These prayers are written for adoptive parents who want words to bring to God as they raise a child who came to them through adoption. Pray them at the kitchen table, in the car after a hard conversation, or late at night when the house is quiet. You can read them aloud exactly as written, or use them as a starting point and let your own words follow.
Prayers for Adoptive Parents
Father, you know the road that brought us to this child. There were forms and waiting rooms, hopes raised and set down again, and maybe a moment when we wondered whether it would ever happen. Thank you for bringing us to this place and for placing this child in our arms. Help us to love them as fully as you love us, even on the days when we feel unsure of ourselves.
We ask for patience with the questions they carry about where they came from and who they are. Give us the wisdom to answer honestly, the gentleness to listen when they grieve what they have lost, and the steadiness to stay close when their behavior is hard to understand. Remind us that a child’s story can include loss and still be full of belonging. Be with the birth family in ways we cannot reach, and let our home be a place of truth and safety for all of us. Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Lord, help me today. Give me patience when my child pushes me away, and softness when I want to be sharp. Let them feel that they are wanted and kept, not because they earned it but because we chose them and you have made us a family. Hold us both when the day gets heavy. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
Psalm 68:6
God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
(WEB)
Pray this verse for the child who may feel alone or unplaced. Ask God to set them in a home where they belong, and thank him that he is the one who makes homes for those who have none.
Romans 8:15
For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
(WEB)
Pray this verse for your child’s sense of security. Ask that they would know they are not held by fear or by the pain of the past, but by the parent God has given them, and that you would receive that same assurance yourself.
Ephesians 1:5
Having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire…
(WEB)
Pray this verse over your own heart as an adoptive parent. Thank God that his choosing of us reflects the way he has adopted us into his family, and ask him to shape your love for your child by that pattern.
Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
(WEB)
Pray this verse when you worry that your love is not enough or that your child will never fully trust you. Ask God to remind you that his love is steady, and to help your child feel that steadiness through you.
Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage of the LORD. The fruit of the womb is his reward.
(WEB)
Pray this verse in gratitude for the child in your home. Name them before God and thank him that children are a gift entrusted to you, however their path to your family was formed.
How to Pray This Prayer
Many adoptive parents find that the early morning or the last few minutes before bed works best, when the house is quiet and the day’s demands have not yet begun or have finally settled. Keep a copy of the longer prayer in a notebook or on your phone so you can return to it. Some people find it helpful to hold something in their hands while they pray, such as a child’s blanket, a photo, or the small cross or stone they keep on the windowsill.
You do not have to pray this alone. Invite your spouse, a close friend, or a small group from your church to pray it with you, or ask a trusted person to pray over your family each week. Adoption can feel isolating, and sharing the prayer with others can remind you that you are carried by a community as well as by God.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who chose this family keep every member of it close. May he give your child a settled sense of belonging and give you the strength to keep showing up with love. May his peace guard your home, his patience meet you in hard moments, and his faithfulness be the ground your family stands on for years to come.
