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Download our "Prayer for My Little Prince" PDF that we discuss in Episode 27 "Praying for Your Little Prince". Print it at home to pray for the men God has entrusted to you.
Heidi Howerton: As you know, we have been doing a podcast series on how to influence the children in our lives towards Christ. We’ve talked about how God values all the children and gives them different strengths for his kingdom. We’ve talked about that mom guilt that we carry—that guilt when we feel like our hearts are divided, and “How do we do everything on our plate and still give our children our all?” And we’ve also talked about how we can receive God’s grace for that mom guilt and then how we can give that grace to our children.
Jani Ortlund: And now for our final two episodes on children, we want to talk about how to influence your children for Christ through prayer. Heidi and I believe that prayer is the most important thing you can do for your child. So we’re going to talk today about praying for your little boys. We’ve entitled it, “Praying For Your Little Prince” and we want you to know that I, Jani, wrote on this at the Revive Our Hearts True Woman blog and we thank them for their willingness to let us share some of what they’ve published on their blog that I’ve written. We encourage you to check out their wonderful ministry at reviveourhearts.com.
Heidi: And if you’re interested in seeing the blog post, here is the link: Praying for Your Little Prince.
Jani: Well, Heidi, you know my family is gender lopsided with three sons and one daughter and nine grandsons and four granddaughters. We feel the tidal wave of testosterone roll in at most family gatherings, Oh, all those boys! You have more boys than girls in your past.
Heidi: Yes with my two little boys that are now four and five years old–the Lord has made them very differently. Tons of energy, exploding out of every room, always on the move. They’re busy!
Jani: Boys are busy.
Do you know and love a little boy?
Jani: Dear listener, I wonder, do you know a little boy? Do you love a little boy? Maybe it’s your son. Maybe it’s your grandson or your nephew. Maybe you teach Sunday school. Maybe there’s a little boy in your neighborhood who kind of tugs at your heartstrings. Heidi and I want to encourage to pray for that little guy, to pray often, to pray fervently, to pray hope filled scripture based prayers, asking God to use that little boy greatly for his kingdom purposes.
18 Scripture Prayers for our Princes
Jani: In my prayer notebook, I have a page for each man, little or big in my life and I fill it with requests and favorite pictures of that special one. Then I ask God to give me verses to claim his promises for the men he has placed under my mother-love, and I write down those promises. Heidi and I want to share with you some of those verses today. This podcast will be a little bit different. We’re going to be reciting verses and then praying those verses into the boys lives whom we know are little princes. We encourage you to pray along with us. As you hear these verses, listen in, ask God to make those promises real in the lives of the boys you know.
Heidi: One thing I’m excited about, Jani, is I just think how sweet to spend 20 minutes praying. And so this morning my heart is already a glow to know that at the end of this we’ll have spent 10 to 20 minutes just praying over our little guys.
Jani: Oh yes. Father, hear our prayers apply them please. We’re going to beg you like that persistent widow we’ve talked about in Luke. We’re going to keep coming. As we talked about in Isaiah 62, we’re going to take no rest and give you no rest until we see you accomplish your purpose in the lives of the boys we know.
Psalm 71:17-18
“O God, from my youth you have taught me,
Psalm 71:17-18
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.”
Jani: Oh dear heavenly Father, be this young boy’s God from his earliest days until the day he dies.
Psalm 22:9-10
“Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
Psalm 22:9-10
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”
Jani: Father, we ask that from the moment this little baby boy enters life here on earth that you would cause him to trust in you, even as a nursing baby, Lord.
Galatians 2:16
“…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Galatians 2:16
Jani: Father, this is a deep theological truth. We’re asking that you will open the hearts of the little boys we know to receive this truth, to receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness that you offer through Jesus Christ. Let his conduct always be in step with the truth of the gospel, Lord. Make your love and free gift of righteousness a beautiful, enticing truth for this boy.
Proverbs 24:13-14
“My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Proverbs 24:13-14
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.”
Heidi: Lord, I pray that you would give our little guys a hunger for your Word and for your wisdom, Father. I pray that you would develop deep within their soul spiritual appetites that make wisdom taste sweet. God, I pray that as much as they want cookies and chocolate, that as they grow older, they would want your Word and your wisdom and they would see the riches of that.
Proverbs 2:9-10
“Then you will understand righteousness and justice
Proverbs 2:9-10
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;”
Heidi: Lord, reveal to our little guys how deeply satisfying you truly are.
Zechariah 10:12
“‘I will make them strong in the Lord,
Zechariah 10:12
and they shall walk in his name,’
declares the Lord.”
Heidi: God, strengthen our men. Give them spiritual vigor. Let their greatest strength be their relationship with you.
Isaiah 44:3-5
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
Isaiah 44:3-5
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Heidi: Oh Father, pour out your spirit and blessing upon our sons. Let them claim you as their God with unmistakable, bold hearted, clarity, saying for all to hear, “I am the Lord’s.”
1 Samuel 16:18
“One of the young men answered, ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.’”
1 Samuel 16:18
Jani: Father, we are praying that you will make that little boy a “David” in his generation. Help him to develop a skill useful to your service. How should I guide him here, Lord? Is it in academics or business? Is it toward ministry or music or athletics? Give my little boy the courage and fortitude of his elder brother, Jesus, to fight the battles that you call him to. Develop him into a valiant spiritual warrior. Let his speech be wise and engaging. Help him to present himself well in all situations, representing you as his kind King so that everyone can sense your nearness to him. Would you do that for my boy?
Daniel 1:4,9 and 2:27
“Bring to me youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning and competent to stand in the King’s palace…And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief and the eunuchs…Daniel answered the King and said, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians or astrologers can show to the King the mystery that the King has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.'”
Daniel 1:4,9 and 2:27
Heidi: Oh Lord, develop in our little guy a Daniel-like lifestyle. Help him care about his appearance so as not to distract attention away from you. Help him to understand how to keep learning throughout his lifetime. Favor him with the knowledge he needs to live well. Train and qualify him to be able to enter into places of leadership and power. Let him be quick to speak of you, God, pointing anyone who would seek to praise him for his wisdom or skills to the God who gave him these gifts. Help him to embrace and illuminate the God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
Proverbs 23:24-25
“The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
Proverbs 23:24-25
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
Let your father and mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.”
Jani: Oh, dear Father, we’re asking you to surround this little boy with your righteousness, to fill him with your wisdom. We’re asking that you would let him bring his dad and me much joy.
Psalm 24:4-5
“He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Psalm 24:4-5
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
Jani: Father, we ask that you would protect this little boy, that you would defend him against any impurity—all impurity of hands or heart—in this hard age where so much is available to our little boys, protect them. Defend them against the wiles of the devil, Lord.
Proverbs 14:26-27
“In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,
Proverbs 14:26-27
and his children will have a refuge.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.”
Jani: Father, we sense there are so many snares out there for our little guys. We pray that all his confidence would be in you. Don’t let this little boy seek safety or satisfaction in anyone or anything else other than the Lord God Almighty. Call him to yourself, please, Father, keep him within the warm embrace of your loving care.
Proverbs 15:5,32
“A fool despises his father’s instruction,
Proverbs 15:5,32
but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.”
Heidi: Lord, I pray that you would bless our boys with soft hearts that would hear their dad and our instruction, Father. Give them wisdom to contemplate these rebukes rather than scorn them. Help them to temper their natural self defensiveness with a willingness to listen to instruction and even correction.
Proverbs 17:25
“A foolish son is a grief to his father
Proverbs 17:25
and bitterness to her who bore him.”
Heidi: Oh Lord, I pray that you would protect our boys from foolishness. God help them to bring our family joy and delight by rejecting foolish ideas and lifestyles. I pray that you would fill them with your Holy Spirit and when foolish things come in front of them, that your Spirit would speak louder and that they would hear your voice pointing them to truth and wisdom, and that they would follow you, Dad.
Psalm 102:28
The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
Psalm 102:28
their offspring shall be established before you.
Jani: Father, we are not just praying for our little boy for today. We’re praying on into his future. We’re asking you to prepare him to raise a godly family that honors and loves and trusts you. We’re asking you for a godly wife for him, protect and prepare his wife as she grows up. Give her a warm heart toward you. I pray that you would give them a spiritual security in you that will establish their own children before you.
Isaiah 59:21
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
Isaiah 59:21
Jani: Don’t you love that verse, Heidi?
Heidi: Yeah!
Jani: Oh Father, thank you for that verse. We are asking you to pour out your Spirit upon our families so that the truths our boys hear coming from our mouths will be heard by their children from their mouths. Make our faith a generational faith in our descendants forever. Let not one of ours wander from you. Oh Father, we’re asking you for that. We’re begging you for that. Let not one of them wander from you until we all gather around your thrown in eternity.
Isaiah 61:9
“Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
Isaiah 61:9
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Heidi: Oh Lord, bless our sons. Use them in this generation. Give our boys a hearing among other nations and among other peoples. Let your blessing be upon them. May it be evident for your glory and fame.
Psalm 45:16
“In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
Psalm 45:16
you will make them princes in all the earth.”
Heidi: Lord, I pray that you would especially be with our sons when we, as their parents, die. God, allow them to carry on your work in our place. Make our boys princes in all the earth, Dad.
Jani: Father, we ask all these prayers in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
May God Answer These prayers
Jani: Well, dear listener, we hope you’ve prayed along with us. May God hear and answer these prayers for the little boys in our life.
