5 Prayers for Children Anxious about Being Home This Summer

1. A Prayer for Present Parents

As mentioned, there are many children who have physically or emotionally absent parents. It could be that many of these parents are at home physically, but they are not emotionally present. In either case, it is not healthy. Children need physically present parents as well as emotionally present parents. In order to have these types of parents, we have to pray for their parents.

While we cannot change their parents, we can pray for their parents to start being present in their lives. Children need their parents, and they need parents who truly care. If parents continue to not care about their children and further the idea that their children are not worth their time, effort, or energy, children can get into many bad habits. If we want to help these children, sometimes the best thing we can do is go to God on their behalf.

“Dear Jesus, there are many children who have absent parents. Please help their parents to become emotionally and physically present in their lives. You created the concept of a family, and every child needs a caring father and mother. Help these children know that You love them and that You are always there for them when their parents are not present with them. You are always good and I know I can trust You to give them comfort. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.”

2. A Prayer for Proper Nutrition & Nourishment

Children often go without proper nutrition and nourishment during the summer months. Sadly, this is often due to absent parents as well. However, there are many children who do not have proper nutrition and nourishment due to living in poverty. Poverty affects more people than we may think, especially with the influx of housing, boarding, and food prices over the course of the past year.

Due to these price increases, many children are not able to get three meals a day. This can be damaging to children because they are still growing. There are many organizations and ministries that help children during the summer months; we would do well to donate canned foods to these programs, but we can also help in the way of prayer. We can do this by praying for these children to receive proper nutrition and nourishment over the summer months.

“Dear God, many children struggle with inadequate nutrition and nourishment during the summer. Various factors can cause this; however, I need you to help them get the nutrients they need. Lead many people to donate to organizations who offer free food for children during the summer months and allow me to help in the capacity that I can. Ensure these children are able to have enough nutrition and nourishment to be healthy over the summer. Thank You, God. Amen.”

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3. A Prayer for Continued Learning

Over the summer, many children’s educational needs are not being met. This can be due to many children not being interested in learning over the summer. It should be noted that most children like to learn, but schools are not making learning very fun. The summer months are a great time to help children become more interested in learning.

This can be accomplished by helping children get involved with reading, science, or history. Sometimes without the pressures of tests, it can help children be more excited to learn. Use this time to pray for children to get interested in learning different topics, as it will help their summer be more enjoyable and educational. If you can, maybe donate books or start a book club with your own children, who can then invite other children in the neighborhood.

“Dear Lord, please help children continue in their learning this summer. Help them to be excited to learn and discover topics that they want to learn more about. Summer doesn’t have to be full of video games and watching television. Instead, it can be a great time to get more excited about learning and enriching their knowledge. Please Jesus, give children across the world the desire to keep learning and growing. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.”

4. A Prayer to Come to Know Jesus

More importantly than anything else, we need to offer up prayers concerning children to come to know Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. Jesus tells us in the Bible to let the little children come to Him and not hinder them because the Kingdom of God belongs to them (Matthew 19:14). We never need to overlook children when it comes to salvation. Many children start becoming interested in Jesus at a young age, and we need to feed into this interest.

Depending on their age, children are sometimes too young to truly believe in Jesus; however, we can still pray for all children to come to a knowledge of the truth. If you are involved in a children’s ministry, you have more opportunities to teach them about Jesus and help them know Him personally. Help them know that Jesus is their best friend and He will be with them always.

“Dear Jesus, help more children to come to know You this summer. While some children are too young to understand the concept of sin and salvation, please help the children who are old enough to come to know You. Use me in any way possible to help children come to know You. I trust You with their lives, Lord, and I know You will call them each by name. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

5. A Prayer to Make New, Kind Friends

Children who are struggling can often fall into the habit of making bad friends. As they get older and become teens, they might even get involved with peers who are violent, do drugs, or engage in underage drinking. We need to help these children now for them not to get into a bad situation in the future (1 Corinthians 15:33). There needs to be an end to teens feeling they have to do drugs, drink alcohol, or be involved in drugs in order to be seen as “cool.”

None of these things are “cool” because they will only lead the person to have a terrible life. A life of excessive alcohol, drugs, and violence will not bring about the life God wants for them. Even though these children are not our own, it doesn’t mean we have to turn a deaf ear to their troubles. We might feel helpless to provide them with physical support, but we do have the power of prayer. The Lord will answer our prayers and give them the help they need.

“Dear Jesus, please help all children make kinder friends this summer. They need good influences in their lives as their present course of life could lead them to many bad friends. Please Lord, by Your power and grace, help them to find new, kinder friends this year, who will help them know what true friendship looks like. If possible, help loving Christians enter their life, who can be mentors, friends, and neighbors of theirs. I ask all of this in Your Name, Amen.”