When it comes to family devotion, we can’t overlook the importance of prayer. Through prayer, we surrender our devotional time, our lives, and our family into God’s hands, trusting in His perfect care over our journey with Him.
Let’s explore how to pray during family devotionals, with plenty of helpful examples to guide you!
For more devotionals, please visit: https://familydevotion.org/index.php#
“For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” – Gen 18:19
It is recommended that every family devotion starts and ends with a prayer to consecrate the time together to God. There is no right or wrong approach, and while every family or every week’s situation may be different, here are some sample opening and closing prayers to get you started.
Opening Prayer Samples
Opening Prayer 1
Father in heaven, we thank You for watching over us as a family the past week. You have dealt with us gently and You have shown Your favour and grace to us in different ways in our going out and our coming in. You have kept us in your arms of love and continued to nurture us in Your ways. Here we are again as a family, coming before Your throne of grace and to experience the smile on Your face again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Opening Prayer 2
Father in heaven, we rejoice as we remember Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. We praise You because He has conquered sin, death and Satan. We thank You that today, we can live in that victory as we embrace Your full work on the Cross of Calvary. We are grateful for the forgiveness of sin, the gift of eternal life and a new identity in Christ. We ask that Your Spirit will continue to nurture us as we grow in this new life in Christ. We ask all these in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Opening Prayer 3
Father in heaven, we come before You offering ourselves and our lives to You as worship. You are our Father, and we are Your people. We celebrate Your love for us demonstrated at the Cross of Calvary where Your one and only Son Jesus Christ died for our sins. We celebrate Your life-giving power demonstrated when You raised Christ from the dead that today, He can live in and through us in the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power. We thank You for Your rich blessings and the spiritual inheritance we have in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Opening Prayer 4
Father in heaven, we come with grateful hearts because You have called us to Your own. We come because we have heard Your voice and You have drawn us to Yourself. Teach us to walk in Your ways that we may constantly be upright in our hearts. Teach us to walk faithfully in following You, our Master. Grant us Your grace to live each day patiently and joyfully, living and sharing Your love with one another. We pray all these in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
Opening Prayer 5
Father in heaven, thank You for family. Thank You for parents you have placed over me as part of the expression of Your love and care for me. Though we may not have the perfect relationship, You are in the process of forming us and You are not finished with us yet. So now, as we gather as a family to worship You, we ask that You will bless us with Your loving presence. Teach us what it means to relax in Your presence and enjoy Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Closing Prayer Samples
Closing Prayer 1
Lord Jesus, You have given us so much – life, friends and family. Help us to share Your love with others through the giving of ourselves, our gifts and time. May others catch a glimpse of Your goodness and grace through us. Teach us as a family to reflect You more in our words and deeds. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Provide for all our needs and keep us from all evil. We ask these in Your name and for Your glory. Amen.
Closing Prayer 2
Father, You understand the struggles of our hearts, how sometimes it is so difficult to make a stand for You. Forgive us for failing to make a clear stand for You and for what is right in Your eyes. Give us the courage to pursue Your name and to make Your name an aroma of life to many others. Teach us to rely on You as we live in integrity as a follower of Jesus Christ. Guard our hearts when it starts to be invaded by fear. Keep our hearts in Your love and peace.
Closing Prayer 3
Father, we are like sheep which have gone astray. Yet in Your love, You looked out for us, found us and brought us home. Thank You for Your forgiveness and for restoring us into a right relationship with You. Teach us to reflect Your goodness and grace in our relationships. Make our home a place where we see and experience more of Your loving heart. May the Lord bless us and keep us. May the Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.
Closing Prayer 4
Father, You have taught us what it means to be humble like a child. Forgive us when we forget that. You have taught us not to be proud because You oppose the proud. Forgive us when we are prideful. You have taught us to serve one another in humility. Forgive us when we are self-seeking and place ourselves as more important than others. Help us learn humility from the children you place around us in our family, whether biological or spiritual. Amen.
Closing Prayer 5
Father God, lead us as a family. We need Your tender care. Guard us in all our ways and keep us from all evil. Seek us when we go astray and fill us with Your love to overflowing. Befriend us in our moments of loneliness and comfort us in our distress. Hold us with Your hand and lead us each step of the way, that we may know the depths of Your friendship and the safety and security of Your ownership of our lives. We continue to acknowledge You, Yahweh, as God of our lives and God of our family. We bless you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Prayer Based on Scriptures
Using Psalm 23
The Lord is our family’s shepherd, we lack nothing. He makes us lie down in green pastures, He leads us beside quiet waters, He refreshes our soul. He guides us along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though we walk through the darkest valley, we will fear no evil, for You are with us; Your rod and your staff, they comfort us. You prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. You anoint our heads with oil; our cup overflows. Surely Your goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in Your house forever.
Using Psalm 119: 73-80
Father, You made our family. You created each of us. Give us understanding to learn Your commands. May all who fear You find in us a cause for joy, for we have put our hope in Your word. We know, O Lord, that Your regulations are fair; You disciplined us because we needed it. Now let Your unfailing love comfort us, just as You promised us, Your servant. Surround our family with Your tender mercies so we may live, for your instructions are our delight. Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about us. Meanwhile, we will concentrate on Your commandments. Let us be united with all who fear You, with those who know Your laws. May all of us be blameless in keeping Your decrees; then we will never be ashamed.
Using Ephesians 4: 21-24, 31-32
Our Lord, since our family has heard about Jesus and has learned the truth that comes from Him, help us to throw off our old sinful nature and our former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. Help us to put on Your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. Let our family get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, Lord, we pray that we will be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven us.
Using Joshua 24: 14-18
Father, set our family’s heart right to fear the Lord and serve You wholeheartedly. We want to put away forever the idols our ancestors worshiped and serve You alone. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors. You performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we travelled through the wilderness among our enemies, You preserved us. Father, we will serve You, for You alone are our God.
Using Psalm 94: 1-4, 11, 14-16
We thank You, Lord, that our family lives in the shelter of the Most High and we find rest in Your shadow. This we declare: Lord, You alone are our refuge, our place of safety. You are my God, and we trust You. For You will rescue us from every trap and protect our family from deadly disease. You will cover us with Your feathers. You will shelter us with Your wings. Your faithful promises are our armour and protection. Lord, please order Your angels to protect our family wherever we go. Lord, rescue our family as we love You, and protect us for we trust in Your name. When we call on You, have mercy on us and answer us. Be with us in trouble, rescue and honour us. Father, we look to You, as we know You will reward us with a long life and give us salvation.
About the Our Daily Bread Ministries
In 1938, the ministry started with a radio program called Detroit Bible Class. Since then, our audience has grown from a small group of dedicated radio listeners to millions of people around the world who use our Bible-based resources.
Over the years our name has changed to better reflect the variety of resources we offer. Today, we realize that most people recognize who we are by the well-loved devotional Our Daily Bread. So we changed our name to Our Daily Bread Ministries to more clearly communicate who we are. Although our name has changed, our focus remains the same: reaching out to people all around the world with the message of God’s love.
We’re a non-denominational, non-profit organization with staff and volunteers in over 37 offices working together to distribute more than 60 million resources in 150 countries. Regardless of whether it’s a radio or television broadcast, DVD, podcast, book, mobile app, or website, we provide materials to help people grow in their relationship with God.
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