Week 3 || Day 2
PRAYER FOCUS: FAMILIES/RELATIONSHIPS
Today we get to pray for our relationships. For some people, this is the easiest prayer focus; for others it is the most difficult. No matter where you are on that spectrum today, it is important to realize that our prayers carry weight.
It can be one of the most amazing things to grow up in a home that is filled with prayer. There are many places we can’t go with the ones we love…but prayer can travel anywhere! Husbands can pray for wives and vice versa. Parents can pray over their children from before they are conceived through adulthood. Because there is no junior Holy Spirit, kids also have full access to God through prayer! Everyone in the family can pray for and with one another as they resolve conflict and build strong relationships. We can pray for extended family and we can pray together in a way that it can be a life-changing experience that not only brings family members closer to God, but closer to each another! Below are some prayers that you may wish to include for your family:
Here are simple prayers to pray for your family. Remember, simple doesn’t mean they don’t pack power:
Scriptures to Pray Over Your Family
Numbers 6:24-26- "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Lord, bless my family and children. Give them hearts that follow after you.
Deuteronomy 31:6- "Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Father, give my family the strength to seek you when they are afraid. Give them courage to stand up to what is right. Help them tell fear to GO!
Psalm 51:10- "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Father God, produce in my family clean hearts and renew their Spirits as they seek You!
Luke 10:19 – "Jesus said: ‘Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
God, Allow my family to walk in your authority. May they understand and live each day, asserting the authority You have given them as your dear children.
Philippians 4:6- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Father, take away any spirit of fear from my loved ones. Give them a spirit of courage and surround to your will. Give them the ability to see the things in their lives they can be thankful for.
A Prayer of Blessing for Your Family (Follow this link to listen to Kari Jobe sing a blessing over your family):
Heavenly Father, in the book of Psalms, chapter 103, verse 17, You give us a wonderful promise. “From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.” Father, there is no better promise we could receive from you than to see our children and their children blessed. We thank you that you have given us this promise as we raise our children in light of your love and righteousness. We pray that you would continue to grant us Your blessings. Bless us so that we may reach out and bless others. Bless us with strength to be there for those we love, with wisdom to know what to say to bring comfort, with encouraging words to say, and even with the ability to tenderly address difficult truths. We love you, Lord and we pray for these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer of Protection for Your Family
“Lord, I pray Your emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over my family. Keep evil far from them, and help them to trust You as their refuge and strength. I pray You will guard their minds from harmful instruction, and grant them discernment to recognize truth. I pray You will make them strong and courageous in the presence of danger, recognizing that You have overcome and will set right all injustice and wrong one day. Help them to find rest in Your shadow, as they live in the spiritual shelter You provide for them. Let them know that the only safe place is in Jesus, and that their home on earth is only temporary.” - by Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Illustration: D. L Moody used to tell the story of a man who came to him and said, “When the Mexican war began I wanted to enlist. My mother, seeing I was resolved, said if I became a Christian I might go. She pleaded and prayed that I might become a Christian, but I wouldn’t. I said when the war was over I would become a Christian, but not till then.
“All her pleading was in vain, and at last, when I was going away, she took out a watch and said: My son, your father left this to me when he died. Take it, and I want you to remember that every day at 12 o’clock your mother will be praying for you. Then she gave me her Bible, and marked out passages, and put a few different references in the fly-leaf. I took the watch and the Bible just because my mother gave them. I never intended to read the Bible.
“I went off to Mexico, and one day while on a long, weary march, I took out my watch, and it was 12 o’clock. I had been gone four months, but I remembered that my mother at that hour was praying for me. Something prompted me to ask the officer to relieve me for a little while, and I stepped behind a tree away out on those plains of Mexico, and cried to the God of my mother to save me.”
God saved him, and after the Mexican war was ended, he said, “I have enlisted again to see if I can do any good for my Master’s cause.” - D. L. Moody, Anecdotes and Illustrations of D.L. Moody
*Website with daily prayers for our children
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Kids SEEK, too!
Kids’ Illustration: It's time to plant our gardens. As you plant, may I suggest the following rules for your garden planting:
Plant three rows of squash: 1. Squash gossip; 2. Squash criticism; 3. Squash indifference
Plant three rows of peas: 1. Purity; 2. Patience; 3. Perseverance
Plant six rows of lettuce: 1. Let us be unselfish and loyal; 2. Let us be faithful to duty; 3. Let us search the scriptures; 4. Let us not be weary in well-doing; 5. Let us be obedient in all things; 6. Let us love one another
No garden is complete without turnips: 1. Turn up for church, prayer and Bible study; 2. Turn up with a smile, even when things are difficult; 3. Turn up with determination to do your best for God's cause.
After planting, may you, "Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18”. - source unknown
Kids’ Activity for Today’s Prayer Focus:
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Bible:
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13 NLT)
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 NLT)
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Quote for Today:
"There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as prayer for him.” - William Law
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Points to Ponder:
Prayer is powerful! It is not a Plan B, but our Plan A, our first line of defense AND our first line of offense.
We can pray for our families. Take time to list each family member and ask God to show you specific ways to pray for them and for your relationship with them.
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CLOSING PRAYER: Father God, we thank you that you are a God of connection. We thank you that you have placed us on this earth and given us connections with people whom you love. We ask today that you would grant wisdom as we pray for others. We ask that you would guide us toward relationships that are honoring of you and that you would place barriers in the way of relationships that You do not want in our lives. We pray that you would strengthen us through relationships with other people. We pray that we would be able to help strengthen and encourage them, as well. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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