The summer months can be a time to rest – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But allowing your spiritual habits rest can be a gateway to allow Satan to come in and replace good habits with bad ones. This is especially true for kids. Keeping your kids' safety in the forefront of your mind and praying for God's protection is the best source of defense against the devil's schemes. Here are seven safety prayers for kids that you can pray to keep your kids safe during the summer season.
Lord, protect their eyes.
When kids get bored, they often turn on the TV or computer to occupy their time. But this is dangerous if not monitored properly. Kids who normally peruse Youtube or other unfiltered websites can be putting their kids at risk to stumble upon an x- rated image or other material that is too inappropriate for their viewing. If you want to protect your child's innocence this summer, pray this:
Lord, shield my children's eyes from any image that can be used to draw them into evil. Intervene if they are about to peruse a website that they should not be on. Help me to know when kids are viewing inappropriate material and help them to be the people that follow you, not evil. Amen.
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Safety Prayers For Kids: Lord, help them choose good company.
When kids are young, it easy for them to mingle with everyone in their classroom. However, when they enter middle school or high school they need to make better choices about the company they keep. Scripture says, "bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33)." Kids can be swayed in the wrong direction when they constantly hang around people who don't espouse godly values. Guard your kids by helping them align with kids that will be positive role models, not negative ones. Pray this:
Lord, help me to ask the right questions when it comes to my children's friends. Let me be as shrewd as a snake when it comes to the company my kids keep. Allow me to open up communication and have hard (yet fruitful) conversations regarding the character traits your kids should look for in friends.
Lord, help them to be aware.
As a Christian, God is always working in our lives. We just need to have our eyes open to recognize where God is at work. Kids can recognize God at work when they are at the community swimming pool, at their friends' house, and at the mall. Use the summer to teach your kids how to be more aware of where God is at work, not only in their lives but in the lives of others. Pray this:
Lord, help me to teach my kids to see the world through your eyes. Allow them to learn more about you through the world around them. Amen.
Safety Prayers For Kids: Lord, help them not to indulge.
Along with the overuse of screens, kids can also overindulge in food and drink to occupy their time. When kids get bored it is easy for them to stroll over to the fridge and fix themselves a snack (or two or three snacks.) Keeping sugary sodas and chips for kids to snack on can contribute to a summer worth of packing on the pounds with no significant source of exercises to burn off those extra calories. This can lead to a dangerous road in terms of physical ailments later in life. Do your best to provide healthy, wholesome snacks in between snacks so kids don't get stuck in a rut of mindless eating our of boredom. Pray this:
Help my kids choose wise, creative activities to occupy them. Keep their minds engaged so they don't wander over to the fridge to fill their faces out of boredom. Help them make safe food choices so they can be healthy for their lives and not develop bad habits. Amen.
Lord, help them use their time wisely.
Summer can be a good time of productivity, or a time of laziness, depending on their choices. Laziness is a dangerous road to travel down as laziness during the summer can lead to laziness all year long. Summer can be a time to set a goal to read a certain amount of books, learn a musical instrument or learn a skill that can be useful for an occupation later on in life. Encourage your kids to hone their talents and channel them into productive activities. Summer camps are also a great way for kids to make new friends and commune with nature. However, if summer camps bust your summer budget, do some research in your community to see if there are free activities to take advantage of while kids are off from school. Pray this:
Lord, help me to fill my kids' time wisely. Help me to guide them into activities that will not only occupy their time but also their minds. Amen.
Lord, help them not to care about popularity.
As kids move into their teen years, kids listen less to their parents and rely more on their friends to help them through life's trials. When this occurs, it is easy to fall into the dangerous trap of finding within how many friends you have made. The trap of popularity can be hard to break free from, especially if they are popular because of the clothes they wear or how much money they have. Teach them early on to get their worth from who their father ism rather than how many friends surround them. Pray this:
Lord, help me to learn my worth in you so I can teach my kids to do the same. Allow them to choose friends with good moral foundations, so they don't fall into the false trap of popularity (or conversely, unpopularity.) Amen.
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Safety Prayers For Kids: Lord, help them to be a good witness.
Not only should your kids surround themselves with good company, but they also should be a good witness. Allowing them to take the summer off when it comes to their spiritual and church life is dangerous because it can lead them down a road to not return later in life because it's not viewed as a priority. Being a Christian doesn't mean there are times we can take time off from demonstrating his power in our lives. Help them know the true source of safety and security and life and enable them to boldly proclaim it for his glory. Pray this:
Lord, give my kids the boldness to proclaim your presence in their lives for your glory, despite the persecution or alienation they may endure as a result. Help them to know you as their only true source of safety and security no matter how difficult life can get. Amen.
While having kids home for the summer may strike fear in some parents while others breathe a sigh of relief, summer can be a time of bonding and closeness for a family instead of an opportunity to take time off from spirituality. Parents need to pray for their kids as much for the summer as they do all year round. The most important prayers are the ones to keep your kids safe. By praying the above prayers you can safeguard your kids' hearts, and give you the peace of mind you need to enjoy your summer.
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