Top 10 Tuesday

Top 1o Verses I Pray over My Kids

10. Thank you Lord that you have the power to turn every curse into blessing for those who love you. Deuteronomy 23:4-6

9. Thank you Lord that, you know the plans you have for ___, plans to prosper and not to harm ___, plans to give ____ hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:10-12

8. Thank you that You command your angels concerning _____ to guard them in all your ways; Psalm 91:10-12

7. For God did not give ______ a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-8

6. Lord, fill ________ with the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...keep ____ in step with the Spirit today. Galatians 5:21-23

5. The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in ____, He will quiet ____ with his love, He will rejoice over _____ with singing. Zephaniah 3:16-18

4. Surely goodness and love will follow ____ all the days of ___ life, and ___ will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:5-6

3. Thank you Lord, that by Your wounds ______ is healed. 1 Peter 2:23-25

2. I pray that like Jesus, ______ will grow in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Luke 2:51-52

1. Thank you God that you go with _____ and will never leave them nor forsake them. Deuteronomy 31:5-7

Countless helps are widely available to guide us in how to pray for our kids. My standbys are a xeroxed bookmark of 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Child by Bob Hostetler. Can't believe it is still available online since I can't even remember how I obtained it eons ago. It stays on my washing machine.

My Moms in Touch hand outs live at least nine lives and a $3.99 bargain bin copy of Praying God's Will for my Husband by Lee Roberts stays in arm's reach next to my driver's seat in the Eurovan. It's available customized for any family member you can imagine (praying God's Will for my son, my daughter, my grandmother, myself, my marriage). I was too cheap to buy all of them and just smart enough to modify the pronouns and fill in the blanks accordingly, making it a multi-use reference.

I clutch it like a Catholic with rosary beads whenever I have wait time at a carpool or doctor's office. It came in handy last Sunday during Allie's Certificate of Merit test. It is basically a topical list of verses organized alphabetically by keywords like Peace, Worry, Obedience and so on. Bible verses are listed in each category with a personalized fill in the blank (as above).

Praying Scripture back to God became a pattern for me after reading Becky Tirabassi's, "Let Prayer Change Your Life" and Beth Moore's "Praying God's Word." I appreciate the metaphor one of them used of a double stick of dynamite. The fact that we are praying to an Almighty God coupled with declaring the truth of His Word makes for explosive results.

Often enough I am tired or flustered to the point of not knowing what to pray. Rather than flounder around in circles or my own ruminating thoughts, I land on His. Then in addition to knowing he's heard my prayer for a particular circumstance or person, I'm also refreshed.

When I pray God's own words back to Him, I have the surety of asking something I can be sure He already intends. I don't have to wonder if it is just my misguided wishing, projecting or wanting. As you'd expect, certain sections of the book are doggeared and worn from handling. Thus, the Top 10 have emerged as ones I've memorized from overuse. They are my go-to claims, in the moments that I sense the struggle against rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness.