A Prayer for God’s Comfort When Your Family Is Broken - Your Daily Prayer - February 19

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A Prayer for God’s Comfort When Your Family Is Broken
By: Whitney Hopler

Bible Reading:
“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.” – Psalm 27:10, NLT

Listen or Read Below:

When you hear the word “family,” what comes to mind? If you’re dealing with the pain of broken family relationships, you’re not alone. Many people in this fallen world have been hurt by family members who are no longer part of their lives. Parents walk away, siblings cut each other off, spouses divorce, and other kinds of family relationships break down, too. 

Whatever situation you’re dealing with, you’ll feel the pain of seeing relationships with family members that are supposed to be secure fail you instead. When your family is broken, the world feels unstable. Who can you trust if not the people who share your name and your home? 

Psalm 27:10 doesn’t sugarcoat the pain or pretend that family abandonment doesn’t happen. It describes the ultimate betrayal: being abandoned by parents, who God wants to give children a foundation of unconditional love in this world. But, right after that, the verse points to God, the ultimate source of hope, when it says: “... the LORD will hold me close.” 

God is telling you in this verse that a relationship with him will never fail you. Even if every other human being in your family cuts you off, God will be there for you. 

Not only is God always present with you, but God’s love for you is so strong that he will always hold you close! God is pure love, and he loves you unconditionally. 

Even the closest human relationship you have can only meet part of your needs. God’s embrace is total. When Psalm 27:10 says God will hold you close, it points to how you can count on God covering you with love completely. God’s love will cover you in every way you need, anytime and anywhere you connect with him. 

So, be honest with God about your feelings of sadness and anger over your broken family relationships. God gave you emotions, and he is big enough to handle them all – even the most challenging feelings. 

Then, let God hold you close and give you the comfort you need. Visualize God wrapping his arms around you, and repeat the promise from God’s word – “the LORD will hold me close” whenever you feel the emptiness or the sting of rejection in your life. 

Be open to the healing God wants to give you. The brokenness of your family might have caused you to believe lies about yourself, such as that you’re unlovable, too difficult, or not worth staying for. God wants to replace those lies with his truth. Open the deepest parts of your heart to God, so he can heal them and you can know how valuable and beloved you really are. God is the ultimate Father, and he will never give up on you! 

In this fallen world, sometimes the hardest challenges of life – like broken family relationships – become the situations that help you find God. The empty spaces left by your family members’ love can be filled with God’s perfect love, which you can rely on forever. You may have been abandoned by someone who was supposed to cherish you, but you are not abandoned by the one who created you. God is holding you close right now. 

Let’s Pray:

Dear God, the place where I was supposed to find unconditional love – in my family – has become a source of pain for me instead. I confess that I feel rejected, abandoned, and hurt by the people who should have held me close. The pain is hard to deal with sometimes. So, I’m bringing you the anger, confusion, and overwhelming sense of loss that comes with my broken family. Please help me grieve what was lost and what will never be, without letting bitterness into my soul.

Thank you for your powerful promise in Psalm 27:10: that even when my father and mother abandon me, you will hold me close. I believe this and trust you to fulfill that promise in my life today. Hold me close, Father. Let me feel the comfort of your presence. Hold me close, and replace the lies of rejection with the truth of your wonderful love for me. Please be the perfect parent that I need – the one who is always present, kind, and faithful. I’m giving you the broken pieces of my family relationships and relying on you to help me forgive, heal, and find my ultimate security in my relationship with you.

Thank you, God. Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/izusek 

Whitney Hopler helps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website at www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.

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