The sobering reality of addiction’s prevalence is evident in our daily prayers. The “addicted people” we are praying for have increasingly become “our people.” Our family… our friends… our circles of influence… our kids. When we feel a child is lost, slipping away, and have only a crack in the door to peek in on their lives… we can turn to the One in control to restore life.
The continuity of our relationship with God is facilitated by our prayer life.
When we pray, we allow God to do His work in and through us because we are making ourselves vulnerable to Him. Praying also strengthens our connection to God.
We learn more about a person through conversation and interaction. The same process takes place when we talk to God in prayer. Spending more time in conversation with Him is the surest way to become closer to Him.
As it says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (NKJV).
Many times in my own life, I have experienced the peace that passes all understanding when I have drawn near to God in prayer.
Praying helps me center my thoughts on what’s most important. Praying gives us a divine perspective on life and is therefore crucial. A member of my youth group passed away suddenly. Finding effective ways to love and minister to our wounded students has been challenging. The power of prayer has sustained me through this difficult period. It has helped me communicate with God, hear His voice, and experience His presence while I grieve alongside my church and community.
Be worried about nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (NKJV).
Praying puts us in a position to experience God’s peace, which is beyond our comprehension. Prayer keeps my mind on the things that are dear to God, both in the happy times and the bad.
“My Father is always at His work.” (John 5:17)
how to pray for addicted son
We can conclude from the miracles of Jesus that God accomplishes the impossible. Jesus came to do His Father’s work (John 6:38, 4:34), and told us that His Father is always at work. When we see our children spiral downward into a hole of bad decisions and strangling demons, know that a miracle-working God is watching the whole thing. Trust that He has their best interest in mind, and is more than capable of pulling them up and out. Place hope in His pursuit of them. No matter how well we’ve prepared our babies for battle, they still have to lift the armor over their shoulders and learn to draw the sword.
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 13:1)
By equipping our hearts with the capacity to love others, and ourselves, through seasons of addiction, we are allowing God’s tender hand to work. We are never ready to let go of our children, but we must daily remember our place. Trust Jesus to go after their hearts, call out their demons, and heal them miraculously.
Join pray this prayer with me over those struggling with addictions:
Father, Praise You for miracles, and Your perfect timing to bring them into our lives. The winter is bitter cold and brown day after day… until suddenly, one warm day ushers in a thaw. Watching someone we love succumb to the grip of addiction wraps our hearts in an icy chill. Suddenly, we become closed to anything other than panic and reaction, worry and blame, solution and force. But, that is not Your way.
Father, You love us in a perfect way, even in the middle of our mess. And in the middle of our children’s messes,You love them perfectly, too. Thank You for the evidence of Your miraculous power through Jesus’ life. He reminded us that He came to do Your work, and that You are always at Your work. That includes our children… their addictions… their demons… their mistakes… and their sicknesses.
Thank You for loving our kids beyond our capacity.
When we can’t see what’s happening in our children’s lives, we can rejoice because You hold them in Your hands. Their journey with You is as unique as they are. Thank You for the individual way Jesus comes after each unique human heart.
Forgive us for falling into cycles of blame, remorse, regret, control, sadness, and anger. We confess that the first reaction we have is not always to equip our minds with Your truth and cry out to You in prayer, truly trusting that You hear us in those moments. Forgive us for putting too much pressure on ourselves as parents, or for any stray paths we led our children down. Forgive us for wanting to shelter and bubble our precious babies.
Help us to remember that the manipulation of substance-influenced brain is beyond practicality before attempting to speak reason into it. Remind us that the disease of addiction can be healed. Place an army of people qualified and educated specifically in this battle to help our children out of the hole. Help us to seek them, seek their counsel, and help our children to connect with them. Help us to have compassion on our children as they suffer, without enabling them to sink back into the hole. Surround us with a circle of qualified and godly people to guide us on how to execute life with addiction so near and penetrating.
Father we pray specifically for our child’s physical health, mental health, safety, shelter, employment, and dependance on You. Bless us with a released grip on control, send Your Spirit to strengthen us to surrender worry and control. God, You are bigger. You are in control. You are love. You sent Jesus down to earth and after our hearts… to call out the demons, heal disease, and claim His Father’s children… leaving not one behind. Father, we pray, in the name of Jesus, Your perfect Son who died for Your will to be done, for miraculous healing in our children’s’ lives and freedom from the demon of addiction. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer To Heal My Son’s Addiction
Father God, my son has been going through a lot lately, and sadly he turned to drugs as a way of escape. Lord, help him to know that Jesus is the only way to escape from the things of this world. Deal with his heart, Father, and remove the evil desire of drug use from his heart. Let your mercies be new every morning upon his life as he deals with this challenging situation. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen
Righteousness Prayer
Heavenly Father, your word says that we are your righteousness through Christ Jesus. Help my son to know that he is righteous because of what Jesus has done for us at the cross. Every time the urge to use drugs is strong, remind him that he is righteous before you, not because of who he is but because of what Jesus has done for him. Lord, I believe that you will rescue him from the pit of addiction, and all this will turn out for good and the glory of your holy name. I pray this trusting in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus. Amen.
Condemnation Prayer
Almighty God, my son, is so ashamed of himself for becoming a drug addict. He has a deep desire to stop using drugs, but he keeps going back to his addiction. Father God, help him. Holy Spirit, remind him that he’s no longer under condemnation because Jesus has paid for his addiction at the cross. When the enemy reminds him of his failure, tell him of your love towards him. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
Completion in You Prayer
King of Glory, thank you for my son. Thank you for loving him even while he’s still a sinner. Father, you promised us that my son would serve the nations through different prophecies. But God, he is lost in drug addiction. He has found wrong friends at school who have introduced him to drugs. I know that we do not war against flesh and blood, but principalities and rulers of darkness, so the enemy is behind all this. Father, fight our battles, help my child to stop using drugs. May he find completion in you and you alone. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
Freedom Prayer
Lord Jesus, what started as fun for my son has turned into an addiction. He has tried everything to stop using drugs, but nothing is working. Lord, you came to proclaim freedom for the captives and to release prisoners from darkness, my son is desperate to stop being an addict. O Jesus, please remove my son from darkness, and proclaim freedom over his life. May he start living in the freedom that is found in your Son, Jesus. Thank you for answering my prayers. Amen.
Deliverance Prayer
Father, I come before you today concerning my son. You knew him before he was formed in my womb, and you have good plans for his life. Dear God, it breaks my heart to know that my son has chosen drugs to be his god. But you are a merciful God, one who gives second chances to those that have strayed away from your ways. Deliver my son from the enemy of drug addiction. Vanquish the enemies of his destiny and set my son free from captivity. May he honor you with his life and bring glory to your holy name. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Save My Son Prayer
Lord God, you are the great I am. Nothing is impossible with you. I am in your presence to ask for your divine help in regards to my son’s drug addiction. We have tried everything we can as his parents, but all our good intentions are not working because he thinks that we are against him. We know that the enemy is behind this, and he is keen on destroying our child. Father, save our son and our family from the attacks of the enemy. Uproot that desire of drugs from his heart and fill the void with your love and grace. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
Stronghold Prayer
Everlasting Father, I have just discovered that my son is doing drugs, and I feel so disappointed as a parent. Lord, cause him to hit rock bottom in his addiction. May the satisfaction he finds in drugs come to an end, in Jesus’ name. Destroy every stronghold that the enemy has infiltrated in his mind to keep him addicted to drugs. As we help him to become clean, keep reminding us that the real enemy is Satan and not our son. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
Willing Heart Prayer
Lord Jesus, you were wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. It is because of that great sacrifice that we have been set free from all our sins. Help my son to know that he has been set free from drug addiction. Touch his heart that he may be willing to accept the help that he’s being offered. Father, we know that he cannot do this alone, be there with him every step of the way and give him divine strength to endure every challenge and temptation. In Jesus’s name, we believe and pray, Amen.
The Peace That Surpasses All Understanding Prayer
Heavenly Father, I’m going through the most challenging time as a parent. My son has become a drug addict, and he does not care about his life anymore. He no longer wants me to advise him, and every attempt to get through to him is being met with outbursts of anger and rage. Lord, come to my rescue. Give me the peace that surpasses all understanding during this trying time. Help me to find the right people that will be able to help my son to deal with his addiction. Lord, I’m resting in you because I know all things are possible with you. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
Protection Prayer
Gracious Father, I stand boldly before your throne of grace in time of need and mercy. My son has become a shadow of his former self because of drug addiction. Lord, have mercy upon his life. May the blood of your Son, Jesus, cleanse his body and flush out every drug he has been using. Uproot every thought of drug addiction and the pleasure that it brings to him from his mind with the blood of Jesus. Protect his body and mind from the effects of drugs and help him to live a drug-free life for the rest of his life. In Jesus’s name, I believe and pray. Amen.
