30 Days of Praying for Children and FamiliesSample

Take a deep breath, and re-read these verses:

“He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:2-3, NIV)

Now close your eyes and hold in your mind this image of a green valley. You can hear the trickle of the stream meandering through the green grass. You can feel a gentle breeze. You can hear sheep bleating.

Psalm 23 transports us to a beautiful pastureland, a place familiar to David, once a shepherd boy, who wrote the Psalm. He will have known what it was to care for his sheep, to lead them to water to refresh them and quench their thirst.

While David’s days were rarely so tranquil or calm, he acknowledges that with God, we can know true rest as we lie down and receive refreshment for our souls.

Prayer

When you put your head on your pillow or put a little one down for a nap today, take a moment to pray.

Pray for all parents and carers – and for children and young people too – who are feeling wrung out and exhausted.

Pray that they will experience deep rest in the God who makes us lie down in green pastures, who leads us beside still waters, and who restores our souls.