Praying Proverbs Over Your Child: Week 9

Welcome to our Summer 2025 Book Club-Style Bible Study! This summer, we’ll be walking through Hey Mama! Pray: Praying Proverbs Over Your Child—a powerful, prayerful guide for parents seeking to raise their children in the wisdom and love of Jesus.

Join us every Tuesday morning, June 3 – July 29, at 9:00 AM right here on the blog. Can’t make it then? No worries—jump in whenever it works for you! 

Get your copy of the book on Amazon or download the printable version from Etsy.

Why this study matters:
Praying Proverbs over your child is more than a devotional practice—it’s a powerful parenting tool. As Christian parents, we’ve been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of guiding our children to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.

That calling comes with challenges, especially in a world full of distractions and opposing voices. But we’re not alone. God, in His great wisdom, has given us the book of Proverbs—a rich source of truth, character-building guidance, and daily encouragement.

Let’s lean into His Word together this summer and cover our children in Scripture-rooted prayer.

"The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother....Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart." Proverbs 29:15, 17

Why Proverbs?
While there are countless parenting books out there, none compare to the timeless, wisdom-packed truths found in the book of Proverbs. This divinely inspired book serves as God’s blueprint for raising children who grow into wise, godly adults. When we read, study, teach—and most importantly, pray—the truths of Proverbs over our children, we invite God’s Word to shape their hearts and minds from the inside out.

Proverbs offers practical instruction on essential character traits like honesty, diligence, kindness, self-control, humility, and a reverent fear of the Lord. It highlights the value of wisdom and the dangers of foolishness, equipping our children with the discernment they need to navigate the challenges of life with grace and strength.

Let’s commit to this journey together, friend—because there is no greater gift we can give our children than the life-shaping power of prayer and God’s Word.

As we pray through Proverbs over our children this summer, we’ll journey through an A-to-Z list of important life topics—from dealing with fear to developing a strong work ethic. Each week, we’ll focus on a few key issues, along with supporting Scripture to guide our prayers. Let’s get started and invite God to do a powerful work in our children’s hearts!

UNDERSTANDING, VALUES, and  WORK

UNDERSTANDING 
Proverbs talks a lot about understanding and wisdom. We all need this, right? I know I do! We especially want this for our kiddos. They have many important choices and decisions to make over the coming years. Some of these choices can and will affect them for the rest of their lives! This passage in Proverbs 2 is an excellent narrative on the value of wisdom:
 
"My son, if you receive My words and treasure up My commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
 
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of His saints.
 
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you." Proverbs 2:1-11
 
Where are we going to find understanding and wisdom? In God’s Word! When we need understanding and wisdom what are we to do? Verse 3 tells us to “…call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding.” We are to “seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures…” When’s the last time you searched for hidden treasures in His Word? When we do this, Proverbs tells us, we “will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Isn’t that what we want for our children and isn’t that what we want for ourselves as well? It is! Let’s pray to that end today mama, not only for our children but for us as well!

VALUES
Where are our kiddos going to find their values? Certainly not from social media, we hope. Maybe not even within their own peer group. Probably not at school. So, how do we, as their parents, guide them and help them establish their values—the values they will live by and one day build their family around?
 
The entire chapter of Proverbs 8 speaks to the values that we need to hold fast to and the values we need to pray that our children also hold fast to.
 
The chapter tells us that wisdom and understanding are calling our names. They are there waiting for us every day, in the way, at the crossroads, beside the gates, and at the portals of life.
 
“To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense….from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth.” (8:4-7)
 
Our values, and the values we want our children to hold fast to, should be established by seeking out God’s wisdom and understanding. This, Proverbs tells us, is truth. Our children need to know where to go to find truth—the truth that is established throughout the ages, the truth that stands the test of time. Truth is found in the righteousness of God and in His Word.
 
“They [God’s Words] are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.” (8:9-12)
 
Dive into this passage today with your children, mama. Help them know where to find their values, and pray they find them in the truth of God’s Word!

WORK 
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man." Proverbs 6:6-11
 
The ant, this tiny, seemingly insignificant creature, made it into the Bible! I find that somewhat humorous. But the ant has a lot to teach each of us about our work!
 
“…consider her [the ant] ways…” the Bible says. And if we do, we will be wise!
 
The ant has no one to tell her to work, no chief, no officer, or ruler. The ant prepares and gathers without supervision. The ant is wise!
 
“…A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come…” Proverbs tells us. It will not just come, it will come like a robber, and “want” will come like an armed man—suddenly and without warning.
 
This warning is also repeated for us in Proverbs 24:30-34, where it says, “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
 
I love that the Bible records this passage about the little ant. And I love that the ant is such a model of good workmanship for us, and for our kiddos! Let’s pray today mama that our children grow to appreciate work.

A Prayer for the Heart of My Child When it Comes to Understanding, Values, and  Work

Heavenly Father,
I lift up the heart of my child to You today. Thank You for the incredible gift of parenthood and the sacred calling to lead them in Your ways.

Lord, give my child a heart that treasures Your Word and longs for understanding. May they seek wisdom like silver and search for it as hidden treasure (Proverbs 2). Let Your knowledge guard their path and Your truth shape every decision they make.

Grow in them godly values that are rooted not in this world, but in Your unchanging Word. Let them love truth, walk in integrity, and find joy in righteousness. May their hearts be shaped by Your wisdom, not the fleeting trends of culture.

And Father, plant within them a strong work ethic. May they learn from the ant—working diligently, even when no one is watching (Proverbs 6). Help them to delight in the work of their hands and honor You in every task they do, big or small.

Help me, too, Lord, to model these virtues faithfully. Let my life be a living prayer over theirs.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

​How might praying the timeless wisdom of Proverbs over your child today shape the kind of adult they become tomorrow?

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