Recently my wife and I had the privilege to attend a marriage conference and one of the speakers was Alex Kendrick, the writer of several great Christian movies like War Room, Overcomer, and Courageous. He has six kids, ranging from (about) ages 10 to 22 and he spoke on the topic of, “Raising Kids of Faith.” I was so encouraged and challenged by the message, so let me share part of what he talked about.
One of his main points on the topic of raising kids to love God had to do with prayer. Specifically, do you have a “prayer strategy” for your kids?
I don’t know about you, but historically I have not been praying very specifically for my children! I pray generally for them and when needs come up, I will pray about them. But I have always been fairly vague. Kendrick challenged me to change my prayers. It is one thing to pray, “Lord, bless my kids.” That is better than nothing, but at the same time, that is vague. Instead, parents should be more specific about their prayers.
Think of it like Google Maps. In order to get a good map (and good directions), you need to be specific about a destination. Trying to get to, “California” is a lot different than “CVS on Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles.”
Likewise, when raising kids, you need to know where you want to head! You need to know what the destination should be. If you are a believer in Christ, then hopefully your final destination should be for your kids to grow up to love God and be disciples of Jesus Christ that are producing other disciples of Christ.
With that in mind, be praying specifically for that to happen in your children. Pray specifically that God will work in their heart, keep them from bad influences, and love Scripture.
Here are some prayer examples that Kendrick gives:
“Pray specifically for each of your children. Pray for their hearts to be moldable and tender toward the Lord, their minds to be receptive of his truth, and their relationships to be honoring to God. Pray for strong faith and a hatred for sin. Pray for God’s protection, for wisdom and discernment, and for a hunger for God’s Word. Pray for healthy friendships and interests, and a desire for holiness. Then pray all this again for their future spouse (or current spouse).”
Kendrick then shared how his wife prays for each of their kids specifically based on people from Scripture. She prays for each of her kids to have:
- The faith of Abraham – personal and intimate
- The leadership of Moses – led by God as they lead others
- The courage/conviction of Daniel – firm and unwavering
- The heart of David – tender toward God, repentant
- The wisdom of Solomon – wise and discerning
- The perseverance of Job – faithful in hardship
- The Zeal of Paul – desire to share the gospel
- The faithfulness of Timothy – to God, family, friends, faith
- The compassion of Jesus – to see and love people
So how are you praying for your kids? If you are not praying, or are praying vaguely, I encourage you to reevaluate your prayer strategy!
PS – Even if your kids are grown, it’s not too late! Even grown kids need these types of prayers. So start praying for them. Even better, be praying for them AND your grandkids!