Prayer Ministry
Prayer is foundational to Christian grandparenting. We are in a spiritual battle for the hearts, souls, and minds of our children and grandchildren and need a spiritual weapon. The weapon is prayer.
Christian Grandparenting Network is committed to offering prayer resources to strengthen your prayer life by helping you integrate God’s Word into your prayers. Our offerings include Scripture cards, Prayer Challenges, and 52 Weeks of Prayer. By using any one of these resources, you will find yourself praying more boldly, confidently, intentionally, and specifically for your family:
We can step up our prayer lives by praying Scripture.
Whether your children and grandchildren are halfway across the world or just around the corner, facing challenges like ungodly influences or bullying on the playground, they need our daily prayers. The enemy cannot stand against God’s Word, which is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, when we incorporate Scripture into our prayers, the effectiveness of our prayer life increases.
Scripture Prayer Cards
The Scripture prayer cards were created with busy grandparents in mind. Designed for daily use and alphabetically arranged by topics, they will guide you through a month-long cycle of prayers. You can print each PDF and keep it with your Bible to use in your daily devotions. We also have the prayer cards available on beautifully printed cardstock for use as bookmarks in your Bible and for distribution to friends and others in your church.
30-Day Prayer Challenge for Your Adult Children
Your children are now adults, and their decisions, choices, and actions are their responsibility.
While they are no longer dependent on you, your concerns and desire to help remain. Prayer is key; it deepens your connection to your adult children and aligns your hearts with God’s divine plan.
Join our 30-Day Prayer Challenge for Adult Children! Commit to praying intentionally and consistently for your adult children over the course of thirty consecutive days. Once you sign up, you will receive daily Scripture verses and prayer prompts in your email. Each one has been designed to encourage you to pray boldly and specifically for your adult children. You can start at any time. Don’t forget to invite your friends to join you!
31-Day Prayer Challenge for Your Grandchildren
Prayer is one of the greatest gifts you can offer your grandchildren.
It doesn’t break, corrode, deteriorate, fray, or rot, and it costs nothing but your time and commitment. With the enemy on the prowl and so many “voices” competing for their affections, your grandchildren need your prayers more than anything you could purchase online or in a big-box store.
Join our 31-Day Prayer Challenge for Grandchildren! Commit to praying intentionally and consistently for your adult children over the course of thirty-one consecutive days. Once you sign up, you will receive daily Scripture verses and prayer prompts in your email. Each one has been designed to encourage you to pray boldly and specifically for your grandchildren You can start at any time. Don’t forget to invite your friends to join you!
52 Weeks of Prayer
Imagine receiving a beautifully crafted email in your inbox each week for an entire year! Each email features a Scripture verse and a suggested prayer for your grandchildren.
This prayer tool, cherished by grandparents around the world, is different from our daily Scripture cards and Prayer Challenges. It allows you to immerse yourself in a specific Bible verse for an entire week. As you spend time in the Lord’s presence, reflecting on the Scripture verse and incorporating it into your prayers for your grandchildren, you will be continuously reminded that no prayer is more powerful than the one rooted in God’s Word.
Grandparents@Prayer
What is a Grandparents@Prayer Group?
Grandparents@Prayer groups are unique communities where faith, wisdom, and family values converge. These groups are typically comprised of grandparents who share a commitment to pass on their Christian beliefs, nurture their grandchildren, and support each other in their spiritual journeys. Whether meeting in churches, homes, or community centers, the essence of these groups is rooted in fellowship, prayer, and purposeful mentoring. The Christian Grandparenting Network helps individuals and churches establish these vital groups. We call them Grandparents@Prayer (G@P) groups.
Purpose and Vision
The primary goal of a G@P group is to encourage grandparents in their influential role within the family. Members gather to pray for their grandchildren, discuss biblical principles, and explore ways to model Christ-like living. The G@P’s vision centers on helping grandparents become intentional spiritual mentors, fostering faith conversations, leaving a legacy of love and devotion to Christ, and fulfilling their mandated role as Christian grandparents.
Fostering Community and Support
Beyond spiritual enrichment, G@Ps provide emotional and practical support. Grandparents face challenges—such as long-distance grandparenting, differences in faith practices or faith-forbidding parents, foster-parenting your grandchildren, dealing with a grandchild’s addiction or sexual identity crisis, or navigating blended families. G@P groups find encouragement and wisdom among peers. The group becomes a safe space for discussing struggles, celebrating milestones, and building lasting friendships.
Impact on Families and Churches
G@Ps often partner with children’s and youth ministries, providing a multi-generational perspective that enriches church life. Their influence extends beyond their own families, as they advocate for faith formation in the wider community.
Getting Involved
Joining a G@P is usually as simple as attending a meeting or reaching out to a church leader. G@Ps welcome new members with open arms, regardless of denominational background or family situation. The key requirements are a desire to grow spiritually, to support other grandparents, to become more intentional in discipling your grandchildren, and to invest in the next generation.
Conclusion
In a world where faith and family values can feel challenged, G@Ps offer a beacon of hope. By gathering together, grandparents create a supportive environment where they can pray, learn, and encourage one another. Their shared wisdom and dedication help shape the spiritual landscape of their families and communities, ensuring that the legacy of faith continues for generations to come.
Grandparents Day of Prayer
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Senate proclamation designating the Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. More than ten years ago, under the leadership of Cavin Harper and Lillian Penner, the Christian Grandparenting Network encouraged grandparents to dedicate this day to prayer. As a result, we now refer to the Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparent Day of Prayer.
As Christian grandparents, we find ourselves engaged in a spiritual tug-of-war for the hearts, minds, and souls of our children and grandchildren. God’s truth is under assault everywhere, including in our schools, political arenas, marketplaces, and churches. Satan is relentless in his efforts to desensitize mankind to the gospel message and the love of Christ.
In the past, united prayer has bridged the gap between a great need and a great awakening. Therefore, Christian grandparents everywhere are asked to stand in the gap for our grandchildren on National Grandparents Day, the second Sunday of the month, just as Queen Esther did for her people in a desperate time. Together, through prayer, we will link arms with other grandparents for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and the generations to come.
We hope thousands of churches and groups will host prayer events for Grandparents Day of Prayer. The event can be held in your church, home, retirement complex, or any meeting location you choose. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. For example, you may want to host a prayer breakfast or a luncheon after your church’s morning worship service. You may want to offer an afternoon tea or evening dessert in the comfort of your living room. Or you may want to have an informal prayer gathering with your closest friends. Remember: food is optional; prayer is key!
Christian Grandparenting Network is dedicated to making this day special and stress-free; therefore, we’ve created this Grandparents Day Kit filled with a section with suggestions for organizing and implementing a Grandparents Day of Prayer event.
Grandparents Books on Prayer
The Grand Expedition: A Practical Guide to Praying for Your Grandchildren by Sherry Schumann
Prayer is our first line of defense in the spiritual battle for our grandchildren and the generations coming after them. Join us as we embark on an expedition designed to strengthen our prayer lives so we can battle successfully for the hearts, minds and souls of our children and grandchildren. During this expedition, we will enjoy rich narratives at selected destination points in Luke’s gospel. We will sift through stories from Jesus’ ministry, all the while being led along dirt roads, under olive groves, through the Temple gates and into our own hearts. We will uncover biblical truths for unleashing the power of prayer and garner applicable tools for stepping-up our prayer lives. We will encounter present-day grandparents whose faith stories inspire even the most cynical among us to believe miracles still happen.
Prayers that Stir the Hearts of Grandparents by Sherry Schumann
Do your prayers for your grandchildren and their parents seem powerless and ineffectual? Prayers that Stir the Hearts of Grandparents is a collection of forty prayers, which are grounded in the Word of God. Designed as a prayer journal and written to boost your prayer life, this unique book encourages and equips you to pray specifically and boldly for your grandchildren, adult children, future grandchildren, and even yourselves.
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Ten for Ten: Standing Together in Prayer by Terri Sherrow
We're fighting a spiritual war with an enemy whose primary tactic is deception, and our grandchildren are his targets. Standing in the gap and praying in unity is powerful and ensures his defeat. With this in mind, the Christian Grandparenting Network has developed a 10-week plan to equip grandparents to stand united in prayer for their grandchildren.
10 for 10 provides grandparents with ten weeks of daily Scripture-based prayer prompts to help them pray with intention. Praying God’s Word through scripture helps to focus the mind, is assurance that we are following His will, and makes us stronger together as we encourage one another.
Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren - Revised & Expanded by Lillian Penner
Culture tends to shape our grandchildren by what it presents as normal, which is very different from the normal in which we grew up. But through prayer and godly counsel, grandparents who love the Lord can stand in the gap and help their grandchildren and their parents navigate their world and cultural influences.
Being a grandparent is a blessing—the grandchildren are so sweet, and we love the hugs and pictures. But these days, many grandparents have the added responsibility of raising their grandchildren, while others are restrained from seeing their grandkids. Grandparenting: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren will offer insights into these difficult issues. And no matter your situation, God gives grandparents a sacred trust—an opportunity to imprint another generation with the message of His faithfulness.
From cell phones to photo prayer journals, you’ll find tools and Scriptures to pray intentionally for your grandchildren and their parents. Regardless of how far they live from you, your prayers can bridge the distance between you and leave your grandchildren with an inheritance more precious than gold.
This book is also available in Spanish.
