How To Pray For Sons

Hudson Taylor is known as one of the great missionaries of Christianity, but during his teenage years, no one would have guessed that he was destined for the mission field. He found a job in the banking industry and learned to love money and mock spiritual things. How did this arrogant young man sense the Lord’s call to salvation? Largely due to his praying mother, Amelia.

One day in particular, when Hudson was 17, his mother felt a strong burden to pray fervently for her son’s salvation. She prayed for hours in her room until she had an assurance that her prayer was answered. At that same time, Hudson was back at home meandering through his father’s library. He found a small tract entitled, “Poor Richard”, which communicated his need of salvation in the finished work of Christ. He placed his faith in Jesus that very day.

Godly parenting includes praying for the growth of our children. What should our requests be when we pray for our children? I’d like to use 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 as a guide for our prayers, specifically our prayers for our boys. No, this is not a passage about prayer, but the things David says to his son Solomon make excellent prayer requests. Certainly, these things apply to young ladies as well, but these requests are especially appropriate in praying for your son(s).

In 1 Chronicles 28, David publicly charges his son Solomon with the important job of building the Temple. David specifically called Solomon to do three things in verses 9-10:

And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.

From these two verses, we can use David’s instructions to his son as a prayer guide for our own sons. There are three requests in this passage:

1. Know the God of your father.

This first prayer request has three applications. More than anything else in the world, we want our boys to know God personally. This means they come to faith in Jesus and trust Him as their Savior. Our prayer for them begins with having a personal relationship with God.

But this goes deeper than that. To know God intimately is the greatest delight for any person, and it is a privilege to draw near to God (James. 4:8). Our boys’ highest calling is to walk with the Lord their God and have a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

There is an interesting little add-on that David slipped in. He said to Solomon, “know the God of your father”. We can and should pray that our children know God personally and intimately, but we must realize that our own walk with the Lord will have a tremendous, immeasurable impact on their hearts. In a way, we can be part of God’s answer to our own prayer if we seek to know God and walk with Him. Therefore, in addition to praying for their relationship with Jesus to deepen, we should pray for our own walk with God to be consistent and strong so that we can model Christlikeness for our sons.

2. Serve him with a whole heart and willing mind.

Next, David exhorted Solomon to serve God, which pairs nicely with the first prayer request. To know God and serve God is wonderful personal mission statement!

Serving is an action word which puts faith into practice. It calls us to sacrifice for the benefit of others, just like Jesus did not come to earth “to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) As fathers, our hearts burst with pride when we see our sons kindly serving others around them.

To serve requires us to humbly recognize that we do not call our own shots—we are under someone else’s authority. How many boys and young men need to learn to submit their hearts to the Lord’s authority? Let’s pray that our young men submit to the Lord and serve Him.

Notice how Solomon should serve God: with a whole heart and willing mind. A whole heart calls for a single-minded devotion to God and his ways. As Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters.” (Matt. 6:24) A willing mind implies that this is something that our sons choose to do of their own volition. This paints a picture of a son who eagerly, joyfully, and completely follows after the Lord his God. No father can choose this for their sons; we teach, encourage and correct, but ultimately God must capture their hearts. Pray that your sons serve God with every part of their being because they want to, not because they have to.

3. Be strong and do what God calls you to do.

Finally, David closed his charge with a call to “get the job done”—be strong and do it. This does not mean physical strength, but spiritual strength. Samson showed everyone what physical strength without spiritual strength leads to, and we don’t want our boys to use their physical power to pursue their own pleasures. Instead, we pray that our sons have spiritual strength to embrace God’s calling on their life and live for Him.

To do this, boys must learn to take responsibility. Adam failed to take responsibility for sin entering the world, choosing instead to blame his wife and point his finger back at God. Since then, the temptation for boys (and men) is to blame shift instead of embracing responsibility.

We can pray that our young men learn biblical courage, which is the ability to face fear by leaning on the Lord’s strength. A courageous person lives for Jesus in spite of obstacles. Scripture shows us that a man who knows God and has given himself to serve God can have a mighty impact for the Lord, so pray for your sons to be strong and courageous.

Conclusion

We all could pray more frequently, more fervently, and more faithfully. This charge from David equips us to exercise the important parental tool of praying for our sons. May God raise up young men who know God, serve him willingly, and courageously act for His cause!