Every Christian mom wants to cover her family in prayer. These 5 incredible Scripture passages will lead you into the Lord’s presence.
Praying Scripture for your family
Do you ever feel stuck on what to pray for your family? Sometimes we say the same things again and again, and it can start to feel a little dry. We know there must be more.
Well, open the Bible with me today and let’s take a look at 5 powerful passages of Scripture that are wonderful prayers for your family!
Lifting God’s own Word before him as you pray for your husband, children, home, and family is a wonderful way to be confident and consistent in your prayer life.
Ready? We’ll jump into each Scripture and pray together for our families. Let’s dive in.
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There is nothing a woman can do that is more powerful than pray for the people and things that are most important to her.
Of course, there is a LONG list of things in this world that need prayer! But your most important prayers are right in front of you. You need to be praying for your own:
- Husband and marriage
- Children
- Home
- Spiritual growth
- Church, friends, and community
READ NEXT: The Incredible Power Of Becoming A Woman Of Prayer
A Christian wife needs to pray for her husband and her marriage. And a Christian mom needs to be constantly in prayer for her children, her parenting, and the overall family dynamics of the home.
Prayer is powerful, and the Bible shows us where to start.
start a daily prayer time
How to pray Scripture for your family
At the end of the day, there is almost NO WRONG WAY to pray for your people. It is far more important to simply get started!
And honestly, sometimes that is the hard part.
(If you don’t already have a habit of daily prayer, grab my free 45-day Bible and prayer challenge to get started. It includes a simple guide for how to pray every day, so you can feel confident that you aren’t forgetting anything important.)
But once you set aside the time, how do you actually pray?
One of my favorite ways to use the Scriptures to pray for my family is to use the actual words of the Bible when I pray.
Praying Scripture for your family is an easy and powerful way to cover them in prayer.
The process of how to pray the Scriptures for your family is very simple.
Here are 4 basic tips, and then we’ll look at 5 of the best Scriptures to use when you are praying for your family!
- Read it: When you read the Bible, read the words of Scripture back to God as a prayer. (See the 5 examples below, they are great!)
- Paraphrase it: Tweak the wording of the Bible passage so that it is personal for you and your family. If you have 3 kids, you can add their names into the prayer, for example.
- Use it as a jumping off point: Whatever the Bible passage is about, pray for the same topic, theme, or issue in your own family life.
- Do the same thing: If the Bible passage is about confession, take a moment to confess to God. If it’s a passage about worship, pause and worship.
The Bible is often much deeper and more rich than you might be capable of at 5AM as you’re just starting your first cup of coffee. And you know that the prayer will please God, because He wrote the words.
READ NEXT: 6 Bible Study Tips For How To Read the Bible… And Actually Understand It
I pray Scripture for myself, but I also love to pray it for my family. And the 5 Bible passages below are some of my favorites.
5 great examples of Scripture to pray for your family
Let’s dive into 5 great Scriptures that you can pray for your family.
We’ll look together at what the Bible’s prayer is all about, and then I will give an example of how to use the Scripture for a personal prayer. (I’m reading the NIV for these examples.)
1. Ephesians 1:15-23
Let’s start with a wonderful passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul is sharing his prayer for this church. Some key elements of his prayer include:
- thankfulness for these people (v 16)
- consistency and faithfulness in prayer for them (v 16)
- asking for them to receive the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (v 17)
- seeking for these people to know God better (v 17)
- prayer for their enlightenment in knowing the hope God has called them to (v 18)
- praise of God’s great power and prayer that they would know and experience this power (v 18-20)
Do you pray these things for your family? Your husband? Children? (What about for yourself?)
This is a clear Scripture to pray for family, in every season of life.
Here is what such a prayer might sound like, paraphrased and slightly tweaked to be a personal prayer for your family.
Holy God, give my husband and children the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know you better. May the eyes of their hearts be enlightened that they may know the hope to which you have called them. Show us your great power, which raised Christ from the dead. Keep my family firm in the faith that Christ is seated at your right hand. May he be the head over our family and fill us in every way.
(A paraphrased prayer from Ephesians 1:15-23 in the NIV)
2. Colossians 1:9-13
One of my favorite books of the Bible is Colossians! And this is a wonderful Scripture to pray for family members. (As well as for yourself.)
Again, the Apostle Paul is writing a letter to a church. As he writes to the Colossians, he prays here for a few things:
- for God to fill them with “the knowledge of his will” (v 9)
- that the Spirit will equip them to “live a life worthy of the Lord” (v 9-10)
- for them to live in a way that pleases God in every way (v 10)
- that they will bear fruit in every good work (v 10)
- and grow in the knowledge of God (v 10)
- that they will be strengthened by God to have “great endurance and patience” (v 11)
- that they will give joyful thanks to God the Father (v 12)
- praise for the inheritance they share as God’s holy people (v 12)
- praise for God’s rescue and salvation through Jesus (v 13)
I so long for this to be true for my family! May our lives please God. I pray we know him, live for him, and find our joy in him. That we will share together in his inheritance and eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.
READ NEXT: 10 Powerful Ways A Christian Mom Can Create A Pattern Of Prayer For Her Home & Family
Here is an example of how you might slightly edit this Scripture to pray it for your family:
O God, fill my family with the knowledge of your will through all the wisdom and understanding that your Spirit gives. Help us to live lives that are worthy of you. Help us to please you in every way! May we hear fruit in every good work, grow in our knowledge of you, and be strengthened in all power according to your glorious might. Help us to have great endurance and patience. Help us to give joyful thanks to you, Father, that you have qualified us to share in the inheritance of your hold people in the kingdom of light. Thank you, O God, for rescuing me and my loved ones from the dominion of darkness! Thank you for bringing us into the kingdom of the Son you love.
(A paraphrased prayer from Colossians 1:9-13 in the NIV)
3. Psalm 1
The psalms are one of the best books of the Bible to lead you in prayer for your family.
Here are some takeaways for how to use this scripture to pray for your family:
- pray that your husband, children, and yourself will never walk in step with the wicked (v 1)
- ask the Lord to give your family a delight in his law (v 2)
- seek to enjoy the Living Water of intimacy with Christ, and yield the Spirit’s fruit in your home and family (v 3)
- pray for God’s protection and provision (v 3)
Of course, the psalm goes on. Every verses has so much that you can pray for your loved ones!
READ NEXT: 5 Tips For A Christian Mom Wanting More Family Intimacy
Let’s look together at an example of how you might paraphrase this Scripture into a prayer for your family.
Lord, I confess that we are only blessed as we walk in step with you and never with the wicked. Protect my family. Lead my family away from the way of the wicked. Give us a delight for your law. Plant us beside your life-giving streams of water and grow your holy fruit in our lives. May my family’s spiritual lives never wither but only grow in intimacy with you. I praise you that the wicked will not stand in the judgment, and I thank you for the blood of Christ that has stood in my place. Watch over my family, O God, and keep us firmly on your path of righteousness.
(A paraphrased prayer from Psalm 1 in the NIV)
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4. Philippians 1:9-11
Oh how I love this prayer! Isn’t it amazing how the Bible puts words to our deepest needs and desires, words that we would never put together ourselves.
Some key ways these verses encourage us to pray include:
- prayer that each of our family members will “abound more and more” in their love of God as they know him better and better (v 9)
- seeking discernment for ourselves and for our family members about what is best (v 10)
- asking for our family to be pure and blameless, “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (v 10-11)
- prayer that every element of our family life will be for the glory and praise of God (v 11)
This Bible passage is short but powerful. Don’t you want this to be true for your family? What a beautiful prayer!
Here is an example of how you might pray this Scripture for your family:
I pray that my husband and children may abound more and more in their love for you, O God. May their knowledge grow and they have depth of insight into your will and your ways. Help them to discern what is best. Help me to discern what is best! Keep us pure and blameless for the day of Christ. Fill us with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to your glory and your praise.
(A paraphrased prayer from Philippians 1:9-11 in the NIV)
5. John 15:1-17
This is a longer passage of the Bible, but I hope that it is an encouragement to you. Not only is this passage from Jesus himself as he is talking with his disciples, but it is also filled with wonderful things to pray for your own family!
Although this Scripture passage is not a direct prayer given in the Bible, it is a wonderful passage that you can still paraphrase and turn into a prayer for your family.
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Some pieces of Jesus’ words here, that we can cling to in prayer, include:
- asking God to prune our family members in just the right ways, so that we each bear great fruit (v 1-3)
- prayer that your family will remain in Christ (v 4-6)
- seeking for God to be glorified by the fruit your family bears as they follow Jesus (v 5-8)
- desiring to be obedient to Jesus’ commands including his command to love one another (v 9-17)
- prayer that you, your husband, and your children will each love others in the same sacrificial way that Christ loves the church (v 9-17)
This chapter of the Bible is a great example too for how your prayer might be long and in-depth, but also can be short and still capture the biblical truths of a longer passage of Scripture.
To that end, here is a short prayer you might lift to God using John 15:1-17 as your jumping off point:
O Jesus, you are the true vine and the Father is the gardener. We are the branches. Prune us, Lord. Keep us close to you. Fill my family with your love, and grow abundant fruit in our lives. Help us to be obedient to your commands, Lord, and to love each other well.
This is less of a paraphrase of Scripture, and more of an example of how the Bible might be your jumping off point for prayer.
Finding Scripture to pray for your family
These 5 Scriptures are wonderful, but they are certainly not the only Scriptures that are helpful to pray for your family.
In fact, everything in the Bible can be a jumping off point for deep and meaningful prayer!
But if this is new for you, don’t rush yourself. Start first with developing your own personal daily time with the Lord. Get the habit of reading the Bible and praying. (My free Holy Habits 45-Day Bible & Prayer Challenge will help!)
And from there, just practice. The Lord is gracious and He is pleased with our efforts at prayer. Don’t worry about “getting it right.” Just pray. Talk to your Heavenly Father. Enjoy the time.
Listen to Episode #123.5
The Friday Faith Follow-up Episode
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