5 Things to Pray for Your Kids: Prayers that change things for the next generation

by Melissa B Kruger

Overview

Our culture says that the most important things for children are education, good health, treats, entertainment, and material things. Yet as Christians, we know that children's spiritual health is the most important thing. So we need to pray for them, but where do we start?

This little guide is both deep and do-able. Melissa Kruger takes us back to the Bible to show us what God’s will for children is, so we can pray in line with it. She selects 21 key areas of spiritual growth and character development. For each one, there are five short prayer prompts drawn straight from the Bible.

When we pray in line with God's priorities as found in his word, our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5 v 16)—and that's a truly thrilling prospect.

This book can be used in any number of ways: work through it as part of your daily quiet time, or pick it up whenever a particular need arises. Either way, it's worth stepping out of the busyness of daily life for five minutes to pray meaningfully for your child, grandchild, godchild, or kids in your church—from tots to teens, and every age in between.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784982928
Publisher:	The Good Book Company
Publication date:	03/01/2019
Series:	5 Things
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	668,245
Product dimensions:	4.33(w) x 7.01(h) x 0.18(d)

About the Author

Melissa Kruger is the author of The Envy of Eve, Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood and In All Things. She blogs at Wit's End, hosted by The Gospel Coalition. Her husband, Mike, is the president of Reformed Theological Seminary, and they have three children.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

How to Use This Guide 9

Praying That God Will…

Save my child 11

Fill my child with spiritual fruit 15

Watch over my child 19

Praying That My Child Will…

Have confidence in Jesus 23

Experience God's greatness 27

Delight in God's word 31

Live in harmony with others 35

Be wise 39

Prayerfully seek God 43

Be content in all things 47

Love others 51

Stand firm 55

Praying That I Will…

Share the goodness of God with my children 59

Create a home of patience and kindness 63

Trust the Lord with my child 67

Praying When My Child Is…

Suffering from disappointment, loss, or hurt 71

Making friends 75

Experiencing change, uncertainty, or fear 79

Lonely 83

Making a difficult decision 87

Grown up 91

Editorial Reviews

This book reminded me that I’m only God’s instrument my child's life – not his saviour. Only God can change his little heart.

Jonny Ivey

I can easily fall into a rut when praying for my children. I am so thankful, therefore, for Melissa Kruger's fresh new book, 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids: Prayers that Change Things for the Next Generation. This is not an abstract lecture about prayer; it's a practical guide to prayer. The layout is clear, the framing is biblical, the prayer prompts are brief, and the value—for us, for our kids, and for the glory of Christ—is eternal.

Matt Smethurst (Managing Editor of The Gospel Coalition and author of 1–2 Thessalonians: A

What a biblical and handy tool Melissa has given us to use as we pray for our children! I look forward to giving this resource to parents and grandparents in our church and family.

Christine Hoover (Author of Messy Beautiful Friendship and Searching for Spring)

We all want the best for our children—especially for them to know and love the Savior—but every parent is quickly disabused of the notion that we can change their hearts. We strive to faithfully parent but we desperately need the Lord to work. In 5 Things to Pray, Melissa Kruger takes us to Scripture to pray God’s Word through the seasons of parenting life. What greater gift and model can we offer our children than to be prayerful parents, committing us and our children to God’s grace.

Ivan Mesa (Books editor for The Gospel Coalition)

Praying with and for our children is our great privilege and important duty. Like the parents from the pages of Scripture who brought their little ones to Jesus in faith and despite opposition, we have a daily opportunity to carry our precious children to the feet of Christ in prayer. As we do, Melissa Kruger's book serves as a helpful guide. Using the riches of Scripture, Kruger provides daily prompts to encourage and direct our prayers for our kids. This is a book that you will want to use yourself and give to other parents in your church and community. I highly recommend it.

Megan Hill (Author of Praying Together; Mother of four)

This book is a gift to the church, specifically parents who desire to pray over their children frequently. Before, we prayed the same prayer over our son, but this guide has helped us pray for more aspects of our son's life.As a new parents, my wife and I so grateful Melissa took time to write 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids.

Phillip Holmes (Director of Communications

This book is a great resource to encourage parents and the entire church family to pray specifically and thoughtfully for the children in their care. It will also be extremely helpful for those involved in children’s ministry, helping to direct their prayers for the children they minister to each week. May it impel us all to pray faithfully for the next generation.

Steven Condy (Child Evangelism Fellowship Ireland)

In an age of helicopter parenting, it's easy for parents to think that our children's future rests in our hands. Even as Christians, we spend more time trying to manage the world around them than crying out to the God who holds the world—and our children—in his. But with 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids, Melissa Kruger gives us the practical steps we need to take all we can't control to the One whose goodness reigns supreme. Because in the end, the very best thing parents can do with our hands is fold them... in prayer.

Hannah Anderson (Author of All That's Good and mother of three)

A book that should be given to every parent! We all know that we should be praying for our children on a daily basis and that our children need God working in their lives as they navigate this world. But sometimes, we do not know what or how to pray for our children. This book, “5 things to pray for your kids” helps with that. It is an easy to use guide to help, from learning about faith in the first place to living out their faith in the world and having it influence their decisions and situations they face. This book should be given to every parent in the church—and every children’s ministry leader too—so that they can pray without ceasing for the children in our congregations.

Ruth Bromley (Children's Development Officer for the Presbyterian Church of Ireland)

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