A Prayer for a House of Harmony
By: Emma Danzey
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15
As I rocked my 3-month-old baby boy to sleep and my husband was getting things done around the house, a feeling of being overwhelmed washed over me. “Jesus!” I prayed aloud. “Jesus, help our house to be a place of peace, give us Your harmony. Jesus! Protect us from the enemy, surround us with Your angels.”
It might be easy to have in-house frustrations and live out of our flesh as a spouse, roommate, parent, or child. Living in a home together is a recipe for growth and unity, or disaster and discord. As believers we know there is a spiritual battle going on and the enemy does not want our households to serve the Lord. Today, we are going to ask Him to help us to wage war by calling on His name, Jesus, to reclaim any areas where sin and demonic forces have tried to come against us.
Let's Pray:
Jesus,
Thank You for the home which You have blessed me with today. Thank you for giving me the gift of shelter. Thank You for the amazing family You have entrusted to me to learn from, care for, and be refined into Your image. Today, I recognize that I am weak, a sinner, and in need of Your help. I cannot serve You on my own. I need Your help. Holy Spirit, fill me up today to live by Your ways and not my flesh. Remind me of humility and grace. I pray against the spiritual darkness which tries to wreak chaos in our home. In Jesus’ powerful name, I ask that You remove the work of the enemy that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, and provide us with the fruit of the Spirit lived out daily. Remove the lies and the thoughts that divide and reunite us in any area in which we have been broken. God, You are the great Mender of our messes. Even if the house is a physical mess from our busy lives, help us to not neglect the true mess of our hearts. Fill me up by Your Spirit through pondering Your Scriptures. You say that all Your Scriptures are breathed by You and are useful to me. Give me the ability to choose You over the lesser things. Help me to cling to You and live out of a place of harmony.
I pray that when the enemy sees our family, he knows we are serving the Lord and we are sealed by the blood of Christ. May our home be a place where, when unbelievers walk into it, they experience the power of the presence of God, a peace that surpasses their understanding, and they would witness joy in all circumstances rooted in Christ. Use our home as a place of ministry and witness to the gospel of Jesus. Create a beautiful space of worship and praise for Your glory to fill up every space.
Bless the meals made, the conversations had, the diapers changed, the visiting guests; bless the vacuuming, the sleeping, the singing, and the laughing. Lord may all we do be a reminder that You are the Giver of life and the Creator of all things. May we remember we are one in You and that no matter what others around us are choosing to do in their households, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Help me to choose today and every day to surrender to You and admit my inability to live for You on my own accord. Jesus, it is only by Your gift of the Holy Spirit that I can live out this deep longing for harmony and peace in our home. You have done it before, and I asked boldly today that You would do it again. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ridofranz
Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) and multiple books and devotionals for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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