1. Pray that God would do the saving work of regeneration.
Salvation belongs to the Lord. God reconciles sinners to Himself. God alone removes the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. God saves sinners by His grace and not by works of the Law. May we earnestly pray for our dearest children to be recipients of the unmerited and undeserved mercy of God in Christ. Be like Paul whose earnest prayer to God was for Israel’s salvation. He prayed and begged and petitioned God to save his beloved people — Israel. So may it be with parents to continually, regularly, daily, relentlessly and believingly pray that God would do the sovereign and saving work of regeneration in each of our children’s hearts.
2. Pray that God would deliver them from the damning lusts of this world.
The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life are not from God but from the world. Indeed, if anyone follows the lusts of the world then the love of the Father is not in him. The world passes away along with its many lusts but the one who does the will of God lives forever. May we passionately beg God to deliver our precious children from the lusts of the world. And they are damning lusts at that since the Scriptures reveal that those who live lives habitually engaging in such lusts will be damned forever. Pray that God may mercifully deliver your children from engaging in, delighting in, and practicing the damning lusts of this world.
3. Pray that God would create an affectionate love in their hearts for the Savior.
Though a believer has not seen Jesus Christ, he loves Him; and though he does not see Christ now, he believes in Him & rejoices greatly with joy inexpressible. True love for Christ is only something that God begets in the heart and soul of His elect. Pray that God would produce in the heart of your child a most affectionate, a most enduring, and a faith validating love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Pray that God would remind you to evangelize them repeatedly.
Moses commanded the fathers of Israel to teach the Word of God to their children constantly. At all times of the day, they were to set the truths of God upon the hearts of their children — whether they sit, rise, walk, or lie down. At all courses of the day, God’s glorious truth should be brought to bear. Parents must train up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. It is the Lord’s ways and His works that must be emphasized repeatedly when the parents instruct, discipline, warn, counsel, and disciple their children.
5. Pray that God would stir a heartfelt desire to follow, obey & surrender to Christ's Lordship.
Jesus said that whoever does not take up his cross and follow Him is not worthy of Him. To the men who would become His apostles he commanded: “follow me.” Let parents pray that God may stir up the heartfelt (inward, worshipful) desire to follow Christ, to obey Christ, to surrender to Christ’s Lordship over their lives. Truly, no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. So this inward passion to affirm and hail Christ’s Lordship over one’s life is ultimately a working of God the Holy Spirit in the heart of the person. No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Let all parents remember that following Christ is an inner, heartfelt attitude that shows itself to be valid and genuine over the course of time. It is not decisionism or a sinner’s prayer that saves but a commitment to follow Christ as Savior and Lord that results in a life of following hard after Him.
6. Pray that God would protect them from Pharisaical hypocrisy & legalism.
Some of the most scathing words in all of Scripture are spoken by our Lord against some of the religious elite of the day. Just as the Pharisees said things and told people to do things but yet they themselves would not perform those works so let us pray that our children would be saved from the hypocritical hearts of the Pharisees. The Pharisees carefully cleaned the outside of the bowl but yet the inside was full of robbery and self-indulgence. Let all parents remember that outward religiosity does not guarantee inward spirituality. Outward religion does not necessarily prove heart regeneration. Though regeneration and inward spirituality must always evidence itself in a life of holiness and good deeds, the morals and outward deeds does not prove that one’s heart has been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. May our children not sound trumpets before they do good works. May they not stand and pray long prayers just to be seen by men. May they not pay lip service to God while their hearts are far from God. Pray that God may mercifully protect your children from this.
7. Pray that God would mercifully deliver their soul from hellfire.
May it never become a reality that our children live under our watchcare, die physically, and end up in hell and attempt to make the excuse that they never heard of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ from their parents. We cannot save them. We cannot redeem them. We cannot reconcile them to God. We can only pray that God in His infinite mercy and saving grace would draw the wicked hearts of our children to Himself in saving faith. One way that this may happen is through the evangelistic influence of parents who faithfully, daily, and biblically present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children. If our children are going to go to hellfire, at least let them crawl over our bodies and leap and jump over us to hell as we present the glories of Christ’s atonement and the efficacy of His redemption for sinners. Hellfire is the inevitable destination for every person who rejects the one way of salvation that God has provided — namely, faith alone in Christ alone which all comes by grace alone! Pray, parents, pray that God would snatch our children from the plight of their wickedness by washing them and cleansing them in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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