Lord, Let My Children Know You

There is a prayer that I believe weighs heavily upon the hearts of many Christian parents.

Lord, please let my children come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

As parents, we spend so much of our lives worrying about our children. We worry about their health, their safety, their happiness, and the decisions they’ll make as they grow older. We want to protect them from every danger we possibly can.

But there is one thought that weighs heavier on my heart than all the others.

The thought of one of my children spending eternity in Hell.

I cannot imagine anything more heartbreaking than knowing my child had lived an entire life, experienced everything this world had to offer, and yet never came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

We spend years preparing our children for life in this world. We teach them how to walk, how to work, how to make decisions, and how to care for themselves. We want them to have a good future.

But how much time do we spend preparing them to understand eternity?

Jesus asked:

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Mark 8:36 (KJV)

That question becomes painfully personal when I think about my children.

They could gain everything this world has to offer, and I would still grieve if they never came to know Christ.

I cannot save them myself. I cannot make their decision for them. But I can tell them the truth about salvation, demonstrate the love of Christ, and bring their names before God in prayer.

Lord, please don’t let my children go through life without knowing Your Son. Help me to be a faithful witness to them, and may they come to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

But that they personally know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

John wrote:

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

3 John 1:4 (KJV)

John was expressing his joy concerning those walking in the truth. And as I read those words, I cannot help but think of the joy a parent feels when seeing their own children walking with the Lord.

What greater blessing could I ask for?

I can leave my children an inheritance, but money cannot purchase their salvation.

I can give them a home, but a home cannot guarantee eternal life.

I can teach them right from wrong, but good behavior cannot save their souls.

I can take them to church, open the Bible with them, and tell them about Jesus Christ.

But I cannot believe for them.

I cannot repent for them.

And I cannot make their decision to trust Christ for them.

That is something they must personally come to understand and respond to.

And perhaps that is why a parent’s prayers for their children can become so earnest.

We know how much we love them.

We know how badly we want them to be saved.

And we know that there are things we simply cannot accomplish through our own strength.

So we pray.

We pray that God will open their understanding to His Word.

We pray that they will recognize their need for a Saviour.

We pray that they will hear the Gospel clearly and respond in faith.

We pray that those who have wandered from the Lord will turn back toward Him.

And we pray that our own lives will never become a stumbling block that makes it harder for them to see Christ.

Because our children are watching.

They see how we act when we’re frustrated. They hear how we speak when we’re angry. They notice whether the faith we profess on Sunday is the same faith we live on Monday.

And while no parent will ever demonstrate a perfect Christian life, we can show our children what repentance looks like.

We can apologize when we’re wrong.

We can forgive.

We can pray with them.

We can admit when we don’t understand something and open God’s Word together.

We can show them that following Jesus Christ isn’t merely a religious activity.

It is a life lived in relationship with our Saviour.

Paul wrote:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Romans 10:17 (KJV)

That reminds me of something important.

My responsibility isn’t to pressure my children into giving me the answer I want to hear.

It is to faithfully share God’s Word, explain the Gospel, pray for them, and demonstrate the love of Christ.

And when they are grown, when they begin making decisions I cannot control, I can continue doing something that doesn’t depend on how old they become.

I can pray.

I can keep the door open for conversations about Jesus.

I can love them without pretending that salvation is unimportant.

And I can trust God with what is beyond my control.

Perhaps you’re a parent reading this today, and your children are already walking with the Lord.

Thank God for that blessing. Continue encouraging them and praying for them.

Perhaps your children are still young, and you’re trying to teach them about Jesus.

Keep opening God’s Word with them. Let them ask questions. Help them understand the Gospel.

Or perhaps your children are grown, and you’ve been praying for their salvation for years.

I cannot promise you when or how they will respond. But I can encourage you to keep loving them, keep praying, and remain ready to share the truth of Christ whenever the opportunity comes.

Don’t let your concern turn into despair.

Let it bring you before the Lord.

Because the greatest thing I could ever desire for my children isn’t that they would have everything this world offers.

It’s that they would know the One who offers eternal life.

And tonight, perhaps my prayer is the same as yours.

Lord, I thank You for my children. Thank You for allowing me to be part of their lives. Forgive me for the times I’ve failed to reflect Your love and truth before them. Help me to be a faithful witness, to speak with wisdom, and to love them as I ought.

Above everything else, Lord, I pray that each one will personally come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Let them understand the truth of Your Word and the salvation You offer through Your Son.

And help me to remember that while I cannot make their decisions for them, I can continue bringing their names before You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Here’s the question I want to leave with every Christian parent today:

Am I spending as much time praying for my children’s relationship with Christ as I am worrying about their future in this world?

Until the rain falls again…

Grace and peace,

A Porch Believer