4 Ways to Pray for Your Unsaved Family Members
Family reunions. Those words can strike terror in the hearts of anyone because let’s face it, family can lead to messy relationships even in the best of situations.
Where else do you get to encounter people who have so much in common with you, are permanently connected to you through blood or marriage, and who can so thoroughly drive you crazy at the same time?
This intense family dynamic can be intensified greatly when you add the factor of your Christian faith into the mix. Perhaps you have been blessed with a close and extended family who are for the most part believers. Wonderful! That makes those relationships something to cherish as you all look forward to spending eternity together praising your Savior.
However, I can safely guess that not every family relationship you have is with another Christian believer. Whether that unbelieving family member is someone you see often or only for the occasional family reunion, it can definitely lead to pangs of sadness on our part as we can feel at a loss as what to do to bring this dear person in our life to Jesus.
Today, let’s focus on some ways we can pray for our family members who still need to find Jesus’s saving grace in their lives.
Let the Holy Spirit help you pray for them.
I don’t know about you but I often find myself getting into a rut when praying for unsaved family members. It is easy to mutter a quick, “Please help so and so learn to love you, Jesus. Amen.”
While I am not discounting the power of even the quickest of prayers to our Heavenly Father, there are definitely times when we need to stop and pray powerfully over the lives of our dear lost family members. Romans 8:26 even assures that though we don’t know how to pray as we ought, the “Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Just think! We have a Helper who walks beside us even when we feel lost for words in our prayers!
Pray specific Scriptures for them.
This goes along with the first point. Often, we feel that we don’t have the words to pray and pour out our hearts about this family member.
In those times, turn to Scripture. Let God lead you to specific passages to pray for each member of your family. For example, it could be that you have a family member who has a hard time coming to terms with the “exclusiveness” of Christianity. Perhaps they struggle to understand why they can’t just get to Heaven on whatever path they choose. In this case, you could turn to John 14:6 and pray that they can discover Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that their minds will be opened to understand the saving beauty of an exclusive Gospel.
The joy of praying specific Scripture is knowing that you are attacking real areas of struggle in people’s lives with Truth from God’s Word. Plus, it gives you the bonus points of getting you digging into your Bible to discover new ways to pray for those within your own family tree! 🙂
Also, if you need some ideas to get started, be sure to click here to discover 14 Bible verses to pray for your spiritually lost family.
Pray that God places Christians and Christian influences into their lives.
Pray that God will help your family encounter Christians at every turn in their lives. Also, pray they encounter Christians at their job or even while out running errands at the grocery store. Pray that these encounters will be positive and will lead to discussions that will turn their minds and hearts towards knowing Christ. While you are at it, pray that they see and hear Christian messages where ever they turn, whether on Facebook or Pinterest or perhaps even through a television program. God’s message of grace can be found in many places, pray that their eyes are opened to all those great places!
Also, as a side note, pray that you are bold to share your faith to those around you too because you just might be an answer to someone’s else prayer for a family member!
Pray for wise discernment and grace to season all of your interactions with your lost family members.
Often, we can fall prey to the idea that if we are praying about something, we don’t need to do anything more. Don’t let apathy set into your family relationships by assuming your prayers are enough.
Pray that God leads you to live out your faith in practical ways to your family. This will look different depending on the closeness of the relationship and even on the specific day but God loves to help His children share His love with others!
Remember to live out your faith in a genuine manner before those you love the most. It’s okay for them to see you have bad days and make mistakes, just so long as they see how you deal with those days and mistakes in light of your belief in God.
Frankly, the hardest people we will ever minister to is our own family. It is a struggle because there is so much emotion and connection tied up in these relationships. Just because it is hard does not mean it is impossible with Christ’s help to carry us through. Take time and prayerfully consider each of these four areas of prayer for your family members. It is time well invested in sharing your faith with your loved ones.
Resources To Help You More
*This post contains affiliate links to help keep the ministry of Ambitions for Christ in operation. You can read our disclosure policy here. Thanks for your support!*
The Power of a Praying Woman
Wrestling Prayer
The Armor of God
The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer: Experience the Wonders of God through Prayer
Your Turn
Have you ever prayed Scripture verses over a family member or friend?
If you have, please feel free to share what verses you love to pray in the comments below!
Also, if you are comfortable with it, please feel free to share any prayer request you may have. I would love to join with you in prayer!
Thank you for stopping by!
28 Comments
Ariel Shanelle
The Power Of A Praying Woman is such a good book!!
I’m definitely going to pray for my unsaved family members to encounter more Christian folk. I’m the youngest of the family so I feel like they don’t value my input as much as they would someone else. However, I’ll never stop praying for them. Thanks for this article!
Edwin
Informative article, just what I wanted to find.
Linda
Great article!! I am praying for my beautiful daughter who is struggling with emotional mental issues and has told me she feels angry when I mention Jesus or God to her. She is 30 and single and so lonely but she says she cannot go out on dates as she doesn’t feel there has been anyone she wants to spend time with. Meanwhile she endures painful bouts of depression. She is under medical counsel and takes medication but I feel she would truly heal and be free from her pain by accepting Jesus into her heart!!! I will never stop praying for her but if you could also say a roster
For her I would be humbly grateful. Thank you!!
Jessie
Please pray for my daughter Sammy she is keeping sinful company and started going down the wrong path to a sinful lifestyle, please lift her up and pray for Jesus to quickly intervene and turn her around to fill her with compassion for her family once more.
Amber
Lifting up Sammy and your whole family in prayer as your walk through this difficult season. I am praying that God will make His love known to her in wonderful ways and that she will respond to His love for her.
Wendy @ One Exceptional Life
I love these suggestions. I’m guilty of simply praying for their salvation. Although I also pray to put other witnesses in their path as I believe, as it seems you do, that witnessing to family is the hardest. They simply believe that God’s love is enough for eternal security and that my family & I are kooky for thinking there’s more to it than that.
Amber
I love your heart for your family. God’s loving gift of salvation has to been received and He has to be made Lord of our lives. This truth is so hard to explain in a world where a bland version of Christianity is often preached. Praying that your family comes to understand your “kooky” faith in the power of the Cross and Resurrection!
Debra A. Matthews
I am in need of Prayer for my Son, Gary and my Daughter Brenda, her Husband, Tajal and four beautiful grandchildren. First for their Salvation and of circumstances and issues in their lives and in my life as well for me (Mom). I am a born-again believer. We all need healing, direction and a divine miracle from God in each one of our lives. I have a cousin who is about to be incarcerated for a number of years. He says he knows God. His name is Jesse and he is in need of your prayers. I am thankful for your website and the info about how to pray for your unsaved Loved ones. God bless and appreciate your prayers.
Amber
I will be lifting your precious family up in prayer and I will be praying for you as you continue to shine the love of Christ into their lives.
Tammy Capps
I have 2 grown children who I don’t know if they are saved or not. They do not profess it, but they do know God and especially my daughter will talk with me about it. I know God says that me and my household will be in Heaven if I am following him and that gives some comfort, but I want to know for sure. I also have other family members who say they are Christian, but how they live does not show the fruit. Please pray with me that God will open their eyes and heart to everything He has for them.
Thank you
Tammy Capps
Amber
Praying with you for your family that they will come to a saving, vibrant faith that bears fruit to honor God. Thank you for stopping by, Tammy!
Brenda
My mom is Buddhist & my sister, my aunt & her family & my friends have been praying for my mom’s salvation for many, many years. I wasn’t looking for your website but it just popped up as I laid my phone down. Thank you for the verses & prayers, I’m going to use them. Any other suggestions?
Amber
Brenda, praying that your mom will come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. So thankful God put this post in front of you. 🙂 Keep praying and I would definitely suggest that you read Gregory Koukl’s book called Tactics and check out posts like this one(https://www.dare2share.org/worldviews/buddhists/ ) about Buddhism. This can help you know better what your mom believes so when you do talk with her about faith you will have a basic understanding of where she is coming. Be blessed as you continue in this journey of witnessing to your mom!
Diana
Please pray for 2 of my sons they drink too much one of them has swollen feet my husband also is drinking as lot thanks I don’t have Facebook or snapchat
Amber
Lifting you and your family before the Lord in prayer. May God grant you His peace as you show God’s love to your family every day.
Sonia
Praying desperately and standing in the gap for my husband,that God almighty will intervene in his life and redeem and restore his mind that is being manipulated.May ,the Lord humble him and lead him to be the man and husband to me that God has created him to be.In Jesus’ precious name I pray,Amen.
Penny
please pray for my Granddaughter who is using drugs i am so scared, please pray for her, her name is Alexzandria
Amber
Lifting you and your precious granddaughter up in prayer!
Sara @ The Holy Mess
These are great suggestions. I love the specific ideas, especially praying for Christian friends for them.
Amber
Glad you enjoyed the post, Sara! Thank you for stopping by!
Julie
Thank you for these tips! I have a few family members that aren’t saved and I’ve felt like I’m not doing enough. Your tips are helpful to me!
Amber
Thank you for the kind words! Praying that your family members can find Christ too! Thanks for stopping by!
Tiffany Montgomery
Oh I love your heart here. I struggle to praying consistently for them. These are great resources.
Amber
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Kim T
I myself pray through the day just because I want to thank him for all the blessings in my life. But now I’m praying like there is no tomorrow. Because my son is getting out of alcohol rehab and he has no where to go. He is coming to my house for that nite but after that I don’t know. I am at my wits end. And all the praying in the world does not seem to be calming me to think straight. Please help me in praying for my son and that I can find him some where to be. Love and prayers to all.
Amber
Praying with you that your son can find peace with God and that you will have wisdom in every interaction with him.
Marcy
Hi Kim, I’m so sorry for your situation. All I know is pray that God will give you supernatural power to maneuver this His way. My prayers are with you. And I pray you find joy and peace in the midst of a difficult situation.
Jennie
Praying for your son, Kim.