Dads
Dad’s Prayer for August 17th
A short, Scripture-shaped dads prayer for an ordinary moment of Christian faith.
The prayer
A prayer to pray now
Father, the olive tree in Psalm 52:8 grew slowly. Decades to become useful. That picture confronts my impatience. I want a fruitful life on my own fast schedule. But You are not on that schedule. Your mercy is tender — slow, deliberate, patient with my false starts. You have been working on me a lot longer than I have been working on myself. The years that felt wasted were not wasted to You. The places I made wrong turns, You have folded back into Your plan. Let me trust the slow work. The men I admire most in church are men in their seventies who have been planted in one place for a long time. They did not arrive in a week. Lord Jesus, plant me. Hold me through the slow growth. Make me one of those men by the time my children are looking for someone steady to call. Amen.
How to pray it
- Read it slowly. Move through this prayer one line at a time, out loud if you can, letting each phrase land before the next.
- Make it personal. Pause where a line meets your day and name the person, fear, or hope it touches before God.
- Carry it with you. Keep one sentence with you — on your phone or in your pocket — and return to it when the day gets loud.
Verses to pray
Pray these slowly, one line at a time. Scripture quoted from a public-domain translation.
- Psalm 52:8
Questions about this prayer
When should I pray dad’s prayer for august 17th?
Pray it whenever the words fit your moment — at the start of the day, in a hard stretch, or when you simply want to turn toward God.
Which Bible verses anchor this prayer?
This prayer is anchored in Psalm 52:8. The "Verses to pray" section above quotes them in full.
Can I save or share this prayer?
Yes. Use the Copy prayer button to copy the words, or open the Chosen Portion app to keep a daily prayer, devotional, and Scripture with you.