come to a place of vulnerability and repent of anything they face and have faced before their Father.

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:5

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Acts 3:19

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Proverbs 28:13

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
Ezekiel 18:30

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:24

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.(2) Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.(10-12)
Psalm 51:2, 10-12

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Psalms 32:1

I cannot believe I have come to the end of the blog, only because I feel like I have walked through these prayer topics with you as you read and had the heart to pray over my babies and genuinely for you and your babies. I pray, Mama, for you because you are a big heart in the home carrying a lot of weight, even the things added to your plate outside your children. I pray that God will nourish your soul with His presence and peace, that His Spirit will be known and everlasting in your soul and home, and that His Spirit will also dwell over your home and children. I pray that even on the difficult days, you will remember that one scripture that He has spoken over you that you have held on to for quite some time and that you will not forget the many times that he has taken you out of the wilderness of feeling alone, even with your children and husband or even friends present, but that you remember your intimate moments that He has spoken to you to overcome the trials that you faced especially while parenting. I know this blog is about praying for and over your children, but you cannot do that on empty. You need to be filled first by His Spirit, so my heart prays for you, Mama, that you do not be discouraged nor moved by the world and its views and ways but that you will remain who God created you to be and know that you are doing amazing because of the one who is backing you up and who goes before you, your Heavenly Father! So, sister, keep running your race, keep persevering, and make sure that you do not grow faint in heart but that your heart is on fire with prayers over you and your family as you help encourage them to run the race with you.

SHALOM!

But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Romans 14:23

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
James 1:6-8

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:9-10

What Inspired Me To Type This:

Justin Bieber’s Journey Coming Back to Christ.

I remember watching his story about how he became famous when I was young. In the video, his mother and grandparents said he started singing and playing the drums for God in the church. He would sing church songs, and his mother raised him knowing God.

I love God because this shows us mothers to keep this scripture close to our hearts. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6).

Mothers, do not give up on your life and do not give up on praying for your children. Do not give up speaking life over and in them even if they are not into it. God never leaves nor forsakes, though we tend to try to leave Him behind while living our day-to-day lives. But like my daddy used to tell me, “You can try to do life on your own, but you are God’s child, and when He wants you to return to Him, He has a way of making it happen with you on your knees crying out to Him.” Remember, Job was God’s faithful child, and He allowed the enemy to mess with Job’s life but made it known to the enemy that Job himself could nor would not be touched. Job had everything taken away, but God protected Jobs’ life. Bieber was/ is going through stuff from choosing his lifestyle, but he knows the truth, and God will always come for His child. His child just needs to be that prodigal son, maybe, and realize He needs his daddy more than this worldly “life” itself. Praying for my brother.

Scriptures

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:28-39

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
John 16:23

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have beendoing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
John 14:12

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (7)…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
John 15:7 & 15:16

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.
Lamentations 2:19

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Isaiah 44:3

God’s Love and Ours
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:7-21

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
John 14:15-17

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
Isaiah 41:9

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 john 4:16

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Ephesians 1:3-6

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Ephesians 6:1-3

“Rebellion is pride put into action.”
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:23

“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
Nehemiah 9:26-27

The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
Proverbs 10:27

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18

Resources

Omartian, S. (2014). The power of a praying parent. Harvest House Publishers.