Prayer over a baby
Whether your church baptizes babies or dedicates them, every parent can do this: hold your child and pray. The middle of the night, with a baby who will not settle, is as good a time as any.
For a new baby
Father, thank You for this little one. Every finger and every breath is Your gift. Keep (name) safe and healthy, and give us sleep when we can get it and patience when we cannot. Let this child grow up knowing they are loved, by us and by You. Make our home a place where faith is as normal as breakfast. And when we are tired and unsure, remind us that You are holding all of us. Amen.
“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
Prayer for a toddler
Toddlers climb everything, test everything and wear everyone out. Pray for their safety and for your patience, in whichever order you need first.
For my toddler (and for me)
Lord, You made this little person full of energy and opinions. Keep (name) safe as they climb, run and explore. Guard them from falls, hot stoves and open doors. Grow in them a love for You through songs, stories and bedtime prayers. And give me patience for the hundredth question and the tenth tantrum. When I lose my temper, help me say sorry, so they learn early what forgiveness looks like. Amen.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
Prayer for a school-age child
These are the years of learning to read, making friends and finding out that the world is not always kind. Pray for their heart as well as their grades.
For my school-age child
Father, (name) is learning so much: letters and numbers, how to share, how to lose a game. Give them a curious mind and a kind heart. Help them find one good friend, and help them be one. When someone is unkind to them, comfort them, and when they are unkind, correct them gently. Help me teach them Your ways with my words and with my example, at home as much as at church. Amen.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Prayer for my teenager
Teenagers need more privacy and more prayer. Pray for the things they will not tell you. If your teen ever talks about wanting to die or to hurt themselves, do not wait: in the US and Canada, call or text 988 together, and elsewhere find a local helpline at findahelpline.com.
For my teenager
Lord, my child is growing up, and I cannot follow them everywhere anymore. You can. Guard their mind from lies about who they are, especially the ones that come through a screen. Give them friends who are good for them and the courage to be different. Let their faith become their own, even if it comes through questions. Give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen, and keep the door between us open. Amen.
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Prayer for my adult children
You stop being in charge, but you never stop being their parent. Now your best gift is often prayer, and a phone call that does not lecture.
For my grown children
Father, my children are grown, and their lives are their own. I bring them to You: their work, their homes, their marriages or their loneliness, their faith or their doubts. Give them wisdom for the choices I cannot make for them. Bless the people they love. Where I made mistakes as a parent, heal what I damaged and help me own it. Finish the good work You began in them. Amen.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”
Prayer for a child who has walked away from God
This may be the hardest prayer a parent prays. In Jesus' story of the lost son, the father let his son go, never stopped loving him, and saw him coming while he was still far down the road (Luke 15:11-32). Keep praying, keep the door open, and keep loving your child as they are.
For my child who has left the faith
Lord, You know how much this hurts. My child has walked away from You, and sometimes I wonder what I did wrong. You love them more than I do, and You are not done with them. Keep them safe while they are far away. Bring people across their path who will point them home. Help me love them without conditions, without pressure and without giving up. And when they come back, to You and to us, let me run to meet them. Amen.
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
Back to school prayer
Pray this blessing over your child on the first morning of school, at the door or in the car. Put a hand on their shoulder if they will let you. For older students and exam season, see our prayers for students.
A back-to-school blessing
(Name), may God go with you today, into every classroom and every hallway. May He give you a clear mind to learn and a brave heart to try. May you find good friends and be a good friend. May you be kind to the kid who sits alone. When something is hard, may you remember that you are not alone either. And may you come home tonight with a story to tell. Amen.
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
The Numbers 6:24-26 blessing
God gave Aaron and his sons these words to bless the people of Israel (Numbers 6:22-27). You can speak the same words over your children: at bedtime, at the door, on a birthday.
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
To bless your child with it, put a hand on their head or shoulder, say their name, and speak the words slowly. God attached a promise to them: “they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27, KJV). A blessing like this is not magic. It is a parent saying out loud, in God's own words, what God wants for their child.
Simple prayers for kids to say
Short enough to remember, plain enough to mean. Once your kids know a few, let them make up their own. God loves to hear them.
- When I wake up: Good morning, God. Thank You for today. Help me be kind and brave. Amen.
- Before I eat: Thank You, God, for my food and my family. Amen.
- When I am scared: Jesus, You are with me, so I am not alone. Please help me feel safe. Amen.
- A Bible verse for scary moments: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3, KJV).
- When I did something wrong: God, I am sorry for what I did. Please forgive me, and help me make it right. Amen.
- For someone I love: Dear God, please be with (name) today and help them feel better. Amen.
- At bedtime: Thank You, God, for today, and thank You for loving me. Please watch over me and my family tonight. Amen.
If your kids like to listen, Faithero can read a Bible chapter aloud, verse by verse. Mark 10, where Jesus blesses the children, is a good one to start with.
Frequently asked
What is a short prayer for my children?
Lord, keep my children safe, help them know You, and give me patience to love them well today. Amen. Say each child's name as you pray. If that is all you pray every day, you are doing what the people in Mark 10 did: bringing children to Jesus.
What are simple prayers for kids to say?
Short, honest ones they can remember: “Thank You, God, for today.” “Please help me be brave.” “I am sorry, please help me do better.” The list on this page has prayers for waking up, meals, scary moments, saying sorry and bedtime. Let children add their own words too; that is how they learn that prayer is simply talking to God.
How do I pray over my child at night?
Sit on the edge of the bed, put a hand on your child, and pray about one thing from their day. Then bless them. The blessing in Numbers 6 is short enough to learn by heart: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee” (Numbers 6:24, KJV).
What is a good back to school prayer?
Pray for a clear mind, good friends, kind teachers and a brave heart, and for your child to be kind to others. Say it at the door or in the car on the first morning. Joshua 1:9 is a good verse to send them off with: “Be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:9, KJV).
Does Proverbs 22:6 promise my child will come back to God?
Proverbs describe how life usually goes; they are not guarantees. Proverbs 22:6 teaches that early training matters and often lasts, but every child still makes their own choices. If your child has walked away, do not read this verse as a verdict on your parenting. Keep praying: the father in Luke 15 kept watching the road.
How can I teach my child to pray?
Pray with them, out loud, every day, and keep it simple. Let them hear you thank God, say sorry and ask for help. Then give them a turn. Short prayers they can remember, like the ones on this page, are a good start, and the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is worth learning together when they are ready.
You are not your child's savior
Parents carry a quiet fear: that one wrong move will ruin their child. You will make mistakes, some of them big. But your children have a Savior, and it is not you. God loved them before you ever met them, and He can reach them in places you never will.
So pray, and then rest. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him” (Psalm 103:13, KJV). The same tender God who holds your children is holding you too. For prayers for the rest of your household, see our prayers for family.
Prayer for my children
A prayer for any day, for all your children at once. Then, if you can, pray for each one by name with the prayer for their age below.
A daily prayer for my children
Lord, thank You for my children. You knew them before I did, and You love them more than I can. Today, keep them safe in body and in heart. Give them friends who are kind and teachers who are wise. Let them know You for themselves, not only because I do. Where I have been impatient or distracted, forgive me and help me do better tomorrow. I give them back to You again today. Amen.