7 Morning Prayers for Your Family to Start the Day

We enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. For family prayer, we begin with expressing gratitude to God for all he’s done, even through life’s challenges. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The verse turns our focus to God’s sovereignty over each day, seeing his provision and grace within it. His mercies are new every morning. The psalmist instructs us to thank God for our immediate day within that day, not waiting for tomorrow. 

Actively thanking God for all his blessings, we teach our family the value of gratitude and how it leads to joy and proper perspective. In addition, we audibly thank God for our children and family members. Some of them may give us challenges, yet God has placed them in our lives for a reason. They are made in his image with intention and purpose. Thanking God for the people we love changes our hearts and encourages our family when we hear our heart for them. 

We can live in thankfulness, continually praising God throughout each day to experience greater humility and trust. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for this day you’ve made for our good and your glory. We rejoice in your love and faithfulness, and we praise you for the blessings of our family. Help us to see your blessings in every relationship and moment in our lives and express our gratitude for each. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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Loving our family and children includes seeking their safety and protection. God’s powerful promise of protection brings us peace and confidence when praying with our family. Psalm 91:11 encourages us, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” With this promise, we can boldly approach God’s throne and pray for him to protect our family, to keep them from physical, emotional, and spiritual harm. 

Praying together, we teach our families to trust in God’s power and love. With his abundant care and resources, our children can approach each day with the assurance that he will be their shield. If the omnipotent God seeks our good, there’s no greater safety. God never sleeps or gets tired, and he remains with us in every situation. Our families can start each day with his security. 

Practicing prayers of protection, we open our eyes of faith to the unseen realm, where we have an enemy who seeks our destruction. People aren’t our enemies but are influenced by spiritual forces. Even more important, we have a victorious God who fights on our behalf in the heavenly realms for our good. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for loving us and watching over us. We trust in your promise to send your angels to guard us and our family. Protect our hearts, minds, and bodies today, and help us trust in your finished victory over all sin and evil. We rest in your care, as you are always with us.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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On a very practical level, we have needs—physical, emotional, and spiritual. God promises to provide for all we require. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” reminding us how God is the ultimate source of provision for all creation. He understands our need for food and clothing, and when we seek first his Kingdom, we don’t need to worry about those things. 

Praying for provision goes beyond the material. Much of what we require is unseen, emotional and spiritual: love, peace, wisdom, joy, hope, and more. God provides all things through Christ. Living life, it’s common to experience a feeling or literal lack in one area or another. Praying with our family teaches them to rely upon God to provide what we need today and in the future, resting in his love and care. Whether good times or bad, we know his faithfulness to supply what we need. 

As we pray for specific needs, over time, God meets these needs, and this increases our faith and trust in him alone. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for always providing for us. You are the great provider, and we trust you to meet our needs today as you promise. Give us our “daily bread” in every facet of our life, seen and unseen. Help us to rely upon you for all we need because you love us. Teach us to seek your Kingdom as priority over all things.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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We weren’t meant to live life alone, so God institutes the family and the Body of Christ. Therefore, our ability to work together leads to our success in life. Our spiritual enemy seeks division, so we should pray for unity within our families. Godly unity starts with humility, patience, and love. Paul urges believers to “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3) 

Unity doesn’t mean uniformity, as God makes each of us unique. Praying for unity means working together for the good of all, in practical and spiritual ways. We pray to focus on what really matters: God’s love for us and our love for each other. Through prayer, we seek forgiveness, healing, and serving one another with compassion. 

Praying for and practicing unity in love and the Spirit develops godly character in us and our children. This godly character leads to all manner of success in life and the future. And as the family grows closer to God and each other, we become a powerful example of God’s love. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for bringing us together as a family and for the strengths and love of each person. Help us be humble, patient, forgiving, and kind with each other. Guide us in unity for the good of all through the Spirit’s empowerment. Let our home reflect your heavenly reality. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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Jesus promised we’d have struggles in life (John 16:33), and these conflicts help us utilize faith and hope to navigate and overcome with his strength. God often doesn’t remove hard times for exactly these reasons. Facing these trials as a family, we need God’s strength to move forward and through the trials. The apostle Paul gives the testimony in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In context, he speaks of the different seasons of life, of lack and abundance. We pray for and with our families for God to give us the strength we need to obey his ways and persevere through obstacles. 

Praying together for strength, we can lift up specific needs and encourage each other to share their struggles, victories, and even failures. As parents, we can show our dependence on God’s ability through talking about ways God has helped us in the past. Pray for God’s strength in big and small problems, helping the kids to trust God, too. We admit the truth of our weakness but also how God reveals his strength in helping us overcome.

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for being our source of strength through your Spirit. We lean upon your might to help us face our big and small challenges. Remind us we can obey you and love others through all trials because of Christ within us. Fill us with your courage and hope. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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In life and family, we make constant decisions. Our way forward is often unclear, and we need God’s revelation to guide us. Thankfully, God promises to give us wisdom if we simply ask. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5) Praise God we don’t have to be good enough for his wisdom, we simply must humbly ask, simultaneously admitting our lack and his omniscient and loving knowledge perfect for the situation. 

When praying with our family, we may feel tempted by pride, as if we need to have all the answers. However, our children need to see the greater work and character, our trust in God for his wisdom and direction. God sees all possibilities and realities, and his ways lead to love for every person. We can ask him for wisdom over specific issues, whether choosing the right path, a financial decision, or handling relationships. 

These prayers for wisdom teach us all the need for God’s Word as foundation for life. We can depend upon his timing and understanding as his wisdom produces confidence, and we trust him with the results. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for giving us wisdom generously. We ask for your guidance in our decisions today for now and the future. Help us follow your will. Teach us to rely upon your Word, powerful to produce change and transformation in any situation. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen. 

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The world sees peace as the absence of problems or conflicts. However, God’s peace goes deeper, something we can experience even during difficult situations since his peace isn’t dependent upon temporary circumstances but his eternal character. Jesus offers this peace in John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid.” Praying with and for our family, we enter this peace ready for us in Christ. 

Without God’s peace, we become subject to worry. God wants better for us. When we pray for peace, we acknowledge Christ as the source of it, one which transcends anything in our world. Laying down our anxieties and fears, we can move forward from a place of peace instead of trying to achieve it. This helps us relate to our families and others with God’s abundant love. 

As we go through stressful times, parents can choose to pray for and enter God’s peace and encourage our families to do the same. Our whole family learns perseverance, helping spiritual roots to grow deep and produce eternal fruit and joy with Jesus. 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for the peace you give us. Help us to enter your peace and face life’s challenges already at peace. Fill our home with your calming presence and teach us to rely upon your love in every circumstance. 

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen. 

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