A Great Prayer For Family

One of the best things you can do for your family is to remember and mention them in your personal time with God in prayers. Whether they are believers or not, God commands us to love and honor our parents; He also tells us to love our siblings. As followers of Christ, the love the Bible calls us to have towards them is even bigger than a familial kind of love—it is an “agape” kind of love. Agape love refers to the love the Father and the Son have shown us: a sacrificial kind of love that seeks the welfare of another. Hence, if we seek the good and welfare of our family, we should put such love into action by praying for them (1 John 4:7; 1 Corinthians 13:4–7).

Father in heaven, cause my heart to be consumed by the love, grace, and mercy that You have shown me in the person of Christ. May such love also cause me to love my family and always remember them in prayer with the same agape love You have shown me. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Are There Great and Greater Prayers?

When we love someone like family, we want the best for them. When we treat them to dinner out, we want to take them to the best restaurant we can afford. When we cook for them, we hope our food will be delicious and satisfy them. This is the essence of love: to seek the good of their well-being. But things are a little different when it comes to prayer—the quality of a prayer isn’t as easy to qualify. If Martha prays for financial provisions for her family and Mary prays for good health for hers, is one of their prayers better or greater than the other’s? Not necessarily.

What, then, is our basis for what makes a great prayer? We should look to the Bible’s values. The Bible clearly states that we are to seek things above (Colossians 3:1–2)—things that are of eternal value. A simple guiding question to ask as we seek to pray a great prayer for our family is, “What does this bear in eternity?” In other words, if we want to pray a great prayer for our family, we pray for eternal matters.

For example, if your mother and father are not yet saved, praying for their salvation—for them to know Christ and follow Him—is certainly greater than praying just for healing or provision. Why? This is because salvation is an eternal matter. Even if they live to be 100 years old and have all the wealth in the world, it is all pointless if they don’t know Christ (Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?). Even if your family follows Christ, prayers pertaining to spiritual or eternal matters are the best prayers that you can pray for them. For example, pray that your family continually grows in knowing God, becomes more like Christ, always walks in the Spirit, and pursues spiritual maturity. Those prayers will always be greater than praying for good health, financial provision, a fun vacation, and so on.

This is not to say that those prayers are bad and shouldn’t be considered—that is not the case. By all means, pray for healing, financial security, a relaxing vacation, good health, prosperous business, academic success, and more. Simply keep in mind that things above and eternal matters are always greater and should take precedence in what we pursue through prayer. One thing is for sure: God’s will for us to make us more like Christ and understand the inheritance that we have in Him in the glorious future that is to come (1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:; Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 1:3–4).

We should pray for whatever concerns our family may have, but it is even greater to pray for that which is eternal.

How Can I Pray for My Family?

We will know what spiritual or eternal matters to pray for as we seek the things above through God’s Word. In the Bible, among many other commands, we see that we are to walk by the Spirit, that we are to be ambassadors of Christ, that we are called to love others, and that we are to pursue spiritual maturity. Every eternal matter is found in the Bible, so study it to find the passages you may want to use in your prayers for your family.

For example, in Romans 12:11, Paul exhorts the church in Rome to be zealous for the LORD in serving Him and being fervent in spirit. You can take that passage and pray for your family:

Heavenly Father, I pray for my family to always be reminded by the Gospel of how You have sacrificed Your Son so they may have eternal life in Him. May it cause them to be zealous for you and be fervent in spirit. I pray that everything they do, whether at work, home, or school, shall be in service and worship towards You. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.

Again, if your family is not yet saved, the greatest and most important prayer you can pray is for them to hear the Gospel, that their hearts shall be softened and eyes be opened, and that they shall repent, believe, and follow Christ (Ezekiel 36:26; John 9:25; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Father in heaven, I pray that as my family hears the Gospel, You will work in their hearts and open their spiritual eyes so that they may understand it and the grace and mercy that You have shown us through Christ. May they see the eternal value of knowing Christ, and may it cause them to repent, believe, and follow Him, living their lives for Him. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Just as you pray for your family’s salvation, it is also imperative that you preach the Gospel to them. As you do so, the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts.