10 Powerful Prayers for Family Healing
- Dawn Ward
- May 31
- 7 min read
“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3 (ESV)
Hopeful Prayers for Desperate Families
Families today are facing hard times unlike ever before. Joblessness, homelessness, increased cost of living and the toll it is taking mentally and physically adds to an already difficult time for families in our country. After surviving a global pandemic, the recovery process has been slow and challenging. Life is more stressful for many families than ever before.
Christian families are no exception. The stress is wearing on believers as well. The impact is tearing many families apart. Many children are living in homes of their extended families because of their parents cannot care for them. Some have lost one or both parents to causes such as addiction, mental illness, death, and suicide.
I understand. These last few years have been hard on my family. Our son struggles with addiction and mental illness. He went through a rough time, and we all felt the emotional impact of that struggle. I recently lost a 25-year career career as a medical aesthetician due to an hand injury. Also, this last month my father passed away after years battling cancer. The stress of all these events has taken a toll on me and my family.
But God is faithful. He does not leave His children without hope or without help. Nothing takes place in our lives that He misses. He takes notice of every detail as He keeps watch over us.
As followers of Jesus, we have a hope that comes from knowing He loves us and is in control. We may not be exempt from the problems of the world, but we have a Savior who cares for us and has not left us to handle our problems alone. He is always with us.
We have power in our prayers as we faithfully turn hand our burdens over to the Lord. The impact of our prayers is passed down from one generation to the next. We can find freedom from fear and worry when we let learn to trust the Lord with our problems. So how do we effectively pray for our families?
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
The Word of God is a powerful and effective tool for learning to pray for our families. We can use it to guide us as we pray God’s will for ourselves and for our families. I write more about praying for our families in my book, From Guilt to Grace: Hope and Healing for Christian Moms of Addicted Children.
How to Pray for Your Family
Follow these simple steps to learn how to pray for your family.
Step One: Begin with Praise, Worship and Thanksgiving
Begin with an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. God loves to hear the praises of his children. As you read the Bible, choose a few favorite verses that speak to you and offer you encouragement. Books like the Psalms and Proverbs contain wonderful passages you can pray. Pick out a few to pray over your family.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (ESV)
Sample Prayer
Lord Jesus. We enter your gates with thanksgiving for (Insert your gratitude here) and your courts with praise because you are (Insert your praise here). We give thanks to you. We bless your name! For you are good; your steadfast love endures forever and your faithfulness to all generations. We glorify and praise your holy name. Amen.
Step Two: Look Up and Write the Verses to Pray Over Your Family
After you choose a few scriptures, write them in a journal or on index cards for reference as you continue to pray for your family. By doing so, you will also have a place to keep a note of answered prayers.
“My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs &:1-3 (ESV)
Sample Prayer
Father God: I pray for my family (by name) will keep your word and treasure your commandments. I pray my children (by name) will be obedient to your commandments and live. May they treasure your word, keeping it always before their eyes and at their fingertips. May they write your promises on the tablets of their hearts. Thank you, Jesus. In your name, I pray. Amen
Step Three: Pray the Scripture Over Your Family
As you pray, read the scriptures. You may want to read them out loud as you pray. The word of God is powerful and effective. Pray for your family member by name as you pray these verses over them. Be specific as you pray for them mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
Sample Prayer
Dear Jesus. I pray for my son/daughter, ____________________. Give me wisdom to train him/her in your ways, in the way he/she should go. Lord, as he/she grows older, may he/she not depart from your word. Amen.
Step Four: Speak the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus. As you pray, remember that he is always praying and making intercession for his children.
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9 (NIV)
Sample Prayer
Lord Jesus. We praise you because you alone are Lord and Savior. You are the name above every other name. Lord, we bow down to you and praise your holy name. There is no other name in heaven or on earth. Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Step Five: Live in Faith and Trust While You Wait
Waiting for God to answer our prayers can be challenging. They don’t always come as quickly as we want. It’s easy to become anxious while we wait. The Lord encourages his children to be courageous while we wait.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Sample prayer
Dear Jesus. We praise you because you hear and answer our prayers. We trust your timing. We believe you answer according to your will and purpose for our lives. While we wait, we pray for strength and courage to trust in your perfect plan. We are grateful for your strength in these times of waiting. In your name, we pray, Jesus. Amen.
Bible Verses to Help You Pray for Your Family’s Healing
When our families are suffering, it is easy to fall into a pattern of worry. We begin to see the problem as bigger than the Problem Solver, Jesus. But there is nothing too difficult for our Lord to handle. Praying the Word of God over our families strengthens our faith and develops patience and perseverance in us to endure our trials.
These verses will help you as you pray for your family. They have helped me tremendously on my journey when I needed to strengthen my faith and keep my eyes on Jesus, our Healer!
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalms 103:2-5 (ESV)
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV)
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (ESV)
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
“do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not gear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saint what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)
Dear Jesus.
We praise you and thank you for your love for our families. We come to you, asking for healing of their hearts and in their lives. We thank you for the comfort of your Word as we read the truths found within its pages. May we trust in you during the battles we face, knowing that you are in control. We praise you, Lord, for you are worth of our praise. It is in your name we pray. Amen.
Are you a mother trying to cope with the painful reality of your adult child's addiction or self-destructive behaviors?
From Guilt to Grace: Hope and Healing for Christian Moms of Addicted Children offers guidance to mothers grappling with the anguish of their child’s addiction. Through Biblical truths and personal insights, you will discover the lies keeping you trapped in guilt and shame and experience the transforming power of God’s grace to set you and your loved ones free.
“From Guilt to Grace offers the kind of practical and spiritual guidance I wish I’d had on my painful journey.” - Dena Yohe, Co-founder of Hope for Hurting Parents
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