3 Prayers That Can Change Your Lineage

“Prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them; outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world.” ~ E.M Bounds

Your prayers can not only change the course of your life and the lives of your loved ones, but they can also change your lineage for generations to come.

I experienced the power of prayer early in my Christian walk when I witnessed Jesus do a miracle in my marriage. It was during an extremely broken season when my marriage had fallen apart and my husband and I were separated. During this time the Lord told me to give my husband, my marriage and my family to Him. In this season of deep sorrow, I quickly learned that the only way I could find comfort was in the presence of God-reading my Bible, and prayer. Although I was hurting, weary and not very hopeful, I would spend most of my days crying out to my Heavenly Father, praying, even pleading, with Him for a breakthrough. I was desperate to save my marriage and to keep my family together, but I knew only God Almighty had the power to do so.

During this time of desperation, I sensed the Lord telling me to surrender all to Him and to simply pray and believe that He could do the impossible.

The Bible says that our prayers can move mountains (Matthew 17:20) and that “the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16). I sincerely believe that it was my obedience to what I felt the Holy Spirit was leading me to pray (Romans 8:14) as well as the prayers of many saints that restored my husband, my marriage and my precious family. I give all the praise and glory to God! This painful season of my life taught me a lot and changed my prayer life forever. I became a firm believer in the power of prayer, and today I can honestly say that I love praying. Prayer is my first response to everything. It can be yours too.

Having a powerful prayer life gives us hope to move the mountains in our lives.

Most of us are seeking the Lord for a breakthrough in some area. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to know how to start praying and we need a boost in our prayer life. It takes faith to believe not only that God hears your prayers, but that He will answer them too. Back in those days of beseeching the Lord to bring a change in my circumstances, I was so weary that I didn’t know what to pray and so I began to “borrow” the prayers of other prayer warriors. I would pray the prayers they had written. I’m so grateful for these faithful people of prayer, because their prayers gave my ember (mustard seed) of faith the fire it needed. May God bless them for sharing their prayers with the world.

One reason our heavenly Father wants us to “never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is because our prayers moves us into our destinies.

In this blog post I want to share three prayers that I have prayed consistently for myself and for my beloved family for over twenty years. I have a notebook in which I have written these and many more prayers (see picture above). Some of my prayers are written on notecards. On days when I am not feeling very motivated to pray, I grab this notebook and cards of prayers and pray the prayers written in them. I’ve noticed that as I began to pray, almost robotically, I get filled with the Holy Spirit and then am empowered to pray vigorously. (Please note, these prayers have been adapted from Stormie Omartian and Susie Larson).

May the Lord give you the faith you need to keep persevering as you wait on Him for a miracle. He loves you and He delights in giving you the desires of your heart. May you never give up on yourself or others but persevere in prayer always (Luke 18:1). We can be confident that God hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.  And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). I praise the Lord that today my marriage and family can enjoy life together, and that each one of us knows and loves Jesus.

I was once told that it takes one person to change a lineage. I’m honored that in my family line, that was me. In your family, it may be you.

Prayer 1: A prayer for protection for your family and yourself

Lord, Your word says, “Their children will prosper as they did long ago. I will establish them as a nation before me, and I will punish anyone who hurts them” (Jeremiah 30:20). Father, I ask that You would make my family bulletproof against the attacks of the enemy. I pray for (insert names) that we would all submit to You Lord God and find peace. I thank You Lord for Your plans for our lives are for good, and not for disaster, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). When we pray Lord, may You listen and when we look for You wholeheartedly, may we find You. I thank You Lord for being our security and for helping us to keep our heart at rest in every situation (Proverbs 3:26). I also thank You Father for being a God of justice and unfailing love (Psalm 36:10). May You help us to find shelter in the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 36:7) as we lean on You for all that we need. You alone are our refuge, our place of safety; You are our God, and we trust You. (Psalm 91:2).

Prayer 2: A daily prayer for your family and yourself

God, I ask for a fresh flow of Your Holy Spirit power to work in (insert names) this day. We are weak, but You are powerful (2 Corinthians 12:9-11). Be strong in us. I beg You God, for a revival in my family. Pour out an Ischaccar anointing on each of us-that we would spiritually discern and understand the times we are living in.

Nothing is too hard for You, and anything is possible for You.

I want my family and I to receive a God sized, Kingdom level answers to my prayers. I wait with hope and expectancy for a breakthrough of my prayers. Awaken our faith God, as we believe You will make a way for us. Help me to trust that You are answering my prayers even when I cannot see it (2 Corinthians 5:7). Give us each, (insert names), wisdom and discernment that comes from You, Lord. Protect us from evil. Command Your angels to keep guard over our comings and our goings (Psalm 91:11). Show us how to become experts at caring for our souls. May we refuse worry, fear and embrace faith instead. Give us a passion to pray more than we talk or worry. May we learn to stand in battle and persevere in prayer and walk by faith in all circumstances.

Prayer 3: The prayer of Jabez over your family

1 Chronicles 4:10 says, “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.“

Father God, oh that You would bless me indeed, and bless my family (insert names). Would You enlarge our territory, whatever that means for each one of us uniquely. You know because You are El Roi, the God that sees us. I pray for our walk with You, Jesus, our callings and our destinies. I pray for our jobs, ministries, marriages, children, all relationships, our health, pets and our cars. Let Your hand be with each one of us everywhere we go. Guide us to our best that You want for us. And keep us from evil, so it might not hurt us, all the days of our lives.

I pray each one of us would serve only You Lord God, so that we would be blessed with all that we need and that You would keep us healthy all the days of our lives (Exodus 23:25).

I also ask, in Jesus’s name, there will be no miscarriages, infertility, still births or tragic deaths in my family lineage and that You would give us each long full lives (Exodus 23:26).

It’s helpful to be clear on what your motive for your prayer is and to use God’s word to support your requests. Are you like me, motivated by the power of love for your marriage and family? Or perhaps you desire to be in a committed relationship, are waiting for a prodigal to return, need financial breakthrough or healing? Whatever your circumstances, God has the solution to your concerns. This is why it’s critical to see Him as a strong loving Father as you cry out to Him for help.

God is a good God and He knows what is best for you. However, effective prayers begin with you doing your part and asking Him for what you need or desire. Did you notice the cover of my prayer journal in the picture above? It is Matthew 7:7 which says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” And in James 4:2 God tells us “…Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”

I hope the three prayers I have shared in this post will encourage your faith as well as your prayer life. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, believe that the Lord hears you, because He does. Surrender your will to His (Luke 22:42) and trust in His goodness (Psalm 23:6). Keep on praying, and never give up (Romans 12:12). Your miracle is possibly right around the corner.

“May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist“~ Galatians 6:9 (Voice)