When Scott (our son) and his wife, Jennifer, were pregnant with their first child (Anna Kate), we were visiting with our dear friends, Boone and Peggy Powell, while volunteering together at Young Life’s Crooked Creek Ranch out in the Rocky Mountains. One morning, over coffee, Peggy asked me, “Do you pray for that unborn grandchild?” I was embarrassed to have to tell her, “No.” In fact, to my shame, I had not even thought about it.
So, Peggy gave Barb and me a list of prayers we could lift up on a daily basis for Anna Kate. Subsequently, I prayed the same for Scott and Jennifer’s second child, Sarah Elizabeth. Here are the prayers Peggy suggested and I hope you’ll be able to use them as you pray for any unborn children that the Lord brings into your life:

• Thank you, Lord, that You are forming my grandbaby’s inward parts; that You, O God, are knitting my grandbaby together in ________________________’s (Mom’s name) womb. (From Pslams 139:13,14)
• I give thanks to You, Creator God, for You are fearfully and wonderfully making this precious child. (From Proverbs 24:3,4)
• I pray that the parents of this grandbaby, ___________________ and __________________, will build their home by Your wisdom, establish it with understanding and by knowledge fill all the rooms with precious and pleasant riches as they prepare for the birth of this little one. (From Colossians 2:6)
• I trust, Dear Lord, that You will early bring this child to faith, that as he/she receives Christ Jesus, so may this child walk in Him. (From Deuteronomy 6:5)
• How I pray, Lord, that our grandchild will love you, the Lord God, with all his/her heart and with all his/her soul and with all his/her might. (From Proverbs 1)

Here are some prayers that I utilize in praying for our grandchildren now that they are born (but, could certainly be offered before birth):

• I fervently pray that ___________ will be wise.
• Loving Lord, I pray that ____________ will enjoy Bible stories in these early years, (Psalm 119:36) and will want to hide Your word in _____________’s heart. (From Psalm 119:11)
• Please, Father, prompt ___________’s parents to model before _____________ a love for reading Your word and for praying. (From 2 Timothy 1:5)
• I pray that ________________ will gladly and promptly obey (his/her) parents. (From Ephesians 6:1)
• And may ______________ early, O God, come to know Christ as (his/her) own Lord and Savior. (From 2 Timothy 3:15)

Here are some prayer resources that may be helpful for children ages 7 and under:

• What Happens When Children Pray, by Evelyn Christenson, Chariot Victor Publishing. Beautifully illustrated examples to help children learn biblical principles of praying. A bible memory verse accompanies each short principle.
• I Want to Know about Prayer by Rick Osborne and Christie Bowler, Zondervan Publishing. Practical basisc of biblical teaching on prayer is applied in current culture situations. Answers a lot of “why” as well as ” how”.
• Teaching Children to Pray, by Mary J. Davis, Rainbow Publishers. This is actually a set of four books beginning with 2 & 3 year olds and going to grades 3 & 4. The prayer activities have reproducible art and short memory verses with each lesson.