A Guided, Online Prayer for Parents of Children*
*At the point of release for this OPC, COVID-19 has affected the world. We included an additional done-for-you email if you choose to address COVID-19. Cheering you on ministry leaders!
COVID-19 Copywriting (Optional)
Parents,
You are navigating a new world by parenting your children through a pandemic. Please know you are not alone. Parents are deliberating the countless ways to discuss this topic with their child while fighting fear about finances and security.
We have a few resources we would like to recommend. Here are 8 recommended articles and a resource on fear.
Last, we offer you a brief online video to guide you as you pray for your children. It’s like you have your very own tour guide to help you pray during this time!
The video covers six words: Shepherd, Freedom, Grace, God-confidence, Character, and Heritage. You can check it out at:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/402578672/d6210d3d91
I hope this encourages you as a parent.
Partnering with you,
(Insert leader’s name)
Email 1
Copy/ paste the email below.
Subject Line: A Guided, Online Prayer for Parents of Children
Dear (Insert name of parent),
Because prayer involves asking human beings to interact with a supernatural being, it sometimes feels confusing, ambiguous, and elusive. So guess what? We have a brief online video that guides you through praying for your children. It’s like you have your very own prayer tour guide!
It covers six words: Shepherd, Freedom, Grace, God-confidence, Character, and Heritage. You can check it out at:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/402578672/d6210d3d91
I hope this encourages you as a parent.
Partnering with you,
(Insert leader’s name)
Email 2
Copy/ paste the email below.
Subject Line: A Guided, Online Prayer for Parents of Children
Dear (Insert name of parent),
The Lord is all-knowing, all-powerful, and good. He doesn’t make mistakes. So when He choose to create your child, He had a choice. He could have picked September 19, 1603, or May 13, 2025. Yet, He chose their birthdate and…YOU as the parent/guardian.
God chose you to be their parent, and HE DOESN’T MAKE MISTAKES. In other words, with His help, you can do this. To encourage you, we have an online guided prayer for you. Check it out at:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/402578672/d6210d3d91
Also, this week, we have #6daysofprayer, where we offer you a prayer each day leading up to Sunday. Check us out at [INSERT SOCIAL MEDIA HERE] and follow it as a daily reminder on how to pray for your child.
We believe in you,
(Insert leader’s name)
Video
Video Script
Kid Video Script April 2020
Title: A Guided, Online Prayer for Children
Welcome to today’s online parenting class! Last class, we gave you tips on how to prepare your child for life. If you missed it, ask your Director or Minister to send it to you.
Today, we are going to do something a little different, and offer you a guided, online prayer time for your child. So rather than tell you how to go and pray, we thought we could do it with you. I will simply lead you in prayer, and you can follow as you feel led.
Six words based on Scripture. Let’s get started.
I will share the Scripture in case you want to write it down, then pray a few words over my children and then give you a few minutes of silence for you to speak out loud the prayer. Don’t fret if it isn’t the same. The goal is to offer our needs before the Lord together.
Word #1 Shepherd
Psalm 127:3 & Psalm 23:1-2 Thank you Lord for giving me ___________. You gave them to me as an inheritance, and they are a special gift. You love my children and are their Shepherd. Please comfort them as a kind Shepherd would to His sheep. Settle their souls by meeting all their needs today. Now your turn. (Pause- Silence)
Psalm 23:4 Encourage my heart that I may believe they will not fear the darkest of evils because your Comforting Presence is so real to them. As I look towards their teenage years, help me not fear, but trust and listen for Your plan to prepare. Your turn. (Pause)
Word #2 Freedom
Ephesians 3:19 Jesus, I ask that you dispatch angels to stand guard around them. Consecrate the ground they walk on with your Holiness. Silence the voices of your enemy so they may see, hear, and know your love. Open their hearts so that they can receive your love, and as they interact with other children, help them give out that love. (Pause)
John 17:15 & John 3:16 Jesus, our mission is to live in the world, not hide from it. Show our family what it means to live in this world, and love it as you do. (Pause)
Word #3 Grace
I John 2:1-2 As they fall short of your Standard with their fleshly desires, Jesus, be their Advocate and Helper and Lawyer in the Spirit world. Thank you for appeasing any wrath and bringing reconciliation for them. (Pause)
Romans 2:4 Thank you for not condemning them but offering them kindness and mercy. Remind them of this truth when they choose to condemn themselves and when others, or I, choose to judge them. (Pause)
#4 God-Confidence
Psalm 139:15 You made this child, and they are your idea. I did nothing to bring them forth. You creatively pieced them together during the womb and never made a mistake. Open their eyes, ears, mind, and heart to uncover their God-given uniqueness. Silence the beating drum of culture and the pretense of social media so they may receive the words of encouragement from you and me. Help them embrace the way they are made and help them to be kind to themselves, help them avoid the comparison trap, and help them be wise stewards of their gifts and talents.
#5 Character
Romans 5:2-4 Would you grow them to be people of character? Guide, nurture, and parent me so I may teach them about responsibility, limits, resilience, and grit. Help me, Father, know how to create an environment where this is fostered. Would you grant them, adults and peers, along the way who strive for these values also? May the presence of hard times and trials be a call to intimacy with you rather than shame or defeat. (Pause)
#6 Heritage (Past, Present, and Future)
Exodus 14:14 Lord, thank you for the spiritual groundwork you are laying in our family. You fight for us. (Pause)
Exodus 20:5 If there are any spiritual strongholds we and the past generations have knowingly or unknowingly allowed in, expose them, and so it ends with us. (Pause)
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 May truth and grace be declared over the unbelief. Thank you for gifting us your powerful weapons so we can offer a spiritual inheritance to our children and their children. (Pause)
Joshua 24:15 As for me and my house, we will choose to follow you. (Pause)
Thank you for joining in with us on this special Online Parenting Class. If you think another parent would benefit from this encouragement, please share what you have learned. It has been a true honor to partner with you today.
Social Media Swag
Parents! We have a brief online video that guides you through six words to pray over your children: Shepherd, Freedom, Grace, God-confidence, Character, and Heritage. Check it out at [INSERT DIRECTIONS HERE].
DAY ONE: SHEPHERD Thank you, Lord, for giving me [INSERT YOUR CHILD’S NAME HERE]. You gave them to me as an inheritance, and they are a special gift. You love my children and are their Shepherd. Please comfort them as a kind Shepherd would to His sheep. Settle their souls by meeting all their needs today. (Psalm 127:3 & Psalm 23:1-2) #6daysofprayer
DAY TWO: FREEDOM Jesus, I ask that you dispatch angels to stand guard around them. Consecrate the ground they walk on with your Holiness. Silence the voices of your enemy so they may see, hear, and know your love. Open their hearts so that they can receive your love, and as they interact with other children, help them give out that love. (Ephesians 3:19) #6daysofprayer
DAY THREE: GRACE Thank you for not condemning them but offering them kindness and mercy. Remind them of this truth when they choose to condemn themselves and when others, or I, choose to judge them. (Romans 2:4) #6daysofprayer
DAY FOUR: GOD-CONFIDENCE You made this child, and they are your idea. I did nothing to bring them forth. You creatively pieced them together during the womb and never made a mistake. Open their eyes, ears, mind, and heart to uncover their God-given uniqueness. Silence the beating drum of culture and the pretense of social media so they may receive the words of encouragement from you and me. (Psalm 139:15) #6daysofprayer
DAY FIVE: CHARACTER
Would you grow them to be people of character? Guide, nurture and parent me so I may teach them about responsibility, limits, resilience, and grit. Help me, Father, know how to create an environment where this is fostered. Would you grant them, adults and peers, along the way who strive for these values also? May the presence of hard times and trials be a call to intimacy with you rather than shame or defeat. (Romans 5:2-4) #6daysofprayer
DAY SIX: HERITAGE
If there are any spiritual strongholds we and the past generations have knowingly or unknowingly allowed in, expose them, and so it ends with us. (Exodus 20:5) #6daysofprayer
