As a parent, one of the most significant and influential roles you play is that of being a faithful prayer warrior on behalf of your child. Because of the closeness of your relationship, you can know your child as no one else knows him and discern when he most needs prayer support.

In this article, we focus on four key areas of prayer: a prayer of dedication, prayers of blessing, prayers of intercession, and prayers for God’s hedge of protection around your child.

A Prayer of Dedication

As parents welcome a new baby into their home, many wonder, What is the most important thing I can do for my child? The most important thing you could do for a new son or daughter—God’s special gift to you—is to dedicate your child to God.

A prayer of dedication is based on recognizing that God has given you the special responsibility of caring for and raising this child. By acknowledging this gift, parents can affirm that the child ultimately belongs to God and, therefore, purpose to bring up the child in a way that honors God and His design for life.

Ideally, a prayer of dedication should involve both parents praying together. Here is a suggested outline for your prayer of dedication:

• Gather before God with your spouse and child.
• Thank God for the gift of your child.
• Confess your own iniquities, with the truth of Psalm 66:18 in mind: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
• Ask God to reveal any area in your life that has not been given to Him or any stronghold of Satan (false philosophies, sinful habits, unconfessed sin) that is present. (To see a pattern of how to pray, read the prophet Daniel’s prayer recorded in Daniel 9:3–19.)
• Acknowledge specific iniquities that come to mind and ask God to cleanse you of the iniquity by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Ask God to reclaim any ground given to Satan and to tear down every stronghold of the enemy.
• Claim freedom for your child through Jesus Christ.
• Pray that God would cut off generational iniquities and sinful influences in your child’s life. Claim the truth of Psalm 103:17, that from now on righteousness would be the heritage of your children and of future generations: “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.”
• Dedicate your child to God.
• Verbalize your desire to bring up this child for the Lord. Pray that your child will come to saving faith in Christ at a young age. Pray that his life will bring glory to God.
• Ask for wisdom to bring up the child in the way God would have him to go.

Sample Prayer

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I come to you desiring my child [give full name] to be free from all generational sins, iniquities, and their results, which may have an influence upon my child. I thank you for saving me and cleansing me of my sin. I confess that I belong to you, and I dedicate my child [give full name] to you.

I now confess and repent of all my sins, known and unknown. I now confess the sins of my forefathers. In the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now renounce and ask You to break the power of all generational sins, iniquities, and curses that were passed down to me by the sins or actions of others. I now renounce and ask You to break and release me and my family from all demonic subjection that would seek to influence or control me or my family in any way contrary to Your Word or Your will. I claim release and freedom through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that my son/daughter would fear You, and that from now on righteousness would be the heritage of my family, of my children, and of our future generations.

Lord, I pray that [give full name] will receive You as his/her Savior at an early age. Place within his/her heart a desire to follow You all the days of his/her life. Keep him/her pure and willing to wait until You reveal Your life partner for him/her in Your perfect will. If it is Your will for him/her to be married, I ask that You would set apart for Yourself a life partner for him/her and that he/she would keep himself/herself pure. I pray that his/her life would bring glory to You, and I ask that You would give me wisdom in training him/her up in the way You would have him/her to go. Amen.

Prayers of Blessing

A Hebrew father’s place in the traditional Jewish home is demonstrated by the beautiful custom of blessing the children, which dates back to Israel’s patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob. To this day, the father blesses his children on Friday nights, on Rosh Hashanah eve, and on Yom Kippur before leaving for the synagogue.

The following prayer, based on a translation of the traditional Hebrew father’s blessing on his children, is a wonderful gift that the head of the family can give to each child.

Sample Prayer

Father, I receive, welcome, and acknowledge each of my children as a delightful blessing from You. I speak Your blessings upon them and over them.

Children, I bless You in the name of Jesus, proclaiming the blessings of God, my Redeemer, upon you. May He give you wisdom, a reverential fear of Him, and a heart of love.

May He create in you the desire to attend to His words, a willing and obedient heart that you may consent and submit to His sayings and walk in His ways. May your eyes look straight ahead with purpose for the future. May your tongue be as the pen of a ready writer, writing mercy and kindness upon the tablets of your heart. May you speak the truth in love. May your hands do the works of the Father; may your feet walk the paths that He has foreordained for you.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are living their lives in truth.

May the Lord prepare you and your future mate to love and honor one another, and may He grant to your union upright sons and daughters who will live in accordance with His Word. May your source of livelihood be honorable and secure, so that you will earn a living with your own hands. May you always worship God in spirit and in truth.

I pray above all things that you may always prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

In the name of Jesus, my Lord and my God, Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Praying for your children is one of the most important things you can do for them. There is constant spiritual warfare raging against your children, because the family is one of the enemy’s prime targets.

The following suggestions present specific things you can pray for your children. Take time to intercede for them in these areas and enter into spiritual warfare on their behalf.

Pray for your children:

• That they will trust Christ as their Savior. (See Psalm 63:1 and II Timothy 3:15.)
• That they will hate evil. (See Psalm 97:10.)
• That they will be caught when doing wrong. (See Numbers 32:23 and Galatians 6:7.)
• That they will be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives: spiritual, emotional, and physical. (See John 17:15.)
• That they will have a responsible attitude in all their relationships. (See Daniel 6:3.)
• That they will respect those in authority over them. (See Romans 13:1.)
• That they will desire to have wise friends and be protected from foolish companions. (See Proverbs 1:10–16.)
• That they will be kept for the right spouse. (See Proverbs 19:14 and II Corinthians 6:14–17.)
• That they, as well as those they marry, will remain pure until marriage. (See I Corinthians 6:13–20.)
• That they will be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ. (See II Timothy 1:5–7, 3:14–17.)
• That they will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong influences, places, people, or friends, and that these temptations will not come against them. (See Hosea 2:5–7.)
• That they will learn the great virtue of humility. (See James 4:6.)

Praying for a Hedge of Protection

In our struggle against evil, we are dealing with spiritual powers. Therefore, we are to put on the whole armor of God and stand against the attacks of the wicked one. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10–13).

One powerful weapon that every Christian parent has is the ability to pray a daily hedge of protection around each of his children. Job experienced this protection, and Satan complained to God about its effectiveness! “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job 1:10).

There are three parts to a prayer for a hedge of protection:

• Ask God to bind and rebuke the power of Satan in the life of each one in your family. Be mighty through God to pull down strongholds. “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mark 3:27).
• Pray in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). Christ’s name is Protector; He is the Good Shepherd Who gives His life for His sheep.
• Claim the Scripture that relates to the kind of protection that is needed. For example, for protection from sin, you can claim a verse such as Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you.” For protection from discouragement, you could claim this promise: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Sample Prayer

Heavenly Father, I ask You in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to bind and rebuke Satan and to put a hedge of protection around me and each one in my family. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in . . . [us] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). In the name of Jesus Christ our Shepherd, Amen.

As you support your sons and daughters in prayer, do not become discouraged. Do not give up or succumb to the idea that your prayers are meaningless. Consider the impact that prayer has had in your life and in the lives of those around you. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b). Truly, prayer is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your child.

This article is adapted from material by Dr. Jim Logan, and the section on intercession is adapted from material by Pastor Charles W. Wetherbee.