A Prayer For When We’ve Gotten It Wrong

A Prayer for When We’ve Gotten It Wrong

O heavenly Father,

We see so clearly

The mistakes we’ve made

In our parenting journeys—

Even the ways we have fallen short just today.

In the exhaustion, we have been too tired to engage.

In the frustration, we have taken our grown-up anger

Out on our families.

In the overwhelm, we have fallen short

Of being the mothers and fathers

Our children deserve.

O Lord, with Your Abba-Father love

And the wings of a mother hen,

You welcome us as Your sons and daughters.

We come to You feeling like a child

In need of direction

So that we may protect and nurture our own.

In our exhaustion, will You renew our spirits?

For in taking care of our bodies and souls,

We may be filled up to tend others.

In our frustration, will You repair our patience?

For in gaining peace and perspective,

We may find new ways to love our children.

In our overwhelm, will You redeem our energy?

For in prioritizing where we spend our thoughts and time,

We may better know how to engage with our children.

We wish our kids came with instructions, O God,

Because we are improvising here—

And we’re not sure the tune is right.

When we have done harm

With our presence or with our absence,

Give us tender hearts to apologize—

When we have shouted,

When we have snapped,

When we have forgotten,

When we have projected,

When we have failed.

We know that how we parent

Holds a mirror up to who we are,

And sometimes we don’t like who we see.

Help us, Lord, to forgive ourselves.

Help us to see ourselves as Your beloved.

Help us to see our children as Your beloved too.

You are the maker of families

And the Redeemer making all things new.

Help us in our small choices and big decisions.

Give us mercy and grace—

And hearts to receive.

May we find parenting to be a mutual act

Of giving and receiving.

Forgive us for the ways we have failed,

And repair relationships we fear

Are too broken to be restored.

Fill us with true humility rooted

In Your merciful, just Spirit,

And lead us to growth

So that we may heal

That which was harmed or lost.

Our children are watching, O God.

Let us model forgiveness.

Let us say “I’m sorry” and mean it.

And may we learn to forgive ourselves.

We come to You

And lay out the tiny pebbles and great boulders

Of our parenting mistakes.

Help us lift off these burdens,

Repair the damage,

Learn from them what we can,

And cast them into the ocean,

Our sins seen no longer

And no longer worn around our necks.

O God of redemption,

Thank You that You have given us the gift of parenting,

Even in our imperfections.

You continually choose the misfits,

The stumblers, and the inexperienced

To do mighty things—to love boldly and care deeply.

May we learn again and again

What it is to be human—

And in our lack,

May we find Your great comfort.

In our weakness,

May we find refuge in Your wings.

And may our propensity to get it wrong

Grow in us compassion, mercy, and grace

For when others fall,

Especially our children.

You are the God of new beginnings

And fresh starts.

We lay our shame at Your feet.

And though we know we will mess up again,

We are always welcomed into

Your loving arms.

Romans 8:15; Luke 13:34; 1 John 1:9