Luke Bryan has written a prayer to Jesus in the last track on his new album, “Mind of a Country Boy.” In “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids,” the country music star and “American Idol” judge describes doing his best to encourage his children to follow Jesus and asks Jesus to watch over them.
“When they’re born, you dive right in / Trying like hell to get ’em born again,” Bryan sings, “Pull out them Bible stories, then you stumble your way through.”
“You do your best to steer ’em straight,” he continues, “Tell ’em ’bout who he is and ain’t / And answer all their questions even though you’ve got some too.”
The song’s chorus says:
I used to talk to my kids about Jesus
The same way that my mom and daddy did
I used to talk to my kids about Jesus
Now I talk to Jesus ’bout my kids
Luke Bryan Relies on Faith Amid Tragedy
Luke Bryan, whose hit singles include “Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” “One Margarita,” “Drunk on You,” and “That’s My Kinda Night,” is a Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music and CMT Music Award-winning artist. In 2018, Bryan joined Katy Perry and Lionel Richie as one of the new judges participating in the reboot of “American Idol.”
Bryan has spoken publicly about his faith over the years. In a 2015 interview, Bryan said that he and his wife, Caroline, try to make sure their kids understand the true meaning of Christmas.
“We try to stress, every day, stress to them, the importance of Jesus and Christianity and being a good person and believing in higher powers,” he said. “I think during Christmas time, with kids, they get wrapped up in Santa Claus and stuff, so I think it’s fun that you sit back and really try to have a talk with them about the real reason.”
Luke and Caroline have five children: two biological sons and their adopted nieces and nephew. Even though Bryan has had an enormous amount of success in his career, he and his family have suffered multiple tragedies. Bryan’s older sister, Kelly, died in 2007. When Kelly’s husband, Ben, died in 2014, the Bryans took in their nephew and two nieces without hesitation.
“We never thought twice about it,” Caroline told ABC News. “You know, it was never something that he and I had to sit down and talk about. ‘Should we take this on?’ We just did that.”
Prior to the deaths of Bryan’s sister and brother-in-law, Bryan’s older brother, Chris, died in 1996 in a car accident. “Man, I’ve had a billion emotions around all that,” Bryan said, speaking to Parade magazine of his brother’s death. “You never quite get over it. But I do believe that when my brother was born, God allocated him 26 years. It was his time.”
After Kelly’s death, Bryan said, “My only older siblings…gone from the world, in a flash in two, two different, crazy, tragic manners…we’ll never know, and never understand.” The artist has performed his hit, “Drink a Beer,” in memory of his siblings.
In 2017, Caroline’s niece, Sadie Brett, passed away at seven months old.
“I’ve watched my family go through ebbs and flows where we get mad at God and we get mad at why this has happened,” Bryan told ABC. “Well, you keep going and you try to, try to be as positive as you can, and you try to appreciate every day. You’ll never get back to 100%. You’ll always be working to get back to 75%.”
The music video for “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” shows Bryan flipping through a Bible. He describes his children going down a “dead-end road,” despite his warnings. “Lord, please watch ’em,” he prays.
