With parenting comes the inevitable and overwhelming feeling of constant worry. So, having a go to prayer to pray over your children serves as an immediate antidote to that innate fear.
We begin to worry about the safety and well-being of our children from the moment we learn about their existence in our body.
This prayer enables us to put our parental concerns to rest as we place them in God’s hands and trust in His promises.
It is by far the best prayer to pray over my children that I have ever come across. No matter how old your children are, this is sure to be a lifetime prayer.
BEST PRAYER TO PRAY OVER YOUR CHILDREN
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ABOUT THIS PRAYER
When I was pregnant with my daughter I worked with great people who constantly cared for me and my well-being.
Myrtle was one of those people.
Myrtle was soft-spoken older woman, with kind eyes and a heart of gold. She took it upon herself to mentor me when I first started at the surgery center, teaching me all she knew.
As a working mom of a 2-year-old at the time, sending my son to daycare was one of the few options, because both my husband and I had to work for a living.
I worried constantly about him. About his safety, his well-being, and especially his health. Being in daycare meant that yet another ear infection or flu virus was just around the corner.
Mom anxiety was an understatement. During that time I was seven months pregnant, hormonal, and exhausted from a long nights of humidifiers, vapor rubs, and fever reducers as my toddler got over yet another virus.
Myrtle handed me a folded piece of paper coming into work one morning, as I got ready to change in the nurse’s locker room.
“It’s a Children Prayer I would like you to have..”, she proceeded to say as she walked away with a gentle smile.
My eyes teared up as I started reading the slightly wrinkled paper. As it was in that moment I felt an immense sense of relief and protection.
The prayer
This is what it read….
“Thank You, Lord, that You are our hiding place , our safe place, our shielded place. Thank You that You are the protector and defender of our children. I pray for their safety today, for the ministry of Your protective angels to be around them.
May Your encouragement be with them, Your hope be in them, and Your grace be upon them. If they are burdened, lighten their load; if they are troubled, calm their storm; if they are discouraged, lift their spirits; if they are unsure, strengthen their faith; if they are weary, renew their strength; if they are perplexed, guide their way; if they are unsteady, be their rock; if they are tempted, make a way of escape; if they lack understanding, be their wisdom; if they doubt love, reveal Your heart.
Thank You so much, that when we come to You and cry out to You, we can know with all certainty that You hear our words, You know our hearts, and You answer our prayers.”
I no longer had to carry that constant anxiety thinking about my son and soon to be daughter.
Now, I could just let Him help me carry that load off my shoulders.
Of course I still worry, because that’s what parents do.
However, now I have a powerful tool as a reminder that I don’t have to dwell over things I can’t control. Instead, I can pray about it and allow God’s angels to lead them every step of way.
WHERE TO FIND THIS PRAYER
Soon after, I went on maternity and forgot to ask Myrtle the source of this fantastic prayer.
It turns out the prayer is called Shield of Protection and it is one of the beautiful prayers found on the book 60 Promises to Pray Over Your Children written by Roy Lessin.
The book is a devotional full of powerful prayers, each with a designated scripture. It’s a beautiful and useful book, and a lifetime treasure. Hands down the best children prayer I have ever read.
Thank you Myrtle.
HOW AND WHEN TO PRAY OVER YOUR CHILDREN
Often times people shy away from praying because they think there is a secret formula to do so. In turn, it causes intimidation and keeps us away from achieving a healthy relationship with God.
The honest truth is that your relationship with God doesn’t need fancy rituals of praying poses.
All it needs is an open and honest heart and a willingness to receive the promises He has prepared for you and your children.
PHYSICALLY
You can physically pray over your children.
The Bible has many scriptures on laying hands for invoking blessing and healing.
“When He (Jesus) had placed his hands on them, he went on from there”. (Matthew 19:15).
“And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them”. (Mark 10:16)
Okay, so we surely aren’t Jesus, but by placing our hand over our children we can can pray over them and declare God’s blessings for them through the Holy Spirit.
Most children are impatient, especially younger ones, so praying over them in their sleep is a great way to do it.
SPIRITUALLY
We don’t necessarily have to lay hands on our children for them to receive God’s blessing. Instead, through prayer and thanks giving you can also ensure you are in tune with God and His promises over your life and you children’s.
You can pray over your kids anytime. Here are some ideas:
- In the mornings on your way to take them school (before they leave if they take the bus)
- Throughout the day at work or running errands
- Before going to bed
- While taking a shower (showers are one of my quietest times, haha)
Additional Tips for Praying Over You Children
Needless to say, the children prayer in this article is the most well put together prayer I’ve ever read.
A great wait to read it often is by framing it or by having the book at hand.
You can also read from the Bible. It is full of promises for any of life’s circumstances.
A great way to do that is by going to the back of your Bible and looking for a specific word in the index. For instance, “anxiety”. It will tell you the Bible chapter and page numbers where you can find Bible scriptures about that particular petition.
However, praying for your children doesn’t have to involve always reading from a script or a book.
You can talk to God just as if you were speaking to a dear friend. Remember, more than hearing your words, God listens to your heart.
A FEW IDEAS FOR THIS PRAYER
- Pray it over you children
- Use the prayer as a gift for your own parents and/or other parents (there are many great companies that will engrave it, making of it a beautiful wall art or keepsake)- this is perfect fro mothers day!
- Engrave it for yourself as wall art
- Gift the book to new/soon to be parents
It is my hope this prayer brings you as much peace and joy as it brought me.
Do you pray over your children?
Don’t forget to pin it for later…
I am definitely going to print out this prayer. I rarely pray over my children, but I need to start making prayer over them part of my day. Thanks for the inspiration!
That’s great Margaret.
You will start to see the difference in the way you feel about their safety and well-being.
It is a great feeling. Glad you liked it.
Nataly 🙂