Sample prayer

Lord Most High, by Your Word the heavens were made; the starry host was made by the breath of Your mouth. You gather the waters of the sea into jars; You put the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear You Lord; let all the people of the world revere You. At Your command, the world came to be, and it stood firm. Your plans stand firm forever, the purposes of Your heart through all generations! From heaven, You look down and watch all who live on earth – You, who formed the hearts of all: You consider all we do (Psalm 33:6-15). Sovereign Lord, because I revere You, may I cherish and show respect for all You have made.

I humbly confess that I do not always show respect for some of Your most wonderful creations – human beings. My own sinfulness echoes in my ears when I hear the same disrespectful tone in my children’s voices as they have heard me use. Please replace my self-serving attitude with a loving graciousness that helps me see others the way You do – as precious treasures, worthy of tender care and respect. Please remind me to be respectful when I interact with my spouse, my children, friends and neighbours, especially when I am upset. Please forgive me for the times I have modelled a disrespectful attitude for my children.

I pray now for my children, ________ and ________. Please infuse their hearts with a deep reverence for You and all that You have made. Place in them a longing to read Your Word and a desire to obey Your commands. Please inspire them to be respectful and considerate of others and give them a willingness to put others first. Because they have a healthy fear of You, I pray that my children will serve those in authority with their whole heart out of respect for the Lord and to honour those individuals by obeying their instructions (Ephesians 6:7). In Jesus’ name, I ask that You will protect ________ and ________ from the schemes of the devil who will try and persuade them to honour themselves instead of others. Because the “sins of self” are linked to disrespect, please expose any roots of rebellion, selfishness or pride in my children’s hearts, and destroy these attitudes through the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Lord, You formed each of us in the womb. You are the Lord who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens and who alone spread out the earth (Isaiah 44:24). Our desire is to revere You and treat all You have made with deep respect. Please send Your Holy Spirit to enable our family members to be respectful and considerate of everyone. In all we say and do, we want to honour You, for You are great and most worthy of praise; You are to be feared above all gods (1 Chronicles 16:25). Amen.

Scripture-guided prayer for parents

Read and pray through one or more of the selected Scriptures under each heading. Focus on listening to God and allowing His Spirit to direct you as you pray.

Character focus

Begin by letting God know how much you are in awe of who He is and what He does and declare that He alone is worthy of glory, honour and praise.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 | Psalm 8 | Isaiah 46:5, 9-10 | Daniel 4:34-37 | Revelation 5:9-13

Heart search

Acknowledge when and how you fail to be respectful.

1 Samuel 2:2-3 | Job 40:1-9 | Proverbs 3:7-10 | Proverbs 13:13 | Matthew 15:8-11

Gratitude

Thank God for ways you have seen respectful behaviour exhibited in your family.

Family requests

Ask God to help you and your family to be respectful of Him and all that He has made.

Genesis 1:27-31 | Joshua 4:23-24 | Psalm 33:6-11 | Romans 12:10 | 1 Timothy 5:1-2