A Unique Opportunity: Praying for the Adult Children in Your Life

I stood and watched as my adult children drove away, my heart whispering silent prayers on their behalf. I prayed continually while they were gone – for protection, for wisdom, for traveling grace. And when they returned home several days later, I hugged them tighter than I had in a long while. Then I uttered prayers of thankfulness for their safe return.

How did my little boys grow up so quickly? It seems they’ve sprinted through each phase – from babies to toddlers to children to teens and, finally, to men. All in little more than the blink of an eye. I look back on those years of child rearing and I’m amazed by the speed of it all. How can three of my children be grown, with the fourth trailing close behind and the “baby” already sporting double digits? My heart struggles to grasp such reality even as my mind concludes it is so.

I remember the worry I experienced as a young mom. Sitting up until all hours of the night with a sick child, praying it was nothing serious. Crying when my child’s heart was broken, knowing there was nothing I could do to fix it. Greatly burdened when I had done all I could to protect them, and it wasn’t enough.

I remember thinking, “If I can just get them grown, I won’t worry so much.” I was wrong.

When your adult children go off to college, join the military, enter into relationships, get married, have children of their own, or simply drive 500 miles to vacation without you, there is still much concern. No matter their age, they’re still your children. Still deeply loved. Still – maybe more than ever – in need of protection and guidance and prayer.
And that’s where we, as parents, come in.

PRAYER: A LIFELINE

As a mother of young children, prayer became my lifeline. Learning to carry my worries to God was paramount in navigating those growing up years. I wish I could say I’ve figured out how to lay my worries down and leave them – permanently – at His feet. But even today with enough parenting to have raised three children so far, this praying-instead-of-worrying process is one I’ve not fully mastered.

And now that some of my kids are grown? Prayer – and learning to trust the One to whom I’ve been praying all these years – remains my lifeline. It’s the best way I know to love my kids – those who’ve left the nest and those who remain under my wings.

PRAYER: CARRYING OUR ADULT CHILDREN TO GOD

Though I can no longer pick up my big kids and transport them to safety, I can carry them to God every day in prayer. And though my prayers for them won’t guarantee physical safety at every turn, it gives me peace knowing they are never alone. God is always with them, guiding and protecting them in ways I cannot – in ways I never could despite all my years of trying.

PRAYER: INTERCEDING FOR OUR ADULT CHILDREN

Moms, we’ve been afforded a unique opportunity. To know our children as we do. Their strengths and weaknesses. Their wins and losses. Their hopes and dreams. To advocate for them. To intercede in prayer for them. To lead them to the loving, out-stretched arms of Jesus. Telling them of His love. Teaching them of His judgment. Showing them the way to Christ by living it out before them.

Praying they will choose to also love and live for Him. Today, tomorrow, and all the days after. There is no greater blessing than to see our children walking with God.

This is the absolute, most important prayer we’ll ever speak over our children. When it comes time for them to release our hands, may they already have a firm grip on His. And when they begin to choose their own way, may they choose wisely the path that keeps them in the safety of His arms.

***

For more articles on navigating life with adult children, check out this link: https://focusonthefamily.com/parenting/bless-your-grown-children/