Prayers For Family-4 Free Printables
In this post we will talk about Prayers for family. It is often said that, “the family that prays together, stays together.” So, one activity we can do as a family is pray. By doing this we teach our kids about the need and value of prayer. Matthew 18:20 says “for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Do you want God to be in your family? Well, come along with us as we review some bible based prayers for family. These are short, simple prayers that your kids can say as your family prays together.
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What Is Prayer? Say A Short Prayer For Family
Prayer is how we talk to God. It is using our words to let God know what we feel, what we think, what we desire, questions we have or we can share things that are happening in our lives. It’s not that God doesn’t know all these things already but he still wants to hear them from us. You see God is about building relationship.
If you think about when you met your spouse or some other person who you loved a great deal, you spent time talking with them to learn about them. This was a part of relationship building. It’s the same with God. Before sin entered the world, God would come down in the evening time to meet with Adam and Eve. When sin separated us from God he kept that connection by keeping the communication lines open via a method called prayer.
We can pray long prayers or simple short prayers for ourselves or our families. A short prayer for family can be something as basic as
” Dear God, please bless my family.”
It is not about the length of the prayer instead it’s more about the connection between us and God. You can say anything you like and if you are talking with God, then it is a prayer. Below are other types of prayers. Prayer for family relationships, prayer for family protection and guidance, intercessory prayer for family, thanksgiving prayers and prayers of surrender.
Prayers For Family Unity
With differences in personalities we tend towards wanting and doing things in our individually unique ways. As a result family life can feel chaotic at times. Prayer for family relationships and specifically prayers for family unity are therefore essential to keeping the family together. Jesus prayed a prayer of unity in John 17:20-23.
Our prayer for our family can be similar to Jesus’ prayer. You can download our prayer for family unity printable card for a sample prayer for family unity.
“LORD, help our family to be united as you and the father are united. You have given us glory. Be in us so we can be perfectly one. Amen.”
Thanksgiving Prayers For Family
1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us that we should be thankful in all things. In our prayers for family it is always good to give thanks. In Psalm 7:17, David says that he will sing praise to the name of the Lord and he magnifies the name of the Lord in Psalm 69:30. He says in Psalm 107:8, “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” You can download our thanksgiving prayer for family as you give thanks for all God has done for your family.
Guidance Prayers for Family
When God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted, Solomon asked God for wisdom. In 1 Kings 3: 5-10 we find his conversation with God.
” In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
We too can pray for guidance for our family. Our sample guidance prayer for family can be downloaded to give you some ideas. We can also do a prayer for family protection and guidance. In these times that we live, we need God’s protection in addition to his guidance for our families. David in the Psalms gives a prayer for protection from enemies. He prays
“Fight my enemies, Lord!
Attack my attackers!
Shield me and help me.
Aim your spear at everyone
who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.”
You can find David’s full prayer in Psalm 35:1-26. If you like you can use David’s prayer as a model to create a prayer for family protection and guidance.
Prayer of Surrender
When Jesus knew he was to be crucified, he surrendered himself to the will of his Father. Often times as a family we want things our way. We often pray for our will but what about praying for God’s will? What about surrendering what we want to God and allowing his perfect will to come to fruition? In this prayer of surrender we as a family can ask God for his will to be done. This is a great way to begin teaching kids what surrendering to God really means as you pray as a family.
Intercessory Prayers For Family
Intercession means to act on behalf of someone. As you pray for your own family, you also want to pray for other families. You want to pray for things that would also be important to them. So ideas for intercessory prayers some families have asked for include:
- Prayer for salvation of my family members
- Prayer for my family in difficult times
- Prayer for family protection and health
- Prayer that God will be merciful to my family members
Those are a few things that families have requested prayers for. Some examples of intercessory prayers in the bible include the following:
- Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in John 17: 15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
- The prayer Jesus said on the cross. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
- The prayer at the house of Mary for the release of Peter from prison. Acts 12: 12-14 records:
“And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.”
This story didn’t say the prayer, however praying for others needs is intercession. An intercessory prayer for another family can look just like a prayer you would say for your own family so go ahead and pray for someone else today.
How Do You Say Prayers For Your Family?
I hope this post has given you some suggestions as to what to pray for and how to say prayers for your family. Talk to God as a friend and enjoy praying as a means of communicating with him.
As you and your kids pray as a family, God has promised in Mark 11:24 that “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Bask in the presence of God as you use these prayers for family. God bless!
