We can pick our friends, our lovers, and our spouses, but we cannot pick our family. They don’t even pick us, per se. Parents often plan to have children, but they don’t choose which one. They can’t. There’s no prize machine where they insert a quarter, then use a metallic claw to pick out their preferred child. They get what they get. And we get them. The matchmaking, then, is up to God.
“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)
At its worst, family can leave us with scars and trauma we take on in infancy and carry to the grave. But at its best, family can bring us joy and wisdom we bear for a lifetime. A family with strong ties, visceral love, and healthy communication is a lot to ask for today, but when you find one, you know you’ve found something good. And even if your family isn’t there yet, just as we can grow as individual people, our families can grow too. Our families can cultivate the values and habits that foster strong bonds, love, and communication.
We reach that point through effort, through trial and error, and through plenty of prayer. And if you’re already there, then there’s plenty of reason to be thankful. Very thankful!
Here are seven prayers for vibrant family relationships we can take to God today. Families with good relationships are a sight to behold, appreciate, and ultimately, emulate.
Marriage
God,
I thank you greatly for the relationship I have with my girlfriend. You’ve been with us through many ups and downs and are still guiding us today. At this point, I think I’m ready for our next venture. I think she is too. We love one another. Our families get along, and everything seems to be in place for us to take our relationship to the next level. Marriage.
But before I make that decision, I want to come to you in prayer, seeking guidance, asking if this is the right woman, or the right time. I wonder if we’ll be able to have children of our own, and how many. Where would we live? Do we move? Stay put?
There are so many unknowns, enough to make me anxious, but I know not to fear. You’ve been with her and me before. You’re still here with us now.
Lord, if marriage is in your will, please help us to make it happen. Guide us through the marriage process, all of the planning, all of the paperwork, the invitations, everything. I pray that afterward, you will help us find a place to live together and raise a family. I pray that our marriage will bring about beautiful, smart, and healthy children. Children who grow up to glorify your name.
May everything that springs from our marriage serve to honor you. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
New Life
Heavenly Father,
I thank you for life. I thank you for my marriage. I thank you for bringing us to this point in time. Lord, we have a deep desire to raise children and start a family. Things have not worked out yet, but we remain hopeful that with the right planning, good things can happen.
God, I pray that at some point, the stars will align. I pray that not only would we be able to have a child, but that we would serve as great Christian parents. Help us to impart wisdom that honors you, and as much as we can, help us to not pass on our sinful ways.
I pray that you would give us the financial stability, even prosperity, that would help with raising children. I pray for the right schooling, relationships, and everything else that I can’t think of, everything that would lead to our child leading a life that honors you. Not an easy life, God, but one that honors you.
Though we pray for new life, we also submit, your will, not our own. Your timing, not our own.
And with that, I say amen.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/ThitareeSarmkasat
Consistency
God,
I know the good times won’t always last, but if only they could! I pray to you now first with gratitude for the beautiful relationships that I have with my family, and the relationships they have with one another. For as long as we can, I pray that we will cultivate the habits and willingness to make those relationships consistent.
Guide us in continuing to do the things that keep us close, happy, and laughing. Thank you for every get-together, every holiday, every birthday party and cookout. May those things never change. May we only do more of them. And may we honor you with everything that we do.
In our Son’s name, I pray. Amen.
Next Adventures
Lord,
There comes a time when we have to say goodbye, either to things we enjoy or to people we love. I want to pray for my family right now, and ask that you would guide them in their next endeavors. A new job, a new place to live, a new adventure. We won’t have the same closeness anymore, but I pray that despite the change, that our relationship will remain. I pray that we will still communicate, still connect in person when possible, and that our love will remain strong.
Even though we are separated, you are always with them. Help them to remember that, Lord. Amen.
Gratitude for the Family
Lord,
I didn’t choose my family. They didn’t even choose me. Someone else could have been born into this family, into this life, but you chose me. I say thank you. Thank you for Life. Thank you for the family that you’ve given me. Parents. Grandparents. Siblings. Cousins. Aunts and Uncles. Everybody. Thank you for the love we share and the quality time we spend together.
I don’t take what you’ve given me for granted.
Thank you, God. Amen.
Gratitude for the Relationships
God,
Not every family has the level of depth, friendliness, and love that my family has. So, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much that we are always excited to see one another. Thank you that we know how to have a good time and that we constantly try to have a good time. We don’t struggle with not spending time together. We struggle with spending too much time together. Lord, what a good problem to have!
Thank you that the children have respect for the adults and that the adults have respect for the children. Thank you that there are children in the family to continue our lineage and, hopefully, our traditions and customs. May they go on to have children of their own, born and raised in the faith.
And may each of us, those alive now and those yet to come, continue to add to the vibrant family dynamic, helping it persist for generations.
Amen.
Gratitude for the Good Times
Heaven Father,
I thank you for the day I was born. I thank you for the day I was born into such a marvelous family. Thank you for the day I realized just how marvelous my family really was.
When I look around today, I see hurt. I see people wishing they had loving parents or grateful children. I see broken homes.
For some reason, you chose to give me something different.
Thank you for a family that has accepted me, cherished me, molded me, and helped me become more like Christ. I don’t know what the future holds, but if my future includes them, I’m confident even more good times await.
Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Conclusion
Good families are not a dime a dozen, but they are out there. They’re worth emulating. God calls us to live like Christ, and He calls many of us to start our own families. As believers, we ought to encourage one another, first to make families of our own, through marriage, then to have children.
If only we could make the positivity just as contagious as the negativity present within our culture. Then we would have vibrant family relationships all over the place. Alas, while we can’t control other people, we can control ourselves, and with that, we can pray.
Nobody’s perfect. Not any individual person, and thus, not any one family. That being said, there’s a lot to appreciate when you are part of a family whose love is felt just as much as it is spoken. There are plenty of reasons to be thankful every day, and a good family is definitely somewhere at the top of the list.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/nd3000
Aaron D'Anthony Brown is a freelance writer, hip-hop dance teacher, and visual artist, living in Virginia. He currently contributes to Salem Web Network’s Crosswalk platform and supports various clients through the freelancing website Upwork. He's an outside-the-box thinker with a penchant for challenging the status quo.
Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
This article is part of our Prayer resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
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