Prayer: Thank you for the gift of family

Gracious Lord, I thank you for the gift of family. I thank you for the gift of my biological family. I thank you for the vast family of your children baptized into this faith. I thank you for those who have parented me in my spiritual journey. They have encouraged me to grow. They have modeled healthy relationships. They have taught me the ways of Christ. I thank you for those who stand strong when family lets me down, as they inevitably will do. I pray for the brokenness afflicting family. I ask you especially to bring healing and restoration where family relationships have strain and severing. I ask for you to bless me as I endeavor to walk as a faithful disciple within family, whether biological or families of choice. I ask this to the praise and honor of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.