Sample prayer

Lord of Righteousness, righteous are You, Lord, and Your laws are right. The statutes You have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy (Psalm 119:137-138). You are a just ruler and I know that someday You will come and judge the world in righteousness (Psalm 98:9). Thank you for sacrificing Your Son, Jesus, so that in Him I can become “the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). His Spirit living in me means I can experience the joy of living free from the control of my sinful nature – thank you! (Romans 8:9-11).

Choosing righteousness means making a decision to live to honour You instead of ourselves. I pray that each family member in our home will choose to follow You. According to 2 Peter 3:9, it is not Your will for anyone to choose the way of death and perish. Based on this promise, I ask that You will send Your Holy Spirit to meet with my children’s spirits and draw them to Yourself daily until they willingly turn over control of their lives to You.

Please forgive me for the many times I have disregarded Your commands and given in to temptation, allowing my sinful nature to reign in anger, self-pity, jealousy or ________ (list any tendency to sin). My heart’s desire is to live to honour You, according to Your Word. Please teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 143:10).

In our permissive culture, I think of all the slippery slopes that my children will have to negotiate. There will be obvious temptations: addicting and mind-altering substances, pre-marital sexual encounters and other compromises of integrity, but ________ and ________ will also experience more subtle forms of Satan’s seduction. They may be enticed to disregard parental instructions, tell white lies, over-indulge in pleasures, or feed a sinful thought life. On a daily basis they will be faced with the challenge of saying no to their sinful human nature. When they are tempted to sin, please remind them that You offer a way out and that You do not allow them to be tempted beyond that which they can handle. Please give them the ability to recall Your Word and the spiritual maturity to rely on You as their “power source” to resist temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). My prayer is that at the end of their lives my children will be able to say, “My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped” (Psalm 17:5).

As a family, our desire is to learn to obey Your commandments and walk according to Your laws; please give us understanding. We ask You to direct us in the path of Your commands and teach us to delight in righteousness (Psalm 119:33-35). Please inspire us and fill us with Your Spirit. Amen.

Scripture-guided prayer for parents

Read and pray through one or more of the selected Scriptures under each heading. Focus on listening to God and allowing His Spirit to direct you as you pray.

Character focus

Begin by honouring God as righteous and holy.

Psalm 71:16-19 | Psalm 89:14-16 | Psalm 97:1-6 | Isaiah 5:16 | Isaiah 45:21-24

Heart search

Acknowledge any areas of temptation in your life.

Proverbs 1:23-33 | Isaiah 5:20-24 | Isaiah 59:14-20 | James 4:1-5 | 1 John 3:7-10

Gratitude

Thank God for the times your family members have chosen righteousness over sin.

Family requests

Ask God to help you and your children depend on Him to help you live righteously.

Psalm 4:6-8 | Psalm 5:11-12 | Psalm 94:18-19 | John 16:24 | Romans 15:13