Parenting can rock your confidence and challenge your joy – it is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, one endlessly exhausting and indescribably rewarding at the same time. As I walk through new seasons of parenting I find a need for new seasons of prayer, which is why in this particular season of having a newborn and a toddler, I am turning over my anxiety and control to God through these following five prayers.
These prayers are written from the perspective of a mother over her son, but they are more than applicable for a mother over her daughter or a father over his son or daughter. Please simply make these prayers yours and use them in any way you wish to create a powerful version to connect you more deeply with the Father of us all.
A PRAYER FOR HEART AND PURPOSE
Father in Heaven:
A little child lays before You and I as gaze upon him I am humbled by Your presence. You know the plans You have for him – You know everything about him though I am just getting to know him. In many ways I consider myself the closest to him possible, but I know that my connection to him is a mere and faint mirror of how much You love him. He is yours and you have allowed me the privilege of being in his life and for that I thank you.
Fill him with love so deep that he can’t understand the depths of it or the extent of it – let it continually flow through him without fail for the fullness of his life. Make his mind curious to the way in which he can serve the world as a light and reflection of Your hope to others that he might be faithful to the life he is called to live. Overflow his heart with kindness and with a strong sensitivity to the needs of others that he might be a powerful influence in the world in which he inhabits. More than anything, put joy in his heart and show him how to live beautifully and fully.
Steady his heart for the sorrows of this world – give him depth of sensitivity and an eye for optimism as he trusts his Creator even though there will be so much he cannot understand. Make him a man of encouragement and steadiness, one to which others will turn and feel safe. Give him the confidence and surety of a natural leader, one grounded in his worth as a child of God and of one who sees others as loved ones of You that he might leave a legacy worth noting in this world. Bless his steps and his missteps alike, that he might experience the blessedness of grace and the peace that comes from a life lived under the umbrella of Your protection.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A PRAYER FOR STRENGTH
Father in Heaven:
My little boy may be small as I hold him in my arms and as the world sees him, but I rest with peace in my heart that You have made him strong beyond what the eye can see. Strengthen the fibers of his body as he grows that he might grow into the strapping young man You have planned for him to be, perfect in health and growth. Make him strong in his heart, steady in Your love and in the values that Brandon and I hope to instill in him as his parents. We will make mistakes and we will fail him in some of his upraising and we trust in Your grace to fill the gap. Teach us to raise a man of fortitude and character, one who shines of Your strength and Your love and one who, because of how he walks and carries himself through this world, makes the world better for him being in it. Blow into him mental strength and intellect that can only come from You that he might be wise beyond his years and sensitive to the needs of the world around him. Inspire his heart with an ache to make a difference and embolden him with the courage of a warrior to take action on what You have written on his heart that he might be compelled to live in such a way that changes the world. Grow me as his mother, teaching me with each year that passes just exactly who I need to be to love this little man well. Bond our hearts together with supernatural strength and connection that can never be broken.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A PRAYER FOR SLEEP
Father in Heaven:
You created us with regenerative power and for the need for rest. In this season of sleep deprivation I thank You for the gift of rest with renewed appreciation and gratitude. Inbue me with patience as I trust in the process of this season of sleep change. On the nights of toil, give me patience and alertness that comes from beyond myself . For the days following those sleepless nights, give me a pep in my step that can’t be explained and a confidence that the night that is to come, no matter the amount of sleep it will provide, will be all the rest and renewal I need. Teach my little one to rest in serenity. Let his little belly be filled and content for periods of time beyond his age and let his sleep be deep, peaceful and filled with growth.
I thank You for the opportunity that these sleepless nights gives to my husband and I to work together as a team, to communicate well and to learn to love when we are bone-tired. We thank You for the gift of parenting and for this child and we consider the lack of sleep a gift too, for You have chosen us to love this specific child through this transition of his initial growth. Thank You for creating me to be the right person to hold my little boy. Thank You for his need to be held and his need for us. Equip us Lord with an appreciation for life that deepens our understanding of You and Your love for us as we watch this new life grow before our eyes day and night.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A PRAYER FOR TOGETHERNESS
Father in Heaven:
You are the masterful designer of all things. My heart is filled with awe each time I hold my son and let his little fingers and toes wiggle against my body. The intricacy of his fingernails amaze me and I have waves of overwhelm in my heart for the detail with which You pay attention to detail. I pray for masterful detail and intricately deep levels of love to be woven into my family. Knit between the hearts of each one of us something unbreakable by the world. Create between us a family connection and togetherness that grows deeper and deeper with each year that passes … so deep that our togetherness is a blessing to those around us, that it builds not only us up, but others as well. Bless the love the four of us share so that the love might overflow from each of us individually and from our family as a unit too. Make our family love so blessed and abounding that it leaves a legacy for generations and that when others look to us they can only see Your masterful presence and artwork in what connects us so intimately.
Thank You for my beautiful family. Thank you for choosing this child and my children to come from my womb and to be a combination of my husband and I. Thank you for the challenges that come and will continue to come – for I know that it is through the challenges that you will strengthen our togetherness and grow us in wisdom and love.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A PRAYER FOR GROWTH AND PERSPECTIVE
Father in Heaven:
This tiny one I hold in my arms expands my heart in a way I struggle to explain. His breath and his presence in this world has made me grow in unexpected ways, a growth I know will continue every day of my life as I stand by his side and watch him grow too. It is far too easy to feel anxious in my role as his mother and guardian, forgive me for forgetting that ultimately this little one is Your child above all else. Paint my heart with peace and help me daily to remember that You have his entire life etched in the palm of Your hand and that You are in full control of his growth and development. I trust that You will work all things for the good of this child and that You will shower his life with favor in a way that draws others to you because of it. Give me perspective as a parent to remain patient through my moments of exhaustion and confident through my moments of fear, cleansing my mind from worry over the growth and future of this little man. Forgive me in advance for the days when I don’t walk in gratitude over the miracle of this little life and for the days in which I forget to savor the tiny season of his specific age and development as a true gift. Time is but a blink and will pass entirely too quickly, so sharpen my memory that the sweetness of this special time might never be forgotten or feel far away from my heart. Water his body with strength, his mind with power and his heart with love that he might grow into a mighty man who moves the world through Your love. Thank you for gifting me with a front-row seat to the miracle of life.
In the Jesus’ Name, Amen.
