The prayers spoken by the parent of a young child are unique to that time in life. We pray for them to have friends at preschool, to hit important development milestones, and to share their toys with their siblings. We might even imagine that this physically exhausting time is going to be the most challenging of their lives. But what about praying for adult children?
The importance of Praying for Adult Children
In speaking with other parents, we agree that being the parent of an adult child can be even more stressful than those days spent running after little ones. As our kids’ problems grow more complex, our authority in their lives is often waning. It is important that we continue praying for adult children as they tackle adult-sized problems.
James 5:16 tells us, “Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”
This verse reminds us that our prayers can make a difference. God hears us, and answers these prayers according to His will.
Parents of adult children have also remarked that praying for adult children helps them to trust God with their children instead of worrying about them. It helps them grow in their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It is better to grow in trust in God instead of accumulating a mountain of worry!
Prayers for Adult Children
Praying for adult children can simply be a conversation between you and God about what is on your heart for your child. I’ve found that sometimes I am so burdened about something that I need a place to start my prayers. These short prayers for adult children can be your inspiration or starting point to begin praying for them. Each prayer is inspired by a Scripture verse, since praying Scripture can help us pray what God wants for our children.
Prayer to trust our adult children to God
As parents, we feel like we can control at least some of what our little children encounter. As they grow, there are so many circumstances beyond our reach. The wonderful truth is, nothing is beyond God’s reach. Use this prayer to help you trust them to God.
Dear Lord,
We come to You today, asking You to help us to trust You with our children. You know the number of hairs on their heads. You know their hearts. You know their future. It is so tempting to rely on our own wisdom and plans for them. We commit them to You and ask for Your perfect will for them.
Psalm 20:7 KJV tells us, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” May we trust and hope in You for our adult children. Give us the wisdom to know when to be involved and when to step back. Thank You that we can trust You with them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer to protect our adult children
As our kids grow up, they go from taking a solo bicycle ride to driving a car across town by themselves in the blink of an eye. We can’t always be there to protect them physically, and also emotionally. As our children live their adult lives, we can trust God with their lives.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for all the ways that you have protected our children in the past in ways we’ve seen and other ways that have been invisible to us. Psalm 91:11 says that “For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.” We pray, Father, that You will protect our children as they go about each day.
We thank you that nothing is out of your control. We pray that you will guard our children’s safety physically as well as emotionally and spiritually.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer for a struggling son or daughter
No matter how old our children are, it is difficult to see them struggle. This is often the reason parents are praying for adult children, as they see them struggle with something that is beyond their control. This prayer can help us trust God with the situation.
Dear Lord,
Even though Your Word says in Romans 5:3 that suffering produces endurance, we don’t want our own children to face difficult circumstances that they had no control over, or have sometimes contributed to. Whatever the reason, we pray that You would strengthen them as they face this challenge.
Help them to turn to You for their strength, wisdom, and provision. Help them to know that “all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose,” as we see in Romans 8:28. Thank You for being strong in their weaknesses.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer for a son or daughter’s future
Many parents worry over what is going to happen next in their children’s lives. If we indeed were able to look into the future, I think it would be crushing knowing how much we had to face. But I also propose that it would be amazing to see how God provides in each situation. Instead of wondering and worrying about the future, we can be spending our mental energy on praying for our adult children.
Dear Lord,
“Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?” Jesus said that in Matthew 6:27, and we ask You, Lord, to remind us of this each day. Help us not to fret over the future for ourselves or our children, but to do each day what You have purposed.
We pray that our children will honor You today, and in the days to come. We pray that they will draw closer to You each day and enjoy fellowship with You. Please help them to feel Your presence each day, and to rely on You. Thank You for loving our children so much that You died for them on the cross. Thank You for being so powerful that You conquered death. May they know You and Your perfect love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer to bless your adult children
When kids are little, parents don’t spend time dreaming of their children failing, right? Parents want their children to succeed and be happy. Seeing your child struggle at a job or with a relationship is hard. This prayer to bless adult children can inspire your own prayer of blessing over your adult child.
Dear Lord,
As parents, we want you to bless our child with good things, and we ask that. Yet we ultimately ask that You help our child to be in the center of Your will, to love You and know You better each day.
Your Word in Numbers 6:24-26 inspires us to pray. May You bless my child, and guard my child. May Your face shine upon my child! Please be gracious to my child. May You lift up your face on my child. Please give my child peace.
Thank You for loving my child. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You can watch the prayers in video form here:
For further study: Resources for Praying for Adult Children
It can be helpful to have books and websites to encourage you as you are praying for adult children. Here are a few on my list.
Resources for praying for your adult children
One of my favorite prayer resources will always be Moms in Prayer. This group brings moms and grandmas together to pray Scripture for their children. Of their books, I would recommend starting with Mom’s Little Book of Powerful Prayers by Fern Nichols.
I also like Jodie Berndt’s books on praying for your children, including Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children: Trusting God with the Ones You Love.
The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children Book of Prayers by Stormie Omartian is another book with prayers for adult children.
Additionally, I’d like to check out Mary DeMuth’s Love, Pray, Listen, which describes itself as “the gracious, practical resource you need for navigating the rocky terrain of parenting grown-ups.”
Prayer Cards for Praying for Adult Children
It can be helpful to have printed versions of these prayers tucked in your Bible or in a notebook. The same prayers as listed in this post are in a product in the Hope Filled Faith Etsy shop. Take a look here at these cards that can help you with your goal of praying for adult children.
Even if you haven’t prayed much in the past for your children, you can start praying for adult children today! Use these prayers as inspiration, and ask God to show you specific ways to pray for your adult child.
Praying for your child of any age can put your heart at peace as you wait for God to answer these prayers. God, in His infinite and perfect love, loves your adult child even more than you do! Bring Him your concerns for your adult children in prayer today.
If you liked reading Praying for Adult Children, you may also want to read 5 Short Prayers for Moms and Back to School Prayers.
