Like it or not, we are in a spiritual battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of our children, grandchildren, and all future generations. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The personal storms raging against us and our families – alcohol abuse, depression, divorce, eating disorders, peer pressure, pornography, suicide, and more – are a result of his cunning and vicious handiwork.

Spiritual battles need spiritual weapons. Prayer is the strongest weapon in our arsenal. It’s time we take the necessary steps toward learning how to wield this weapon effectively. These steps include:

Having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Becoming intentional about prayer.
Praying daily.
Praying persistently.
Modeling prayer to the next generation.

Having a relationship with Jesus Christ

Sin entered the world when the serpent craftily deceived Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit so she could be like God. She succumbed, Adam followed, and mankind was separated from its Creator as a result. With wide, deep love for us, God sent his Son into the world to die on the cross for our sin and restore our relationship with the Father. Our first step toward becoming effective praying grandparents is having a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you have not yet done so, simply ask him to be your Savior:

1. Confess your sins.
2. Ask Jesus to forgive you.
3. State your belief that His death and resurrection is the path of salvation.
4. Thank Him for dying on the cross of you.
5. End with a humongous AMEN!  

Welcome to the Kingdom of God!

Becoming intentional about prayer

Be honest. Many of us shorten our prayer time when we feel overwhelmed, disconnect from Jesus to check our social media, or let our minds wander during quiet time. I confess my guilt on these charges.

If we are going to battle victoriously for the souls of our children and grandchildren, we need to stay in tiptop spiritual shape. We must nurture and maintain a strong relationship with the Lord through a healthy diet of God’s Word. Mark it on your calendar.

Praying daily

I met a grandfather who told me about his great aunt, six generations removed. She was born in the Ukraine and spent her entire life on her knees—not in a convent or cathedral, but in the fields, harvesting potatoes. As she worked, she prayed for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the generations coming after them. Six generations later, all her descendants have devoted their lives to Christ. 

Praying for your family can be daunting when you have multiple grandchildren. I recommend using one of these strategies:

1. Commit to pray for your grandchildren every day. 
2. Set an alarm reminding you to pray.
3. Create a prayer calendar, assigning a day of the week for each grandchild. If you have more than seven grandchildren, assign each an entire week. 
4. Ask your grandchildren for their prayer requests. If they’re too young, ask their parents. Make this a habit.
5. Include prayers in cards you send.
6. Write prayers for your children and grandchildren in your Bible. This creates a beautiful legacy to leave your family.
7. Create a photo-prayer journal or scrapbook for each grandchild at the start of a new school year. Record your prayers, along with a photograph of the grandchild’s first day of school. Pray that they are able to concentrate, make wise decisions, persevere under pressure, get along with others, and stand up for what is right. Present them with their journals at the end of the school year.
8. Say brief “whisper prayers” for them throughout the day.
9. Ask one or more grandparents to pray regularly with you.
10. Thank God for answered prayers.

Praying persistently

Jesus masterfully employs parables to illustrate lessons and divine truths. In the parable of the Friend at Midnight, He compares God with a man who refuses to get out of bed and supply his neighbor with food. Unlike the hardhearted man, our heavenly Father is sympathetic to our plight.  He is compassionate, merciful, and the essence of sacrificial love. We can approach him anytime, assured that his door is open.

Jesus uses this parable to demonstrate how we should pray. He tells us to be as relentless in our prayer life as the persistent neighbor is in obtaining bread. Jesus follows this parable with a well-known verse. “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). The Greek translation means to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. Don’t stop!

According to the Apostle Paul, our weapon in the spiritual battle for our children and grandchildren is the “sword of the Spirit, the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Our prayers become powerful and effective when we embed them with God’s Word, known in religious circles as “praying Scripture.”

Examples:

1. Father God, I pray (name your grandchildren) “obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:9).
2. Father God, I pray (name your grandchildren) realize they are your “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
3. Father God, I pray (name your grandchildren) “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Find more verses at: Scriptures to Pray for Your Children and Grandchildren (Christian Grandparenting Network, Free Resources.)

Modeling prayer to the next generation

Passing our faith to grandchildren is not always easy. Many of us are separated from them by distance, divorce, broken relationships, misplaced priorities, unwarranted suspicions, time constraints, and unforgiveness within our families. Some are forbidden to mention Jesus’ name in their presence.

Prayer provides a natural avenue to pass a legacy of faith to our posterity. It offers us a platform where we can communicate our love for our family and for God. It affords the opportunity to confirm God’s abiding presence and steadfast love. It opens the door to teach our grandchildren how to trust and depend upon Jesus.

Our grandchildren are like sponges, constantly watching and soaking up the lessons we teach. Start by letting them know we are praying for them and asking them or their parents for specific prayer requests. 

It’s imperative to allow your grandchildren to hear you pray. I remember the afternoon that I took our oldest granddaughter to the neighborhood playground. She was standing on a slide, awaiting her descent, when a siren wailed in the distance. “Grandma, there’s an emergency,” she cried. “We have to pray.” My heart exploded with joy—not because there was an emergency but because our three-year-old granddaughter understood the principle of intercessory prayer. I always pray when I hear a siren, or an emergency vehicle passes me on the road. Unbeknownst to me, our granddaughter was paying attention. God numbers our days.

He may call us home today, or He may grant us thirty more years to dwell on this earth and effectively influence our grandchildren’s faith. Either way, we need to dedicate the remainder of our earthly lives to finishing the race and completing the task, which Jesus gave us. We need to focus on passing a spiritual inheritance that testifies the good news of God’s grace to our future generations.

Scripture references are from the New International Version (NIV).