Parents, isn’t this a great verse to pray over our kids regularly? That the Lord fill them with His joy, peace, and hope.
Don’t forget about the powerful supernatural tool of prayer protection that we can provide for our most precious and innocent souls. Our kids deserve it. They’re growing up in challenging times and need all the spiritual grounding in Christ that they can get. Kids are no different from us in their emotional and physical dispositions —they’re at the mercy of hormones, bad days, energy from others, demons in the spiritual atmosphere, sickness, etc. So, it’s our job as parents to help train them up in the way they should go so they know how to utilize all that Christ offers them.
Once in a while, my daughter returns home from preschool out of sorts. She’s just off, not her normal fun-loving, affable self. Sometimes it’s just fatigue, perhaps a bad day, maybe the energy of another child (we can absorb the emotions of others, as I have discussed in prior posts) and so on. That’s when I usually sit down, hold her in my arms, have us both take deep breaths, and pray. Sometimes, she’ll even seek me out and say, “Mommy, let’s pray.”
I usually start by thanking/praising Jesus for something pertaining to my daughter (get creative—it’s your prayer and it can be anything). Then I ask Him to take away whatever’s bothering her. Then I remind her to release it and give it up to Him. I ask Him to fill her with whatever she needs, and I conclude with praise and thanksgiving (incorporate scripture for greater effect and speak out loud).
Sometimes, it’s a simple end-of-day prayer when she’s exhausted and overstimulated after a kiddie party. “Jesus, we thank you for this wonderful day. We just pass up our exhaustion and overwhelm to you. Please fill us with your peace and calm. Thank you. We love you. Amen.”
When she was two years old, however, she got attacked (spiritually) by demons that were taking up residence in the home of a family member. I’ll never forget that frightful day. I felt their presence while visiting — the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. When we returned home, she immediately had some out-of-body-like tantrum (she doesn’t have tantrums) that scared the you-know-what out of me. Her body was gyrating, she was screaming, even had trouble breathing. I panicked at first, but then I felt His fire stir from deep within me. You know, that protective mama bear determination coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit (that still small voice got real loud and told me to get that demon out of her).
So, I did. “In the name of Jesus, I bind you spirits of hysteria, torment, and unrest. Go to the foot of the cross! Now!” I said it three times. By the third, I screamed it with a force so strong that didn’t feel like mine. And it wasn’t. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. Five minutes later, she let out a huge breath, coughed, and was calm.
Whatever the situation, guess what happens after we pray? She’s always calmer. His peace is palpable. Think of how spiritually strong your kids will grow in the Lord when you show them how to pray at an early age (it’s never too late to start). They usually enjoy it, too. My daughter is four years old and loves to talk to Jesus.
