As moms, we want to protect our children. We want to guide them toward healing, help them make wise choices, and keep them from unnecessary pain. But there are circumstances we cannot fix, decisions we cannot make for them, and places we cannot go with them.
Looking back on my years of raising children without a dad, I can see several ways God’s grace sustained our family. One of the most important was prayer. I prayed for my children, but I was not the only one praying. The body of Christ prayed for them, too. I had men and women, some near and some far away, faithfully bringing my children before the Lord.
I will never forget a group of women from church asking if they could come pray over our home. Of course, I said yes! They formed a circle around our house and prayed. Then they came inside and prayed through every room. They prayed for our home and for my children. Decades later, I am still deeply touched when I remember those women standing in the gap for our family. I believe their prayers made a difference.
That is why prayer becomes one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.
Intercession is entering into a conversation with God on behalf of another person. Bringing someone before the Lord and appealing to His character, mercy, wisdom, and power. One of the most powerful examples of intercession in Scripture is found in Genesis 18. By this point, Abraham had already spent years walking with God and learning to trust Him. He had followed God to an unknown land (Genesis 12:1–4), waited years for the son God had promised (Genesis 15:1–6), and experienced the consequences of trying to accomplish God’s plan in his own way (Genesis 16:1–6). He had also heard God reaffirm His covenant and promise that Sarah would bear a son (Genesis 17:1–21). So when Abraham stood before the Lord and pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah, he was not approaching a stranger. He was interceding with the God he had come to know.
All those experiences prepared Abraham to become an intercessor. Then God revealed what was about to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. “And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” (Genesis 18:17).
What does it mean to intercede?
God invited Abraham into the conversation.
Sometimes intercession begins the same way for us. A need is revealed. We see our child struggling. Someone asks us to pray. A circumstance captures our attention. A name suddenly comes to mind. A burden settles heavily on our hearts. Instead of allowing that concern to immediately become worry, we can allow it to become an invitation to pray.
Sometimes intercession is private
Something significant happens in Genesis 18. When Abraham begins pleading for Sodom, he stands before the Lord (Genesis 18:22). Earlier, Sarah had been involved in preparing food for the visitors who came to their tent (Genesis 18:6–8). But when God revealed the coming judgment of Sodom (Genesis 18:16–21), Abraham remained before Him (Genesis 18:22).
Not every burden needs immediate discussion with our friends and family. Not every concern should be shared. There are times when God may place something on our hearts that He wants us to bring first, or perhaps only, to Him. That is especially important when we are praying for our children.
It can be tempting to process their struggles with others, particularly when we are worried or unsure what to do. But sometimes the safest place for our concerns about our children is alone, before the Lord. There will also be times when we need trusted believers to pray with us, and wisdom helps us know when to invite others to share the burden.
Pray God’s character when you don’t know what to pray
Abraham did not know what God would do, but he knew who God was. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25).
Abraham appealed to God’s character. He knew God was just, merciful, faithful, and good. We can do the same.
When you do not know how to pray for your child, pray what you know to be true about God:
Lord, You are faithful.
You are wise.
You are merciful.
You are my defender.
You are a Father to the fatherless.
You love my child even more than I do.
Our confidence is not in knowing the outcome. Our confidence is in knowing God.
Don’t give up in prayer
Abraham continued asking. What if there were fifty righteous people in the city? What about forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten (Genesis 18:24–32)? His persistence was not an attempt to pressure God into doing what Abraham wanted. Persistence in prayer is not demanding our desired outcome. It is continuing to depend on God while surrendering the outcome to Him.
Jesus taught this same principle through the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18. He told the parable to teach His disciples “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Mom, don’t give up.
Maybe your child is making choices that concern you. Maybe your child is hurting, and you cannot take away the pain. Maybe you have prayed the same prayer for years and see little evidence of change. Keep praying.
Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated
Sometimes we make prayer more complicated than it needs to be. Prayer is a conversation with God, which means intercession can happen throughout the ordinary moments of our day.
Lord, help my daughter today.
Father, give my son wisdom.
Protect my grandchildren.
Help my child choose godly friends.
Holy Spirit, help me know what to do.
Our prayers do not always have to be long or eloquent. Sometimes the most meaningful prayers are the cries to God offered while driving, washing dishes, walking through the grocery store, or lying awake at night. God hears them all.
Pray for your children by name
My dad taught me something about prayer that continues to impact my life. He lived in another state, but when I visited him, I would hear him pray for his grandchildren—my children—by name. His example touched me so deeply that I began doing the same. Today, I pray for my children and grandchildren by name.
Don’t wait to begin. Call your children’s names before the Lord. Pray specifically for their salvation, wisdom, friendships, protection, character, purity, future spouses, calling, purpose, and healing. Pray Scripture over their lives. When they face a particular need, find a passage that speaks to that need and pray God’s word for them. You may also want to keep a prayer journal where you record your requests and, over time, God’s answers.
Intercession Eventually Leads to Surrender
There came a point when Abraham stopped asking (Genesis 18:33). Scripture does not tell us why he stopped at ten righteous people. Perhaps he believed ten would surely be found. Perhaps he had said all there was to say. Or perhaps he reached the place every intercessor must eventually reach: surrender. Abraham had brought the need before God. Now he had to trust Him with the outcome.
And then we learn that God answered Abraham’s prayer: “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow” (Genesis 19:29).
God remembered Abraham.
Lot was rescued. Abraham’s prayers mattered.
We may never fully understand how God answers our prayers. We may not see the answer immediately—or perhaps even in our lifetime. But we can trust that God hears. There will be times when we need others to help carry the burden in prayer. There will be other times when the intercession is private, just between God and us. And even then, we are not praying alone. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and Jesus Himself also intercedes on our behalf.
The God who remembered Abraham remembers you. The God who rescued Lot is still at work today. And the God who hears your prayers loves your children even more than you do.
“My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2 NIV).
