35 Scriptures to Pray Over your Children (with Free Prayer Calendar)

Are you looking for Scriptures to pray over your children? In these difficult times we are living in, prayer is a powerful way to love our children. Whether your children are toddlers, teens, or adults, we as parents will always desire what is best for them. And so does our loving Heavenly Father. 

I have compiled a prayer calendar with 35 Scriptures to pray over your children that cover many areas of our children’s lives that we can pray for on a regular basis. I truly believe that one of our most important roles as parents is to be our children’s biggest cheerleaders–and prayer warriors. Join me in prayer as I pray these powerful Scriptures over our children, and you can download and print the FREE prayer calendar at the end of this post!

Why Should You Pray over Your Children?

When my kids were small, they wanted me to pray with them about just about everything. When they were hurt or scared, they usually wanted me or my husband to pray with them. I even remember one time before bed when my three-year-old at the time wanted us to pray for her stuffed Elmo toy!

We all as parents desire that our children turn to God in prayer. Our children need to know that they can go to Him for anything. We want prayer for them to be as natural and seamless as breathing. No matter how old our children are, they will never outgrow their need for us to pray for them. One of the best ways we can encourage them to seek the Lord through prayer is to pray for them on a regular basis. Ask them if they have any prayer requests. Ask them how things are going in their lives. Let them know that you are praying for them regularly. 

When you don’t know what to pray for, you can use Scriptures to pray over your children. I love using Scripture when I pray, because there is power in the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). Instead of using our own words to pray for our children, why not use God’s Word?

Let’s take a look at how we can powerfully pray for our children each day!

How do you Pray over your Children?

When I think of praying for my children, I often think of Jesus when he was a young boy.

Although he was the Son of God and would eventually save the world from sin, he still was obedient to his earthly parents–and grew in wisdom and stature.

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Luke 2:52

As we pray for our children, we can pray that they cultivate a heart like Jesus.

Here are a few ways we can pray for them.

Pray over your Children: Pray that they Grow in Wisdom

When you use Scripture to pray over your children, you can pray that they develop a reverence and honor for God–because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) When the wisdom of God directs their lives, they will avoid so many of the pitfalls from the world and stay on the path that leads to peace and righteousness.

Pray over your Children: Pray that they Grow in Stature

Growing in stature does not merely include the physical height and weight of our children. It includes their entire health and well-being. Their mind, body, soul, and spirit. We can pray for our children’s mental health, how they manage their emotions, and for their bodies to grow healthy and strong. The Merriam-Webster dictionary also defines stature as a quality or status gained by growth, development, or achievement.

This can include their life goals, education, and their future places of employment. As a parent  you can use Scriptures to pray over our children and pray that the favor of God covers and surrounds them in every facet of their lives.

Pray that they Grow in the Favor of God and with Others

It says in Luke 2:52 that Jesus as a young boy also grew in the favor of God and man. If Jesus grew in favor, how much more do we desire this for our children!

The Greek word for favor in this verse is charis, which means:

“the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues” (source).

What a powerful definition! May the grace and favor of our God overflow in bountiful abundance in our lives, and in the lives of our precious children!

Here are thirty-five Scriptures that you can pray over your children each day. At the end of this post be sure to download the free prayer calendar with all of these verses!

35 Scriptures to Pray Over your Children

1. Scriptures to Pray for their Protection

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

Psalm 91:14-15

Lord, I ask that you will rescue, guide, and protect my children today. Answer then when they call on you, and be with them in times of trouble. I thank you that your plans for them are good, and not for their harm. Guard them and protect them, and cover them with your favor as with a shield (Psalm 5:12).

2. Scriptures to Pray for their Heart

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23

Lord, I ask that you will guard my children’s heart, and that you will give them wisdom and direction in their lives. Guard their minds, their wills, and emotions, and may everything that flows from their hearts be good, holy and pure.

3. Scriptures to Pray for their Eternal Security

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Thank you Lord, for sending Jesus to die for my children! May they choose to accept you into their lives and hearts, and may they spend eternity with you. Help them to love and serve you all the days of their lives.

4. Scriptures to Pray for their Obedience

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:12

Teach my children the powerful gift and blessing of obedience. Help them to understand that when they obey us as their parents, they are truly obeying and submitting to you. Help them to honor you by walking in obedience to you, and may they live long, fulfilled lives in service to you.

5. Scriptures to Pray for their Relationships

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

Lord, may my children flourish in their relationships with friends and family, and help them to seek to live together in complete unity as the body of Christ.

6. Scriptures to Pray for their Friendships

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

Lord, I ask that you will surround my children with positive, godly friendships. Give them friends who will support, encourage, and spur them on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

7. Scriptures to Pray for their Health

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8

Lord, please protect my children’s health, and grant them nourishment and daily provision in their bodies. Give them the strength they need to approach each day with the power of your Holy Spirit.

8. Scriptures to Pray for their Education

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…

Proverbs 1:5

Lord, give my children discernment, and may they gain wisdom to add to their learning. Give them a hunger and thirst to understand your Word, and a desire to learn about the world around them. Help them to always know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of you is true understanding (Proverbs 9:10).

9. Scriptures to Pray for their Gifts and Talents

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:4-5

Lord, thank you that you have given each of my children unique gifts, skills, and talents that they can use for your glory. Help us as parents to encourage them in their gifts, so that they can use their talents and abilities to build up and edify those around them. Amen.

10. Scriptures to Pray for their Purity

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

Psalm 119:9

Lord, I ask today that you will guard my children’s purity by helping them live according to your Word. Help them not to conform to the patterns of this world, but to daily conform to your truth by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2).

11. Scriptures to Pray for their Courage

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.

1 John 4:18

Lord, I pray that you will help my children become strong and courageous in you. Help them to each grow individually in confidence as they realize their gifts, skills, and unique abilities that you have given them. Help them remember that your perfect love casts out fear, and that they do not need to be afraid of what may come their way in the future. Please remind them that you are with them always. Amen.

12. Scriptures to Pray for their Minds

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Lord, I lift my children up to you today, and I ask you to renew their minds through your Word. Saturate their minds with Scripture so that your truth powerfully permeates their thoughts and actions. Help them to not conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds through you. Equip them through your Holy Spirit to dwell on things of you, and not on earthly things that pass away. May your Word guard their hearts and minds through Christ. Amen.

13. Scriptures to Pray for their Influences

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 13:20

Lord, I pray for my children to have positive, godly influences in their friendships. Surround them with peers who will help them make good decisions that honor you. Help them to also be good role models and positive influences on others. Protect them from unhealthy and toxic relationships, and help them to thrive in their communities with joy and confidence. Amen.

14. Scriptures to Pray for their Spouse 

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:24-27

Lord, I pray for my child’s spouse (or future spouse). I ask that their relationship will honor you and become a beacon of hope and strength for those around them. Draw them close together as husband and wife, and may they seek to love, honor, and respect one another with grace and loyalty. Help them to develop good communication skills that will unify them as a couple, for your honor and glory. Amen.

15. Scriptures to Pray for their Discernment 

I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

Psalm 119:125

Lord, I ask that you will give my children wisdom and discernment. Give them understanding through your Word, so that they may have discernment to make the right choices in their lives. I know that this is possible through you. Allow them to use the discernment you give them to know which relationships to pursue, and which influences to avoid. I thank you that my children will gain knowledge, wisdom, and discernment through your Word. Amen.

16. Scriptures to Pray for their Forgiveness

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:14

Lord, I pray that my children will seek your forgiveness when they have done wrong. Help them to forgive those who have hurt them, and give them the strength and power to move forward in their lives with grace and peace. Amen.

17. Scriptures to Pray for their Purpose

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.

Romans 8:28

Lord, I pray for my children’s purpose. Help them to know that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. Help them to know that with you, all things are possible. I ask that you will allow them to walk in confidence each day, knowing that they are children of the Most High King. I believe that you have called them to a very special calling and purpose. Please reveal to them what plans you have for them, and may they live out their purpose with power and passion. Amen.

18. Scriptures to Pray Against Strongholds 

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

2 Cor 10:4

Lord, I pray against any strongholds that are holding back my children from living in your grace and freedom. Your Word has the power to demolish strongholds, and through Christ, they are able to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5). Thank you Lord, that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor 3:17). Help my children to walk in your freedom and power each day. Amen.

19. Scriptures to Pray for their Guidance

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…

Proverbs 1:5

Lord, I pray that you will guide my children each day through your Spirit. You are their Good Shepherd, and may they as your sheep, know and recognize your voice (John 10:27). Help them to listen intently to you, and clearly show them the path you want them to take in life. Thank you Lord, that through wisdom and knowledge, your discernment will guide them. Amen.

20. Scriptures to Pray for their Faith

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Lord, I lift up my children to you in prayer, and I ask that you would strengthen their faith each day. May they not waver on the waves of doubt and uncertainty, but may they know with assurance that you are with them. Help them to diligently spend time in your Word, seeking your face for direction and guidance. May their faith grow each day as they trust in you. Amen.

21. Scriptures to Pray for their Calling

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.

2 Thessalonians 1:11

Lord, I pray for my children’s calling. Please bring to fruition the calling that you have placed on their lives, and may their lives overflow with your goodness and grace. I know that you have given them tremendous gifts, skills, and abilities that they can use to help others and to build your Kingdom. Help them to discover the powerful calling that you have for them, and may they live out their calling with joy and gladness. Amen.

22. Scriptures to Pray Against Sexual Temptations 

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Cor 10:13

Lord, I lift up my children to you and I pray against any sexual temptations. Help them to remain pure, putting on the breastplate of righteousness to protect them as they navigate this world. Help them to remain vigilant against the schemes of Satan. I pray that every plan of the enemy will be thwarted, and that my children will seek righteousness, faith, love, and peace with a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). Amen.

23. Scriptures to Pray for their Heart

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23

Lord, I pray for my children’s hearts. Protect and guard their hearts through your Word. Protect their mind, will, and emotions, which flow from their hearts. Help them to seek godly counsel as they pursue godly relationships, and strengthen their hearts when they experience pain and disappointment in their relationships. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

24. Scriptures to Pray for their Future

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Lord, as I pray for my children, I thank you that you are a good God. Thank you for your desire to give good gifts to your children (James 1:17). I praise you for the hope and future that my children have through you. May your plans for their lives strengthen their faith and draw them closer to you. As they seek to discover your will for their future, help them to trust in you each day. Amen. 

25. Scriptures to Pray for their Understanding

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Proverbs 3:1-2

Lord, I thank you that my children can gain insight and understanding through your Word. Surround them with mentors and teachers who can help them understand your truth from Scripture. Guide their lives through the understanding they receive through your Word. Amen.

26. Scriptures to Pray for their Self-Image

But now, this is what the Lord says–he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Isaiah 43:1

Lord, I pray for my children’s self-image. Help them to know that they are created in your image. You created and formed them, and they are wonderfully made by you. When they look at themselves, I pray that they will see who you created them to be. Call them by name, and remind them each day that they belong to you. Amen.

27. Scriptures to Pray for their Decisions

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Lord, I pray for my children’s decisions. Help them to trust in you with all their hearts, and to not lean on their own understanding. As they seek to make important decisions in their lives, I pray that they will acknowledge you in all their ways. Make their paths straight as they seek you for wisdom in each decision they make. Amen. 

28. Scriptures to Pray for their Diligence

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.

Hebrews 6:11

Lord, I pray that my children will be diligent in all that they do. I pray that they will commit themselves to excellence and not perfection. Give them a strong work ethic as they set out to perform their daily tasks, assignments, and work responsibilities. Help them to understand that their diligence and perseverance in their work will be a blessing to those around them. Amen.

29. Scriptures to Pray for their Marriage

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Hebrews 13:4

Lord, I pray for my children’s marriage (or future marriage). Help them to look to you as the ultimate example of sacrificial love as they seek to grow in unity with their spouse. Through your Holy Spirit, give them the strength to put their desires before their own, in order to serve their spouse with love, honor, and affection. Amen.

30. Scriptures to Pray for their Family

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:10

Lord, I pray for my children’s family–their spouse, and children (or their future spouse and children). May you bless their family, and allow them to flourish and thrive. Fill their homes with peace, joy and love, and may they live to see their children’s children (Psalm 128:6). Amen.

31. Scriptures to Pray for their Leadership

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,  and the one who is wise saves lives.

Proverbs 11:30

Lord, I pray for my children’s leadership. Raise them up to be strong leaders in their communities and in their homes. Help them to lead by example, and follow the godly mentorship of others. Fill them with kindness and compassion as they seek to build and encourage those around them. Amen.

32. Scriptures to Pray for their Desires

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Lord, I pray that my children will have desires that honor and glorify you. May they not seek their desires for selfish ambition or self-promoting gain, but may their desires fuel the longings they have in their hearts to serve you in all that they do. Amen.

33. Scriptures to Pray for their Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Lord, I ask that you will flood my children with peace in their hearts that surpasses all understanding. You say that our hearts will be kept in perfect peace when our minds are focused on you (Isaiah 26:3). Help them to remember that they can call on you when they are in need of peace and rest for their weary souls. Amen.

34. Scriptures to Pray for their Wisdom

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

James 1:5

Lord, I pray that you will fill my children with wisdom that only comes from you. When they are lacking direction and don’t know what to do, help them to call on you as their Mighty Counselor. I praise you for giving your wisdom generously without finding fault. May they grow in wisdom through your Word each day. Amen.

35. Scriptures to Pray for their Love

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

Matthew 22:37

Lord, I pray that my children will love you with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. May this command govern their lives each day. As they seek to love you, may they also love their neighbor, and grow in compassion and kindness towards those around them. May the love of Christ shine brightly in their lives as they seek to serve you each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

35 Scriptures to Pray Over your Children: Free Prayer Calendar

Are you ready to pray these Scriptures over your children on a daily basis? You can read and pray all 35 Scriptures over your children by downloading the free prayer calendar below!

Click HERE to download the prayer calendar!

(Floral graphics in this printable are courtesy of Angie Makes)

Blessings as you pray diligently for your children! Remember that your prayers are not in vain. Continue to plant the seeds of prayer in their lives, and patiently wait for the Lord to bring the harvest!

You can also download a free marriage prayer calendar in this post.

Free Scripture Cards to Pray Over your Children

You can also download these FREE Scripture cards to pray over your children!

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