Potent Parent Prayers: Pleading for protection

Have you ever tried to guard one of your children from something dangerous or hurtful, but it happened anyway? That’s pretty much a given. Stuff happens.

I dreaded my first kid’s one-year checkup, and not just for all of the shots I knew they’d be giving her. My hesitancy had more to do with the fact that she’d scraped up both her knees. I was pretty sure the doctor would give me the third degree about why I let my kid get hurt. I wondered if he’d accuse me of poor parental supervision or something even worse.

“I see she must be learning to walk,” he said with a wink, as he patted her scabbed knees.

OK, so he’s seen a few tumbling toddlers in his day. What a relief.

As kids grow up, the dangers seem to grow bigger and scarier.

That’s when Scriptures like today’s passage can speak deeply to a parent’s troubled heart. I like to remind God (although it's not like He's forgotten) of this one in those late-night prayers, when a teen hasn’t yet come home, despite the fact that a giant storm is whirling around outside. You know, those terrifying “bring-‘em-home-so-we-can-ground-‘em” moments that always feel better in the morning.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12, NIV)

I gotta admit it. I’ve struck my foot against a proverbial stone more than a few times, including during my youth. Maybe you have too. But I still cling to this prayer when I begin to worry about my kids.

God, our Guide and Protector, we plead with You to shield our children from dangers that they face – whether they recognize these perils or not. Send Your angels to surround them and to fend off seen and unseen menaces, Hold them closely, as they walk through hazards and wrestle with threats. We know we cannot protect them from all harm, so we place them in in Your all-powerful hands.

We ask in faith and in the name of our wonderful Lord, Your Son Jesus Christ.

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