When our children are young, we spend a lot of time praying for them. We pray that they will be protected from harm, that they will have good health, and that they will find success in life. But what happens when our children become adults?
I guess we can just tell them good luck and let them go on their way. Uh, yeah…uh…no! Do we stop praying for them? Of course not! Let’s discuss how to pray for our adult children, why parents should, and how to discipline ourselves to do so. We will also provide some example prayers to get you started if you need them.
How To Pray For Your Adult Children – Why The Responsibility Never Ends
For many Christians who raised their children into adulthood, they have normally spent an incredible amount of time lifting their kids up to God. As parents, we wanted the best for our kids. We begged God to protect them, guide them, keep them safe, and let them grow into fine adults. And we wanted them to get very wealthy and send us money…okay, maybe we didn’t pray for that….but it couldn’t hurt!
In learning how to pray for your adult children we must first recognize that it’s still our responsibility as parents.
That responsibility does not come to an end. Certainly, they fly the coup and go out on their own to build their own lives we must let them. However, I don’t believe God ever wants us to stop praying for them.
Through prayer we have access to the only perfect parent, our Father God found in God’s word. This perfect Father loves us, our children, and wants us to pray for them. He also wants to work in our hearts and in our adult children’s hearts also.
God calls us to continue to let Jesus Christ shine through us to our children. We can do that in the way we live our lives in front of them and by committing to pray faithfully for them. Are we always going to get that right? Nope. However, we make the effort as God would have us.
Why should you continue to pray for your adult children?
Prayer is a primary way that we stay connected to God. Understanding the use of powerful prayers can remind us that our children are never too old for our prayers.
Our Heavenly Father never forgets about us. And, God’s word tells us the Holy Spirit never stops interceding for us.
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” Romans 8:26-17
Praying diligently for our adult children’s lives children cannot only make an impact on their lives but also keeps them close to our hearts.
Do you love them any less than you did when they started the first grade and were afraid? Do you love them any less than you did when you waited up for them to come home from a date or night out with friends when they were teenagers?
In one way our concerns about our children can become even stronger when they reach adulthood. When you had them under your roof you may have felt that you had a certain amount of protection that you could give them. However, when they are out on their own, there can sometimes be a sense of foreboding – that you can no longer protect them and you can begin to worry.
Certainly, parents differ in these feelings. Some parents don’t seem to have as many worries as others about their grown children. However, it’s not a matter of our level of emotional concern for them. The question is – should we continue to pray for our adult children consistently and earnestly?
The answer is a firm YES!
Discipline Yourself to Do So
As you learn how to pray for your adult children make sure to ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you to do so every day. However, if you are like me and aren’t a perfect parent and let your mind scatter to the four winds on some days, you can make a daily prayer list. This list can include your children, other members of your family, and others – especially those who do not know Jesus Christ on a personal basis.
That way, you will be reminded each day to take a few minutes and pray for them. You can do this first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or right before you go to bed at night. It doesn’t matter when you do it, as long as you make it a priority to do it daily.
Some Suggested Prayers For Your Adult Children
Below are some examples of things you can pray for your adult children. You can use these prayers verbatim or modify them to fit your needs.
Pray for their salvation first and foremost if they are not a Christian. God loves them and wants them to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Prayer For The Salvation of Your Adult Child
Here is an example prayer to pray for your adult children to receive Christ as their Savior, be saved, born again, or whatever terminology is familiar to you.
“Dear Lord, I ask that you draw my child to you. I know that the most important thing in their life is to give their life to Christ Jesus. I know that I can’t make that decision for them and children will make their own choices. I just ask that your Holy Spirit would touch them and draw them to you so that they would accept Jesus as their Savior. I pray that they would accept your unconditional love and surrender their lives to Jesus. If possible, please have some Godly friends influence them. Any way you choose to do it, Lord, I just ask for the salvation of my grown children. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Prayer For Wisdom In The Life Of My Adult Child
“Lord, I pray for wisdom for my child. I pray that they would make wise decisions in every area of their life – including their career, finances, marriage, and parenting. Lord, I ask that they would make wise choices and choose good relationships with Godly friends. I also ask that you would give them the greatest of wisdom, which is spiritual wisdom.
I ask that they would make life decisions in a manner worthy of a child of God. Guide them away from bad attitudes and help them stand strong against temptation and any evil thoughts. Let them be people of faith in you and I ask that they look to you as their only strong foundation. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Prayer For An Adult Child’s Future Spouse
One thing that is so important for a parent to pray for is to pray for the future spouse of their child. We want to start that prayer when they are young. However, keep that up until they find the person who will be their husband or wife. We should learn how to pray for our adult children and their future spouses.
“Father, I pray that you will provide just the right spouse for my child. I know that when children grow up it’s likely that will find a spouse. Father, I pray for my child’s future spouse. I pray that you would prepare their heart to be a Godly spouse. I pray that you would bring them together at the right time in both of their lives.
I pray that they would have a deep love and respect for each other and would truly become one flesh to glorify You. I also pray that they will be best friends and enjoy spending time together. Most of all, I pray that their marriage would glorify you, Lord and that you would be at the center of their relationship. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Prayer For An Adult Child Who Is Sick
It’s heartbreaking when a parent finds themselves in a position where their adult child is sick with a disease or other types of physical maladies. Those can bring heart-wrenching times of worry and intense anxiety for a parent. If they require some type of surgery we would point to our post about sincere prayers for surgery.
Here is an example prayer that you might use when you have a child who is sick or injured.
“Lord, I pray for (child’s name). You understand their sickness or disease. My heart breaks to think about my child being sick. Please, Lord, I ask you that you would bring them to complete healing of this illness. I ask for the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to intervene and make them well and that they can maintain good health in the future.
Lord, whatever you decide I ask that this would increase the faith of everyone involved, including my child. I pray that the Holy Spirit would work to give great encouragement to my child during this time in their lives. No matter what, please don’t let us doubt You, lose faith, or lose heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Prayer for An Adult Child To Experience Peace In Hardships
Sometimes our adult children’s lives go through difficult and complicated seasons. Sometimes it can be because of bad choices they have made and sometimes it’s through no fault of their own, it’s just life. Here is a prayer that you can pray for your child who is experiencing hard times in their life.
“Lord, you know that my child is going through a very difficult circumstance. Their life is troubled, and their faith is weak or at least being challenged. They need great encouragement from above, from family members, and any other encouragement you choose to send their way.
My prayer is that their troubles and difficulties would be lifted from them. I pray that they would find freedom from their anxious mind by focusing on You and not just the things of this world. Please give them peace in their lives and lift the burdens they are carrying. Please take care of my adult child according to your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Prayer For The Financial Stability of Your Grown Children
If you have ever gone through any financial difficulties, you know how unnerving it can be. Financial troubles and worries can be one of the most stressful parts of your grown children’s lives. It’s certainly not wrong to pray faithfully for them to prosper financially. Sure, we would all love for our children to make tons of money and have earthly riches as well as the glorious inheritance they have as God’s children.
However, most of our children may not ever fall in the wealthy or uber-wealthy categories. But, we do want to pray that they will not continually struggle and be worried about making ends meet all of their lives. It’s the parent in us that wants that for our children.
“Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that my children will trust you in all of their financial matters and understand that it all belongs to you. I do ask that they have the discipline and financial means to build a life where they will not have to be constantly consumed by worry about money. I pray that they will make wise financial decisions, stay out of, or get out of as much debt as possible. I ask You to provide them with financial resources so that might be givers to your kingdom and do what you desire for them to do in life.
Please give them opportunities for good employment or good careers in their lives. Give them the spiritual wisdom that it takes to make the Godly decisions about their future that they need to make.
Provide for their needs, dear God. I don’t ask for wealth or riches, just that you provide for them to be financially stable in their lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Bible Verses That You Can Pray for Adult Children
Praying scripture back to God can be a powerful part of our prayer life. As we ask God to make our grown children be Godly men and Godly women you can pray actual Bible verses to Him.
You can adapt them as you need while remaining true to the intent of the scripture. This one is several verses long, but look at how the Apostle, Paul prayed for the church in Colossae. This is an awesome prayer you could adapt for your children.
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:9-14
“Here is another great passage that Paul lovingly sent in a letter to the church in Ephesus. This is a great prayer to pray for your adult children.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 1:15-21
Concluding Thoughts about Praying For Your Adult Children
So, I hope we have arrived at the conclusion that we should pray for our adult children. If you have not been, I hope you will start. If you have been, I hope this article has given you some new ideas about how to pray for your grown children.
They need our prayers because:
-Because they still need God’s protection.
-Because they still need His guidance.
-Because even though they are adults, they are still our children and we want the best for them.
-Because it is our responsibility and it is good for us and our spiritual lives as well
Prayer is a powerful thing. It can change things that we see as impossible. When we pray according to God’s will, He hears us and He answers us. He is a good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children.
Start, or continue praying for your adult children today and watch how God begins to work in their lives!
Spiritual Conversations with Your Adult Children
In addition to praying for your adult children, if the situation is where you can, have spiritual conversations with them. They may or may not be pursuing a walk with Christ.
If they aren’t, we’re not talking about constantly badgering them, but keep the topic of spiritual things on the list of things you can talk to them about.
You might want to share something interesting from a Bible study you have been doing, etc. Bring up practical topics that might help them.
Ask God to open doors and give you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with them. Doe’s your adult child have a modern Bible with appropriate and helpful notes that would encourage them on a daily basis? Perhaps you might want to consider gifting them with a Bible that would offer that type of help.
Keep on loving, praying, and trying to nurture relationships with your children. God bless you as you do!
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