A Prayer About Family

When I think about those who love me

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER,

What a gift you have given me—family. At every stage of my life, they have been with me, whether close or extended; they make me who I am. Certainly they are not perfect; and knowing each other so well, we can easily spot each other’s flaws. But we belong to each other. I confess that often I look past them, assuming that they will always be there, and obsess instead about what I don’t have. Yet my own flesh and blood and many others surround and care for me. Even when I am separated by distance or death from my physical family, I have close friends nearby with whom I can share my deepest feelings, thoughts, fears, and dreams. What a blessing! Significant in this family are those with whom I share spiritual DNA, my brothers and sisters in Christ. And to think that this family of God extends beyond my small circle in this neighborhood to every community across the nation and around the world—from millennia past and into the future. Thank you, Lord!

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5