“Mommy, you Jesus me, ok?” My heart melts. I go to tuck in my little man and he looks up at me with his big, blue eyes.

“Yah, buddy. I Jesus you.”

He grins the biggest grin and wiggles down into his blankets, still clutching his dump truck, and I pray.

“Lord, please bless this little man. Help him to sleep well and get good rest for his body, mind, and heart. May he grow up to be a strong man of God who loves You with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and loves others with the love of Christ. Thank you for his fun day today. Thank you that I get to be his mama. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Love you, buddy. May the Lord bless and keep you. May His face shine upon you and be gracious, and give you peace.”

It’s the same every night. A sweet and simple ritual to “Jesus” my son that ends with a prayer, bringing my child to the throne of grace.

A Beautiful Responsibility

As parents, we are given a wonderful privilege and responsibility of raising our children – who belong to God, not us – to know and love Him. We are seed-planters, given the task of faithfully planting seeds of faith and cultivating the soil of their hearts.

Possibly the most important thing we can do in our work as parents is to lift our children up in prayer. It’s not always easy to get started and to stay consistent. In fact, it seems like the more important a thing is, the harder it is to be diligent in it. But it’s worth it, parents!

Praying for our children is the work of eternity right in our everyday lives. It’s going to battle to keep Jesus on the throne of our hearts and the hearts of our kids. It’s humbling ourselves before the Lord, knowing that we cannot change our children, only God can bring about salvation and the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

But we can plant, cultivate, and pray.

Praying Scripture Over Your Children

A great way to create a habit of diligently praying for our kids is to pray scripture over them. Washing our children in God’s Word as we pray can be such a blessing. It also helps us to hide God’s word in our hearts and keep our prayers in line with scripture instead of our own desires.

For example, we are studying the book of Matthew right now. In the morning I go through my reading and lesson for the day as usual. Then I go back and re-read the passage, asking God to help me see how I can pray for my family.

As I read, I write down prayers in the margins of my journal Bible. Such as “Lord, help my children to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world. May their lives bring You glory and point others to You.”

By the time I’m done with Matthew I’ll have a treasure trove of prayers to pray for my kids, and a testimony of God’s goodness in each of them.

Getting Started Praying Scripture Over Your Children

There are many ways you can get started praying scripture for your kids. Here just a few:

•    Work on a memory verse and pray it over your family every day

•    Pray through the verses of whatever your current Bible study is

•    Keep a prayer journal or use a journaling bible to record your prayers and even answers you see to them

•    Look up scriptures that address a parenting issue you are struggling with and pray through them for yourself and your kids

12 Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children

To help you get started, here is a list of 12 scriptures to pray for your children.

1. Romans 10:9 (ESV) – Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

2. Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) – The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

3. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) –  For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

4. Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV) – Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

5. 2 Peter 3:18 (ESV) – But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

6. Ephesians 6:14 (ESV) – Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

7. Philippians 4:6 (ESV) – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

8. Matthew 5:16 (ESV) – In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

9. Romans 12:2 (ESV) – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

10. 1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) – Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

11. Psalm 25:21 (ESV) – May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

12. Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

How to Pray the Scriptures Over Your Kids

Simply write one down and begin praying, asking God how He would have you pray for your children right now. Write down full prayers or notes – whatever your preference – for whatever comes to mind. Then write down a prayer or two that applies the scripture you’re looking at.

Spend some time over the next week revising your list with notes. Pray through it alone and also pray those scriptures out loud over your kids. You might be surprised how often God brings it to mind during a mealtime or bedtime prayer, or in the heat of a sibling squabble!

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, you can join me at Proverbial Homemaker in the new year for the 2017 Read, Pray, Love challenge! Together we’ll pray through the scripture for our character and the character of those we love. You can download last year’s Read, Pray, Love challenge there as well!

May you be blessed as you pray the scripture over your children!

Tauna Meyer is the founder of ProverbialHomemaker.com and author of the curriculum Sound Words for Kids: Lessons in Theology. Tauna is a homeschooling mom of six who speaks to women with encouragement that is relatable and tools that work in real life! She has a passion for helping moms overcome the hurdles that keep them from homeschooling successfully, all while pointing themselves and their children to Christ.