Often times, we want to pray for our children but we don’t know for what or how. We curated, adapted and wrote 31 prayers with topics ranging from general blessings for our child, for joy and for integrity, and for ourselves as parents.
Please download the PDF version of the prayers here.
(Or you can find the simple text copy of the prayers below.)
We hope this encourages and provides a springboard to begin interceding and covering our children for the years to come.
Let’s pray.
Prayers of Blessing:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are Yours.
Now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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Child, may you keep company with Jesus all the days of your life.
In Him, may your heart be free and your spirit lifted, so that you can bear the heavy burdens of those hurting around you and in our world.
May the lost find their way back home to Jesus through your grace-filled life.
Amen.
EKKO Church
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Child, God is here to bless you. And blessed are you, beyond telling. Grow gently, in the love of God.
We pray Christ be near you, now and each hour of your life.
Amen.
Pastor Bryan
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Child, may you be strong and rooted, and yet meek and playful. May you be righteous and holy; teachable and humble, blanketed in the grace of God.
May You experience God’s love so much so that it spills generously to those around you.
EKKO Church
Prayers of Identity in Christ:
Our God knit you together in the womb. Your heart of hearts, the desires of your soul. Your dreams and passions, the bend in your elbow, your curious eyes, your bright smile — He created every inch of you.
Our Heavenly Father, made you fearfully and wonderfully.
And before your very body was formed, He saw you. He still sees you. He wrote each day of your life before the first page was ever turned.
From the very beginning, He has put purpose in you. Nothing was by accident.
So, child, may you feel the freedom to explore. The courage to take risks. The passion to discover your own sense of self and calling in the time God has allotted for you. The understanding that you are enough, and He is enough for you. We as your parents, are walking beside you. May you sense the comfort of God doing so as well.
Prayer adapted from Psalm 139:13-16 by EKKO Church
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My child, may you spend your days rooted in self-respect and worth, may you never find the need to compete or compare, instead may your life be spent on helping those who do not realize their worth and beauty in the sight of God. I pray that you realize at an early age how blessed you are for having parents who love you and love God. May that bring you a sense of identity, security and hope.
Pastor Bryan
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“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” – Joel 2:28
This is my prayer for you. That you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
That you will prophesy to the nations and bring knowledge of God to your world. That you will be granted vision, a purpose from God because you have shown yourself trustworthy through years of discipline, character, by listening to your parents and being a good sister, brother. I pray that you will find your calling early and that years won’t be wasted looking for an identity, but knowing who you are in Christ, you will join the Spirit in his work.
Pastor Bryan
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Child, may your heart bend toward Christ.
May your spirit grow curious and hungry for God.
May you find yourself a well worn spot in His presence, near His throne, by His heart.
Amen.
EKKO Church
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My dear child, I pray you come to hear and recognize the voice of our Great Shepherd. It is He who leads us by still waters, to deep and refreshing wells, into green and open fields.
Be still and listen for His voice.
May you seek Him and find.
Amen.
EKKO Church
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May you come to know the big, big love of God that is more than enough for you.
EKKO Church
Prayers for purpose:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
1 Thessalonians 4: 11-12
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Child, I pray that you learn how to put to use the strengths and talents God has gifted you. I pray that you discover your talents. That you will be given the grace to mature in every skill God has given to you. That you will use them all for the Glory of God and for the relieving of pain for those who are hurting in your world and time. And I pray that your skills will bring you before kings, before influencers, so as to influence them towards the will of Christ.
Pastor Bryan
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Child, you have been placed on this earth, during this time, into our family for a purpose: to enjoy God and to reflect His love and goodness in all that you are.
May your life be a gospel song.
May the nations be blessed by you.
May your life glorify our Good Father by bringing peace and relief to this world.
EKKO Church
Prayers for Friendships:
“A friend loves at all times…”
May God bless you with great friends throughout your life. May you experience true and deep friendship with godly men and women. May you and your friends be warm allies to those who are lonely, isolated, bullied… bringing light in their dark worlds. May the friends that you have and the friendship you offer be rooted in the love and friendship we find in Jesus, for He is our “friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (See, Proverbs 17:17, 18: 24)
Pastor Bryan
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My child, may God teach you to be kind as He is kind. Kind to those who may be unkind to you. Compassionate to those who are hurting. To be a friend who is generous in word and deed. To be a friend to the lonely.
And may you find friends for the journey. May God bless you with friends who can cover you and care for you, as you will do for others. As Christ has done to you.
Be clothed with compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12)
EKKO Church
Prayers for Faith:
Child, we are called to live by faith and not by sight. May you grow in faith. May you be given the gift of faith, believing in God, His promises, and in His Son. May you also believe in His creation, His people. May you believe in people, giving them the benefit of the doubt. I pray that you will become a great servant-leader because you see in them what God sees in them. You will call many to the best version of themselves for the glory of God. You will live by faith, you will live by faith.
(See, Hebrews 11: 1, 2 Corinthians 5: 7)
Pastor Bryan
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“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the Hope of eternal life.”
Titus 3:4-7
Prayers for Character:
My child, I pray that you grow with integrity and with honor. May you never be swayed by fear of circumstances or fear of man. May your hope be in God, so that you can walk secure.
My child, may you find security in God and in Him alone.
As Psalm 25:21 says, “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in You.”
EKKO Church
Prayers for Joy:
Child, the joy of the Lord is on you. May your life point to the peace we find in God. That in Christ you can always say, “it is well with my soul”. Because God is your joy and delight, you will be able to carry other people’s burdens. Because of the confidence you will have in Christ you will be able to be concerned for others. As scripture teaches, you’ll be able to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who are rejoicing.
I pray this prayer, that “…the joy of the Lord (will be) your strength.” – Neh. 8:10
Pastor Bryan
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May you experience a joy-filled life that is only had when we practice Jesus’ ways. Live a life full of hope and contagious joy that invites others into this dance with God. Be marked by joy that is rooted in the unchangeable truth and freedom we find in Jesus Christ.
May your joy be shared freely, often, and generously.
EKKO Church
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Child, I pray you walk closely with God as He shows you the way of life. May your joy, your smile, your quiet strength attract many to the source of life in Jesus.
Pastor Bryan
Prayers for Peace:
Child, may you live each day in the peace of Christ. May you be at rest, knowing that God has it all in His hands. Know that His grace is always enough. He is good. He is always working things out for good.
EKKO Church
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God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer
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As Psalm 23 says, may the Lord be your shepherd and your guide. Day by day you have everything you need in Him. He will lead you to still waters and lead you even in the darkest of times. You do not need to fear for the Lord is always with you and He will comfort you. May the peace of our Father be with you in all circumstances. Follow Him and His goodness, and mercy and love will follow you every day of your life.
Caroline Pae EKKO Kids Director
Prayers for Wisdom
Job says, “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.”
May you grow in wisdom. May you be wise yet accessible and approachable… wise yet humble. So when people get to know you, they will ultimately be glad for they will have found wisdom… and by wisdom, I mean, a revelation of and from God. May your wisdom be rooted in the Word of God and cause many to seek and find Jesus. May your wise living inspire many to live wisely. (See, Job 12: 13)
Pastor Bryan
Prayers for the Parents:
Our heavenly Father, You set the lonely in families.
We ask for Your continual care over our family. Put far from us, every root of bitterness, arrogance, and the pride of life. Fill us instead with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit us together in constant affection. Turn our hearts as parents to the children, and turn our children’s hearts to us. Kindle in us charity among us all, that we may evermore be kindly compassionate to one another; through Christ Jesus. Amen.
Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer
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Almighty God, You have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of Jesus Christ.
The Book of Common Prayer
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Lord, when we take stock of the family that you chose to be born into, it sets our hearts at rest. We realize that you are not looking for perfect people to become a part of your own family. Instead, you are populating your family, your church, with imperfect but repentant people, flagrant but forgiven sinners. When our children sin in outrageous ways, when they act in ways that dishonor you, help us to remember that you still choose to dwell among your people, though we are unworthy of you. Thank you for making us worthy by joining us with Christ.
Nancy Guthrie
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Heavenly Father, I have not grown beyond my need for your loving discipline. In fact, it is amazing to me that you can use even the challenges of parenting to mold me. Parenting has a way of exposing my idols and bringing to the surface the areas in which there is a need for a harvest of right living, so keep loving me by disciplining me in the way that only you can.
Nancy Guthrie
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Father, help us to seek you and your purposes above any other pursuit in life. Keep us focused on the eternal and not on the things of this world. May we be able to set examples for our children through our daily actions and priorities. Help us to trust and fully cling to you so our children will place their confidence in you as well.
Lord, help us to parent with mercy and grace, patience and kindness. Help us to remember that we are tools of your rescue and transformation and that we alone cannot change their behavior. May we be parents that point our kids to Jesus every day through our words and actions.
Jessica Lee, EKKO Kids
Benediction Prayer
“May the Lord bless you; may He cause you to prosper richly in every good spiritual gift there is in Christ Jesus. May He watch over, guard and protect you and all whom you love. May His countenance be upon you, His face be turned toward you such that you would see in Jesus how very much He loves you, accepts you right where you are, and invites you to follow Him. May He be gracious unto you, may you sense His favor, mercy and goodness as you walk with Him. May the Lord grant you peace; May you be at rest and centered in Jesus, who is our Lord, and through whom we ask all these things… and may Christ be victorious in you.”
Benediction adapted from Bishop Todd Hunter of the Anglican Church