Giving a dedication to a child provides an opportunity for the mother and father to present their child to God and ask for his grace and wisdom. Here is a look at some of the best prayers for baby dedication to remember.
Prayer #1
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this treasured child of mine. Although you have entrusted this child to me as a gift, I know he or she belongs to you. Like Hannah offered Samuel, I dedicate my child to you, Lord. I recognize that he is always in your care.
Help me as a parent, Lord, with my weaknesses and imperfections. Give me strength and godly wisdom to raise this child after your Holy Word. Please, supply supernaturally what I lack. Keep my child walking on the path that leads to eternal life. Help him to overcome the temptations of this world and the sin that would so easily entangle him.
Dear God, send your Holy Spirit daily to lead, guide, and counsel him. Always assist him to grow in wisdom and stature, in grace and knowledge, in kindness, compassion and love. May this child serve you faithfully, with his whole heart devoted to you all the days of his life. May he discover the joy of your presence through daily relationship with your Son, Jesus.
Help me never to hold on too tightly to this child, nor neglect my responsibilities before you as a parent. Lord, let my commitment to raise this child for the glory of your name cause his life to forever testify of your faithfulness.
In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.
Prayer #2
We pray that You will be their shepherd, that
they will not be left in need. Lord, make them
to lie down in green pastures. May You lead
them beside the still waters. Restore their
souls. May You lead them into paths of righteousness
for Your Name’s sake. Yes, even
though they will walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, they will fear no evil for
You are with them. May your rod and your
staff comfort them. May You prepare a table
before them in the presence of their enemies.
May You anoint their heads with oil. May
their cups run over. May goodness and mercy
follow them all the days of their lives; and we
pray that they will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. Amen.
Prayer #3
We are so grateful for the blessing of being your parents! We bring you before your Maker and give Him complete authority over your life. We pray you will be blessed with love, grace, and an eternal relationship with Jesus. We love you so much!
Prayer #4
We pray that you are rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Prayer #5
Lord, we pray that Matthew’s heart, like seed sown on good soil, will hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—a hundred times what was sown. Please bless him throughout his life. Use us, Lord, as examples to him of what living a life of obedience to you looks like. We pray he finds his joy in You alone!
Prayer #6
Dear Lord,
Thank you for my precious little one.
This love I have for my child overwhelms me with joy.
Today I dedicate myself to parent this child in accordance with your Word.
I commit to teach my child the stories and the instructions in your Word.
I will seek to display your love and wisdom each day.
Guide my words and my actions daily, so that I continually show my little one the wonders of you, my Loving Heavenly Father.
I pray that you, Lord, will be the passion of his heart from a young age to his last day.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
Here is a look at one baby dedication as performed at Sattleback’s Fuel Service by Pastor Chris Reed.
connectusfund.org
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, before a single one of them came to be”. Psalm 139:13-16
Greetings!
Please forgive the delay in updating you. We didn’t arrive home until the early morning hours on Saturday. Since then, we have been trying to adjust to life at home, and catch-up on some rest. I think that the major adjustment has been – well, no rest!
Since this is such an important update, I wanted to take the time to process the events of the last several months, and provide an update that is transparent, and appropriately reflected our thoughts on this journey.
Friday was a day of waiting. It was the day we were expecting news of the results from the initial chromosome test to determine whether our little Sophia had Trisomy 13.
Late Friday afternoon, the Head of Neonatology walked into our room holding a single sheet of paper and announced:
“This is better than an A+ on a report card, it’s normal, everything’s normal!”
And with those words, the wait was over, and it was settled. We are obviously overjoyed, and so deeply grateful to God.
Throughout this journey, we have met with many medical professionals, who are bright and competent, and for whom, we have the deepest respect and gratitude. Along the way, these folks have cautioned us that the cell free DNA test that predicted that our little Sophia would have Trisomy 13 was highly accurate, and that false positives are extremely rare. In fact, the particular test we took, boasts the highest accuracy, and the lowest occurrence of false positives in the industry. This week, though everything about Sophia looked “normal”, a few of these professionals told us that we may just be one of the .3% (.003) who were fortunate enough to get a false positive.
To be clear, we believe that God, in His kindness and grace, has gifted men and women in the medical profession, and has permitted advancements and discoveries in medicine for the benefit all mankind. However, we will not now look to science, (i.e. a false positive) to explain what we’ve prayed for God to do on our behalf. We believe that to do so, would rob God of His glory! We’ve never prayed for a false positive. We prayed that God would heal our baby, and that is what we believe He did. We hope that this strengthens your faith, as it has ours – and that, as a result, God is bigger in your eyes.
Many of those reading about our journey have commented that our faith was “inspiring”. We do not consider ourselves special, or as having extraordinary faith. The truth is, some days; we felt we could barely hang-on. It was during these times that we experienced the sustaining grace of God. We’ve simply cried out to God and asked Him to heal our baby. Or, that if it wasn’t his will to heal our baby, that He would grant us mercy, allowing us the gift of time, and the chance to meet her. All along the way, we endeavored to hold our baby “loosely”, with open hands, affirming to God that, as hard as it was from a human perspective, we desired His glory and renown above all else. He has done more than we could ever ask or imagine.
We will always believe that God heard the prayers of His people, and healed our baby – that what we all witnessed in the birth of Sophia was a miraculous intervention of God, owing nothing to our own merit – and simply a result of His mercy. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to Him!
Our New Forever Family…
Before I close, I want to say a word about some new friends we’ve met on our journey. We have written about them on our blog before. These are the moms and dads of children with a trisomy, and these precious children themselves.
Before we received word that Sophia was at high risk for Trisomy 13, the word “trisomy” wasn’t even a part of our vocabulary. Shortly after receiving our screening results, we were introduced to some the most courageous people we’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. We were instantly adopted into this “family”, and have been counseled, cared for, encouraged and strengthened on every step of our journey. We are grateful that our Sophia does not have Trisomy 13, but we are forever a part of this noble fraternity. It is an honor to fight side-by-side with them. Theirs is a valiant battle against an insidious modern day eugenics ideology that labels these children as “incompatible with life”, and in so many cases, results in the refusal life saving treatment that could give these precious children and their parents the gift of time.
These moms and dads face a battle that thankfully, most moms and dads will never face. We are praying intentionally about what our partnership looks like going forward. But, we will forever be their partners and comrades-in-arms. The children they love so deeply are more than a genetic label, and are no less “fearfully and wonderfully made”. We love them, and they have our deepest respect, admiration and support. We carry their grief, and have wept with them as their dreams for their children were shattered. As they have mourned the loss of their children, we have mourned and wept with them.
Finally, words cannot express our deep gratitude for you – those of you who have stood united with us in prayer, and those of you who have encouraged us on this journey. So many of you have carried us on your hearts. Thank you for “standing in the gap for us”, and for your calls, text messages and Facebook posts. We plan for this blog to live on… as a testimony to God’s kindness and faithfulness, and as a resource to those who may be called to walk the road we have walked.
May any praise and glory be directed exclusively to God alone – who orders all things according to the counsel of His will. His faithfulness endures to all generations.
“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:5
Andy & Jennifer
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2
prayersforbabyellise.com
Welcome to the Preparing For Baby series. This series will run for two weeks (Dec. 3-7 & Dec. 17-21). If you missed any past posts in the series, just click the links below.
Many prayers are said while a couple is trying to conceive a baby and during the 9 months leading up to the birth.
But don’t stop there!
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16
Prayer is very important during the labor and delivery of the baby too. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember to pray during this time because you are all caught up in the experience and may even feel like you have lost all control. This is when it is very important to have a labor support person that shares your beliefs and desires.
Keeping Christ at the center of your birth will help tremendously with how you handle labor, the pain, and anything unexpected that comes your way.
It wasn’t until my fourth baby that I was able to experience just how effective prayer, and leaning on the Lord during labor, can help you have a positive, amazing, and super natural birth experience.
In the previous post in this series, I shared scriptures that I went to leading up to, and during the labor process. In this post, I will share prayers that I used as well as some statements or affirmations that I kept in mind (and on index cards) during labor (these are also good for your labor support person to use as well).
Pregnancy Prayer
Dear Lord:
Thank you for this contraction, Lord!!! I welcome it and know that I am one step closer to meeting my baby! I give this contraction permission to accomplish its task and I trust in my God-given instinct to birth normally and naturally, and I thank you for guiding and directing me during this process.
I have complete faith in the birth process and have peace knowing that You created me to do this! I give up control and fear and let my body take over and bringing this baby into the world. Help me to relax every muscle in my body and allow my cervix to open and help the baby move down the birth canal easily. I pray that my uterus will work perfectly and in order and the my cervix will remain supple and open.Comfort us during this time and allow us to have the beautiful birth experience that You desire us to have. Cast out any fear that the enemy puts in our way! Help us to have a gentle and quiet spirit, yet firm and confident during this process, so that others will see your hand at work. We praise You and thank You for Your love, for keeping us safe and for this miracle we are about to meet!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Greet each contraction with prayer! Don’t let a contraction go by without praying! Thank the Lord, acknowledge Him, praise Him! If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
As labor progresses, it might get hard to recite such a long prayer, so I have a shortened version that I use later on.
Dear Lord:
Thank you for this contraction, Lord!!! I welcome it, and allow it to do its job!
You created me to do this!! I have faith in that! Cast away all my fears and help me relax my entire body so it can take over and bring this baby in the world.Thank you, Lord, for Your safety and love, and this precious baby!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
And shorter yet….
Dear Lord:
Thank you for this contraction! I am one step closer to meeting this miracle! Thank you for your safety and love!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
More things to think about and/or to add to your birthing prayers:
- Jesus Christ is the most important thing we need. If we allow the peace of Christ to take over our entire being, there is no room for fear.
- Jesus Christ is our Comforter; He is the most powerful form of pain relief.
- Negative thoughts and fears are NOT from the Lord. When they begin to seep in, remind the enemy that you are saved; you are a child of God.
- Don’t say “I can’t,” or “Make it stop,” or things of that nature. Instead, think of how far you’ve already come and focus on the present. No bad thoughts, just good, prayerful thoughts!
- Do not give into the enemy’s lies. Jesus has already won the battle. The enemy will only have victory if we give in to Him. Resist the enemy and he will flee!
- Breathe in the Holy Spirit, and exhale tension.
- You will hit emotional hurdles – most likely during active labor and during transition. This is a good thing. It means you are almost there. Recognize these hurdles and tell your support person about them before labor so they can recognize them too. When you are ready to give up, remember that you are progressing to the next stage of labor and your reward is near.
Statements/Affirmations for you and/or your labor support person to use during labor:
- I can meet this challenge with God’s help.
- God is with me; He is my strength and hope.
- I’ll just take one contraction at a time; God’s grace is sufficient for me.
- I’m not going to think about the pain; I’ll look to the Lord and use relief measures.
- Anxiety if normal, but I can cast it on God.
- I don’t need to prove myself to anyone or try to pretend my pain isn’t real. The Lord knows how I feel.
- This feeling reminds me to use my relief measures and fix my eyes on Jesus.
- Doubting myself is unnecessary; I know I can do this with God’s help.
- I can’t eliminate this pain completely; I can deal with it with God’s help.
- Feeling upset won’t help; I know the Lord is with me.
- When the pain becomes intense, I will focus on Christ and on what I need to do.
- I can cope with my labor with your help, Father. I can pray about this.
- I will think and pray about what I have to do.
- Scripture passages are my best defense.
- I believe in God’s love for me no matter how difficult things get.
* I did not make up these statements; I have them on index cards from years ago and I can not find or recall the source.
Save
Save
Linking up with many of these awesome link parties.
www.myjoyfilledlife.com
Here is a wonderful prayer for all babies who are conceived and in their mother’s womb. This powerful prayer will protect the baby all through the nine months in the mother’s womb.
O God of all creation,
Nurture and protect tiny children and keep them safe in the sanctuary of their mother’s womb.
As You so wondrously form their hearts and minds and lungs and souls, so strengthen our will to lovingly nurture and protect them.
Give us the eyes to see them as our brothers and sisters, the minds to welcome them as our own, and the faith to defend them as Your children.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and the mother of all the little ones, through Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.
lordcalls.com
