“And if you get scared, what do you say?”
“I rebuke that in Jesus’ name!”
It sounded cute coming from my toddler, but I still get floored by the power in those words.
She had just calmed down from a huge tantrum, one very out of character. She hadn’t been herself all day. Something just felt off in a way I couldn’t explain.
My husband suggested I pray over her with our anointing oil. So I broke out the anointing oil and prayed, “Evil is not welcome in this household. We are covered in the mighty blood of Jesus Christ. I declare and decree if there’s a dark force that it leaves immediately in the Holy name of Jesus.”
I promise I’m telling the truth when I say I looked over ten minutes after that prayer and found her reading her Bible.
This isn’t to say she was tantrum-free the rest of the night, but the tantrums felt different, more like her.
Nobody taught me how to do this. I just kind of went with what I know to be true. Jesus’s name holds power over all darkness, and we, as children of God, are covered in the blood of Jesus.
I had been praying over our kids for a while. But that was the first time I reached for the anointing oil. And it won’t be the last.
Your Children Have an Enemy
The church will sometimes touch on spiritual warfare, depending on where you go. But they usually cover general spiritual warfare with adults. We’re rarely equipped as parents to fight spiritual battles for our kids.
Psalm 127:3 tells us that children are a heritage from the Lord. And the enemy knows their value, even when we forget it. Jesus specifically says in Matthew 18:10 that children have angels who see the face of God. He takes their spiritual protection seriously. Even Job rose early to offer sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case they had sinned. He didn’t wait for evidence; he covered them preemptively.
The enemy doesn’t wait until your kids are old enough to understand theology to try and attack them. Neither should our prayers wait.
What Spiritual Attacks Can Look Like in Children
I’m not going to write that “every tantrum is a demon”, because that’s not the case. Sometimes, bad behavior is just bad behavior. Sometimes, kids skip a nap and act feral for the rest of the day. And spiritual warfare isn’t an excuse to avoid discipline either.
Spiritual attacks are different. Out-of-character behavior, sudden irrational fear, unexplained emotional spiraling, even night terrors can be indicators. These are worth praying into, even if it turns out to be a new tooth coming in.
Kids are spiritually sensitive. They pick up things they can’t articulate. And our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Sometimes our children’s struggles aren’t either.
All this to say, we’re not going to look for demons under every bed.
We’re staying spiritually alert as a parent, just as we would stay alert to a physical threat.
So, once we think something might be a spiritual attack, how can we fight against it?
How to Pray Over Your Children
A quick disclaimer: I am NOT claiming to be a spiritual warfare expert. What I suggest here is what I personally do. As long as:
1. The authority is spoken in Jesus’s name;
2. We don’t claim personal power over it;
3. We’ve submitted to God;
Everyone has the ability to cast out evil.
1. The Daily Covering
This can be an everyday prayer done in the morning or at bedtime (or any time!). Psalm 91 gives us words we can use:
“I declare that [child’s name] dwells in the shelter of the Most High and rests in the shadow of the Almighty. We say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”
Spiritual covering isn’t just a crisis response; it can be woven into daily life.
For example, my daughter is terrified of storms. Whenever we know a storm is coming, she asks for the “storm prayer”. We pray for her peace and comfort and to know that God is always with her. It’s simple, specific, consistent. Nothing crazy.
And every night at bedtime, we pray for restoration while we sleep and end it with, “We love You so much. We honor and glorify You. In Your name we pray, amen!” Again, simple.
2. The Warfare Prayer
This prayer is for when something just feels off. You might even sense some spiritual interference. We can say:
“If there are any dark influences, we rebuke them in the name of Jesus. We declare and decree that all evil flees immediately. We’re covered in the Blood of Jesus, children of the Most High, and you are NOT welcome here.”
We have authority over all evil in the name of Jesus. Luke 10:19 says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Praying out loud over our children and with them helps them learn to hear spiritual authority spoken in love, not fear.
The silliest thing happened once when I was upstairs and a toy randomly turned on (I know, this happens a lot, but I looked and the switch was OFF). I rebuked that thing so fast, and it didn’t make another peep! It happened during a time where my daughter was scared of sleeping in her room randomly, so I have to wonder if it correlates. Or, it could’ve been nothing! And my short prayer could’ve been a quick covering.
Regardless, we don’t need to be afraid when dealing with darkness when we have Jesus on our side. Spoiler alert: He’s already won!
3. The Anointing
Anointing with oil is a biblical practice of protection throughout Scripture. When I told my husband about how out of character our daughter was acting, he told me to get the anointing oil. My husband is very spiritually attuned, so I always listen to him. I made a cross on her forehead with it and prayed:
“Lord, we ask for Your protection over [child’s name]. We rebuke any evil forces in the name of Jesus. She is covered in the Blood of the Lamb, and no harm will come to her. No weapon formed against her will prosper. If any dark influences are present, we declare them to come out and leave in Jesus’s name. They are NOT welcome here.”
This could feel extreme to some, but there is a real war going on, and it’s not physical.
4. The Preemptive Strike
Think back to Job. He didn’t wait for confirmation that his kids sinned. He covered his children regularly, habitually, just in case.
We can pray over our children before school, before they enter new environments, before sleepovers, and even before exposure to media/culture we can’t control.
We can’t be with our kids everywhere, but you know who can?
The Holy Spirit.
This prayer can go something like:
“Please guide and watch over [child’s name] as they head to [school, a sleepover, a friend’s house]. Surround them with Your protection. Guard their mind, their heart, and their spirit. If anything comes against them, we trust You to fight on their behalf. We cover them in the name of Jesus.”
5. The Identity Declarations
These look like speaking God’s truth over who they are BEFORE the enemy tells them who they’re not.
We have posters all over my son’s room with identity verses like “I am a Child of God”, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”, and “I am redeemed” to remind him of who God says he is (once he can read). My husband has also had our kids repeat these identity declarations since they were old enough to speak:
“I am love. I am joy. I am peace. I am patient. I am kind. I am good. I am faithful. I am gentle. I am self-controlled. I am a Child of God!”
He lists out all the Fruits of the Spirit with them in the hopes they will exhibit them.
The enemy tries to get in kids’ heads even when they’re young by telling them things they’re not. Kids are vulnerable and malleable; we need to take control and remind them who GOD says they are.
6. Building a Spiritual Atmosphere in Your Home
Our home is the ground we’re called to hold. Worship, Scripture, prayers spoken out loud, blasting Forrest Frank on Alexa, all of these shift the spiritual atmosphere.
The enemy has a harder time operating in a space that’s saturated with God’s presence.
Regulating ourselves emotionally AND spiritually creates the environment our kids grow up in. They’re absorbing more than we think, not just our words but the spiritual climate of the house they live in.
And don’t be afraid to let your kids see you fighting your own spiritual battles; that’s how they learn to fight theirs.
You Have Authority
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to train up a child in the way they should go. This includes spiritual training.
We’re not totally helpless or overreacting. We’re parents who take the physical AND spiritual wellbeings of our children seriously.
The enemy is real. But so is the God who gave us these kids to raise and equipped us to fight for them.
We can discipline our kids practically AND cover them spiritually.
We don’t have to choose just one.
Read more about Spiritual Warfare in my series, Armed for Battle for more information on warfare, discernment, repentance, and deliverance.
