4 Ways to Pray Over Your Family

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On Monday, we talked about 3 ways to care for your family, and one of the ways I touched upon was spiritually. Today I want to dig deeper into that and talk about 4 ways you can pray over your family. 

With our busy lives, we often push “priority” items, such as kids extra curriculars, church events, or social events to the front of our days. While the routine items such as family meals, devotional time and time for praying is pushed to the wayside.

While we always seem to have good intentions to finish that devotional, or pray for that person who’s sick at church, or have a family meal, it always seems to slip us by. And, oftentimes, this can make us feel like failures or that we’re not “spiritual enough” or “good mothers/wives”, when in fact this isn’t the case at all. Your worth is not defined by how you compare to others in church or on Instagram, it’s who you are in God.

I don’t want you to have to struggle through each day trying to find time for everything that there is to do, so I’m going to share with you my secrets on fitting in time to pray over your family. 

1 | Doing laundry

When you’re doing laundry, take a minute to sort all the clothing by each member in your household. As you’re folding each person’s laundry, take time to pray over them. Whether it’s just generalized prayer, or specific prayer for each person, spending that time drawing closer to God, doing your work heartily for Him will make a big impact on your day. Don’t forget to pray for yourself when you’re folding your clothes either!

2 | When they rise and when they sleep

One of the things that made a huge impact at the beginning of my relationship with my significant other was one morning when I first saw him I was so grateful and excited that I just had to pray over him right then and there. I thanked the Lord for him and prayed for his troubles and for protection wherever he went. While it was a spontaneous prayer that was short but sweet, it was something that impacted him in a way I couldn’t have imagined. 

So take a quick minute in the morning and night as you’re waking up each family member to pray out loud over them. Whether it’s over your children who may be bullied at school, or for your husband to come home safe tonight, or even that they may get extra sprinkles on their ice cream at the party in school today. Whatever the needs of your family are, be sure to pray for them outloud and let them know that you’re there, you’re thinking about them and you care.

3 | Before you travel

Once you’ve gotten everyone in the car and ran back to the house three times for those things you forgot, pause for a moment and pray out loud over your family for safe travels. Not only is this a wonderful practice, but it teaches your children to pause during normal day activities and pray. It can also help ease anxiety of little ones who may have fears surrounding travel. No matter where you’re going, or how you’re getting there, if possible take a moment and stop to pray. 

4 | Meal times

I know this one seems obvious and unhelpful since you probably aren’t able to always eat meals together, but hear me out. But here are some unique ways to pray for your family (and others) at meal times.

• Pray for them when you eat, even if you eat alone.
• Pray for them as you prepare their food for the meal.
• Pray for them as you wash dishes.
• Take a moment to ask your server, if you’re eating out, if your family can pray for them right then and there. A lot of times they will say no thank you, but oftentimes I’ve had people break down in tears due to everything on their plate and willingly accept Christ right there. Whether you’re at a restaurant, a drive thru or a delivery person has come to your door; take time to ask if you can pray for them and set the example for your children.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us:

“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

So no matter what you’re doing, remember you can take time to pray for yourself, your family, or to just talk to God. He’s always listening and hopes we see His work in our lives in everything we do and experience. From the flowers, to the mountains, His work is all around us. 

When do you make time in your day to pray for your family? Leave your ideas down below!

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