Prayer points with Scriptures · 21 points
Prayer Points for Children
These prayer points are for parents, grandparents, teachers, children’s ministry teams and churches praying for our children and kids, from babies to teenagers. They cover thanksgiving, coming to know and follow Jesus, wisdom and character, protection and peace, and prayer for ourselves as parents and for children who suffer. Each point has a Bible verse and a short prayer.
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Mark 10:14 (BSB)
Pray for each child by name. You can pray one section a day through the week, or the whole list at a parents’ prayer meeting. Read the verse aloud, pray the prayer, then add what you know your child is facing right now. Older children can pray some points with you. Verses are from the Berean Standard Bible.
Thanksgiving for our children
1Children are a gift from God
Lord, our children are a heritage from You, not a project we own. Thank You for each one by name: their laughter, questions and personalities. Help us receive them as gifts and care for them well.
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Psalm 127:3 (BSB)2Fearfully and wonderfully made
God, You knit each of our children together in the womb. Let them know they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and guard them from every voice that tells them they are not enough.
For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.
Psalm 139:13-14 (BSB)3Blessed by Jesus
Lord Jesus, You took the children in Your arms, placed Your hands on them and blessed them. Bless our children today. Let them know that You welcome them and that they belong close to You.
And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:16 (BSB)
Knowing and following Jesus
4Saving faith in Christ
Father, like Timothy, let our children know the Holy Scriptures from their earliest years. Make them wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, and let that faith become truly their own.
From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:15 (BSB)5A love for God’s Word
Lord, a young person keeps their way pure by guarding it according to Your word. Give our children a love for the Bible, and help them hide Your word in their hearts so that they will not sin against You.
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:9-11 (BSB)6Walking in the truth
Father, we have no greater joy than to hear that our children are walking in the truth. Keep them walking with You at home and away, in childhood and in the years after they leave our care.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 (BSB)7Growing as Jesus grew
Lord Jesus, You grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Help our children grow in every way: healthy bodies, sound minds, good friendships and hearts that love God.
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52 (BSB)8Listening for God’s voice
Lord, You called young Samuel by name, and he answered that Your servant was listening. Speak to our children. Give them listening hearts, and teach us how to help them recognize Your voice.
Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
1 Samuel 3:10 (BSB)
Wisdom, character and friendships
9Wisdom for everyday choices
God, You give wisdom generously to all who ask, without finding fault. Our children face choices we never faced at their age. Give them wisdom, and the humility to ask You and to ask us.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5 (BSB)10Good friends
Heavenly Father, whoever walks with the wise will become wise. Give our children friends who love You, protect them from companions who would lead them astray, and help them be a good friend to the lonely child.
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Proverbs 13:20 (BSB)11Purity online and on screens
Holy God, help our children set no worthless thing before their eyes. Protect them from pornography, cruelty and lies online, and give us wisdom to set limits on screens with love and consistency.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
Psalm 101:3 (BSB)12Courage to stand apart
God, Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself, even far from home. Give our children the same quiet courage to say no to what is wrong, even when everyone around them says yes.
But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
Daniel 1:8 (BSB)13Honoring their parents
Father, teach our children to obey and honor their parents in the Lord, not out of fear but because it is right, so that it may go well with them. And make us parents who are worthy of their respect.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”
Ephesians 6:1-3 (BSB)
Protection, peace and health
14Protection from harm and evil
Lord, You are faithful. Strengthen our children and guard them from the evil one. Protect them at school, on the road, online and with every adult they trust.
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (BSB)15Peace for anxious hearts
Lord Jesus, You give a peace the world cannot give. Calm our children’s anxious hearts and quiet their fears at bedtime. Give help and healing to any child of ours who struggles with anxiety.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
John 14:27 (BSB)16Health and comfort when they are sick
Good Shepherd, You gather the lambs in Your arms and carry them close to Your heart. Carry our children when they are sick or hurting. Give them health and strength, and comfort them through hospital visits and sleepless nights.
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Isaiah 40:11 (BSB)17School, teachers and learning
God, You gave Daniel and his friends knowledge and understanding in every kind of learning. Bless our children at school: open their minds, make them diligent, and bless their teachers, coaches and classmates.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
Daniel 1:17 (BSB)
For us as parents, and for every child
18Patient, wise parenting
Father, keep us from provoking our children to anger through harshness, inconsistency or neglect. Help us bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, with both firmness and tenderness.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 (BSB)19Telling the next generation
Faithful God, we will not hide Your works from our children. Help us tell them of Your power and the wonders You have done, including the answers to prayer we have seen in our own family.
We will not hide them from their children but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might and the wonders He has performed.
Psalm 78:4 (BSB)20Children who have wandered
Lord Jesus, You came to seek and to save the lost. For every child who has wandered from You, we keep asking: go after them and bring them home, and keep us from giving up hope or giving up on them.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10 (BSB)21Children who suffer
Lord, we lift up our hands to You for the lives of children who are hungry, abused, trafficked, orphaned or living through war. Rescue them, raise up people to care for them, and show our church what we can do.
Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.
Lamentations 2:19 (BSB)
A closing prayer
Lord Jesus, You welcomed the little children and blessed them. We bring our children to You now. Draw them to saving faith, fill them with wisdom, and guard them from harm and from the evil one. Give them good friends and brave hearts. Help us love them patiently and point them to You every day. And for every child who suffers, Lord, have mercy. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
Does Proverbs 22:6 promise my child will never leave the faith?
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs are wise sayings about how life usually works, not guarantees for every case. Faithful parenting matters greatly, but each child must come to faith personally, by God’s grace. So parents keep teaching, keep loving, keep praying, and trust God with the outcome.
How can I pray for my children every day?
Pray for each child by name. A simple pattern is one section of this list per day: thanksgiving, faith, character, protection, and then prayer for yourself as a parent. Pray a verse over them at bedtime and let them hear you pray. Older children can be asked how you can pray for them this week.
What does it mean to pray Scripture over my children?
It means turning a verse into a request, such as asking God that your child would grow “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” as Jesus did (Luke 2:52). It keeps our prayers anchored in what God has said rather than only in our worries, and it teaches children the Bible as they hear it prayed.
More prayer points
Every verse on this page is quoted word for word from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which its publishers dedicated to the public domain. Copy, print and share these prayer points freely with your church.