7 Prayers to Cover Your Family in the New Year

Holy Father,

Thank you for my parents. Thank you for the gift of life through them, and for their presence in my life. In the new year, I pray for their health and overall wellbeing. Help them to stay focused on you as they provide guidance and support for their kids of all ages, from the small ones to the adults. Help them to do what the Proverbs advise, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

Allow them to be blessed with wisdom, patience, and grace as they steward the next generation. Protect them from impatience and fear-based decisions and keep them connected to the Holy Spirit. Fill them with discernment.

In Jesus Name, I pray,

Amen.

2. Prayer for Children

Holy Father,

Thank you for the gift of new life, for the children in my life. Thank you for the joy they bring and for the opportunity to nurture them and raise them up to know You. Lord, I pray that You will keep them safe and healthy in the new year. I pray they will get opportunities to make friends, to learn, to explore, and to have fun.

Most importantly Lord, I pray they will grow closer to You, to become servants for Your kingdom who are on fire for You. Let this next year be one where they learn to hear Your voice and obey the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name, I pray,

Amen.

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Holy Father,

Thank you for my extended family, for the people who pour into my life. I appreciate having relatives and found family who can give me guidance, pray for me, and offer support. Help me to be a blessing to them and use me to give back to them. I pray they will get the spiritual support they need, and that we will be able to support one another in fellowship and love. Grow our family, and may we all be strong in our faith.

In Jesus Name, I pray,

Amen.

4. Prayer for Unsaved Family

Holy Father,

Thank you for saving me from my sins. I know that I cannot have a relationship with You without reconciliation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. I am so grateful for that!

Lord, you know my family members who do not yet know You. They’re still dead in their sin, and Lord, I want them to be saved! Remove their heart of stone and soften their hearts toward You and the truth of the gospel. I pray that You will help me share the gospel with them, or send other people into their life to share the truth of their sins and the hope that You provide.

Help me to be prepared, like the Apostle Peter wrote, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Let this year be the year they become Christians and start an eternal relationship with You!

In Jesus Name, I pray,

Amen.

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Holy Father,

Thank you for our current health, but I ask in this upcoming new year for healing for the members of my family struggling with illness. If it is Your will, then please act as the Great Physician and heal their body from the disease. Lord, help their immune system, ease their pain, or work a miracle so they can be whole again.

Your Word says in Psalm 41, “The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” I ask that You sustain my loved one in their illness and restore them to full health. Give their doctors wisdom and discernment, and may You be glorified through this season. Above all though Lord, Your will be done, even through this illness.

In Jesus Name, I pray,

Amen.

6. Prayer for Restored Relationships

Holy Father,

I thank you that You are capable of restoring what was broken, of bringing peace amid turmoil, and bringing people together after conflict. Lord, You know the relationships in our family that need restoration. We are broken people, subject to confusion, anger, grudges, and other sinful feelings that cause fracturing and division.

I ask that You would start to facilitate healing, and that this year will be the one where the family is whole again. I pray for clear communication, for positive conversations, and for the softening of hearts. Please restore those relationships, so that our family may be more unified, and so that You can be glorified.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen.

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Holy Father,

Thank you so much for the blessings You have given me and my family this year, and for carrying us through the difficult times. Lord, I ask for blessings in the New Year. The Bible records the prayer of Jabez, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

I ask for something similar for my family. Bless us and keep us safe and secure. Please be with us, guiding us in all decisions and trials to come. Keep us from anything that would lead us to sin or despair. Help us all to put on the whole armor of God and be bold for You as we move into the future. Use us for Your glory and for the salvation of others.

In Jesus’ Name, I pray,

Amen.

Prayer is the way we connect with the Lord, and while it can be good to start the New Year committed to trying to read a certain number of Bible chapters a day, or tithing a certain amount, or doing good deeds, being in prayer is the way to be close to God. Going to Him on your family’s behalf is important, and one of the best ways to go into a calendar year.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

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