Prayers for My Family
PSALM 103:13
Introduction
Family is both a wonderful blessing and a daily challenge�
We have an incredible opportunity to share God’s love as we invest in our special relationship with all our family members through the example we set, the conversations we have, the games we play, the Bible verses we share and the prayers we say�
Yet no family is without tension, difficult circumstances and ongoing conflict. In theory, we long to show God’s grace within the messiness of family life� In reality, this can be really hard work�
There’s no formula for caring for our family and keeping Christ at the centre� But there is prayer� As we pray for our family, we put their needs, specific situations and individual journeys into God’s hands. We find space to surrender our family members to the One who made them� And we learn to follow His will, so that we might step into the opportunities He provides.
These Our Daily Bread reflections and prayers are here to encourage and strengthen you as you entrust your family to the Lord� Our prayer is that as you experience His compassion, you will also become a channel of it for your loved ones�
In Him, Your friends at Our Daily Bread Ministries
Praying for My Family’s Wellbeing
Psalm 94:17–19
17 Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death�
18 When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me�
19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Beyond Ourselves
My wife lives with a chronic pain condition every day of her life. Although we are still relatively young, we have to be careful about how we plan and spend each week in order to avoid causing debilitating flare-ups. These don’t just cause extra pain, but deep distress, triggering overwhelming anxiety�
When anxiety takes hold, my wife will often listen to Christian songs on repeat. Utterly exhausted, she finds concentrating on prayer or studying the Scripture almost impossible� But these songs, rooted in the Word of God, bring His peace and comfort when she needs it most�
The psalmist knew what it meant to wrestle with crippling anxiety� Desperate, surrounded by enemies and feeling like he was teetering on a cliff edge (PSALM 94:4–7), he called out to the Lord, “My foot is slipping” (V. 18)� His hope in such dark moments was the support of God’s “unfailing love”� “When anxiety was great within me,” the psalmist reflected, “your consolation brought me joy” (V. 19)�
It may seem impossible to imagine being joyful when we’re anxious� Yet this comes from beyond ourselves: it is the result of God’s consoling comfort. Perhaps you will hear His reassuring voice through a Christian song, a biblically meditative podcast or a verse full of hope on social media� In whatever way you can, come and seek Him when you are anxious and let Him “become [your] fortress” (V. 22)�
Chris Wale
Father, the earth and everything in it is Yours� No situation is outside of Your control� I know You can move mountains for Your people; or give them the strength to climb over�
I choose to entrust my family to You today� Thank You for each one of them � Thank You for the time spent with one another; laughing, crying and growing together� In the good seasons and the hard, may You bring us peace and reassurance � For the promises of Your Word hold true every single day�
Help me to know how to pray for each member of my family�
Help me to love and accept them despite the things I don’t understand� Help me to pray strategically for their health and the direction of their lives. Please keep them on Your path and enfold them in Your love� I put my faith in Your promise that You will give us just what we need� In Jesus’ name, Amen�
WHEN ANXIETY WAS GREAT WITHIN ME, YOUR
PSALM 94:19
Praying About Family Tensions
Luke 15:11–13, 20–24
11 Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate�” So he divided his property between them�
13 ‘Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living�
20 He got up and went to his father�
‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms round him and kissed him�
21 ‘The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you� I am no longer worthy to be called your son�”
22 ‘But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet� 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate� 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found�” So they began to celebrate�
The Forgiving Father
I find I need to apologise most often to those I’m closest to—my family� Although I love them dearly, I can hurt them through my selfishness and pride. I need to heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit to confess my wrongdoings and ask them and God to forgive me�
Jesus shares a story of a son who hurt the one closest to him� In an act that would have been deeply offensive in his Near Eastern culture, a son asked his father for his share of the inheritance (LUKE 15:12). Through this request he in effect wished his father was dead�
After squandering his windfall in loose living, the son realised his wrongdoing and decided to confess this to his father (V. 17)� He repented and didn’t stay stuck in the pigsty, but returned home to tell his father that he had sinned against him and God (V. 21)�
Perhaps we resonate so deeply with this story because of what comes next� In an act unthinkable in that culture, the father raised his robes to run towards his son, restoring him to his rightful place as heir� The forgiving father, who represents the heavenly Father, welcomed him with grace and love�
We may find it hard to repent of our sins, but when we do, God forgives us, restores us and showers us with His love� Not only does He welcome us home, but He runs towards us, arms outstretched�
Amy Boucher Pye
Gracious Heavenly
Father, how You love me� Show me in a fresh way how I can grasp just how deep and wide and long and high Your love is� I am so grateful I can bring my sorrows, anxieties and cares to You in prayer—and You will hear me�
Thank You for caring enough to hear and answer my prayers� Lord, there are tensions in my family� There are broken and strained relationships. There is unforgiveness, judgement, misunderstanding and confusion� It pains me to see the rifts between those who should love each other� I hate to think of how these things affect the little ones in our family.
Please, Lord, bring healing and wholeness where there is brokenness and strife� Bring forgiveness, understanding and grace; heal my family, I pray� In the name of Jesus, Amen�
YOU, LORD, ARE forgiving AND good,
abounding in love
TO ALL WHO CALL TO YOU.
PSALM 86:5
Praying for Non-Christian Family
Acts 8:27–35
27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means ‘queen of the Ethiopians’)� This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet� 29 The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it�’
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet� ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked�
31 ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him�
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth�
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth�’
34 The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus�
No One Is Unreachable
When Amy was a student, she and two friends felt called to go to Afghanistan and pray� The night before her flight, she had a dream of the three of them giving Bibles to the Taliban, and felt it was from God� Hastily, they stuffed their bags with Arabic Bibles.
Miraculously, their smuggled books passed border checks, they gained entry where journalists had been refused, and they were able to meet with the Taliban’s education minister, foreign minister and religion minister� With a wary eye on the guards carrying Kalashnikovs, Amy handed over a Bible. To her astonishment, the religion minister said, “I have prayed for many years that I could read the Bible � � � Thank you�” God used Amy’s dream to answer his prayer�
Philip was similarly directed by God to reach an intimidating official. The Ethiopian eunuch was a devout Jew who held a high position “in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, queen of the Ethiopians” (V. 27)� Philip was able to explain how Isaiah 53 prophesied about Jesus (VV. 32–35) and the eunuch went back to the Ethiopian court as a baptised Christian (VV. 36–38)�
The Bible is full of unexpected conversions� Amy’s encounter with the Taliban changed her: she no longer sees anyone as ‘unreachable’ by God� Wonderfully, the Spirit can transform even the most unlikely people� Nothing is impossible for God�
Tanya Marlow
Loving Lord, God of Salvation; I am so grateful that You brought me from darkness to light through Your Son, Jesus� Thank You for saving me from myself, from my sin and from an eternity of sorrow�
Lord, the deepest desire of my heart is for my whole family to know You for themselves� I pray for their salvation. I pray for the gift of faith. I pray for the miracle that only You can do�
Open their eyes� Show them their need for You, and give them a revelation of the reality of who You are� May Your kingdom come in my family� May we all be trophies of Your grace�
Thank You that You still reach the unreachable� Help me to see the possibilities of Your grace in my family’s lives� Amen�
God so loved the world
THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE eternal life.
JOHN 3:16
Praying for My Children
Matthew 19:13-15
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them� But the disciples rebuked them�
14 Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these�’ 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there�
Parents Who Pray
A young mother sent these words to a magazine: “I wish I could wrap my children in bubble wrap to protect them from the big, bad world outside�”
Author Stormie Omartian understands how that mother feels� In her book The Power of a Praying Parent, she writes, “One day I cried out to God, saying, ‘Lord, this is too much for me� I can’t keep a moment-by-moment watch on my son every day� How can I ever have peace?’”
God responded by leading Stormie and her husband to become praying parents� They began to intercede for their son daily, mentioning the details of his life in prayer.
The desire to wrap our children in bubble wrap to protect them is rooted in fear, a common tendency for all parents, no matter how old our children are� Wrapping them in prayer, as Jesus did (MATTHEW 19:13–15), is a powerful alternative. He cares more about our children than we do, so we can release them into His hands by praying for them� He doesn’t promise us that nothing bad will happen to them� But as we pray, He will give us the peace we long for (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)�
This challenge is for all parents—even those whose children have grown up: don’t ever stop wrapping your children in prayer!
JOANIE YODER
Lord God, I thank You for being my Father and my children’s heavenly Father� You know them, love them and walk beside them� You are there when they rise or they fall; You hear every unspoken fear; You see every challenging moment of their day�
You understand their hearts infinitely better than I do. And so I release my children to Your care and Your plan� Lord, reign over them and their journey through life. Even when they must walk through valleys of heartache, help me to trust Your presence in their lives and Your ways which are beyond my understanding�
And I ask, Father, that You would help me to guide my children to You� May I speak with Your kindness and compassion� May I act with Your grace and understanding� May my every act of discipline be wrapped in abundant love�
Even when I cannot see You transforming their hearts, give me the faith to believe that You are indeed at work for good in their lives� I pray that You would lead them into full trust in You and Your will, so that they can live in the fullness of Your blessings� Lord, my children are Yours� Have Your way� In Jesus’ name, Amen�
DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY
prayer and petition,
WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD. AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING, WILL guard your hearts AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7
Praying for My Grandchildren
1 Timothy 4:12-16
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity� 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching� 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you�
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress� 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely� Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers�
Following Our Example
Alyssa was six and just learning to read� She often saw her parents and grandparents reading their Bibles in the morning. Early one day, she woke up before everyone else� Grandma found her sitting on the couch, with her Bible and a devotional booklet on her lap. She wanted to follow the example of spending time with God at the beginning of the day�
Timothy, a young pastor, faced heavy responsibilities in the church at Ephesus— training believers, leading worship, countering false doctrine� The older, experienced apostle Paul gave him instruction on leading the church in these areas, but he also mentioned the importance of personal conduct� He said, “Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 TIMOTHY 4:12)�
Paul challenged Timothy: “Watch your life and doctrine closely�” (V. 16). If he paid attention to his own spiritual life and to solid doctrine, he would be a godly example to those looking to imitate him�
We all have others who are observing us� Sometimes it is the littlest ones who watch us most intently, like little Alyssa. Let’s be mindful of how we’re living and the One we are living for, so that the example we set will help our little ones in their walk with God�
ANNE CETAS
Father God, help me live a godly life of faith and love and purity, so my family, who watch what I do, will grow in their maturity� When I make mistakes, may Your grace and faithfulness shine through; when I imitate Your love, may my grandchildren grow in their curiosity for You� In all things, may You receive the glory� Lord, the times are dark, and I fear for my grandchildren as they must navigate a world so different from mine, and so filled with dangerous ideologies and strange temptations. Please will You guard them, protect them and fill them with wisdom? Will You uproot the lies the world has planted in them and allow the seeds of Your truth to grow and bear fruit in their lives? May they blossom into strong, wise men and women in Your kingdom� For Jesus’ sake, Amen�
I WILL SING OF
the Lord’s great love for ever;
WITH MY MOUTH I WILL MAKE YOUR FAITHFULNESS KNOWN THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS.
PSALM 89:1
Praying for Distant Family
John 11:32-36
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died�’
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled�
34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked� ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied�
35 Jesus wept�
36 Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’
Tears of Love
I was choked up that Saturday evening when I had to say goodbye to my daughters� I didn’t think it would be so hard, empty nesting a second time round. After all, the girls had previously been away at university and had now secured jobs they really wanted� But leaving them in a distant town and heading home to a house lacking their life—and their mess— touched me deeply�
Jesus too was overcome with emotion the day he went to visit Martha and Mary in Bethany� He already knew that the Father was going to do an amazing miracle through Him (SEE JOHN 11:4, 11) and raise His friend, Lazarus from the dead (V. 33, 34)� He had thus deliberately delayed when the sisters asked Him to come (V. 6)� But when He arrived He felt their pain deeply, being intensely affected by their grief. “Jesus wept” (V. 35) may be the shortest verse in the Bible but it is also one of the most profound� Jesus wasn’t being weak when He cried; He was expressing His humanity and love as He demonstrated His divinity and power when He raised Lazarus�
To stand silently with someone in pain and shed tears can be a greater act of love than uttering many words, as my daughters knew from my wet eyes that evening. What consolation to know that God also draws alongside us, empathising with us in our sorrows�
Adrian Smith
Lord God, my Father; what a blessing to be able to unburden my heart to You� Help me as I pray from a distance for those I love and care about�
I pray for my family members who love and trust You� May You fill them with wisdom, vision, love and compassion as they seek to spread Your truth to others�
I pray for those who know Your gospel but are not walking with You� Please awaken their spirits and draw them into Your kingdom� May they come to know You personally and lead others to You as well�
And I lift up those who know nothing of You; who need the opportunity to hear the gospel and understand Your love for them� I pray You would put people in their lives who will share Your truth with them and be Your hands and feet to them�
I pray all these things in the name of Jesus, Amen�
I AM THE
resurrection and the life.
THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL LIVE, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIE; AND WHOEVER LIVES BY BELIEVING IN ME WILL never die.
JOHN 11:25-26
Praying for Hurting Family
Deuteronomy 8:1–5
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors� 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands�
3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord�
4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years� 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you�
God in the Wilderness
For various sad reasons, my family has lived in seven different houses over a five-year period. This is a lot of moving house, with all the accompanying uncertainty. We’ve lost money, with significant moving charges and lawyers’ fees, but the biggest cost has been emotional. Some of the moves represented dashed hopes or painful uprootings from places we’d loved� Others were into temporary rented accommodation, where the instability and uncertainty took its toll� In comparison with the world’s refugees, admittedly, we are extremely privileged—we were always sheltered and warm— but even this experience taught us that living in limbo is exhausting.
No wonder the Israelites grumbled about forty years in the desert� However, in Moses’ last speech before they entered the Promised Land (DEUTERONOMY 1:1), he reminded them of God’s past help in their long wanderings� God had provided for them: “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during those forty years” (DEUTERONOMY 8:4), and God had given them manna to eat (V. 3). Even the hardships had a spiritual purpose: “to humble and test you to know what was in your heart” (V. 2)�
Right now I’m too drained to confidently identify God’s good purpose and provision for my wanderings, but Deuteronomy 8 helps me trust that in time, I will. If you are in a desert period, I trust this for you, too�
Tanya Marlow
Mighty heavenly
Father, my God; You know how my heart breaks for my family when I see the terrible difficulties they are facing. I lift them to You and ask You to pour Your grace upon each one of them�
I pray for the tide of trouble to change� I pray these trials will pass and peace will come for them� May they each have the grace, strength and faith they need to endure the pain and confusion of this season� May their faith grow, and may they shine Your light to others who are struggling too�
You are Lord over everything� May I feel Your hand holding me tightly today. Lord God, You are in complete control� I put my trust in You again� Fill my heart, and the hearts of my loved ones, with Your peace� In Jesus’ name, Amen�
Praying for My Family’s Future
Hebrews 13:5-6
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you�’
6 So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid� What can mere mortals do to me?’
A Little Concern
I know I’m not supposed to worry, but I’m a little concerned about something. Perhaps it’s because of a new situation in our family. As I look around, I can’t help but have a bit of anxiety� You see, my wife and I recently found out that we were going to be grandparents� This led me to think about the kind of world our grandchild will grow up in�
When he or she finishes school, it will be nearly two decades down the line� Will university cost £100,000 a year by then? Will there be any need to learn to drive, or will all vehicles be selfdriven? Will morals and ethics be outmoded? And will the church still be making an impact? The future can be a scary place� The unknown can be overwhelming, especially when the known has so many struggles� That’s why we need to trust in what God has promised�
No matter what situation our grandchildren will face, they can depend on God’s promise of help—regardless of what trouble the world will be in� God said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (HEBREWS 13:5)� And Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (MATTHEW 28:20)�
Those are great promises to depend on when we start to worry about the future, whether it’s ours or the next generation’s.
DAVE BRANON
Gracious Father, our world seems to be unravelling� There is so much instability, uncertainty and fear; and although I know You’re in control, it’s hard not to be anxious for the future� As much as I try to have faith, I find myself worrying time and again.
Forgive me for wandering away from You at times, for trying to fight my own battles by myself, and for trying to manipulate or control others� I trust You to lead me. I trust You to fight for me. And I trust You to do Your work in the lives of those I love�
I’m tired of feeling anxious about a future I cannot control� Whatever happens, You are God� You are good and You care for me� You can be trusted to walk before me wherever I go, even through the valleys of life� I choose to have faith in Your goodness, Your faithfulness and Your love for me and my family� I entrust our future to You now and pray You would help us to keep following where You lead every day� Amen
HEBREWS 13:5
HPRAYER: Exodus 5:22-23
ANSWER: Exodus 6:1-8
THE PRAYER THAT asked why
ave you ever prayed for something, and it seemed like God did the opposite?
Following God’s instructions, Moses made the journey to Egypt and announced to the Israelite slaves that God was going to perform mighty miracles and set them free. The people rejoiced at this wonderful news, bowing down to worship God.
Encouraged by the people’s response, Moses approached Pharaoh with God’s demand, “Let my people go!” That’s where it all started to go wrong.
“No,” Pharaoh shouted. In fact, he was so annoyed at Moses for distracting his workforce that he decided to make the slaves work even harder.
The people were angry, but not at Pharaoh; they were angry at Moses! Yet Moses had only done what God commanded. In sheer frustration, Moses cried to God, “Why did you send me if You were only going to make things worse?”
It seems a fair question. “I will bring you to the land I promised,” God assured him. Moses just had to keep trusting. He didn’t yet see that this was all part of a rescue plan that was beyond his wildest dreams—even Pharaoh’s stubbornness.
It’s okay to be honest in prayer and ask God about things that don’t make sense. But remember that God sees what we don’t; He might be working out a plan that’s bigger than we could imagine!
Deepen Your Prayer Life Prayers of the Bible at a Glance
The prayers found in the Bible are totally relatable for today! Some people prayed for the wicked to be saved; others prayed for eternal justice. Some prayers shook the earth; others were whispered in private� Some poured out praise; others questions. Some were full of confidence; others doubt. Some rejoiced in the unknowable, others screamed “Why?”
If that tells us anything, it’s that prayer doesn’t come from a rule book; it comes from the heart. This booklet of little introductions to the prayers of the Bible will inspire you to read and reflect on them for yourself. As you do, you’ll find more and more reasons to always fix your eyes on the Lord in your own unique and personal prayer life. 5
HE HEARS US Prayers for My Family
There’s no formula for caring for our family and keeping Christ at the centre. But there is prayer. As we pray for our family, we put their needs, specific situations and individual journeys into God’s hands. We find space to surrender our family members to the One who made them. And we learn to follow His will, so that we might step into the opportunities He provides.
These Our Daily Bread reflections and prayers are here to encourage and strengthen you as you entrust your family to the Lord. Our prayer is that as you experience His compassion, you will also become a channel of it for your loved ones.
For information on our resources, visit ourdailybread.org . Alternatively, please contact the office nearest to you from the list below, or go to ourdailybread.org/locations for the complete list of offices.
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UK & Europe: Our Daily Bread Ministries, PO Box 1, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9ES europe@odb.org ~ +44 (0) 15395 64149
Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable Our Daily Bread Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination.
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