There are some things we can fix with our own hands.
We can mend a broken fence, replenish tired soil, prune an overgrown plant, and tend a struggling garden back to health.
But we cannot force another person’s heart to change.
Estrangement from a child, parent, sibling, other family member, or dear friend carries a unique kind of grief. We may long for another conversation, another chance to listen, an opportunity to apologize, or simply an open door where there has been silence.
Sometimes, after we have done all we know to do, the only thing left is to place that person into God’s hands.
That is why I created 31 Days of Prayer for Estranged Family & Friends: A Journey of Surrender, Healing, Forgiveness & Restoration.
Watch the series on YouTube.
This printable PDF devotional is designed to walk with you for 31 days as you bring your broken relationships before the Lord. Each day includes Scripture, a short reflection, a prayer, and a simple action to help you examine your own heart while faithfully praying for the person you love.
We’ll pray for softened hearts, healing, forgiveness, spiritual protection, wisdom, truth, and—where it is good and according to God’s will—reconciliation and restoration.
But this journey isn’t simply about asking God to change someone else.
We’ll also pray:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart.” — Psalm 139:23
We’ll ask God to reveal our own bitterness, pride, fear, unforgiveness, or mistakes. We’ll practice surrendering the need to control the outcome and learn to trust God with the people and places we cannot reach.
Prayer can sometimes feel like planting a seed.
We place it beneath the soil, water it faithfully, and for a while we may see absolutely nothing happening.
But we don’t dig it up every morning to see whether it has begun to grow.
We tend.
We wait.
And we trust.
Perhaps after these 31 days, circumstances will begin to change. Or perhaps the first new growth God brings will happen quietly within our own hearts.
Either way, we keep praying.
We keep forgiving.
We keep our hearts tender.
And we remember that God is still at work, even when we cannot yet see what He is doing.
If there is someone on your heart today, I invite you to begin this 31-day journey with one simple prayer:
“Father, I place __________ into Your hands.”
And then, day by day, we’ll trust Him with the rest. 🌿
I would suggest printing this as a front/back packet or it will be quite thick.
Music that goes well with this devotional:
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