Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
The excitement mounts for everyone as the young lady approaches her wedding. But what mixed emotions are happening for the father of the bride during his little girl’s big day? You may be the father of the bride struggling to find the words to talk to God on this big day or you may want to honor the father of the bride through prayer. Either way, you’re in the right place.
Sometimes dad gets lost in the shuffle as his special girl is involved in the plans with mom and life is changing for him. But the father of the bride needs to be thought about throughout the planning and the actual wedding day. He is going through various emotions and the least of which is how he handles the “loss” of his treasure and joy.
Scripture has plenty to say about parenting and how children are to obey and honor their mother and father. One of these amazing passages is found in Psalms. This book expresses so much about the relationship between parents and their young ones. One special passage references how blessed a father is with his children:
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127:3-5 NIV
God says definitively that our children are our heritage. These little ones that have grown up under our care and safety are “rewards” to us. So what does that tell you about that closer bond between a dad and his darling daughter?
When our young men went off to college, the Lord brought the young ladies into their lives that would become their wives.
I saw how those young girls’ fathers handled the wedding plans and the special day to come. They went through tears and anxieties and special joys. (So did their girls.)
The prayers offered here cover various aspects of what a dad goes through. Change up as needed to handle what is unique to your situation.
If you are the father of the bride or someone who knows this man…pray accordingly. God understands the sadness and the approaching joy of the wedding day. Dads need to be remembered and thought about.
Short Prayer from the Father of the Bride.
Heavenly Father, I know you understand what I am experiencing right now. My little girl is leaving me and going to be in another man’s life as his wife. It is hard for me to see her head off and not be around as much.
You God are the one I need to draw even closer to fill this gap in my life and void in my heart. Help me to trust in you as you work in her life to be the wife for this fellow you want her to be. I trust in you. I seek your care in Jesus’s name. Amen
Prayer from the Father of the Bride.
Dear God. Today my little girl is leaving the protection and care that I have given her all these years. She is going to join the life of another man that you saw fit to bring into her life.
God you are holy and just and greatly to be praised. You know what it was to lose a child and we thank you for that incredible example of love you showed all of us through that selfless act. My pain cannot compare to what you experienced, but it is still as real.
My baby girl is going to be living her new life with a man I have not truly gotten to know. But I have learned to trust your judgment, and hers, that you be there in every step of the way as they journey together.
Lord my girl has been a special part of who and what I am today. I saw her fall and needed my help. I watched her during her special days of sports and dances and graduations. I was, and still am, proud of who she is today and that’s because of you. Help me to trust daily in your care for her and for me.
You will never disappoint, yet I still have a sadness in knowing soon I will see her leave my care and protection…but never my love. For I ask all of this in the name of your Son. Amen!
Prayer for a Father as He Sees His Daughter Married.
Lord above, I praise you and your loving heart. Thank you for the example of that love in your Son Jesus.
God our friend is having a rough day as he knows his little girl will be leaving home soon and getting married. He is happy for her and wants the best for her and his soon to be son-in-law. But he is also hurting as he knows he will be without her around as often.
I pray that you will encourage his heart today. He needs a special grace as the day gets closer and the realization of her being gone will really set in. She is his pride and joy and he would never verbally complain or try to ruin things for her. That is not in him.
But he is a man that needs your closeness at this changing time in his life and world. My friend is special to so many and I cannot bear to see him in sadness right now. He wants to be happy and full of joy when she walks down that aisle.
I know what it is to have a child leave home and become a part of someone else’s life. My hurt was real, yet I remember the feeling of seeing their joy explode when they said “I do”. My heart wants my friend to experience that same happiness and peace that was mine at one time.
May this day bring my friend a feeling of excitement to overtake the anxiety. May he be blessed with a measure of grace as he senses your presence throughout the wedding and reception. Mostly let him have laughter and calmness as he gets to walk his angel down the aisle to the preacher.
I ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen!
Prayer that the Father’s Daughter is a Help for Him.
My God. You have always been there for me. You blessed me with a man I love and will soon marry. You also gave me a man that was always there for me and protected me as I grew-up in this home.
This is the man I bring to your throne at this time. My dad is so special to me and I love him to the moon and back. He is my first knight in shining armor and the one that has always been there for me.
I know this is a difficult time for him as I will be married and leaving his care of me. This is the man that I want my new love to emulate and learn to love as much as I do. My daddy…yes my daddy…means the world to me and I need to help him.
As I walk alongside him on my day, I want to show him off as the man that means so much to me. He is my tower of strength and my comfort when I am sick or hurt.
Please help me to see him when he is hurting and needs to be comforted. I want him to know that although I am moving on, my heart is not. When he needs to have someone to talk to or to simply want a hug, help me to be there to do that for him. May I never be so busy that I can’t cheer him up.
This man did so much for me and pray that you will shower with your peace and remind him that he is loved. Especially from me.
Look over him for me God. In Jesus’s name I ask this. Amen.
Concluding Thoughts
The wedding day is joyous and exciting. Yet it also hits so many ways. For the bride’s father, the day is also a happy day…and a sad one as well. Just as it can be for the mother of the bride as well.
He will see the sparkle of his eye enter into a life he knew would eventually come. This man does not regret that his girl found the man that would take his place. And that her husband has been waiting and praying for this day. He wants nothing but contentment, peace, and joy for the girl he raised on her special day.
This dad, with his wife, always wanted nothing but the best for their children. His first goal was to set them up for success in their adult lives. Proverbs 22:7 gives the best proof of that when it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
This man of strength and quiet commitment will feel sadness for a while. He may even go into a funk as my oldest son’s dad did when his daughter walked out of church on the arm of a new man.
This is not the only thing this man will experience as the wedding approaches and happens. Other things will pop up that he will need to pray regarding. Just keep him in mind as he sees his daughter leave the nest to make a new one of her own.