Prayers for Pets

A traditional prayer for pets, and 11 passages from the Bible to pray with it. Choose one, read it aloud, or print it as a card to keep.

Prayers

For Joy in God's Creation

O Heavenly Father, who hast filled the world with beauty; Open, we beseech thee, our eyes to behold thy gracious hand in all thy works; that rejoicing in thy whole creation, we may learn to serve thee with gladness; for the sake of him by whom all things were made, thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer (1928)

Bible verses

And God Saw That It Was Good

24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24-25, King James Version

Ask Now the Beasts

7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 9Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? 10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Job 12:7-10, King James Version

Not One Sparrow Shall Fall

29Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31, King James Version

Thou Preservest Man and Beast

5Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. 6Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. 7How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Psalm 36:5-7, King James Version

Ye Are of More Value Than Many Sparrows

6Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6-7, King James Version

A Righteous Man Regardeth the Life of His Beast

10A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Proverbs 12:10, King James Version

O Lord, How Manifold Are Thy Works

24O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 25So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

Psalm 104:24-25, King James Version

He Giveth to the Beast His Food

7Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: 8Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

Psalm 147:7-9, King James Version

The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb

6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:6-9, King James Version

They Have All One Breath

19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, King James Version

Every Beast of the Forest Is Mine

10For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

Psalm 50:10-11, King James Version

Questions

Which prayer for pets should I start with?

Start with "For Joy in God's Creation" and pray it each day, with And God Saw That It Was Good (Genesis 1:24-25) to read alongside it.

Are these Catholic or Protestant prayers?

Both. They come from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Bible. Most can be prayed by any Christian.

Can I change the words to fit my situation?

Yes. Where a prayer says "N." or "thy servant", put in the name of the person you are praying for.

Why are the prayers in old-fashioned English?

They keep the words of the older prayer books and the King James Bible, the words generations have prayed. "Thee" and "thou" are the old familiar forms of "you".