Fatherhood brings its fair share of joys and privileges, but with each joy and privilege comes a great responsibility as the spiritual leader of your home. For example, you have the privilege to pray for your family and lead them spiritually. And that privilege comes with an awesome responsibility of bringing your family’s concerns to the God of the universe.
“[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by 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 your minds in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:6–7).
Key Takeaways
- Prayer for Your Family Is a Privilege and a Responsibility: As the spiritual leader of your home, bringing your family’s concerns to God is part of the calling.
- Prayer Is Simply Talking with God: It does not have to be complicated; come to Him with reverence, but come boldly and honestly.
- The Model Prayer Is a Practical Guide: Jesus gave His disciples a framework that applies directly to praying for your wife and kids.
- Pray for All of It: Spiritual growth, physical needs, healthy relationships, and divine protection all belong in a prayer for your family.
- Pray for Yourself Too: Becoming the husband and father God created you to be is one of the best things you can pray for your family.
The Nature of Prayer
Before you can really learn to pray for your family, you need to understand what prayer is all about. Thankfully, it’s not as complicated as we make it. In a nutshell, prayer is simply talking with God. It’s speaking with Him the way you speak to a friend.
Of course, God is more than your friend. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Entering His presence to pray for family members is not something we do flippantly. We come to Him with the reverence and respect He deserves. But He has made it clear that He wants us to come to Him boldly, not afraid to share our hearts with the One who cares more for us and our family than we can imagine (Hebrews 4:14–16).
We also need to remember that prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. Yes, we tell God about our needs as we pray for our family members and other concerns. But we also need to take time to be still and to listen. While God often speaks through His Word, He can also speak through the quiet moments of prayer if we will take the time to listen. Becoming a praying father is a discipline worth building one habit at a time.
4 Powerful Ways to Pray for Your Family
As a husband and father, you can pray for your family. You can pray for your wife, and you can pray for your kids. In fact, God expects that from you.
Now, that might raise the question of how, especially if prayer is not a normal part of your spiritual practice. Honestly, if you’re not a praying man, this is the perfect time to start, and praying for your family members is a perfect way to begin.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them what we call the Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13). It provides a basic outline for coming to God with our needs, and it’s a pretty good guide as you develop the habit of praying for family members. Here are four sections that apply directly to your wife and children.
1. Pray for Spiritual Growth (Matthew 6:9–10)
Jesus told His disciples to start their prayers with a recognition of who God is. He resides in heaven and His name is to be honored above all else. He also urged them to pray that God’s kingdom would continue to expand and be made known on earth.
When it comes to a prayer for your family, you can ask God to help them know Him better each day. You can pray that they will be strong and confident in their faith. You can ask Him to use them for His kingdom purposes and help them become the people He created them to be. There are specific Scriptures to pray over your children that can help give your prayers focus and biblical grounding.
2. Pray for Physical Needs (Matthew 6:11)
Jesus assured His followers that it was perfectly fine to ask for their daily bread (note that “daily bread” also refers to spiritual food). Those are the basic needs of life. Whether we realize it or not, even the simplest things are gracious gifts from the hand of God. So it makes sense to ask Him to meet those needs.
In praying for your wife and kids, you can ask the Lord to meet them where they are. You may know some of their needs. In fact, they might be your needs as well. But you might not know them all. Bring them to the Lord anyway. He provides daily bread.
3. Pray for Healthy Relationships (Matthew 6:12)
Consistency does not mean perfection. You will never get everything right one hundred percent of the time. But your kids are not expecting you to be perfect anyway. They just want you to live with integrity. They want your words to match your actions, and they want you to set an example they can follow. Anything else robs them of security and erodes your effectiveness as a spiritual leader.
4. Pray for Divine Protection (Matthew 6:13)
As a Christ follower, you know that you are in a spiritual war. As a husband and dad, you understand how the home often can be a battlefield in that war. Understanding spiritual warfare helps you pray with more clarity and urgency for the people under your roof.
God calls you to pray for family members because they are under attack from an enemy that wants to destroy them and your family (John 10:10). Jesus challenged His disciples to ask the Father to deliver them from evil. That is a responsibility you share. Pray for God’s shelter and protection over everyone living under your roof.
Pray for Yourself
Hopefully, you realize the importance of a prayer for your family. But it’s also important to pray for yourself. One of the best ways you can serve your family is by becoming the husband and father God has created you to be. As you pray that He makes you more like Him, you are praying a blessing for your family.
You also need to pray with confidence. God has promised to answer any prayer that aligns with His Word and His will. Learning to pray for your family falls into both categories. These are prayers that God will hear and accept.
He is faithful, and you can count on Him.
Related Questions
How do I start praying for my family?
Start with the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13 as a framework, covering spiritual growth, daily needs, forgiveness, and protection, and build from there as prayer becomes a more natural habit.
What should I pray for my wife?
Pray for her relationship with God, her peace, her health, and the specific burdens she is carrying right now.
How do I pray for my children?
Pray Scripture over them, ask God to protect them spiritually and physically, pray for the people and influences in their lives, and ask God to draw their hearts toward Him from an early age.
Why is praying for your family important?
Praying for your family acknowledges your dependence on God as the One who can do what no amount of effort or good parenting alone can accomplish in the hearts of your wife and kids.
