As parents, we must fight for our children, and prayer is essential for protection and enforcing victory against the enemy’s schemes. When a mother and father come to agreement in prayer (and in unity within the marriage), the authority they have in the Spirit to war over their family is unmatched. Even as a single father, joined together in prayer with the saints, I have seen God perform miracles in my daughter, Bryn’s, life.
Though Bryn has been rescued from the depths of darkness and knows intimately what it looks like to have a relationship with the Lord, there is still a war that rages on for her life. I pray almost as much for her now as I did before she became a Christian. The power of prayer is undeniable, and as Job 22:28 states, “You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways” (AMP).
God’s Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11) but will accomplish everything it is sent to do. As we declare God’s Word, we stand in faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) God loves our families more than we could ever imagine. He is perfectly faithful, infinitely good and more than able to complete what He starts. I often need to remind myself that God’s timing is not always my timing. God sees in whole, and I see in part.
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
Early in my faith-journey, as I learned scriptures and began to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, I leaned on many different books of prayer based on Scripture to pray for Bryn. One that I used often was a “Prayer for Family and Children” from a book called Decree by Patricia King. I share it with you today as it made a big impact on my heart and my family.
Prayer for Family and Children
As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. Because I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved, and my entire house. Because I am a covenant child of God, my household is blessed. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Blessings come upon us and overtake us.
My family, home, marriage, and children are blessed, and all that I put my hands to do. I am blessed coming in and I am blessed going out. The Lord has established my household as a people for Himself. He causes us to abound in prosperity in the offspring of our bodies, in the offspring of our beasts, and in the produce of our ground. The Lord surrounds my family and entire household with favor as a shield. No good thing does He withhold from us. His banner is love over my home, marriage, and family. No weapon formed against us as a family prospers. What the Lord has blessed, no man can curse. We abide in the shadow of the Almighty and no evil befalls us.
My children shall be mighty on the earth, for the generation of the upright are blessed. They shall be as signs and wonders in the earth. My children will flourish like olive plants around my table. They are a gift from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is my reward.
My children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. My sons in their youth are as grownup plants and my daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace.
Lord, Your covenant with me declares that Your Spirit which is upon me and Your Words which You have put in my mouth shall not depart from my mouth, nor from the mouths of my children, nor from the mouths of my children’s children. All my children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be their peace and prosperity. In righteousness they will be established and they will be far from oppression. They will not be led into temptation but they will know deliverance from evil.
I confess that my children are pure in heart and therefore they shall see God. They hunger and thirst after righteousness, therefore they are filled. The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon my children and they prophesy. The Lord’s blessing is upon them. They will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water. One will say, I am the Lord’s, and another one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on their hand, “Belonging to the Lord.”
I confess that my children are seekers of wisdom and understanding. They hold fast to Your Word and to Your ways. They treasure Your commandments and they cry for discernment.
The spirit of wisdom is poured out upon my children and my children’s children, and words of wisdom are being made known to them. The Lord keeps my family from falling and presents them blameless before the presence of the Father’s glory with exceeding joy.
Scriptural References Joshua 24:15; Acts 2:17; 16:31; Matthew 5:6, 8; 6:13; Ephesians 1:3; Deuteronomy 28:1-12; Psalm 5:12; 84:11; 91:1, 10; 112:2; 127:3-4; 128:3; 144:12; Song of Solomon 2:4; Isaiah 8:18; 44:3-5; 54:13-14, 17; 59:21; Proverbs 1:23; 2:2-3; Jude 24
King, Patricia. Decree – Third Edition. Decree a Thing and it Shall Be Established – Job 22:8. XP Publishing. Kindle Edition.