A simple prayer is all it takes to connect with God every day. And if you don’t know how to pray, no worries! We’ve got you covered. Check out this simple prayer below to get started! 

What If I Don’t Like My Dad?

How are we supposed to relate to God as our Father if we don’t have a good relationship with our own dad? With Father’s Day coming up, it can be just another reminder that the person who was supposed to be there for us let us down.—And can we be real? Sometimes, it feels like God isn’t any different.

You might be wrestling with the question, “What if I don’t like my dad?” If our fathers were absent, abusive, or just disengaged, that can stick with us for years to come. That wound can affect the way we relate to God in ways that we often aren’t even aware of. Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy answers, and dealing with this wound is a difficult process. 

But the good news is, there’s healing and wholeness for every wound we carry. When we decide to walk toward healing from our trauma, Jesus, who healed all sorts of wounds, brokenness, and shame, is walking with us. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, he shows us a picture of a God who radically loves us and is delighted to spend time with us. He also shows us two different responses to God’s love, in the younger and older brothers. Our prayer is that, instead of leaving God’s house like the younger son, or resenting God’s compassion like the older son, we would become people who accept this love from the beginning.

“So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”  Luke 15:20

If you’re dealing with a father wound, and it’s impacting your relationship with our heavenly Father, we invite you into this prayer. 

A Prayer for Dealing With a Father Wound

God who calls me a beloved child, you know the pain I feel when I hear the word “father.” Help me trust you are with me in that pain, and you are different than what I’ve known as father. Reveal those parts of who you are that I have not yet seen for myself, and help me trust you are here for my good. Help me not to rush out of your presence like the prodigal, or mistrust your grace like the older brother, but to receive your love, and run to meet your embrace. Amen.

 Prayers for everyday life are hard to come up with on the spot! If you’re in need of more simple prayers visit this page to help you connect with God in the ordinary, extraordinary, everyday moments of life!