Praying For Your Kids' Friends
Do you pray for your children?
“Of course!” you say. Without question, right?
But what about their friends? Do you pray for your kids’ friends on a regular basis?
I’ll be honest, I haven’t always. Sure, I’d pray for them when they were sick, or when I learned their family was dealing with a difficult situation. But I’ve never built in regular time daily to pray for them.
Really, though, it makes so much sense to be praying for our kids’ friends! I mean, besides their family, who else has the most influence over them? Their friends!
So today I wanted to share some specific ways you can be praying for your children’s friends. I hope they are helpful for you, and spur your spiritual creativity to think of other ways in which to be praying for those your kids spend so much time with.
Pray for wisdom. My dad always told my brother and I that a true friend is someone who makes you better—and that is something I continue to tell my own kids as well as my students. True friends will make you a better version of yourself. It is hard to do that without wisdom. Ask God to give your kids’ friends wisdom in relationships, in life choices, and general daily decisions.
Scriptures to pray for wisdom: James 1:5, Luke 1:17, Luke 2:40, Luke 21:15
Pray for discernment. Even if they are not yet followers of Jesus, asking God to give our kids’ friends discernment will help them see their need for Christ. If they are already Christians, discernment will shore up wisdom, and strengthen their decision-making abilities, choices of other friends, and help them in difficult and tempting circumstances.
Scriptures to pray for discernment: Psalm 119:125, Proverbs 28:2, Philippians 1:9 (CSB)
Pray for compassion. Compassion is at the heart of everything Jesus did here on earth—even when he disciplined someone, it was motivated from His compassion. A child/teen/adult full of compassion, guided by wisdom filtered through discernment will make a positive impact on all those with whom he interacts.
Scriptures to pray for compassion: Psalm 112:4, Psalm 119:77, Matthew 9:36, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 3:8
If we commit to praying these prayers for our kids’ friends for 30 days, I’d wager we would see a drastic difference not only in them, but in our own children, and our families.
Of course, this is nowhere near an exhaustive list of things we can pray over our children’s friends, but I believe wisdom, discernment, and compassion provide a firm foundation upon which to build other attributes.
I’d love to hear what else you are praying over your kids’ friends for the next 30 days! Leave a comment here and share what you are praying, as well as any Scriptures that go along with it.
I can’t wait to see what God does in and through our kids and their friends as we pray fervently for them.
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