Addiction is a devastating part of life. It destroys relationships and leads us further from God. There are two types of addictions substance addiction (alcohol, illegal drugs) and behavioral addiction (gambling, shopping). No matter what type of addiction your mother is suffering from you should always pray for your addicted mother.
When we think of addiction we typically think of alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, or gambling. However, there are many other types of behavioral addictions that can be debilitating and/or cause added stress on friends and family.
If a mother is addicted to social media it could cause neglect or emotional damage in a family. If a mother is addicted to shopping it could cause severe financial distress for a family just like gambling does. If a mother is addicted to dieting it can cause severe health issues or potentially body image issues for their daughter. The list goes on and on.
Many addicts think that they are too far gone to seek help or to be loved by God. Lauren Daigle’s song, How Can it Be begins with this,
I am guilty
Ashamed of what I’ve done, what I’ve become
These hands are dirty
I dare not lift them up to the Holy One
I imagine this is how all mothers struggling with addictions feel. No mother wants to admit they are struggling with any type of addiction. No mother wants to struggle to take care of their kids because of their addictions. It’s devastating to admit that you’re falling short as a mother.
However, we know that the Lord responds differently. He tells a different story. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).
The Lord helps us to break through the chains of addiction and to be truly free. He breathes true life into us that nothing and no one else can.
I have given you 6 prayers for addicted mothers. Feel free to customize them to your specific situation. Please leave prayer requests in the comments so we can pray with you!
Short Prayer For An Addicted Mother
Lord, please help all mothers who are struggling with addiction. I know that no mother wants to be bound by addiction. I’m sure they are wrapped in shame and distress. Please help all mothers to overcome their addictions. Heal them of their emotional wounds so they can be the mom they were called by You to be. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For A Mother Addicted To Alcohol
Lord, I pray for all mothers who are addicted to alcohol. Many mothers can easily fall victim to alcoholism. I often see other moms encouraging each other to use wine to get through the hard days. This is an exceptionally dangerous habit.
One glass of wine turns 2 and the drinking starts earlier and earlier. Lord, I know that being a parent is hard. It is exhausting, but alcohol is not the answer. Lord, please show all of these mothers that you are the answer. You alone can heal their wounds.
Help these women to turn to you instead of alcohol. Show them that laying their burdens at the foot of the cross is more freeing than addiction. Help these women to know about Your presence and Your overwhelming, faithful love.
Lord, please place someone in their paths who knows your love and can share it with them. Please help these women to overcome their alcohol addictions. Give them the courage to seek the help that they need. Provide them with proper healing for all of their physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds as well. In your name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For A Mother Addicted To Illegal Drugs
Lord, I pray for all mothers struggling with illegal drug use. I can’t imagine the pain, the suffering, or trauma that someone must endure to turn to illegal drugs. Please help these women to know that their wounds cannot be healed by numbing it.
Illegal drugs are not going to solve all their problems. But please help them to know that they will only feel healed and fulfilled through You (and rehab and therapy)! In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For A Mother Addicted To Sex/Pornography
Lord, I pray for all mothers suffering from sex or pornography addiction. This addiction can be especially challenging for women because it is seen as a mostly male problem. It can cause women a lot of shame and cause them to not seek help because they think they shouldn’t struggle with this sexual sin.
Please show these mothers that they are worth more than cheap sex. Lord if they are married, please help them to stay faithful to their husbands. Please help them to know that intimacy between a husband and a wife is far more gratifying and fulfilling than pornography.
The media shoves sex in our faces all the time through advertisements, music, and movies. Please help these women to filter what content they are consuming to help them on their journey to purity and chastity.
Please help these mothers to seek help. You are the best doctor, so please heal their emotional and spiritual wounds. Please help them to find the right therapist or the right people in their lives to make the changes they need to overcome this addiction.
It will be hard. It is unbelievably hard to say no to our addictions, but these mothers can all be freed through You. I know these women will see that once they can get past this addiction they will be able to work towards becoming the woman and mother You always called them to be. In Your name, I pray Amen.
Prayer For A Mother Addicted To Gambling
Lord, please watch over all mothers who are addicted to gambling. Gambling is a dangerous pastime. It’s fun in the moment, but the fun is fleeting. You can lose thousands of dollars at the drop of a hat. Whether it’s slots, poker, or betting on sports events, each type of gambling is wrong.
It can get you involved with the wrong people and put loved ones in serious danger. Please heal all mothers of this addiction so they stop putting themselves and those they love in danger. Please show them a way out of this addiction even if they have a lot of debt.
Penetrate the hearts of these women. Show them how loved they are for simply being who they are. I know you will welcome them with open arms. Show them that they don’t need the thrill given to them through gambling. They need You. These women will be restless until they rest in You.
Please put someone in these women’s paths so that they can overcome this addiction. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it to be freed from the chains of sin. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For A Mother Addicted To Shopping
Lord, I pray for all mothers who are addicted to shopping. Consumerism is easy to fall victim to. Everywhere you look, there are ads that are telling you that you need the next new thing to keep up with everyone. It’s easy to think that you need what everyone else has.
I know in my life that I’ve fallen victim to thinking that if I just had this one thing then I would be happy. It’s all lies though. You alone are the one thing that will make us truly happy. It doesn’t matter how many pairs of shoes, dresses, or tubes of lipstick we have. Buying things will eventually keep revealing the God-sized hole in your life.
At Jesus’ crucifixion, he said “I am thirsty” (John 19:28, NIV). He did not thirst for wine, water, or anything from this world for that matter. He thirsted for You. He thirsted for Heaven. You are the only one who can quench our thirst. Please help all mothers who are addicted to shopping to have that same thirst for You.
A shopping addiction can be very harmful to a family. It can cause a lot of financial burdens that can be very detrimental. Please help all mothers who are addicted to shopping to stop this unhealthy habit. Point them to the help that they need.
It’s You they need, not the shopping. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Concluding Thoughts
The world tells us that Christianity has too many rules, and that your life is restricted because you follow Jesus. However, God knows what’s best for us. He asks us to obey His commandments because He knows they will make us happiest.
When we don’t follow God’s law we can easily fall into addictions. Addictions are the true chains. The chorus of Lauren Daigle’s song, How Can It Be goes like this,
You plead my cause, you right my wrongs
You break my chains, you overcome
You gave your life, to give me mine
You say that I am free
How can it be?
It’s countercultural to think this, but once you overcome your addictions then you are truly free. As a mother myself, know of my abundant prayers for all mothers struggling with all types of addictions!