Raising kids can be so hard. They cause you to worry, stress, fret, cry . . . pray.

Your daughter is struggling in school, so you pray about her study habits and comprehension. Your son’s trouble with friends leads you to pray that he would find a new group of kids to be a better influence. Your preschooler can’t stay dry at night, so you pray about bathroom habits. (Sure it’s embarrassing, but sometimes you’re just desperate.) Your high school graduate found your pain pills a while ago and is now hooked on heroin. In this, there are no words, so your heart simply cries its prayers.

Your Father in heaven is a good Father and wants you to talk to him about anything and everything. At the same time, proactive prayers bring a great balance to reaction prayers. These prayers about faith and character are appropriate no matter what age children are and no matter what events may be swirling around them. Here I’m sharing 31 ideas so you can pray one every day of the month. Each one is based on God’s words and is turned back into a prayer to him.

What prayers do you pray for your children? I’d love to hear them. Leave a note in the comments.

Linda Buxa is a writer, Bible study leader, and retreat speaker. Sometimes she is so busy praying for other people that she forgets to pray for her own people. This list has helped change that. She also wrote a book for parents to pray for themselves. You can find it here.