This simple prayer for loved ones gives you words to bring the people you care about before God when your own words feel thin. You can pray it aloud as written, at a bedside, in the car, or over the kitchen sink. You can also use it as a starting point and add the names and worries that are on your heart today.
Simple Prayer for Loved Ones
Lord, you know the people I love better than I ever will. You know the ones who are far away and the ones sitting across the table from me. You know who is awake at night worrying about money, a diagnosis, a child who has stopped answering the phone, or a marriage that feels cold. I bring them all to you now, and I ask you to be near each one of them in the place where they are.
Be their strength when they are tired, and their rest when they cannot sleep. Guard their hearts from fear and their minds from the voices that tell them they are alone. Give them wisdom for the decisions in front of them and the courage to take the next honest step. Where there is hurt, bring healing, and where there is broken trust, begin the slow work of mending. Let them feel your presence even when they cannot see how you are working.
Thank you for loving them more faithfully than I ever could. I trust them to your care, knowing you hold each of them by name. Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Father, I hold my loved ones in my heart right now. Keep them safe today, give them peace where they are anxious, and help them feel your nearness. Strengthen what is weak in them and heal what is wounded. I trust them into your hands, because you love them more than I do. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
Psalm 121:7-8
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.
(WEB)
Pray this verse over the people you love when you are afraid of what might happen to them. Ask God to keep their going out and their coming in, today and in the days ahead.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
(WEB)
Use this passage when worry about a loved one keeps circling in your mind. Turn each anxious thought into a specific request, and ask God for the peace that guards the heart.
Numbers 6:24-26
24 ‘The LORD bless you, and keep you. 25 The LORD make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. 26 The LORD lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’
(WEB)
This is the blessing God gave Moses to speak over Israel. Pray it slowly over a child, a spouse, or a friend, asking God to bless, keep, and be gracious to them.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(WEB)
When a loved one feels far from God or from you, pray this passage for them. Ask that nothing in their circumstances would separate them from the love of Christ.
Isaiah 41:10
Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
(WEB)
Speak this promise over someone who feels weak or discouraged. Pray that they would know God is with them, and that his strength would hold them up when their own runs out.
How to Pray This Prayer
Many people find it helps to pray for loved ones at a set time each day, such as first thing in the morning or just before bed. Keep a short list in your phone or on a card in your wallet, and read through the names while you pray. Something as simple as holding a cup of coffee or resting your hand on a photograph can keep your attention from drifting.
You do not have to pray this alone. Ask a spouse, a friend, or someone from your church to pray the same words for the same person on the same day. Tell the person you are praying for that you have been lifting them up, if that feels right. Knowing that someone else is asking God for the same thing can be a quiet encouragement to both of you.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who knows each of your loved ones by name go before them and beside them. May he give them rest, steady their steps, and fill them with a peace that does not depend on how their days turn out. And may you, who carry them so faithfully, be held in the same care.
