A season of prayer; Day 12

A Prayer for family

Thank you Holy Spirit. Your presence is always welcome in my life. Thank you for your fruit, thank you for your gifts. Thank you for your power. Thank you for all you do in my life, thank you for new life in you, the grace to do what I ought to do as opposed to what the flesh wants me to do. Heavenly Father today I am thankful for your sons. Thank you for the men who have stood up to be counted as men of standard. Fathers, who are in both word and deed, providing for and protecting their families, men of integrity who treat their wives and would be wives with utmost respect, hard working men doing their best, men of God knowing that at the end of the day when they put you first, everything else will fall into place. Lord, I know that a few bad eggs sometimes makes me have a jaded perspective but I'm sorry Lord because they were created by you and all you make is good. Thank you for opening my eyes to the truth in your word and seeing as you see. Thank you for fathers, sons, brothers, nephews, uncles and friends. Thank you for the men in my life, sometimes they make me want to scream (lol!) but I love them all so much and you have used them in shaping me into the woman I am today...so thank you.

Today Lord, I am praying for families. A family is the unit of society, dysfunctional families lead to dysfunctional communities and a dysfunctional nation. Father, concerning leadership in the house you said that if a man cannot manage his own home, he should not presume that he can manage the church..Lord, we have allowed the enemy to wreak havoc in the home. Rising divorce rates, teenage pregnancy, violent crimes amongst the youth all these things can be traced back to a generation that turned its back on you and decided to do things their own way. Where vows no longer mean anything...Lord, we can debate about the problems but I know that there is a rock that is higher than I that I can run to. You said except you build a house, we labour in vain to build it. Today, I invite you into the family, starting with me. Lord, come and reign as King.

Holy Spirit, teach us how to do what we should do. Remove pride and self centredness from us, help us as women to be wise and build our homes with love, peace and joy. Teach us how to make our homes; places of refuge from the stormy battles that are faced on the outside. Teach us to set the atmosphere in our homes; with prayer and positive confessions, that once the door is opened, people can almost smell the aroma of your presence. Help us to remember the things that really matter and keep you first place in our families. Teach us to comfort, encourage and give us patience, give me patience and an extra dose of patience.

Lord, I am not a man and cannot presume to even fathom what being one means but I pray that you that knows all things and sees all things will meet the men at the point of their need. Teach men how to love their wives as you love the church, as their own bodies (that cannot be easy)! Teach fathers how not to exasperate their children but to instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord, teach them Lord how important their role is in the home. I rebuke the spirit of absentee fathers in Jesus name.

As a child O lord, teach me to obey my parents in the Lord, to honour my parents and submit to them. They do not know everything but neither do I. Thank you for the relationship I have with my parents, help us to make it even better. Forgive me in any way I have not honoured them as I should have. Daddy, I speak peace where there has been strife, forgiveness where there has been bitterness, strength where there has been weakness. Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone that reads this that we will call upon your name concerning our families and that as your children our homes will be models for the world to follow in Jesus name I pray. That's the name that guarantees and answer.

Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways......your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons (and daughters) will be like olive shoots around your table, This is the man blessed who fears the Lord (Psalm 128:1,3-4)

Unless the Lord builds a house (home), its builders labour in vain(Psalm 127:1a)