Prayer for One's Family

Father, sometimes the family gets me down.

The children are noisy and the bills pile up.  Relatives and friends make demands on my time and attention.

I try to keep first things first and create an atmosphere where Your name is honored, Your word observed.

But I get tired and a hard edge creeps into my voice.  Help me to cope with the daily strains of living in a family.

Help me to sustain a climate in which my spouse can grow in Your love,  to encourage my children to develop fully the talents You have given them and to make of my family the community of love that Your Son came to bring.  Amen.