Recently I was browsing Instagram when I saw a post about guarding your children spiritually. They had a long list detailing how to pray for protection, how to anoint parts of your home with oil, and how to cancel assignments of the devil, among other things. As someone who used to believe in doing some of these things, for a moment the laundry list of what you need to do to obtain spiritual protection had me feeling overwhelmed.
If you believe that you really need to be doing all these things, I think overwhelm is a natural feeling. How are you supposed to guard your children from being attacked spiritually? Is there something you should be doing that you’re not doing, or a better prayer you could be praying?
The problem with believing you need to do all of these things is that you are taking on a fight that actually belongs to God. He is the one who can protect your kids from harm on all sides. Rather than dousing your home in anointing oil, I think we as parents need a return to simplicity. Focus on two things: praying simple, faith-filled prayers for your children, and being vigilant about helping guard their hearts and minds against wrong thinking.
When praying for our children’s spiritual protection, we need simple, faith-filled prayers that align with the will of God.
There are so many things you could pray over your children, but I think we need to remember that simple prayers are powerful.
The power of a prayer comes from the one answering us, not the eloquence of our words. Jesus himself told us that when we pray, we don’t need to worry about saying too much. Rather, we ought to pray simply, realizing that God already knows our needs.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'” – Matthew 6:7-13 NIV
Ultimately, the power to answer prayer comes from God and who he is, not us and how knowledgeable we are. But one thing worth noting is that we do need to have faith in God for our prayers to be effective. If we don’t believe God will answer us, we need to ask him for help in growing our faith.
“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”” – Matthew 21:21-22 NIV
No matter how much faith you have, if you pray for something that isn’t God’s will, it won’t come to pass. We need to learn to pray in alignment with God and his will.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” – 1 John 5:14 NIV
Sometimes when we are praying for God’s protection over our children, we want to see them safe, healthy, and at peace. What does it mean when something bad happens to them? What happens when they fall ill, get hurt, or worse? We have to be able to trust that while we are looking out for this lifetime, God can see what is best for their eternal well-being.
Sometimes, the bad things he allows in our lives actually are meant to draw us or our children closer to him. We may not always see it in this lifetime, but I believe that in eternity, we will understand what he was doing. So if God allows something to happen that you weren’t expecting or hoping for, trust that he is still watching out for the best.
Rather than trying to cancel assignments of the devil or figure out every attack, try a simpler approach. Guarding your kids’ hearts and ensuring their spiritual protection comes down to their relationships, the media they consume, and their thought lives.
Be vigilant about knowing who and what is influencing your child. Watch out for the relationships they are forming at school, church, or elsewhere. Don’t allow relationships to form that you know could be detrimental, and don’t be passive about protecting them in this area.
Watch out for the media your children are consuming. Don’t allow them to watch just anything, and make sure you are aware of what they are taking in. Avoid giving them unsupervised time with tablets, computers, or tv. Don’t allow an opportunity for something perverse to make its way in. So many problems can present themselves when you don’t watch over their media consumption – this includes books, tv, computer, and smart phones.
Ask your children questions, and be concerned about what kind of inner world they are forming. Do you have reason to believe your child is struggling with thoughts that are contrary to God’s word? Keep an open dialog with them about their thought life, and make them aware of the power of their thoughts.
Don’t leave this area up to chance, because this is where the enemy can really start to form strongholds in their life. You can’t totally control what they think about. However, if you talk to them openly about the potential pitfalls of unhealthy thoughts, they will be more likely to open up to you about a struggle they are experiencing.
Ultimately, it’s up to God to protect your children. You can only control how you raise them, but it’s up to your children to choose the ways of the Lord on their own. If you follow this advice, you will give them a solid foundation in Christ, but leave the results up to God. Trust that he has more power to protect them than you do, and have faith in his ultimate plan for your children.
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