Take 14 days to pray for the kids and young people in your church. Daily topics, verses, and sample prayers. Plus a free printable prayer challenge guide.

If we don’t pray, we lose.

But let’s be honest here, I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels guilty sometimes for not praying for my own kids enough. So the idea of committing to pray for other people’s kids is nice, but it’s not something I’ve ever considered committing to long term.

Until recently. We attend a small church, and the people in my church are like family in many ways. My heart began to hurt at the thought of the world and its deception getting a hold on the kids and young people that I have watched grow up.

Statistics say that somewhere around two-thirds of young people who are involved with youth groups will leave the church within two years of graduation. Two-thirds! That should not only make us sad, it should spur us to action.

How to pray for kids

Take 14 days to pray over the kids in your life. Certainly your own children, but also friends, neighbors, family members, and of course…your church family. It will take only minutes a day. There are lots of ways you can personalize this prayer challenge. Here are some ideas:

Pray on your own or together with your small group or Bible study group.
Share with your church and challenge members to pray.
Print out the challenge and keep it somewhere to remind you to pray (find the link to print at the bottom of the post)
Commit to fasting one day each week during the prayer challenge.
Tell the kids in your life that you are praying for them.
Drop a note to encourage a young person.
Look up the Bible verses referenced each day.
Find other verses that speak to each day’s topic to study.
Use the sample prayers, or take the daily suggestion and personalize it for the young people in your circle of influence.
Ask God to bring individual kids to mind that you can pray specifically for.

14 Day Prayer Challenge

Day 1 – Pray for their salvation

Great God, your word says that salvation is found in no other name but Jesus. I pray today that you would bring the young people in our church to a saving relationship with you through your son, Jesus. May they not be among those who shrink back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved. (Acts 4:12, Hebrews 10:39)

Day 2 – Pray for a love for God’s word

Lord, please work in the hearts and minds of our youth to develop a love for your word. Open their eyes, that they would see wonderful things, and that it would be more valuable to them than anything else. Help us as adults in their lives to model what it means to value Scripture above all, to trust it above any other voice or worldly wisdom. Bring verses to mind to teach, encourage, and convict at just the right time. (Psalm 119: 18, 72, 97)

Day 3 – Pray for a servant’s heart

May our kids learn not only to be willing to serve, but to seek opportunities to do so. I pray that they would serve others wholeheartedly, as if serving the Lord, not people. Develop a work ethic in them that others notice, that they might represent Jesus as they follow his model of service. (Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3:23, Mark 10:45)

Day 4 – Pray for joy

Father, I pray that these young people would be filled with all joy and peace as they trust in you. May joy overflow into praise that they would worship you with their whole heart. Protect them from depression and from trusting the world’s definition of what brings true joy. (Romans 15:13, Psalm 28:7, Galatians 5:22)

Day 5 – Pray for generosity

Lord, please work in our kids to develop generous hearts. May they always be willing to give and experience the blessings of your promise that those who sow generously will also reap generously. Teach them to view everything they have as yours, that they might become good stewards of what you’ve blessed them with. (1 Timothy 6:18, 2 Corinthians 9:6)

Day 6 – Pray for hope

Oh God, we live in a world that can convince us that there is no hope. May our young people never believe it. Protect them from hopelessness. Help them to know in the core of their being that even when they can’t see you, you see them and that you are faithful. I pray that they would overflow with hope by the power of your Holy Spirit in them. (Romans 15:13, Job 23:8-10, Hebrews 10:23)

Day 7 – Pray for prayerfulness

May our children’s lives be marked by prayerfulness. Father, I pray that they would be devoted to prayer, that they would crave it. I pray that they would see that it is prayer, and the connection with you-the God of the universe- that enables them to stand firm. In every situation, may prayer be their first reaction, not a last resort. (Ephesians 6:14, Colossians 4:2, Philippians 4:6)

Day 8 – Pray for humility

Humility doesn’t come naturally to any of us, we know that, Lord. But we know that with humility comes wisdom and we pray that for our kids. May these young people be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And may they learn to submit themselves to authority with Christlike humility. (Proverbs 11:2, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 5:5)

Day 9 – Pray for purity

Perfect Father, I ask you to create pure hearts in the young people I am lifting to you. May they shine like stars in a warped and crooked generation as they fill their minds with thoughts that are pure and noble and lovely. I pray that they would flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (Psalm 51:10, Philippians 2:15, 4:8, 2 Timothy 2:22)

Day 10 – Pray for a Biblically based self-esteem

Lord, help our kids to see themselves as you see them. Develop in them a confidence that they are your workmanship, your masterpiece, created with a purpose and for good. May they feel secure in knowing that they are your children, and come to understand the depth of your love for them. (Ephesians 2:10, 1 John 3:1)

Day 11 – Pray for grace and truth

Holy God, you sent Jesus full of grace and truth and that is what we seek as well. Help our young people to love truth, to seek it, and so be saved. Protect them from being deceived by lies. May they also come to understand the grace they’ve received from you and be changed by it. Teach them to be compassionate and extend grace to others. (John 1:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 15:10)

Day 12 – Pray for wisdom and tact

Father I pray that our kids would grow in wisdom just as Jesus did. I pray that they would seek after it, pursue it with all that is within them. Please keep them from being rude or abrasive. Instead, may they be known to speak with both wisdom and tact. (Luke 2:52, Daniel 2:14, Proverbs 4:7)

Day 13 – Pray for love

Lord, it is my prayer that the kids I’m lifting to you would live lives marked by love. May their love be evident to all, demonstrated with action. With kindness and compassion, may they always represent your heart towards others. (1 John 3:18, John 13:35, Ephesians 4:32)

Day 14 – Pray for courage

Great God, may our young people always walk in full assurance of your mighty strength and presence. May it give them courage to be strong themselves, and to walk in power, love and self-discipline. When they are afraid, may they trust in you. I pray that they would stand firm in the knowledge that you will never leave nor forsake them. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 56:3)

Keep Praying

Now that you’ve prayed for the young people in your circle of influence for two weeks, why not start back at Day 1 and keep this prayer challenge going? Your prayers could make all the difference for someone.

Be sure to also visit https://thesparrowshome.com

Print the 14 Day Prayer Challenge here: