As a husband and father, one of my main responsibilities is to pray for my family. A father plays a key role in the spiritual life of a family and over the years I’ve seen God move in tremendous ways in my wife, daughter, and son. Praying for my family is something only I can do. I can’t delegate this responsibility to someone else or ignore it. Therefore, praying for my family is a daily non-negotiable. I’m a firm believer that my first ministry is to my family. If my family fails, no other ministry matters.
One of my favorite remembrances of praying for my kids happened in mid-2000. I was going through radiation and chemotherapy for cancer of the nasopharynx. Because the treatment was so intense, there was a period when I couldn’t talk and verbally pray over my family. Therefore, my kids, one in first grade and the other in pre-school, would come and sit by me on the couch, one at a time, and just cuddle with me. During that time I would silently pray over them as they prepared for the day. They couldn’t hear anything but they knew dad was praying for them. When I was finished, I would tap them on their heads and they would scamper off. Even at my worst, praying for my family was a non-negotiable.
I want to give you an idea of how I pray for my family on a daily basis. This is not a formula to follow nor a mandate to imitate. These are the prayers the Lord has impressed upon me over the years on how to pray for my family in a particular way. Your prayer pattern will differ depending on how the Lord has impressed upon you to pray for your family. The main point I want you to understand is the need to pray for your family on a daily basis. As I’m describing my prayers it will be as if I’m praying for my wife.
Overall Prayer. This prayer is my heart’s desire missionally for each person. This originally came out of a mission statement from a former church we attended. “Father, I pray she will love You with all of her heart, mind, soul, and strength; love your Word and love to pray; desire to serve You and minister to others; and share her faith with those around her.
Spiritual Warfare. This prayer was inspired years ago when a local company had a shooting and one of the survivors was a husband who had been prayed for by his wife. “I pray against any schemes or plans of Satan, any assaults or attacks; any afflictions or addictions; any assignments or attachments; any sicknesses, diseases, infirmities, or allergies; any bad dreams or nightmares; any pain and suffering; and send them to the Cross, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I pray a hedge of protection around my wife, and You’ll guard her side-to-side, and back-to-back, with your angels, around, above, and below her throughout the day.”
Schedule Prayer. I then pray over each person’s schedule, whether it be school, extra-curricular activities, band practice, worship practice, outings, even rest. This comes from one of my values – family meal times. It is during these times that I find out what each person is doing each day.
Wisdom Prayer. This prayer first came out of a personal need for wisdom. As I was going through Scripture, I noticed a number of similar words. I eventually came up with a crazy acrostic WIDDDUK. “I pray You give her Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, Discretion, Direction, Understanding, and Knowledge.”
General Prayer of Protection. This originally came out of my desire that my children would be protected as they entered Middle and High School, particularly as they dealt with peer pressure and relationships. “I pray You protect their heart, mind, body, soul, spirit, and strength.”
Fruit of the Spirit. This comes from Galatians 5:22. “I pray the fruit of the Spirit over her: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.”
Philippians 4:8 Prayer. This is Paul’s encouragement to the brethren at the Philippian church. I rearranged it for easier memorization to form the acrostic PLANTER P. “Whatever is Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Noble, True, Excellent, Right, and Praiseworthy, cause her to dwell on such things.”
The way I pray for my family will evolve over time. At some point in the far future, I will possibly add a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, as well as grandchildren. For me, it has been a wonderful privilege to pray for my family on a daily basis.
Sometimes good leaders don’t last because they fail to make their family a priority.
Questions to Think About:
Do you pray for your family on a daily basis?
What things should you be praying for your family on a daily basis?
© Gary Lau 2013
All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed, forwarded or duplicated without prior permission from the author.
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