5 Helpful Verses… When You Need to Pray for Your Family
I shared earlier this week that the number one prayer request on the Blessing Counters Pray Page is one that asks for a family relationship to be healed and/or restored.
So, I wrote what I believe to be the 5 Best Ways to Bless and Strengthen Your Family.
Not because I believe I have the answers … I have my own relationships I lift up in prayer regularly.
I wrote it because I believe the Lord has given us great advice in His Word and well, in all honesty, I believe there are things I could have done more intentionally.
One of those things is praying for my family!
If I were raising my children today … I would have them see me and join me in taking everything to the Lord in prayer.
“We would praise Him in prayer. We’d confess, repent, and ask Him for forgiveness. We’d be more honest about our fears and surrender each day to His care and direction. We’d talk to Him about our needs and celebrate every little blessing of provision. “
And that’s why, today … I’m taking my family to the Lord in prayer and I’d love for you to join me and pray for your family. (Fill in the blanks with the names of your people.)
5 Helpful Verses… When You Need to Pray for Your Family
I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
Ephesians 1:16–17
Father, Thank you for my family. I love these people! Please grow our love for You and for each other. Unite us under the covering of Your perfect unfailing love and help us love each other as you love us.
Father, I need You. We need You! Please bless __________ with Your wisdom … help him/her to know the “right” thing to do and do it. And by the power of Your Spirit, may he/she know the “right” thing will always be to live according to Your will as You reveal it in Your Word.
Please give __________ wisdom, knowledge, and everything needed to know, trust, and follow You completely. Amen.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
Proverbs 3:5–6
do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do,
and He will show you which path to take.
Father, Show us as a family and individually the paths You want for us.
It seems there are so many choices and decisions, and so many voices coaxing each of us in different directions. We need You. Your Word says, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” (Proverbs 16:25) Father, that challenges me. Some of the messages surrounding my children and our family sound right on the surface but when they are placed beside the truths of Your Word … they are shown to be lies.
Please give each of us a passion for Your Word. Fill us with a desire to know and love Your Son, Jesus. And help us SEEK Your will in everything … and then, strengthen us to quickly and willingly follow the path You lay out before us. Amen.
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
Father, on my own I am neither strong nor am I courageous. And I see that same struggle in ___________. We need You!
Please, give each of us the courage and strength we need to surrender ourselves to You. Please help us to step out in faith living the plans and purposes You have prepared for us always knowing … You are with us.
You promised to never leave or forsake Your children. (Joshua 1:5) Jesus said, “I am with You always to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) And He promised that You would give us “the Helper,” Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to be with us forever. (John 14:16–17
Father, we need Your truth to make us strong. We need Your presence to give us courage. We need Your love to keep us united by Your grace. Amen.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 1And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.
Colossians 3:13–15a
Oh Father, help us forgive each other. Why is it that it often feels like we leave our kindness and compassion at the door when we get home. We complain and quarrel, we find fault and fail when it comes to asking for and/or giving forgiveness.
Please help us. May love be our highest priority. May we enjoy true peace … peace that is only found in living, loving, and forgiving like Jesus. Amen.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being
1 Corinthians 13:4–7wronged . It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Father, help us love like You love. Make me patient and kind … humble and helpful. May we all quickly celebrate each other’s successes and encourage each other in using the gifts You have given us.
Father, please help us forgive each other and let go of past hurts. Make us open and honest, trusting and trustworthy.
And Father, help us to keep fighting for our family relationships. And even when they fail … please don’t allow us to ever stop loving and hoping. Please by Your mercy and grace … may love prevail and may my relationship with __________ be healed and restored.
In Jesus name. Amen.
Pray for your family!
I know some of you are hurting today because of broken family relationships. Others are anxious and worried because of a struggling marriage or a rebellious child.
Friend, the Lord loves you. He is with you! He is for you!
He puts us in families because we are stronger together than we are on our own.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed … Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9,12
The battle waging against our families is real. It is imperative that we pull out the best weapon we have … the power of our loving Heavenly Father, who responds in love to the heartfelt intentional prayers of His children!
I love this quote from Pastor Adrian Rogers…
The same Jesus Who turned water into wine can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and His business is the business of transformation.
Deb, when you write about prayer, I am paying attention!
Deb,
This is a great post filled with godly wisdom. With that said, we can pray for our families until the cows come home, however, at some point, we must stop doing the things and participating in the behaviors that drive us apart. In addition, we actually have to acknowledge the brokenness in our families. We can’t pretend all is well when it actually isn’t because we want to put on a pretty face for the public.
My family is broken and when I say my family, I mean my immediate family of the one remaining parent and siblings. A lot of things happened and continue to happen that should never happen. There’s a lot of strife, lies, lies and more lies that cause people to ask if the people involved are really Christians and in their right minds.
If I want to lose weight, for example, I can pray and pray and pray and God will help me but at some point, I have to stop eating a box of donuts before I go to bed every night. I need to load up my breakfast plate with fresh fruit not 12 slabs of deep fried greasy bacon and a sugary muffin. I have to get off the couch and exercise. No way I will ever lose weight if I continue to pray while abusing my body with junk food.
So yes, I will continue to pray for my family, however, at some point, just like the person trying to lose weight, the madness needs to stop. We need to realize it’s broken and we’re either going to ask God for the wisdom to put it together in a way that pleases him or it will remain as is; broken.
I can guarantee you a family member will read this comment, misconstrue it and accuse me of talking badly about my family when all I’m doing is sharing my heart in response to your writing. That’s how bad things are.
Thank you for your prayers….
Praying for family . . . It is of utmost importance! Thanks for reminding us here today, Deb.
Blessings!
Hey Deb, I absolutely loved last weeks post about the family, and now this week’s post is helping me to pray for my family. Bulls-eye! I’ll be printing and praying this post during the week and sharing it with my FB community. Thank you for sharing and your sage words of wisdom to help build strong families for Christ. I know others will be very blessed. (And thanks for featuring my post. I’m humbled and blessed by the share.) Blessings to you and have a great weekend!
I find this comforting to read all these suggestions of ways we can pray for our family. Thank you for sharing them with us Deb!
Deb, thank you for this. I feel like this post was written just for me. I have been having a difficult time with a relationship with an older family member. I have been praying for forgiveness to enter my heart. I feel like this is an answer to my prayers. Especially this: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding”.
I love that quote Deb by the Pastor & say Amen to it!
Blessings to you,
Jennifer
I know I can personally do a lot better in praying for my children. Thank you for this reminder and the prayers. laurensparks.net
Thank you for the beautiful prayers. Yes, if I could go back in t would have my children hear more of my prayer. Thank you for your wisdom.