You do not need more guilt about prayer. If you feel empty and short on time, here is a simple way to begin. Today, we are talking about how to pray for your children with peace, focus, and surrender through a simple rhythm called spirit prayers. This is a bonus piece connected to my original 📍 interview with Brett Coleman on Soul Rest, and that full interview is linked in the description.
But today, I want to share this additional prayer rhythm that came out of that conversation and apply it directly for us Christian moms praying for our children.
If you are like me, you want to pray for your child, especially from the ages of eight to 12, and you know that prayer matters. You may even want to pray for an hour, but some days you feel like you do not even have five minutes to pray. The schedule is so full. The laundry is piled up waiting. The school papers are everywhere.
The emotional needs are real. And if you are honest, you feel exhausted. And somewhere inside, there may be the quiet ache that says, "I should be praying more for my children." Today, I want to help you move that guilt into action, not shame or pressure. No one, not one more spiritual checklist, just a simple, steady way to pray for your children and make room for God to do the kind of work only He can do
Before we get into the spirit prayer rhythm, I want you to take into your mind a Bible story that has been in my heart and on my mind. It's the story from 2 Kings chapter four. There's a woman often called the Shunammite woman, and she saw that Elisha, who was a prophet, was a man of God, and she made a room for him in her home, an actual room, and gave him a little bed and a table.
And that phrase matters, she made room for him, because sometimes before we see God move in our family, he may first call us to make room. Not perfect room or Pinterest-worthy room, not an hour-long prayer closet with candles and silence and nobody needing anything from you, just room. A place in our hearts, a moment in our day, a two-minute pause where we say, "Lord, my child belongs to you."
This woman, this Shunammite woman, had not even asked Elisha for a child. In fact, when he told her she would have a son, it touched her in a tender place in her heart. She had likely made peace with the idea that motherhood would not be part of her story. But God gave her a son. But then one day, that boy was in the field with his father, and he cried out that his head hurt, and his father took him to the Shunammite woman, his mother.
And the scripture tells us that she held him on her knees until noon, and then he died Can we just sit right there for a second? He died. This mother held the promise of God in her arms, and it looked like the promise was gone. That is the place where a mother's heart says, "Lord, I do not understand. You gave me this child, you blessed me with this child, and now I do not know what to Maybe your child is not physically dead like the Shunammite's child was, but maybe there is an area where you feel like something is slipping. Maybe their love for God is slipping, or their confidence, or their friendships, or their attitude, possibly their peace, or their even desire to listen or willingness to talk.
And maybe you have the thought, "Have I waited too long to bring this to God? Did I miss the moment? Is it too little too late?" Faith mom, hear this clearly. When it feels too little and too late, God is still able to work. You see, the Shunammite woman did not stay frozen in despair. She took the need back to the man of God.
This is what prayer is. Prayer is not pretending everything is fine. Prayer is not performing spiritual strength. Prayer is not even having the perfect words Prayer is taking the real need back to God
And that is where I want to encourage you, Mom, who feels guilty because she's not praying enough. Do not give in to that guilt. Confess, confess the prayerlessness, yes, but do not sit in shame. Let the guilt become a signal. Let it become a holy nudge that turns your heart back to God right then. That is something I have had to learn in my own life.
My husband and I realized we were not consistently praying for , our children, the way we wanted to. We cared deeply. We wanted to pray. We believed prayer mattered, but as far as consistency, we were not doing prayer consistently. So we started small. We committed to praying two minutes each night before bed specifically for our children.
Just two minutes. We set a timer, and we prayed. Over time, we have increased that time more than once, but the habit started with two minutes, and that two-minute rule taught us to pray longer. So if you are waiting until you can pray for an hour, you may never start. But if you will give God two honest minutes, that may become the beginning of a deeper prayer life.
It is not about the position of the clock. It's about the posture of our heart
The idea of spirit prayers came from Brett Coleman, author of Wisdom That Leads to Soul Rest. The original interview I shared with Brett focused on soul rest, intentional pauses, and learning to lead from peace instead of pressure. But this spirit prayer explanation is a bonus clip connected to that conversation.
It was not included in the original video, and I wanted to bring it to you here because it speaks so directly to Christian parents who want to pray intentionally for their children. Before I walk through each part of spirit prayer, I want you to hear exactly how Britt explained this prayer rhythm and why it has been so meaningful in praying for his children. I had a chapter on parenting, and, what I did, I got up every night at midnight for 21 days, and I prayed through a, , mnemonic of spirit.
So the first night, , was S for spiritual. The second night was P for physical, so physical health and safety. Third night was intellectual, wisdom toward godly wisdom. R was relational, so godly connectedness. I is income, bless,, to be a blessing, so find their niche and, , be blessed in it so they can be a blessing.
And T was to find their talent, their gifting. And I did that, and y- it doesn't matter if you have one kid or 10 kids. You do that, you get up at midnight, you pray through one letter first... And there's six letters. So you pa- pray through one letter, say, Monday through Saturday. Sunday, you take off, and then you do it again.
But getting up at midnight and praying for an hour is sort of like your fasting sacrifice, and it was a one-time assignment that helped me learn to pray longer, and you kind of give up your burden of your children, so you don't feel so much, , pressure because you've turned these issues over to Him. As Brett shared in that bonus clip, spirit prayers are not a formula. You see, they are simply a helpful guide that keeps our hearts centered on God as we pray for our children. This is not a way to control our child's future. This is a rhythm to help you surrender your child to God one area at a time.
There are six letters in spirit, and each letter gives you one prayer focus. S is for spiritual, P is for physical, I is for intellectual, R is for relational, the other I is for income, and T is for talent. You pray one letter each day for six days, and then on the seventh day, you cease. You stop stressing.
You rest. You watch. You trust God to work. That seventh day matters because Christian parenting can quietly become a place where we try to carry what only God can carry. We carry their salvation, their friendships. We carry their choices. We carry their futures. We carry their struggles. We carry their weight of who they are becoming.
We carry too much. But prayer reminds us, Lord, I am not the savior, you are And it transfers that salvation, whole body, whole mind, whole spirit salvation to God. So on day one, you pray the S, spiritual. This is where you pray for your child to know God personally, have an intimate, deep, personal relationship with God.
With God, not just to know Bible stories, not just to behave at church, not just to repeat what they've heard, but to know God. Have a personal relationship with God. You might pray something like, "Lord, help my child to know you personally through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Help them love what is true.
Hear your voice through your Word. Give them a heart that wants to walk with you even when I'm not standing beside them." And then day two is P for physical. This is where you pray for their health and safety, their bodies, their sleep, their energy, and their protection. For a child ages eight to 12, the body is changing.
Emotions are growing. Hormones may be beginning. Sometimes they do not even understand why they feel the way they feel. So you pray for them, "Lord, protect my child. Strengthen their body. Give them good rest. Guard them in places I cannot see them." Day three is I, intellectual. This is not just about grades.
This is about wisdom, about seeing clearly, seeing themselves clearly, seeing God clearly is godly wisdom. You pray for how they think, how they learn, how they process truth, how they solve problems, how they respond when something is hard. So we pray, Lord, give my child wisdom. Help them not just be smart, but discerning.
Help them know the difference between what is loud and what is true. Then on day four, you're praying for their relationships, the relational aspect for your child. This one is so important, especially in the middle school years. Friendships can become complicated. Feelings get hurt, kids compare themselves, and your kid wants to belong.
So we pray for godly connectedness. We ask God to give them wise friends, healthy influence, courage to stand alone when needed, and kindness toward others. And we also pray for our relationship with our child. We could pray something like,
lord, help me stay connected with my child's heart. Help me listen well. Help me not parent from fear. Help our home be a place where truth and love can both live. And then day five is the next I. It's income. This part may sound unusual when we're praying for our kids, but Brett explained it as praying that they would be blessed to be a blessing.
This is not about raising a child to chase money. This is about praying that God would help your child find what they're good at, their niche, learn responsibility, develop diligence, and one day use what God provides through them to bless others. And then the final day that we pray, day six, talent. This is where you pray for their gifts, abilities, calling, and just how they're wired, how they're, how they think.
Your child may not be like you, and that can be beautiful, but it also can be challenging. Sometimes as moms, we can accidentally spend more time correcting what frustrates us than calling out what God is developing in them. So we pray, Lord, show me the gifts you placed in my child. Help me nurture what you are growing.
Help my child use their talents for good and not for pride. Help them become who you, God, created them to be
Then day seven is the cease day. , This is the day to stop and watch God work, not because you stop caring, but because you remember that prayer is not a transaction. Prayer is trust. And this is where we say, "Lord, I have brought my child before you.
I have prayed over their spiritual life, physical life, intellectual growth, their relationships, their provision, and their talents, and now I rest in you." And faith mom, that may be the hardest part, because praying can feel active. Ceasing can feel scary. But sometimes ceasing is the very thing that proves we are not trusting our effort more than we are trusting God.
In the full interview I had with Brett, he used this picture, and I love it, of pulling back a bow. Rest is not wasted. It is like drawing back a bow so that when the arrow is released, it can go further. And I think that is such a beautiful picture for motherhood. When you pause to pray, when you cease from striving, when you stop trying to fix everything in your own strength, you are not becoming less effective.
You may actually be becoming more effective, because you are mothering from a place of surrender instead of anxiety
And if this is already helping you take a deep breath a little deeper and believe that prayer can begin with two honest minutes, go ahead and 📍 hit the like button of this video. That helps you to share it with other moms, other Christian moms who may be carrying the same guilt and need this same encouragement today
Now, let's bring this down to real life. What would this look like tomorrow morning? Maybe before the house wakes up, you sit with your coffee for two minutes and pray the letter for the day. Maybe you write the word spirit on an index card and put it in your Bible as a reminder.
Or maybe you put the card by your kitchen sink. Maybe you put the card on your bathroom mirror, and maybe you set a reminder on your phone that simply says, "Pray spirit over the kids." And if mornings are absolutely impossible, pray at night. This is what we did. We prayed and still pray before bed.
It's a little more than two minutes now. We still set the timer, we call our children by name, and we bring their needs before God. No fancy words, no perfect routine, just a posture that says, "Lord, they belong to you."
And when guilt comes up during the day, do not let it push you into despair. Let it push you into prayer. If you are folding laundry and suddenly think, "I have not prayed for my child today," pray right there If you're driving to work and worry rise, and worry rises up about your child's friendship, pray in that moment.
If you are washing dishes and feeling burdened about their spiritual life, pray right with your hands in the soapy water. If you walk past their bedroom and feel the ache in your heart, pray right there. Prayer does not have to wait until the house is quiet. Prayer can happen in the middle of the noise, and that is the shift I want you to receive today.
You do not have to move from guilt to trying harder. You can move from guilt toward God, from anxiety to the peace of God, from stressing to surrender to God, from emptiness to being filled with God's promise. The Shunammite woman reminds us that when it looks too late, God is still able. Your child is not beyond God's reach.
Your home is not beyond God's grace. Your prayer life is not beyond repair. And your two minutes are not too small for God to use
So here is your simple challenge. For the next seven days, pray spirit prayers over your child. Day one is spiritual. Day two, physical. Day three, intellectual. Day four, relationships. Day five, income. Day six, talents. And day seven, rest and watch God work. And remember, this is not about becoming a perfect praying mom.
This is about becoming a present, surrendered to God mom. A mom who keeps bringing her children back to the Lord
If you want more encouragement like this for you as a Christian mom who are helping your kids walk with God, 📍 subscribe to this channel, The Faith Mom Mentor. This channel is here to help you know God deeply and teach your child faithfully in the middle of real life, to helping moms help guide their kids, eight to twelve, to walk with God And before you go, I want to invite you to watch the full original interview with Brett Coleman.
The spirit prayer clip you heard today was a bonus connected to that conversation. But 📍 the full interview will take you deeper into soul rest, slowing down, saying no, and learning how to lead from peace. That link is in the description
Then do this. Share this video with another mom, maybe a friend, maybe somebody who you pray with or talk to or is in your Bible study.
Share this video with another mom who feels guilty about not praying enough. Not to pressure her, not to shame her, but to remind her that she can begin again. Two minutes is enough to start. God is able to work. And faith mom, your family does not need a perfect version of you. They need a surrendered to God version of you.
So start small, pray today, and watch God work
