We are a ministry rooted in the reformed faith that offers resources on grief, autism, alcoholism, terminal illness and life crises, as well as hope and help for daily life.

Dear Dr. Betters,
Is there any passage in the bible promising that if you pray unceasingly for your children, they will be saved?

Pastor Betters responds:

Great question. There is no passage that teaches intercessory prayer saves anyone. Each and every man or woman must be saved by personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. However, the role of prayer in this process is that the person or child we are praying for will be exposed to the Gospel and have ample opportunity to trust Christ as Savior and Lord.

Often the church interprets the Proverb, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it" as a blanket guarantee that proper training and prayer will be sufficient to save the young one when in fact the very opposite is the proper interpretation. If we train a child in the way of his natural sinful bent (that is the true meaning of the words "in the way he should go") then we can pretty much be assured he will not turn from it though God's grace can make the foulest clean.

We must raise our children from the womb to grow up and never remember a time they did not believe. This is the promise of the covenant. God promises with exposure to Godly training in the home, in the church, and in the school that the child will hear the Gospel and have the opportunity to be saved. Prayer is the means but not the cause of that end. I hope this helps.

In His Grip,
Dr. Chuck Betters

You may submit a question to Pastor Betters by clicking here.

There is no guarantee that your question will be used, and by submitting a question, you agree that, if your question chosen, we may post it on our site. Your name will not be used without your express written consent.