5 Ways Your Kids Are Under Spiritual Attack (and What to Do About It)

Last Updated on August 21, 2024 by Alicia Michelle

Take a quick look around our world and it's quite obvious that are our kids are under spiritual attack.

It's a terrifying thought, but the Bible tells us that we're in a spiritual war (Ephesians 6:12) and our children have an enemy that actively plots to attack them.

That's why, as Christian parents, we must stand together to teach our kids about God and how to grow close to Him!

Let's discover God's powerful weapons for fighting against spiritual attack on our kids.

 

God Has Won the Battle on the Spiritual Attack on Our Kids

First things first: While our kids may be under spiritual attack, the Bible also promises that nothing, nothing can thwart God’s good plans for our children.

The enemy's plans can't snatch our kids out of God’s awesome covering. And speaking of that enemy, we read in Revelation 20 that he has already lost the war. Amen!

As Christians, our job now is to fight! We must understand the ways the enemy spiritually attacks our kids, learn some key Bible verses to pray over our kids in the battle, and give our kids practical skills to grow deeply with God through daily quiet time.

How to Use Prayer to Fight Against Spiritual Attack on Kids

As Christian parents and grandparents, these great battles for our kids’ hearts are also fought in prayer as we use God’s Truth to claim victory, break down half-truths and ask for divine guidance (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

RELATED VIDEO: Inside the War Room: How to Fight for Your Family

However, it’s incredibly easy to be overwhelmed by this task, especially when we have multiple kids!

We know that we’re supposed to be praying for our kids, but what specific areas are our kids most susceptible to satanic attack? And how can we pray for victory in these areas?

5 Areas the Enemy Wants to Attack Your Kids

Although every child has their own unique struggles, in general, there are 5 areas where our enemy tends to attack this generation of kids.

Let’s take a look at each of them and discover how we can best fight the enemy in his spiritual attacks on our kids.

Kids Spiritual Attack Area #1: Self-Worth

Our Parenting Goal:

We want our kids to understand how much God values them, and that nothing or no one can change who they are in Christ.

How the Enemy Spiritually Attacks Our Kids:

• He teaches our kids to base their self-worth on their outside appearance, on their accomplishments and on their possessions.
• He that life is all about them and their pleasure, and that they need to ignore that voice of conviction that tells them the difference between right or wrong.
• He reminds them of their faults and failures and is quick to condemn our kids for their mistakes.

How You Can Pray for Your Kids:

• Pray that they will have a deep relationship with God at a young age so that they can learn to hear His voice above the roar of the crowd.
• Pray that they will be solid and strong in the truth that they are handmade by our Creator on purpose and with a purpose.
• Pray that they will everyday grow deeper and deeper in the life-changing truth that they are loved by God. 

Scriptures to Teach Kids About Self-Worth:

• 2 Samuel 22:17-20
• Psalm 61:5
• Psalm 139:13-18
• Jeremiah 29:11
• Matthew 10:28-31
• Ephesians 3:12-21
• 1 John 4:9-11

 

Additional Helpful Christian Parenting Resources:

• How to Teach Kids About Confidence (11 Truths for Parents)
• 4 Ways to Raise Confident Kids Who Love God

Kids Spiritual Attack Area #2: Body Image/Sexuality

Our Parenting Goal:

We want our kids to have a deep reverence for the intricate way their unique body is formed, and because of this respect, we want our kids to grow up honoring their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit who value purity and sexual abstinence until marriage.

How the Enemy Spiritually Attacks Our Kids:

• He tells our kids that they’re not uniquely made, but that they’re simply a result of a random combination of genes that’s taken millions of years to create.
• He convinces our kids that they are mere animals with physical desires that deserve to be met, and that sexual pleasure is just one of those desires that should be fulfilled without any emotional attachment.
• He convinces some that perhaps God made a mistake in giving them the wrong gender, leading to all kinds of deep identity issues about what it means to be male and female.
• He uses television and the media to oh-so-subtly promote certain body shapes as ideal over others. He convinces them that every measure must be taken to achieve these ideal body images, including those that lead to eating disorders and drug abuse.

How You Can Pray for Your Kids:

• Pray that your kids would treasure their sexuality as a true gift from God, and that they would honor that gift by saving it as a precious treasure to give their future spouse.
• Pray that God would help your kids choose purity in the face of temptation in order to respect God, themselves and others they may harm through pre-marital sexual activity.
• Pray that your kids would understand deeply that they were made specifically as male or female for a purpose and that there is nothing about their bodies that is a “mistake.”
• Pray for protection from the idea that your kids must do anything and everything (including eating disorders, drug abuse, or other harmful behaviors) in order to attain a “preferred” shape or figure.

Scriptures to Teach Kids on Healthy Body Image/Sexuality:

• Genesis 1:27
• Genesis 5:2
• Mark 10:5-9
• Psalm 139
• Proverbs 5:1-23   

 

Additional Helpful Christian Parenting Resources:

• “When (and How) Should I Talk to My Kids About Sex?”
• The Hows and Whys of Talking to Kids About Sex

Kids Spiritual Attack Area #3: Influences

Our Parenting Goal:

We want our kids to be surrounded by those who can influence them toward God’s great purpose for their lives; and we also want our kids to grow to become those people who influence others in powerful ways for the greater good.

How the Enemy Spiritually Attacks Our Kids:

• Instead of just surrounding our kids with bad influences (he knows that's too obvious of an approach), he does everything in his power to (subtly) keep the good influences out.
• He keeps our kids away from God’s word. He keeps us too busy and distracted to influence our kids the way that we need to.
• He convinces them that truth is relative and not absolute, and therefore, influencing others toward godliness is irrelevant and judgmental against others’ beliefs.
• He convinces them that they can’t make a difference and that they really don’t have the power the change things anyway, so why even try?

How You Can Pray for Your Kids:

• Pray for strong, godly influences to surround your kids everyday of their lives
• Pray for divine protection from negative influences.
• Pray that your influence as a Christian parent could be a powerful voice that shapes them to make God-honoring decisions.
• Pray that you would be convicted should you allow anything to distract you from your main priority to be a positive influence on your kids.
• Pray that God would raise your kids up to be the cultural influencers of the next generation. Pray that godliness and righteousness would dwell so richly in their hearts that God's hope, peace and love would spill out of them onto every person they encounter.
• Pray that your kids would become world-changers for God who boldly stand up for the truth, even when it’s unpopular.

Scriptures to Teach Kids About Influences:

• Deuteronomy 4:9
• Deuteronomy 11:18-21
• Jeremiah 15:19
• Proverbs 22:6
•  Romans 12:1-2
• Ephesians 4:14-15
• 3 John 11

 

Additional Helpful Christian Parenting Resources:

How to Teach Your Kids About Biblical Wisdom

Kids Spiritual Attack Area #4: Purpose and Life Calling

Our Parenting Goal:

We want our kids to live purposefully and passionately, always seeking God’s direction. We want them to grow up with a willingness to persevere, a deep understanding of the cost (and joys) of commitment, and to be unwilling to settle for complacency and comfort.

How the Enemy Spiritually Attacks Our Kids:

• He distracts and confuses our kids, telling them to use emotion to guide their decision-making instead of seeking to align their passions with what God is already doing.
• He doesn’t want our kids to understand or appreciate their unique personality and talents that God has divinely given them.
• He encourages our children toward laziness and to be content with seeking self-pleasure and the easy way out.
• Through mindless pursuits, he keeps our kids numb to the better life of magnificent beauty that comes from following God’s wild and wonderful best path.

How You Can Pray for Your Kids:

• Pray for your kids to be able to clearly discern between their emotions and God's truth about a given situation.
• Pray against laziness and complacency in your kids.
• Pray that your kids would know at a very early age how God wants them to be a part of His big plan in telling the world about Him.
• Pray for wisdom on how to direct your kids with both cautiousness and courage, not allowing our own fears about “what if…?” get in the way of how He wants to use them in the world.

Scriptures to Teach Kids About Purpose and Life Calling:

• Proverbs 28:1
•  John 2:13-17
• Acts 4:13
• Acts 20:24
• Romans 12:6-8
• Romans 12:11
• 2 Corinthians 3:7-12
• Colossians 3:23-24

 

Additional Helpful Christian Parenting Resources:

• How to Teach Children About Biblical Joy (Not Happiness)
• 11 Practical Ways to Teach Kids About Commitment
• When Good Parenting Means Letting Go

Kids Spiritual Attack Area #5: Money, Possessions and Work

Our Parenting Goal:

We want our children to have a healthy relationship with money, understanding that possessions are not equated to a person’s worth nor do they bring ultimate happiness. We want them to understand that the things of this world can bring us enjoyment, but that lasting joy is found only in God.

How the Enemy Attacks:

• Like Eve in the Garden, he teases and tempts our kids with good looking “fruit” (worldly possessions) that he promises will solve their problems and bring fulfillment.
• He convinces them that they need to do everything they can to get ahead (including compromising their values, if need be) because having lots of money and possessions is the ultimate goal.
• Through a spirit of ingratitude, he keeps them insecure, empty and preoccupied with thoughts of what they do not have so that they’re always looking for more.

How You Can Pray for Your Kids:

• Pray that God would help you to model a healthy example of how to handle possessions and money.
• Pray that your kids would persevere in whatever vocation God leads them to and that they would work with cheerful hearts as if they were serving God directly.
• Pray that your kids would see at an early age that money and possessions are a gift from You and thus must be always held with an open hand so that You can use those gifts to bless others.
• Pray that your kids would find their value in their true identity as a child of God, not in the possessions they do or do not have.
• Pray for contentment and gratefulness in whatever situation they’re given—rich or poor.

Scriptures to Teach Our Kids:

• Proverbs 13:11
• Proverbs 23:4-5
• Proverbs 30:7-9
• Matthew 5:5
• Matthew 6:19-21
• Ephesians 6:7-8
• 1 Timothy 6:6-10

 

Additional Helpful Christian Parenting Resources:

• How to Teach Kids Time Management Skills
• Ultimate List of Books & Movies About Perseverance for Kids

Other Posts on Protecting Kids from Spiritual Attack

• How to Raise Godly, Confident Kids
• 4 Ways to Raise Confident Kids who Love God
• 23 Tips for a More Powerful Prayer Life

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