Praying for your family, one member at a time
Family is the place where we love the most and where we hurt the most. It is also one of the places where prayer carries the most weight. This quest asks you to pray for each of your loved ones, one after another, rather than putting them all into a single “Bless my family.”
What it looks like in your day
Take a quiet moment and go around your family, as if leafing through a photo album. For each member, a sentence or two, no more. It might look like this:
- Your spouse: “Lord, he is worried about his job. Give him confidence and rest.”
- Your child: “Lord, she had a hard time at school this week. Give her friends who respect her.”
- Your mother or father: “Lord, her health is fragile. Keep him and surround him with people who love him.”
- Your brother or sister: “Lord, we have grown apart. Bring us gently closer.”
If your family is large, you can take two or three a day and make the round over the week. If you live alone, or if your family relationships are tense or broken, you can pray for what is possible: peace, a door opening, the healing of a wound. There is no obligation to have good feelings: you can simply say “Lord, I entrust them to you.”
If you are short on time, one first name a day is enough. If you are shy in prayer, write the first names on a piece of paper, and put a sentence next to each.
What the Bible says
The Bible often speaks of families, and it doesn't idealize them: conflicts, rivalries, abandonment. But it also shows heads of families turning to God. Joshua declares his choice in front of a whole people:
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
“As for me and my house”: he speaks of a commitment that concerns his own people. Job offers sacrifices every morning for his children, in case they have sinned (Job 1:5). He carries them before God regularly, with perseverance.
In the book of Acts, the promise made to the jailer in Philippi also applies to his household:
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
It shouldn't be turned into an automatic guarantee (each person answers to God personally), but it shows that God does not treat family as a detail. Paul himself bows his knees before the Father, “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14-15).
Pitfalls to avoid
Praying for the other person to change. This is the strongest temptation with loved ones: asking that your brother be kinder, that your husband be more attentive. First ask for what is good for him, and ask God what he wants to change in you.
Getting discouraged when there are no results. Some prayers for loved ones go on for years. Don't conclude that God isn't listening. He often works where you can't see anything.
Taking away freedom. Praying doesn't mean manipulating. You can't force someone to believe or to change. You can only ask God to act, and remain present through your love.
Forgetting the difficult ones. They are often the ones who need your prayer most. Even a very short sentence counts.
Today, take your mental album: one face, one sentence for each. You will be surprised at what it does to your outlook.