Prayer for Family Healing

For the hurt between you: a family prayer for healing, whether the wound is old or new.

Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Colossians 3:12-13

Lord, our family is hurting. Some of it is old and some of it is fresh, and You know all of it. Heal what we can’t talk about yet. Soften the hard places, starting with mine. Teach us to bear with each other and to forgive as You have forgiven us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

After a divorce, a death, or a split you never saw coming. A prayer for the broken family you have now.

Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

God, this isn’t the family I pictured. Things broke, and some of it can’t go back the way it was. Be with each of us in the new shape of things. Protect the children in it. Make a way where we can’t see one, and let something good grow here again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For years that feel lost. A prayer for family restoration, and the hope of getting them back.

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. Joel 2:25

Lord, it feels like years were eaten up by distance, silence, and old fights. You say You can restore what the locusts ate. I’m asking You to do that for us. Bring us back to the table, one conversation at a time. Give me patience while You work. In Jesus’ name, amen.

When someone close won’t talk to you. Prayers for healing relationships, and for the waiting in between.

He fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers, and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him. Genesis 45:14-15

If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. Romans 12:18

Lord, someone I love has gone quiet, and I don’t know if they’ll come back. Show me what’s mine to own and help me own it. As far as it depends on me, help me be at peace with them. Joseph and his brothers wept together after years apart. I’m asking for that kind of day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Before the next family dinner, or the next argument.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

God, our family keeps fighting about the same things. Before the next conversation, put a guard on my mouth. Help me answer gently, even when I think I’m right. Help us listen longer than we argue. And where we simply disagree, help us still love each other. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Money, sickness, a teenager, an aging parent. A prayer for family problems that are piling up.

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Lord, there’s a lot going on at home right now, more than I can handle. I bring You each problem by name. Give us wisdom for the decisions, strength for the hard days, and rest when we’re exhausted. Keep us on the same side while we face it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For a home that feels tense.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Prince of Peace, our house feels tense. People are on edge, and doors are closing a little too hard. Let Your peace rule in our hearts and in these rooms. Calm the tempers, mine included. Make our home a place people want to come back to. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For families where the patterns run deep. A prayer for a dysfunctional family, and for the one trying to break the cycle.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up. Psalm 27:10

God, some of the patterns in my family go back generations. I don’t want to pass them on. Break what needs breaking in me. Give me wisdom about boundaries, and grace that isn’t the same as pretending. Where my family couldn’t be what I needed, You can. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For physical healing: a family member or friend who is sick.

Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

Lord, people I love are sick, and I can’t fix it. You are the healer. Touch their bodies. Guide their doctors. Give them rest, and give the rest of us patience and courage while we care for them. Whatever happens, hold all of us close. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Before anyone else is up.

Good morning, Lord. Before anyone else is up, I bring You my family. Heal what’s hurting between us. Give me one kind word to say today, and the self-control to leave the unkind ones unsaid. In Jesus’ name, amen.