When raising kids, we often hear people advise us to pray that our kids will have good friends and that we should pray a hedge around them that only good kids would be able to get in and the bad would not be allowed in. That just sounds selfish.
We could definitely pray that the bad stuff would not influence our child but it may be the contact our child has with the other that could somehow make a difference in both their lives. These kids that you may consider a bad influence are someone’s child and we can’t just wish them away. They are just as much God’s creation as anyone else.
How about pray that they would somehow be changed or influenced for the good. Maybe God would work in their situation and bring people into their lives that would make a difference. Our children will always have someone around them to sway them in the wrong direction. It would be better that we have prayed for their strength so that they develop enough to withstand the stuff that will come against them as they grow. We all know the stuff we endure when little seems big at the time but we also know that when we are older the stuff that we face is bigger.
The individuals that come into our lives through our children will need help and prayer just as much if not more that our children. Our children are and will be covered by our prayers. The ones that may be considered a bad influence may have never had anyone pray for them. Let’s be the first. We can be sure that it would be God’s will to work in everyone’s life, not just the life of our kids. God uses all to His glory and our betterment.