Praying for Your Children (The How to Pray Series) by Elmer L. Towns

Praying for Your Children (The How to Pray Series) Reviews

• 
  Lee Rubsam

  This is a basic book. Those who are just beginning on the path of prayer may find many things which are useful in it. (For instance, in Chapter 6, a list of daily Scriptures you can use to pray for your children for one month is particularly good.) If you are already familiar with intercessory prayer, this book will probably not add to what you already are aware of.
  
  Chapter 3 included a few paragraphs, written by Elmer Towns' co-author, of negative opinions and generalizations on homeschooling, which I felt were offensive, inaccurate, and unnecessary for a book focusing on prayer. Someone obviously has some owies which still need healing and was hitting back!
  
  Occasionally, the positions of the authors became rather formulaic. We were assured in the chapter on blessing our children, that there is a specific pattern for blessing, and if we don't follow it to the letter, our blessing prayers won't be effective. I find no basis in Scripture for some of the nitpicky points made there and in other chapters.
  
  In that same chapter (10), Mr. Towns repeatedly talked about how our blessings over our children give them "added value." I would take the position that while blessing our children verbally will help their self esteem, their value can neither be added to, nor subtracted from, in God's eyes.
  
  I did like the authors' encouragement to keep pressing in to the Lord until we see the answers come for our children, as well as their assertion that the prayers of parents are powerful and touch the heart of God.
  
  On the whole, I would suggest that there must be better books out there on the subject than this one.
• 
  Musings of a Middle-aged Mum

  As someone who does not have the prayer life that I feel I should have (though it is getting better, especially the smaller, impromptu prayers, just relying on God throughout the day) I thought this would be a good book to help me to help my children to pray.
  
  With my girls, I have always said a set prayer with them at bedtime from when they were little:
  God, Our Father, I've come to say
  Thank you for your love today.
  Thank you for my family
  And all the friends you give to me.
  Guard me in the dark of night
  And in the morning, send your light. Amen.
  
  DD1 now considers herself an atheist, so doesn't want me praying with her any more.
  DD2, otoh, is happy for me to pray this prayer with her, and we have started adding our own prayers at the end of it. Though she often wants me to say the prayers on her behalf, I'm trying to encourage her to talk to God directly.
  
  Personally, I found some of the suggestions to be a bit formulaic (as in 'if you do this, then God will listen'), however, this book is still worth reading (especially if you can get it for free!) because there is lots of encouragement within. Dispersed throughout the text are lots of small prayers for you to say, asking God to help you praying for your children, and at the end, there are some set-prayers that you can use too. When I was growing up, my mum said a prayer with my sister and I before bed, and I can barely remember it now, though I recognise it when I see/hear it. And it was in this book, so that made me smile, too (though it listed two different endings, and I can't remember which it was my mum used to say, but think it was the first one).
  
  Now I lay me down to sleep,
  I pray the Lord my soul to keep:
  May God guard me through the night
  And wake me with the morning light. Amen
  
  or
  
  Now I lay me down to sleep,
  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
  If I should die before I wake,
  I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.
• 
  Karen & Gerard

  I got this book when it was offered for free on Kindle because I thought it would help me to be more effective in praying for the kids in my Sunday School class. This book has lots of prayers included right from scripture and then lists specific points to pray specifically for. It is helpful in praying for specific spiritual needs for the children instead of just asking God to bless them and their families. I recommend it to parents and Sunday School teachers. It would be a great baby shower gift for any Christian. The one thing I found slightly annoying though was repetitiveness; some scripture passages were repeated. (Karen's review)
• 
  Jessica

  While this was a good book for a younger audience, clearly I was not the intended audience. I was looking for a book on how to pray for children of all ages since my daughter is an adult. This book was written for parents of young children and children who are of school age, but doesn’t really cover how to pray for children who are grown and have children of their own.
  
  I do not recommend this book for parents of adult children. I do recommend it for parents of young to school age children.
• 
  Carolyn S. Medlin

  Prayers to share
  
  I liked the lists and all the prayers included here.. I can hold on to their leadings. Focus was on spiritual needs more than the physical. But there was practical suggestions too.
• 
  Nancy

  I received this book as a gift for a fair and honest review
  
  This was an excellent book,I really enjoyed reading this book and I would highly recommend this book to any one who wants an excellent read. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.
• 
  Emilia

  Practical and personal guide for all parents of children of all ages. I will certainly read this one again and again.
• 
  Kristine Vigil

  Love
  
  What better way to live your children then to pray for them. I've highlighted many of the prayers in this book to pray for my boys.
• 
  Jonathon Robert Wright

  Great resourse
  
  This is one of the most informative and exciting perspectives I have read . I especially like the sections about praying like Jesus and Paul.
• 
  Michael K.

  A good and quick read with excellent tips on how to pray for, with, and over your children. Well worth the time to review and pick up some excellent and great tips to pray with you kids and bring them up in a healthy relationship with God at the helm of their lives!
• 
  Vickie Jameson

  Insight and Wisdom For Praying For Children
  
  This book has great insight on how to pray for your children but can be beneficial for anyone with children in their lives. I look forward to reading more books in this series.