8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

Do you want to be more conistent and focused as you pray over your kids? Today, we’ll explore eight powerful Scriptures to pray over your children.

First, I invite you to join our family in the forest on the day I decided to be more intentional about praying for our kids.

8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

It’s a quiet Saturday morning on the cusp of spring when I sense that we need a change of pace.

The oldest is glued to the laptop, and the youngest is watching his second movie of the day. I need to think of a better option before too much screen time gets the best of us, and I have the perfect plan in mind. Today will be a day to spend time in nature, slow our rhythms, and step away from the to-do lists and chores.

We wiggle into our weathered hiking boots, winter coats, hats, and gloves, and we head to the woods.

The hemlocks invite us under their canopy, and the oak forest feels like something from a storybook.

As we walk, we collect acorns, climb muddy hills, and skip stones across the creek. We end our adventure with s’mores by a fire.

Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

Later in the day, I take a moment to thank God for our afternoon in the woods. As I pray, I feel a strong nudge to be more intentional in a different realm of parenting. Just as I intentionally led our children away from their screens, I want to be intentional about lifting them before the throne of God in prayer.

If you share this desire, here are eight powerful Scriptures to pray over your children, no matter where they are in life.

1. Deuteronomy 31:6

The Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.

Pray for life’s struggles to lead your children to find their hope in Christ and not in external circumstances.

Above all else, I want my kids to find their hope in Christ. I pray they will learn how to find hope in him and not merely in their circumstances.

Let’s pray for our children to lean into the One who will never forsake them.

Here is a prayer based on this verse: “Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise to stay with my children. Thank you that you will never abandon them. I pray you will help them learn to turn to you for comfort and help in life’s challenging circumstances. Reveal yourself as the One who will never forsake or abandon them. Be their safe place.”

Above all else, I want my kids to find their hope in Christ. My first prayer for them every single day is that their trials will lead them closer to Christ. #prayersforkids Share on X

2. Nehemiah 8:10

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Pray for your children to find their joy and strength in the Lord.

I want my kids to place their hope in the God who is always with them. I also want them to find their joy and strength in him.

Let’s pray for our kids to find their strength in the joy of the Lord. Pray they will not rely on their own strength as they go about life. Pray they will find deep joy in the Lord, joy that goes beyond circumstantial happiness.

Here is a prayer.

“Father God, thank you for being the source of all true joy. I pray my children will learn to turn to you when they need strength. I pray they will encounter your joy and be strengthened from the inside out. Fill them with the joy and strength that can be found nowhere else.”

3. 1 Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

God promises to provide a way to escape every temptation.

Pray that your kids will learn to turn to God in moments of temptation. Pray that they will experience his guidance and victory in their lives.

Here is a prayer.

“Dear God, we thank you for the promise to help us stand in the face of temptation, always showing us a way of escape and enabling us to endure it. Please help my children turn to you when they feel tempted. Empower them to walk by your Spirit and not rely on their own willpower or self-effort for victory.”

4. 2 Corinthians 6:14

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Pray that the Lord will provide like-minded friends who will encourage your children in their faith.

As the Word reminds us, bad company corrupts good character. We imitate those with whom we spend time. Pray that God will provide godly friends for your children in every stage of life.

Here is a prayer.

“Lord God, thank you for caring for my children’s hearts. I ask you to surround them with godly friends throughout every stage of life. Help them to find other believers who will point them to you and encourage them in their faith. Build them up through these relationships and shape them to look more like you.”

5 More Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

5. James 4:8

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Ask God to reveal himself to your children as they draw near to him. When we encounter the Living God, we are changed from the inside out.

Here is a prayer to pray.

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise that when we draw near to you, you draw near to us. I pray my children will experience this reality again and again in their lives. Please reveal yourself to them. Be their ongoing source of support and the friend who never leaves them. I ask that they will experience your love and comfort in tangible ways as you build their faith.”

6. Matthew 5:14

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Pray for the light of Christ to shine through your child and your family.

Pray for the words, attitudes, and actions of your family as you connect within your sphere of influence. Ask God to help you glorify Christ as you reach out into the world.

Here is a prayer for your children.

“Lord God, thank you for pouring your love and light through us. We want to carry your light into this dark world. Please fill these children with your light and love so that they may be vessels of healing and transformation in this world. Draw the broken into your love through the light they carry.”

7. Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Pray for God to unite your heart with your child’s heart.

Ask God for a sensitive and discerning spirit to speak truth into your child’s unspoken and hidden struggles. Pray your children will see you as a constant ally and an ongoing source of support amid a chaotic world.

Here is a prayer.

“Lord, you are the perfect Father. You comfort and uphold us when life is difficult. Thank you for your love and care. I pray that I might carry this same love and support to my children. Please unite our hearts so that these children will see me as a safe place for sharing their burdens. Knit us together in your tender love.”

8. Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Pray for your child to find his or her identity in Christ alone.

Ask God to help your children find their worth in God’s love for them. Pray for freedom from the desires to conform to the world, prove themselves to others, or live from achievement-based identities.

Here is a prayer.

“Dear God, thank you for demonstrating your love to us through the ultimate act of love: allowing your precious Child to die in our place. I cannot imagine allowing my child to die for someone else. As I focus on this, I am overwhelmed by your love for me. I pray that my kids will grasp this love and be transformed by it as well.”

Final Thoughts on These Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

Thank you for taking the time to pray for your children. I encourage you not to lose heart. God is working in their lives, and your prayers will not return empty!

Attention, all moms and daughters!

Lastly, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.

Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!

Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by these books! You can buy them as paperbacks or get your free Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon right here.