Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a deep love for these little ones and a right understanding of how precious they are to the Lord. It is good to bring them before Jesus, who called Himself the Good Shepherd and who promised to stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord. As Micah declares, His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth and His people will dwell securely. That security is what you are asking for, and it is exactly what He delights to give.
Scripture gives strong assurance for what you have prayed. The Lord says He will give His angels charge over those who belong to Him, and that the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him. Jesus Himself warned that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around a person's neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always see the face of the Father. He gathers lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart, and like a shepherd He uses His rod and staff to comfort and protect. You can trust that nearness for your own child, for cousins and nieces and nephews, for friends and for every child among fellow believers.
Part of that protection involves learning to see evil clearly. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, and that hatred of evil is the beginning of wisdom. Evil constantly asks to be tolerated and to be compromised with, but God calls us not to make peace with it but to depart from it. The wicked person is not someone with a superstitious power to put a curse on you with a look. An evil eye in Scripture simply describes a person whose mind and heart are set toward evil, whose desires are bent away from what is good. Such a person shows no favor even to a neighbor, and rejoices to do wrong. We are warned not to share in the bread or the pleasing things of those who live that way, because their way is deceitful.
That is why discernment is so needed, even inside the church. The Bible warns that wolves can arise from among the flock, and that there will be evil people and impostors who lead others astray, even while claiming to be ministers. History shows how, when people live without regard for God's law, they will justify all kinds of evil, sometimes even saying God made them that way. Evil cannot be justified. We also see in the history of Israel how the people repeatedly did evil in the sight of the Lord, forgot Him, and followed the gods and practices around them, including the terrible pagan practice of sacrificing children to idols like Molech and Baal. That story shows both how strangely attractive evil can seem and how destructive it always proves to be. It also shows the mercy of God, that whenever His people cried out, He heard and raised up deliverance.
For children, God has ordained that they grow best in the security and stability of a strong, loving home as He designed it, and that they come to know the Holy Scriptures from their youth. There is no greater joy than to hear that children are walking in truth. To follow what is good is to be of God, while to follow what is evil shows a heart that has not seen Him. So continue to feed these little ones with wisdom and knowledge from God's Word, to pray that the love of God would be poured out in their hearts through the Holy Spirit, and that they would come to know the breadth and depth of Christ's love.
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked. Scripture says there will be no lasting reward for the evil person and that the light of the wicked will be put out. God sees, God judges righteously, and no evil can ultimately prevail against the church that Christ is building. As you submit to God and resist the devil, the enemy must flee.
So we join you in prayer now. Father, thank You for Your love shown in Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. We ask in the authority of Jesus that You would place Your hand of protection over each child named in this prayer and over every child connected to this family and to the household of faith. Give Your angels charge over them, keep their eyes and ears from evil, guard their bodies and minds from the evil one and from evil people, and keep them from fear. Heal any who have been hurt, strengthen those who are weak, and draw the weary and heavy laden to find rest in Christ, whose yoke is easy and burden is light. Pour Your love into their hearts by the Holy Spirit, teach them Your Word from their earliest years, and cause them to walk in truth all their days. Give wisdom to parents, to family members and to those who care for them, that they may watch faithfully and shepherd well. Work all things together for good according to Your will and for the furtherance of the gospel, and let these little ones grow up to know and love You. We ask this in the name of Jesus, trusting that You have heard us. Amen.
Scripture gives strong assurance for what you have prayed. The Lord says He will give His angels charge over those who belong to Him, and that the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him. Jesus Himself warned that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around a person's neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always see the face of the Father. He gathers lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart, and like a shepherd He uses His rod and staff to comfort and protect. You can trust that nearness for your own child, for cousins and nieces and nephews, for friends and for every child among fellow believers.
Part of that protection involves learning to see evil clearly. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, and that hatred of evil is the beginning of wisdom. Evil constantly asks to be tolerated and to be compromised with, but God calls us not to make peace with it but to depart from it. The wicked person is not someone with a superstitious power to put a curse on you with a look. An evil eye in Scripture simply describes a person whose mind and heart are set toward evil, whose desires are bent away from what is good. Such a person shows no favor even to a neighbor, and rejoices to do wrong. We are warned not to share in the bread or the pleasing things of those who live that way, because their way is deceitful.
That is why discernment is so needed, even inside the church. The Bible warns that wolves can arise from among the flock, and that there will be evil people and impostors who lead others astray, even while claiming to be ministers. History shows how, when people live without regard for God's law, they will justify all kinds of evil, sometimes even saying God made them that way. Evil cannot be justified. We also see in the history of Israel how the people repeatedly did evil in the sight of the Lord, forgot Him, and followed the gods and practices around them, including the terrible pagan practice of sacrificing children to idols like Molech and Baal. That story shows both how strangely attractive evil can seem and how destructive it always proves to be. It also shows the mercy of God, that whenever His people cried out, He heard and raised up deliverance.
For children, God has ordained that they grow best in the security and stability of a strong, loving home as He designed it, and that they come to know the Holy Scriptures from their youth. There is no greater joy than to hear that children are walking in truth. To follow what is good is to be of God, while to follow what is evil shows a heart that has not seen Him. So continue to feed these little ones with wisdom and knowledge from God's Word, to pray that the love of God would be poured out in their hearts through the Holy Spirit, and that they would come to know the breadth and depth of Christ's love.
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked. Scripture says there will be no lasting reward for the evil person and that the light of the wicked will be put out. God sees, God judges righteously, and no evil can ultimately prevail against the church that Christ is building. As you submit to God and resist the devil, the enemy must flee.
So we join you in prayer now. Father, thank You for Your love shown in Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. We ask in the authority of Jesus that You would place Your hand of protection over each child named in this prayer and over every child connected to this family and to the household of faith. Give Your angels charge over them, keep their eyes and ears from evil, guard their bodies and minds from the evil one and from evil people, and keep them from fear. Heal any who have been hurt, strengthen those who are weak, and draw the weary and heavy laden to find rest in Christ, whose yoke is easy and burden is light. Pour Your love into their hearts by the Holy Spirit, teach them Your Word from their earliest years, and cause them to walk in truth all their days. Give wisdom to parents, to family members and to those who care for them, that they may watch faithfully and shepherd well. Work all things together for good according to Your will and for the furtherance of the gospel, and let these little ones grow up to know and love You. We ask this in the name of Jesus, trusting that You have heard us. Amen.
