Father God,
We sing praise to your name and extol you, whose name is the Lord. You are a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows; you are always reigning from your holy dwelling. You love all your children, but have a special place in your heart for the young people among us. “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in your sight,” isn’t just a cute kids’ song, but an expression of how much you love us – so much that you gave Jesus to die for our sins. Thank you for the gift of love and life that you offer to each of us. Today we come to you to intercede for our children in this nation. Many, many children are hurting because their families are hurting, maybe from issues before the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns, but others because of the massive changes in their lives in this season. We pray for families and children who are hurting. We pray for children who have lost support and relationships. We pray for those whose home situations are such that school is a reprieve and a blessing for them. We pray for those whose mental health and educational progress have suffered so greatly that they have lost years of their futures. We pray for those that are wrestling with drugs, alcohol, other addictions, despair, loneliness, and even suicide. In Jesus’s name we bind the spirits of addiction, hopelessness, and suicide that seek to snuff out our children and cause pain and grief to their families and communities. You will not have our children! We claim them for Christ! Lord, we pray for your deliverance from the hands of the wicked, evil, and cruel. You have been their teacher, hope and confidence, their Sovereign Lord, and now we ask you to be their Deliverer, as you were to the children of Egypt who had been in slavery. Deliver them from sin, fear, gender confusion, drugs, a death culture, immorality, the wounds of fatherlessness, and deception caused by humanistic ideologies. We beg you to pour out a spirit of revival on our children. May all schools be on fire with revival – grade schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities – and may signs and wonders take place in their schools, on their campuses, and in their dorms. Even if unrighteousness in government and educational systems tries to hinder and even stop this, we pray that you will block the moves of the enemy and pour out your Spirit upon our children. Free them of the guilt of the sins of their youth so they may set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. By the power of your Spirit, Love, and Purpose, may our children become heroes, world changers, and the greatest generation of revivalists and reformers the world has ever seen. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray, AMEN and AMEN.
“Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds;
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” (Psalm 68:4-6 NIV)
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14 NIV)
“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.” (Isaiah 43:4 NIV)
“Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.” (Psalm 71:4-6, 16-17 NIV)
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV)
“Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.” (Psalm 25:7 NIV)
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 NIV)
“Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30 NIV)
h/t https://www.givehim15.com/post/january-26-2021
(adapted from a post originally published February 10, 2021)