3 Ways the World Will Try to Indoctrinate Your Kids, and 3 Bible Verses You Can Pray Over Them

The world my kids are living in is radically different from the one I grew up in. When I was a kid, there was no internet. There were no cell phones. No Facebook or Twitter. No one I knew owned a computer. If I wanted to find something out, I had to go to the library and check out a book, or consult my parent’s encyclopedia set. In the ’80s, it was fairly easy to settle into your church and community and not hear much from the outside world. I wasn’t particularly sheltered, but still I had never heard many of the sophisticated intellectual objections to the Christian faith until I was an adult….and I was not prepared with answers. But the one thing I DID have—I had praying parents.
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When my faith was under fire as an adult, I am sure the prayers of my parents were a huge part of God bringing me through the waves of doubt.  Much has been written on how to equip our kids intellectually to face the challenges of their culture, but we should never underestimate the power of a praying parent! 

Now our kids have virtually every worldview, philosophy, and theory at their fingertips. Philosopher Peter Berger said, “The internet is a celebration of pluralism.” He’s right, and young people have never been under more pressure to accept contradictory worldviews as being equally true. Here are 3 specific ways the world is trying to indoctrinate, deceive, and influence your child, and 3 corresponding Bible verses to pray over your kids: 

1. It will normalize immorality.

It’s no secret that the easiest way to gain mainstream acceptance of an idea is to make it seem like the most normal thing in the world. The most effective way to do this is through the influence of the media—particularly through TV shows that  stream into our living rooms week after week. Everything from illicit drug use, alcoholism, hook-up culture, adultery, pornography, and even violence toward women have all become normalized, despite the reality of tragic consequences that accompany those behaviors. 

Consider the phenomena of Will & Grace, which first hit the airwaves in the late ’90s and was met with high ratings and critical acclaim. 

In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Joe Biden said, “I think Will and Grace probably did more to educate the American public [on LGBTQ issues] than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far.”  Let that sink in….the then Vice President of the United States credited the cultural movement toward the acceptance of same-sex marriage to a sitcom.

Romans 12:2 is a great verse to turn into a prayer for your children:
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Lord, please help [name] to not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but transform [him/her] into a new person by changing the way [he/she] thinks. May [he/she] learn to know Your will, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

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2. It will offer attractive but empty answers to hot-button issues.

Recently, Netflix released a popular original series called, 13 Reasons Why. It’s about Hannah Baker, a high school girl who commits suicide after a series of events involving various other students unfolds. The show has garnered much attention and has sparked conversations about rape, bullying, relationships, and suicide. While it’s admirable that 13 Reasons Why seeks to lift the lid off some of these difficult topics, the ultimate answer it gives is not just unbiblical, but utterly hopeless. The worldview of the show is embedded in moral relativism and humanism. There is no justice for the rapist and bullying is answered with more bullying. It all comes down to everyone “finding their own truth.”

The main character of the show, Clay, cared for Hannah and didn’t do her any harm. Even so, he decides that he could have loved her better, and thus decides that Hannah’s suicide was his fault. The answer to teen suicide? Human love—and if you don’t recognize the signs, it’s your fault too.  This is secular humanism 101. If you or your teen want to watch this show, I recommend first listening to this podcast episode by Sheologians.

True and lasting hope in this life will only come from the God of hope Himself. Romans 15:13 is a great verse to pray over your children:
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Now may the God of hope fill [name] with all joy and peace as [he/she] believes in [You] so that [he/she] may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

​3.  It will promote feelings-based behavior and call it “science.”

The overwhelming testimony of science is that human life begins at conception, and it’s a scientific fact that unborn babies are human and have a heartbeat, and a unique DNA sequence. There is also strong scientific evidence that unborn babies can feel pain.  But that doesn’t stop Planned Parenthood from providing over 300,000 abortions per year, while claiming to “stand with the science community.” 

Influential Hollywood writer/producer/director Joss Whedon used his talents to support Planned Parenthood with this emotionally charged video: 
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On his new Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves The World, the science guy is touted by CNN as a “science warrior….trying to beat back the anti-scientific thought and quackery that’s prevalent.“ Despite the evidence from genetics that Nye seemed to understand back in the ’90s, his new show contains segments like this one, masquerading as “science.” (Warning—if you missed this one, just know you’ll never be able to unsee/unhear it.)
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I’m not implying that we hide our kids under a rock, or that praying these verses is some kind of magic spell. But 1 John 5:14 tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” How do we know the will of God? From His Word—and we can always pray the Word of God with confidence over our kids! 

What Scriptures do you pray over your kids? Please comment below!
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Alisa, THANK YOU for this post. What an accurate compilation of the world’s ways upon our children. And what an excellent way to respond! My daughter is heading off to college this fall. I will be praying these Scripture verses for her.

Psalm 91 is a great passage to pray! Thanks so much for the article!

Thanks, Alisa! Great summary of 3 major ways the
unbelieving world attacks our kids, and 3 key Scriptures to battle back. As a Christian dad and high school teacher, your observations are spot on. I’ll use and share with others your excellent insight on this. Thanks again!

I pray Proverbs 4:18, that their path will always be the path of the righteous, which is like the first light of dawn, growing ever brighter until the full light of day.

Such a good article. I’m weeping after both of those videos, literally holding my almost three month old sleeping peacefully after feeding. Oh Lord, help us.

I love 2nd Thessalonians 2:10, well, the converse of it, praying that my son would be a lover of the Truth. I want him to make his own decision, but to come to love Jesus because he longs to love what is true—His holiness, mercy, justice, and love as biblically defined, not just the redefinitions given by our culture.

During the school year, I meet weekly with other moms to pray for our children, their teachers and schools. Moms In Prayer International is the ministry that has groups all over the world. Each week we pray a different scripture over our children. We have seen mighty answers to prayer! Praise God! Thank you Alisa for being salt and light in our world today.

Thank you for this Alisa! I have 18 grandchildren for whom I pray specifically and by name every week (5 families, 5 days). I often use Paul’s prayers in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. I am so encouraged by the fact that when we pray God hears!! Thank you so much! (maybe a stronger warning about that second clip!)

Eph 3:14-18 I also like what Paul prayed for fellow believers in Eph 1:15-21 and I also think it’s a wonderful thing to pray that my children and grandchildren would know these things too. How great to learn of the love of God and how deep is Hos love for us!