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5 Powerful Prayers that Will Help Your Family Flourish

Do you pray for your family?

Most of us can say that we pray casually for our families.

We ask God to bless them and keep them safe or to help them in a time of need.

But I believe we can take prayer for our families a step further.

I have found that being specific and strategic in my prayers for my family can have a greater impact.

Several years ago I began praying and declaring God’s Word over myself and my family.

At first it seemed a little…..legalistic.

I had my list written out and every day I prayed through it.

Until one day I had the thought that maybe my repetitive prayers weren’t really “doing” anything. The idea crossed my mind that perhaps I was just being redundant and just maybe God was tired of hearing these same requests and declarations.

I’ll never forget His response as I spent time talking with Him about it.

“You have no idea how powerful it is when you pray and declare My Word.”

As I’ve continued to strategically pray for my family over the years, I can’t count the amount of specific requests that have been answered.

When we pray specifically, our faith grows

We see the hand of God move on behalf of the request that we make.

It builds our trust in Him, knowing that He answers us.

Perhaps this is a new concept to you. No worries…

Today I’m sharing a few prayers I use to pray specifically and strategically for my family.

A Heart for God

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NIV

Above all else I pray that my kids will do this one thing….to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

Their relationship with God is most important.

We teach our kids the Bible, spend time as a family reading and praying, but at some point, they have to have their own relationship with God.

As my children get older, I realize how hard it is to let them walk this relationship out. When they aren’t reading their Bibles or spending time with God, I want to “make” them do it. But as they become adults, they have to have the “want” to do it on their own.

So what I do?

I pray…..

Prayer to Have a Heart for God

Father, thank you for each one of my precious children. Lord, you know their hearts. You know their strengths, their weaknesses and every tiny detail about them. God, I pray that You draw them closer to You. Show them who You are. Let them see their need for you, Lord.

Capture their hearts and fill them with Your Spirit. Lord, I pray that they would seek You above all else. That as they wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night, You would be on their minds and hearts. That everywhere they go and in everything they do, they would see You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Unity

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133 NIV

As the new year began, I felt God planting the word unity in my heart….specifically for my family. This scripture from the Psalms came to my mind. The ending really grabbed my attention.

The blessing of the Lord dwells in unity

When we are united as one, there’s nothing that can’t be accomplished.

Remember the tower of Babel?

At that point in history, the people of the world spoke the same language. A certain group had come together and decided to build a city in Babylonia. However, they were building it for their own fleshly desires. But even in the midst of their carnality God had this to say about them and their efforts:

The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Genesis 11:6 NLT

This is what I want for my family. I want us to be united, speaking the same language and having the same values. Because when we do, nothing will be impossible for us! We will fulfill everything God has for us.

Prayer for Unity

Father, we thank You for Your blessing over our family. Help us to be unified. Help us to speak the same language and share the same vision that You have for us. Lord, guide us and keep us on the right path.

I pray that NO weapon formed against my family will prosper. No plot, ploy or scheme from the enemy will divide us or cause dissension in our house.

Help us to stand in unity…preferring one another over ourselves and loving You above all else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Fulfill God’s Purpose for My Family

The Bible clearly shows us that God has a purpose for us.

But did you know God has a purpose for your family as well?

Think about your ministry, your business, or even your church. God has a plan for each one of those organizations, right?

So why wouldn’t He have a plan for your family?

He carefully chose each person for each family and handcrafted the personalities, gifts, and abilities that each person would have to complete that family.

My prayer is that we would discover His purpose for our family and walk it out daily.

A Prayer for Fulfilling God’s Purpose for My Family

Father, thank you for creating our family with a purpose. We know that you have plans for each of us individually and for our family as a whole.

Lord, I pray that you would reveal this purpose to each one of us and help us to walk it out daily. Help us to have an appreciation for each other’s personalities, gifts and even our weaknesses.

Lord, teach us and guide us in all that we do, that we may glorify You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Godly Friendships

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 NLT

Friendship are so important.

Not just for us individually, but for our family as a whole.

We have several family friends. The kids get along, and so do we as parents.

There’s something special about having another family over where everyone connects.

This is one area that I want our family to continue to grow.

Prayer for Godly Friendships

Father, thank You for the family friends that You’ve given us. Lord we are so grateful that You’ve knit us together with other families to do life with. Lord help us to always be reminded of how blessed we are to have them.

We pray blessing over these relationships. That no weapon from the enemy could cause division between us. Lord, we ask that You give us more relationships these.

Connect us with minded families that will sharpen us and bring us to a new level of faith in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Heart to Serve Others

A few summers ago, our family and some friends arranged a retreat with a wonderful organization called Family-iD. The founder, Greg Gunn took us through an exercise to discover what our core values are as a family.

Each family member was given a list of values and we were to select our top 30. After we were finished, we met as a family and circles all the ones that we all had in common.

One of the values that emerged was LEADERSHIP.

Our family loves to serve others.

My husband and I know the value of investing in others and were thrilled to find out that our children felt the same way.

As a family we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

My prayer for my family is that we would continue to have a heart for serving others.

Prayer for A Heart to Serve Others

Father, thank You for the opportunity to serve others. I pray that You would continue to instill this value into us and our children. Help us to see others the way you see them. Lord, we pray that You show us the needs of those around us.

Help us to be others focused and in tune to Your Spirit, so that we can help those that are hurting. Lord, give us the grace to serve when it’s hard. Give us the strength to keep going when we are worn out from our own situations.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What do you pray over your family?

Do you have specific prayers that you pray?

Feel free to share them in the comments below.

**If this is an area where you are struggling, I’ve included a printable bookmark of the prayers for you to store in your Bible.**