Is your daughter addicted and in need of prayer?
There are many causes people become addicted. And you probably know of someone who is now in recovery from an addiction. If you need specific advice, please see SAMHSA’s website.
Yet, right now, it’s your daughter that is addicted and you don’t know what to do. As you explore options and seek guidance from your pastor, counselors, doctors, and other parents, one thing you can do immediately is pray.
We offer these five honest prayers for you to use. They touch on the most common addictions for females and are intended to be a starting point in your prayer journey as you lift your daughter to God. You can alter the words to fit your particular situation, as you see fit. But do pray!
Although addiction issues are wrapped up in mental, physical, and emotional problems, do not neglect the spiritual realm of this.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5.8-11, NIV).
Even though addictions are much more than mere temptations, you can draw strength from the exhortation from the Apostle Paul:
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10.12-13, NIV).
Turning to God in prayer can have a quick and positive impact on you as you give God your burden. Over time, your prayers for your daughter can influence her and her addiction, creating a breakthrough. Embrace the hope God gives you as you pray and trust in him with all your heart.
Prayer For a Daughter With Addiction to Food
God, I am at a loss as to what to do with my daughter. She is addicted to food in dangerous and harmful ways. Her health has worsened and she seems to be aware of it, but also doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it.
I want to help her but I don’t want to pressure her and drive her further into her addiction. I’ve tried to gently ask questions about what’s going on with her and share my concerns for her. She hears me and says she appreciates my love for her. But, Lord, she is still stuck.
I’m praying to you because I believe you can work within her to lead her out of this addiction. I believe you can work within her so she knows she is enough and that food won’t heal whatever pain she is experiencing. I love her and want the best for her. I pray to you because you are Almighty and full of Love.
Help me as I journey with my daughter through this addiction. Help her to have a revelation of truth so she can break free of this prison of food. I pray all of these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Daughter With Addiction to Overspending
Jesus, I don’t know what to do, so I am coming to you in prayer. I think my daughter has an addiction with buying things, with overspending. I researched it and apparently shopping and spending money releases all of these good-feeling drugs in her brain.
I don’t fully understand it, but I know you do. I have confronted her about it because she never has enough money at the end of the month because of this addiction. She said she feels better when she buys things. She doesn’t need any of the stuff she buys, but she keeps doing it.
Lord, I’m concerned because I can’t bail her out anymore and I won’t. I feel this is tough love, but love nonetheless. Somehow I think she does this to mask some internal pain but I haven’t pressed the issue with her.
I pray to you because I believe your Holy Spirit can awaken her and show her the truth of her situation. I just want her to be free and in good financial shape, because right now, she is not. I lift this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Provider, Amen.
Prayer For a Daughter With Addiction to Smoking
Lord, I pray for my daughter who is addicted to nicotine and smokes several times a day. I don’t think she’s up to a whole pack, but it’s close. I’m concerned because the cigarettes have ramped up her metabolism and she’s lost too much weight. Not to mention what they are doing to her lungs.
God, I bring her to you in prayer because she thinks it’s cool and she says it helps her fit in with the crowd she is a part of. I pray you get her out of that crowd so she can see that smoking is actually not accepted all that much. Help break the social pressure of her smoking addiction.
I pray that you make the taste of tobacco gross in her mouth. I pray that you awaken her to how she is destroying her body and lungs with this addiction. I am desperate Lord, because I have seen what smoking does to people and I don’t want that for my daughter.
Help her Lord. I pray this in the name of the Healer, Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For a Daughter With Addiction to Alcohol
God in heaven, my daughter is an alcoholic. She can function at a high level but she is addicted to alcohol and I know it’s going to kill her if she doesn’t get into recovery and stop drinking.
Sadly, I also know that she has to reach a bottom point and cry out for help, admitting her helplessness and lack of control of alcohol and her life. I can’t make that decision for her.
I’m praying because I know you are full of power and desire full healing for my daughter. May she have a life-changing realization sooner, rather than later. I pray that I support her and let her know she is loved even as I not enable her addiction at all.
This is going to be a tough journey Lord, so I pray for strength for the both of us. I want her to be free and she can only be truly free in you. I pray this in the name of Jesus our Strength, Amen.
Prayer For a Daughter With Addiction to Drugs
Lord Jesus, my daughter is going to die soon if she doesn’t get off the drugs she is taking. She is clearly addicted but is in complete denial. “It’s not that big a deal, Mom, I just take the pills for the pain I have. I have it under control,” she says.
Has she looked in the mirror? Does she not see the damage these drugs are doing to her appearance, as well as what they are doing to her body and mind? She’s not the same daughter as she was before she started taking the pills. This addiction is overwhelming me and controlling her and I have no where to turn but to you.
God, help us I pray! I don’t know what it will take but I pray whatever it is will happen so she will be released from the addiction. I know she is an adult now but I want my baby girl to be alive and free. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Consider This
Addiction of any kind tends to control the person who is addicted, and also impacts everyone around the addict- from husbands and sons to daughters and mothers. Support groups are immensely helpful, of course, and you should try to find one near you.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4.15-16, NIV).
If your daughter has an addiction, it can consume your life as well. Prayer is vital so you bring this kind of burden to God. It’s too much for you or anyone to carry all by yourself. Embrace God’s promise to you:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11.28-30, NIV).
Although your daughter’s addiction definitely affects you, ultimately, she is the only one who can face the reality of her addiction and do what needs to be done to stop being an addict. Addiction is much more than just a bad habit and it’s her responsibility to take the steps necessary. Addition requires a team to overcome and it’s not just a question of discipline. Continue to lift your daughter in prayer each day and surround her with the power of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
“Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50.15, NIV).
We invite you to share your prayer requests in the comments section below. Keep your hope in God and your eyes on Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit!