I like to see results when I pray, which is why I like to pray God’s Word. When I pray God’s Word over kids, I know I am praying God’s perfect will for them; and if I am praying God’s perfect will, then I know my prayers will be answered. By praying His Word, I’m in agreement with Him about His will for the kids I am praying for.
One of the best passages of Scripture to pray over the kids in your life regarding protection is Psalm 91. This psalm is wonderful because it contains specific guidelines for how we can pray, and it covers every problem a human being can encounter in life. I encourage you to read it, study it, memorize it, and pray it every day. Here are a few key verses.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
(Ps. 91:1-7)
We won’t discuss every verse, but we will look at the verses that touch on the key areas where Satan can try to come in and hurt or kill our kids. However, first I want to give you a point of reference. Verse 2 says, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress.'” Literally, the psalmist is declaring that he lives inside God. God is his strength, refuge, and military fortress.
A fortress is a place of protection from enemies, so living in God is the place of safety from all the attacks of the devil. We can pray, “God, You are the fortress of my children. You are their covering and their shelter. You are their protector.” The psalmist goes on to say that God will deliver him from a number of things.
Verse 3: Snare of the Fowler
What is the snare of the fowler? A snare is an unseen trap of temptation or destruction that is set by the fowler, who is the devil and his demons. This is a trap that you cannot see unless God makes you aware of it, because He sees everything.
As our kids go out into the world, the devil will set traps for them. We can pray for God to deliver them from these unseen snares, and then the Holy Spirit will either show them the trap and how to avoid it or give them the plan to walk through it without being hurt. He can also change their direction so that they never go near the trap that was set for them or have any knowledge that it ever existed!
Verse 3: Perilous Pestilence
“Perilous pestilence” is an infection, disease, or sickness. Thank God that He can deliver our kids and keep them from physical illness. Along with this verse in Psalm 91, we can also pray these verses for our kids’ health and well being.
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
(2 Peter 2:24)He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
(Ps. 107:20)
Verse 5: Terror by Night
God will see to it that our kids will not be afraid of the terror by night. The terror by night encompasses all the fears that can attack them when it is dark. This includes terrible dreams and nightmares, “seeing” bears and bad guys in the bedroom, or imagining there are monsters under their beds.
A burglar is another terror by night. A storm, a tornado, or a hurricane can be a terror by night. Anything that brings fear through darkness is a terror by night. You can stop those fears from coming to your kids by praying God’s Word over them.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Blaine and Lori Bartel didn’t set out to build a place like this. They became it.
Blaine once lived at the top of the ministry world—national TV, a booming youth movement at Church on the Move, and a growing church in Dallas. But while the stage lights were bright, the darkness underneath was darker. A secret 23-year sexual addiction buried everything he valued—his marriage, ministry, finances, reputation, and identity.
Crushed and barely holding on to life, he spent over a year in deep therapy, wrestling with shame and fighting for healing. Then, somewhere on a windswept highway between Kansas City and Tulsa, he heard the voice that lifted him out of the soil:
“I am not going to give you a recovery. I am calling you into resurrection.”
Everything changed.
Blaine found complete freedom and began decoding a Jesus-centered path that leads men out of the grave and into new life. For more than a decade, he’s been guiding other men through that same resurrection.
Lori was walking her own road—rebuilding after 17 years married to a chronic alcoholic, carrying both the wounds and the courage of a woman who refused to stay broken. She was searching for purpose, for peace, for somewhere her heart could breathe again.
Then God crossed their paths.
They met over pasta at Ti Amo (“I love you”—God’s little wink).
A year later, in a simple wedding wrapped in hope, they said yes to each other and to a calling bigger than themselves.
Today—13 years in—they share one mission:
To pull men out of addiction and to rebuild the marriages addiction has shattered.
House of Resurrection is the fruit of the very ground that once tried to bury them—a sacred space for honesty, healing, and brand-new beginnings.
They are joyful parents of four grown kids, proud grandparents of two, and happiest anywhere with lakes, beaches, sunshine, and reminders that darkness never gets to write the final chapter.