Last Updated on December 9, 2023 by Emma
Do you have a son who suffers from addiction? Do you want to pray for your addicted son?
There are many kinds of addictions. There are also many reasons addiction grips people.
Which is one thing when you talk about it in theory. But when addiction grabs hold of your son, it becomes personal and overwhelming- it’s a lot more than just a bad habit and addiction can easily take over a life.
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We offer these six honest prayers for you to use. Even if want to pray for your son, you may be so stressed that words don’t easily come to mind. Let these prayers be a help to you, a starting point. They cover the most likely addictions but you can alter any of the prayers to what you want to say for your specific situation- whether that’s alcohol or anything else.
While addictions are more than mere temptation, perhaps 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).
As you pray, you may want to pray this truth over your son, for your son, that he will not be mastered by his addiction. He is making the choices he is making, not you, but it is difficult to watch the damage his choices cause in his life, and in the lives of those around him.
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6.11-13, NIV).
You can see that your son’s addiction is bad and hurtful and threatens his future and his life. But until he sees that and accepts that, his addiction will have more control than anything else. Your prayers for your son can be an avenue for you to deal with all you are feeling. Let your prayers to God be the way you can help your son.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Smoking
Lord, I pray to you now for my son. He’s become addicted to smoking and he thinks he doesn’t have a problem. He’s going through a pack a day now. I’ve tried everything to get his attention
I went at it from a health standpoint. I told him I didn’t want him to die early. I pointed out how much he spends per month on cigarettes. But everything I say falls on ears that don’t want to listen at all.
I am realizing I can’t do anything until he wants to stop. So, I pray for you to work in his heart and mind to help him stop. I ask that you make the taste and smell of cigarettes repulsive to his body. I pray that the price of cigarettes rises so that he can’t afford them. I pray for anything that will serve as an obstacle to him and wake him up, Lord!
I’m desperate, God, and I know I can bring anything to you in prayer. So, I do that now, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Food
God, I am at a loss as to what to do for my son. He is addicted to food and it is negatively affecting his health and his life. We’ve taken him to doctors and they all agree that it’s more mental and emotional than the actual food.
I’m thankful for the diagnosis and information but it still comes down to him dealing with the issues that make him seek comfort in food. I so desperately want to help with this addiction but I know it’s not really up to me. I need you to help me be supportive of him as he deals with this.
I want him to know he is not alone and we are with him through all of this. I cry out to you in prayer, Lord, because I have no where else to go. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Vaping
Lord Jesus, our teenage son has been vaping for the last several months and is now addicted to it. He sneaks around to do it and tries to hide his vape pens from us. I can’t believe how this has changed him and I don’t like it at all.
I pray for the strength to deal with this. I ask you to work with him to make him want to give this up. I don’t want to push him because I know that will just drive him toward vaping, not away from it.
Lord, I pray that you will deliver my son from his addiction. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Alcohol
God in heaven, our son almost died last night because of his addiction to alcohol. He was drunk when he wrecked his car. Lord, I ask that you awaken his mind and heart while he is in the hospital recovering. Make him aware that his life is a mess and that he doesn’t have the power to fix his own life.
I pray he recognizes that he needs you to overcome this addiction. I’m afraid that he won’t be alive much longer if he continues down this path. Give me direction as we love him and support him while we are also firm in not supporting his addiction. I make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Pornography
God, I am stunned at what I have discovered about my son in the last couple of days. He is addicted to pornography. He’s not just exploring or that kind of thing. He told me he can’t function during the day if he doesn’t view pornography and a lot of it.
He’s been doing this for the last year or more, it seems. I’m glad he told me but he needs serious help with this. He has to consume more and more to get the same kind of brain high and he realizes enough to know that.
I ask for you to help him. Help him get out of the pit he has dug for himself. Give him the reality of what real intimacy is and heal his wounded heart and mind. Lord, he’s seeking something in pornography that isn’t real. I pray you give him an escape he can grab hold of and walk out of this prison of addiction.
I pray this in the strong and healing name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Gambling
God, I am reaching out to you for help with my son. He is addicted to gambling and it’s causing great harm to his life.
He’s doing whatever he can to get more money for the next bet and I’m worried about where this will go. How much more can his family take?
I want him to know he is not alone and we are with him through all of this. I cry out to you in prayer, Lord, because I have no where else to go. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Son With an Addiction to Drugs
Jesus! I lift my prayer to you for my son. He is addicted to prescription drugs and they are controlling his life. His behaviour has changed so rapidly as a result. I barely recognize my son now. It’s that bad, Lord and I ask for you to intervene in my son’s life.
This addiction is going to kill him if he doesn’t stop and seek help. I pray that he will awaken to reality and get that help. I pray that he will seek out you and give up his addiction.
I know that I want instant results, Lord, even as I know that this journey is a long one. I pray for strength to be firm when I say no to him when he wants money for his addiction and the problems it has caused. I am at a loss as to what to do, or what to say.
So, I pray to you and trust in your guidance grace and mercy for my son. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Final Thoughts
When your son has an addiction, it can take over your life if you let it. That’s why it is vital that you bring this kind of burden to God. It’s too much for you or anyone to carry. 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).
And remember, your son’s addiction is just that–his addiction. Yes, it definitely affects you and anyone else who may be in his life from his wife to his children. But ultimately, he is the only one who can face the reality of his addiction and do what needs to be done to stop being an addict. Continue to lift your son in prayer each day and surround him with the power of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2.10-14, 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!