Prayer for My Children

We have a definite bedtime routine at the Roden house. In fact, our routine really begins when Matt arrives home from work. I finish up dinner while Matt plays with the kids, we eat dinner with devotions, do a quick pick-up just to get the dishwasher running, head out for a walk or go to the playground, and return for baths and bedtime. 

The kids love to take a bath together, and there is much splashing and laughter before I

scoop Will out of the tub to get him ready for bed while Matt helps Sophie finish up. Will loves listening to stories during the day, but he is usually a little too fried at bedtime for books. So after enjoying his wet squishy-ness, kissing him like crazy, and wrestling him into his pajamas, I sit with Will in the rocker, sing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and pray for my son...

 

Meanwhile, Matt has helped Sophie dry off and get into her pjs. I may pick up with her in time to brush out her hair and to brush her teeth. I almost always finish up with Will in time to read to Sophie, though Matt occasionally gets the 

privilege of sharing this special time with her. Sophie is allowed to choose three books to listen to before bed. (I have to post about bedtime books at some point because there is so much to say about this...)After I read her the third story, I pray for my little girl...

The following is the basic outline of the prayer I pray for the children each night. It has developed over time, though this is the basics of the prayer I've prayed since Sophie was born, with some addition when she was about a year old. I want to remember it when they are older (though it seems I could never forget it) and I want them to have a copy of it as a part of their heritage of faith...

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for Sophie and Will. Thank you

 that I get to be their mama and that Daddy gets to be their daddy. Thank you for the day we shared together. Tonight I want to ask you to bless my precious children.

Please bless Sophie and Will's bodies. Thank you that they are growing and developing according to your plan. Please keep them physically healthy and strong. Keep them free from sickness and disease. Please surround them with angels to protect them as they play, explore and travel. Guard their course and protect their way.

Please bless Sophie and Will's minds. I pray that you will gift them with intelligence and that they will use that intelligence to glorify you. I pray that you will create within them a love of learning and the ability to remember the things they learn. Please help me to be the best teacher for them that I can be. May we enjoy learning together.

Please bless Sophie and Will's relationships. I pray that you will keep all of our hearts soft towards one another. Give them a strong enduring friendship with one another. Thank you for the amazing relationships in our family. Bring other important relationships into the kids' lives. Give them wisdom to choose good friends and the character to themselves become good friends. Help them to become leaders, not followers.  

Please bless Sophie and Will's emotional lives. First, give them a strong sense of security. Help Sophie know that she is our first-born child, the apple of our eye. Show her that she is deeply and dearly loved. Help Will know that he is our first son, the child we asked You for. Show that we love him dearly. Teach us to show love to these children in the way they understand it best. Most importantly, help them know that the most important thing about them is how much you love them. 

Next, please give Sophie and Will a strong sense of purpose. May they sense a real calling on their lives. Show them that there is a part in Your plan that only they can play. Help them sense that You will lead them on an amazing adventure as they follow You. As their parents, help us to always put them on the right paths.

Please give Sophie and Will a strong sense of hope. May they have sound minds, full of faith, trust, joy and contentment. Please bind anything that would set itself against these things. May  they know that the plans that you have for them are good plans, plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them hope and a future. 

Finally, I ask You to give Sophie and Will an amazing relationship with You. I pray that they will get to know You. I pray that they will worship you with willing hearts and willing minds. May they worship you in spirit and truth. Please draw them unto Yourself. I ask you to bless my children with wisdom. For Sophie, I ask you to give her a child-like heart. For Will, I ask you to grow him into a godly defender of Truth.

In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(The prayer was heavily influenced by two of my favorite parenting books, Hints on Child Training by H. Clay Trumbull and Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel).

Sometimes Sophie listens and cuddles while I pray, and sometimes she is restless, planning what mischief she will make when I leave the room. (Will is an angel while I pray, though that may be because he is nursing!) Either way, it is important to me to speak these things in front of the children each night. We may have had an amazing day, full of fun and laughter or a hard 

day, full of hassles and whining, but I want to end each day speaking these words and affirming my love for the children. More importantly, I want to end each day affirming my trust in the Father to take care of them better than I can.