5 Things To Pray For Your Kids (Review)

"Kruger takes today’s sin seriously because she knows that a temptation to throw a tantrum today could give way to the temptations of 'materialism or sexual immorality' later."

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​Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Do you pray for your children? If you don’t have any children of your own, do you pray for the children in your life? Do you end up saying the same old things every time: “Lord, please save their souls and help them live for your glory.”? If so, you’re not alone. As vast as the Bible is (and as sinful as all children are!), we should have no trouble with variety and earnestness in praying for our children. The reality, though, is that we do struggle. We need help.

In 5 Things To Pray For Your Kids: Prayers That Change Things for the Next Generation, Melissa Kruger models how to pray biblically-specific prayers for our children. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book wasn’t 5 broad principles about praying for our children. That would’ve been great, but Kruger actually gives readers 5 specific prayers within 21 broader categories. For those who struggle with mental math like I do, that’s 105 specific prayers!

The book is formatted so that you can pray through each theme for 5 days a week, pray through all 5 prayers each day for three weeks, or pray topically as situations arise. There is even space to write in names of situations to pray for specifically. This is one of those books that’ll probably have plenty of writing in it!

Each topic is based on a specific scripture passage, such as Matthew 6:6-13. The first prayer in this section urges you to “pray that your child may have a secret prayer life that yields rich reward from God” (p. 44). On the fifth prayer in this section we are reminded that “when children are young, they may be tempted to snatch a toy from a friend or to throw a fit when they don’t get their way...pray today about the temptations they are facing” (p. 45). Kruger takes today’s sin seriously because she knows that a temptation to throw a tantrum today could give way to the temptations of “materialism or sexual immorality” later (p. 45).

If you love the children in your life, pray for them. Plead with God to save their souls and grant them repentance from sin. Along with preaching the gospel to them, prayer is the most important work of parenting you can do on their behalf. 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids is a book that will stay on my desk as a reminder and tool to pray for the souls of my children.