How can I pray for pastors’ children?

Rachel Vaughan offers some ideas

Faith

Pastors’ children tend to have heard all the Bible stories before and know all the answers in Sunday school, and sometimes they can be well-behaved, good children. But what they need is to know Jesus personally and trust in Him – not in their knowledge or their niceness – for salvation. Pray for pastors’ children to love Jesus, to have real, personal faith in Him, not just head knowledge and good works.

Fellowship

“Church, church, church, you’re always talking about church as though it’s the most important thing!” (quote from a Vaughan child!).

In a pastor’s family, church is often associated with work and church is often the reason daddy/mummy is out in the evenings. Also,congregations may have unreasonable expectations of how their pastor’s kids should behave! Pray for pastors’ children to have a positive attitude to church, to find their role and make friends, and to enjoy church, particularly for those in small churches with few other children.

Friends

Like all Christian children, pastors’ kids need good friends, but this is particularly important if they move church/home several times because of their parents’ ministry. Teenage rebellion may well be directed at the church and/or God if they resent ministry pressures on the family. Pray for good friends to encourage and support them.

Often, pastors’ children are very aware that their non-Christian friends need to know Jesus and they can carry quite a burden for them. Pray for them to be good witnesses and faithful in prayer, but also to trust Jesus to save their friends.

And pray that, throughout their lives, they would abide in Jesus: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Contact

Rachel Vaughan

for further information