For children · Prayers

Five short prayers to pray with a child

These are written to be read out loud, by you, with a child in the room — short enough that a small child does not lose the thread, plain enough that they could borrow the words next week. Change the names. Cut anything that does not fit your house. If the child wants to say a line after you, let them; repeating an adult's prayer is how almost everyone learned.

At the door, before school

God, we are about to start the day. Thank you for this morning and for ______. Go with them into the classroom, the playground and the bus. When something today is hard, remind them that you are right there. Help them be kind, and help someone be kind to them. Amen.

Then, if you can, put a hand on their shoulder and say their name with one true sentence: “______, God is with you today.” The old blessing in Numbers, the one that asks God to bless and to keep, is the pattern; you are simply saying it in your own words, to this particular child, at this particular door.

‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
Numbers 6:24-26, BSB

When a child is afraid

God, ______ is scared. I am not going to tell them it is silly, because it is not silly to them. You said that you are with us and that you hold us up, so we are holding you to that this morning. Please be close in the exact place the fear is. Give ______ enough courage for the next hour, and then the hour after that. Amen.

Say it slowly. Fear makes a child's world small and fast, and an unhurried voice does half the work. If the fear is about something serious in the family, keep the prayer honest and short rather than reassuring and long — children can tell the difference, and a promise you cannot keep costs more than the comfort it buys.

And a prayer is not treatment. If a child's fear is constant, or it is taking their sleep or their appetite, talk to a doctor or another qualified professional as well.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10, BSB

At bedtime

Lord, the day is over. Thank you for the good parts of it — ______ and ______. The parts that went wrong, we hand to you and we are not going to carry them into the night. Let ______ sleep safely and wake up glad. Amen.

The psalm about lying down and sleeping in peace is one of the few verses a child can hold entirely, and bedtime is the moment it means the most. If mornings in your house are impossible — shift work, a long commute, a baby, three schools — this is a perfectly good place for the whole rhythm to live instead.

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Salmo 4:8, BSB

When something at home is changing or hard

God, things are different right now, and ______ knows it. We are not pretending everything is fine. You said we can bring anything to you instead of carrying it around, so here it is: ______. Please give this house a kind of peace we cannot make ourselves. Keep ______ safe, and let them know they are loved by more than one person. Amen.

Words a child can use, if they want a turn — say them first and let them fill the blank:

God, I don't like that ______. Please help.
God, please take care of ______.
God, thank you for the people who take care of me.
God, I feel ______ today. Amen.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7, BSB

For you to pray alone, over a sleeping child

Father, thank you for this child. I did not earn them and I cannot guarantee anything about their life. Scripture calls children a gift, and tonight I am taking that at face value. Where I got it wrong today — the sharp voice, the not listening, the phone — forgive me, and let it not be the loudest thing they remember. Grow them into someone who knows they are loved. Keep them long after I cannot. Amen.

Pray this one on the days you feel least qualified, and especially if you are doing this alone, or came to this child part-way through their life. The prayer does not depend on your performance, which is most of why it is worth saying.

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Salmo 127:3, BSB

A prayer with a child does not need to be good. It needs to be short, honest and repeated until they can say it without you.

Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible. Public domain (CC0)

In this category: For children