Can we pray for our pets? The Bible tells us God created animals and gave us guidelines for their care and use. The Scriptures make it clear that God values animals, that the mistreatment of animals is a sin, and that a righteous person takes good care of their animals. Yet today, even knowing this, we still wonder if God hears our prayers about our pets. This reflects more on our modern western attitudes toward animals than God’s attitude toward them. We value animals for what they do for us, whether it’s giving us the love and affection of a pet, providing a source of food from livestock, or assisting us with labor as service animals. God values animals because he created them. So, does God listen to our prayers for our animals?

I found out first hand at a young age that, yes, God hears our prayers for our pets and he answers them.

Samantha’s miracle

One day when I was about 12, tragedy struck our household in the form of my two-year old brother. At some point, when my mother was busy with my even younger brother, the two-year-old had gone down to the basement where we kept the two kittens our cat had birthed just a few weeks earlier. The basement was supposed to keep them out of the toddler’s reach, but being an especially precocious little boy, no one was surprised that he had given Mom the slip and gotten downstairs by himself to play with the kittens. He had come back upstairs and had been put down for his nap when we discovered the aftermath of his visit. Sadly, his play had been rough. One kitten had died and the other, named Samantha, gave every sign that she might die at any minute. (Furious, another younger brother and I—I was the oldest of four boys—went pounding upstairs to confront our little “bother” only to find him fast asleep in his crib. Our anger immediately melted away and we crept back out of his room to let him finish his nap.)

Poor Samantha was in a bad way. Mom had her wrapped in a cloth with a little ice pack on the big lump on her tiny head. Right there, my brother and I prayed and asked God to heal our little kitten. Did God hear our prayer? God always hears our prayers. How he answers may differ significantly from what we expect. This time, God’s healing touch worked a miracle. By the next morning, it was like nothing had happened to Samantha. She was a bit wobbly at first, but within a day or two she made a full recovery. Not long after, she went on to live a full life with some of our cousins. (The two-year-old is now in his mid-40s and has a heart of gold, and thankfully, has no memory of this incident.)

God created our animals

In the Genesis account of creation, God made land animals on the sixth day, just before he made Adam. The vast diversity of animal creation—for which science describes eight levels of classification: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species—illustrates God’s immeasurable interest in animals. The striking difference between humans and animals, of course, is that God created humankind in his own image…to be like him (Genesis 1:27). To his image bearers, God gave dominion over all the other animals and a responsibility to care for them (Genesis 1:28). That God values his image bearers above other living creatures (Matthew 6:26) does not devalue those living creatures; anything God created he values.

God gave people guidelines for the care and use of animals. We’re to rest our animals (Deuteronomy 5:14) and give them their share of food (Deuteronomy 25:4). We have God’s blessing to kill and eat certain livestock and wild animals (Deuteronomy 12:20-22, Acts 10:9-16), but we’re to respect the value of their lives (Leviticus 17:10-14). Indeed, the Bible tells us that “the righteous care for the needs of their animals” and never treat them cruelly (Proverbs 12:10). Animals are God’s creation and he expects his image bearers to care for his creation, even (or perhaps especially) when they are part of his provision to us for the very basics of food, clothing, service, and shelter.

Our pets are God’s pets

Our pets ultimately belong to their Creator (and ours). Our pets are gifts from God to provide us with companionship, comfort, help, and sometimes protection. Through our pets, God gives us another kind of gift, delight. In our house, we have two cats and a little dog. We delight in them all. One cat, Pumpkin, is a big orange tabby who likes to get into trouble. While his antics sometimes drive me nuts, I put up with him because the rest of the family adores him. On days that I find myself particularly challenged by his tendencies, I remind myself that God created cats, gave them qualities that enchant us, and that he wrote mischief into their genetic code! We have the privilege of caring for Pumpkin, a cat God created. In that sense, my crazy cat belongs to God. Pumpkin is God’s pet…and I have the honor of serving him (that is, God and the cat).

Praying for our animals

With the understanding that God created our pets, values them, and even delights in them, the question “Can I pray for my pets?” becomes more like “Why wouldn’t I be able to pray for them?” Our modern western mindset toward animals does us a disservice when it comes to understanding God’s relationship with our pets. We underestimate God’s love for his creatures that live with us in our homes. Many of us think of our pets as commodities or property, while others of us may even treat our pets like they’re children. Sure, legally I own my little cavapoo, Cocoa, but there’s more between her and our family than a mere transactional arrangement of food and shelter in exchange for unconditional love and companionship. Cocoa is not one of the kids, but neither is she like my lawnmower, just here to do a job. She is a living being that God created and gave into the care of our family. Sure, she lets us know the mail carrier is here, but through her mere existence in our home, God has provided much joy and delight. From that standpoint, I feel like I have a responsibility to pray for my pets, especially to express my thanks for them.

Sunny’s miracle

As I learned with Samantha, I can trust that God loves and cares for my pets. In case I had any doubts, I believe God demonstrated a second time that he heard my prayer for a pet in distress. I was 14 and Sunny was a 12-week old golden retriever puppy who contracted pneumonia shortly after we brought him home. The veterinarian prepared us for the worst, saying if he lived through the night, our puppy would probably get better. Well, my brother and I remembered Samantha, and so we prayed for Sunny. He did indeed make it through the night, and by the end of the next day, you would not have been able to guess that he had been on death’s doorstep one day earlier.

If you have felt inhibited about praying for your pets, be assured that God cares about your animals and welcomes your prayers for them. By telling my stories about Samantha and Sunny, I’m not promising God will heal all our sick pets nor am I suggesting that our family and pets were somehow more deserving. I am promising that God listens to our prayers for our animals, just as he listens to all of our prayers. God created our pets and brought them into our lives, and because of that, we can pray for them all we want. When we pray for our pets, we're acknowledging that they are his creations and that he loves them. So, don't hesitate to pray for your furry (or feathered, or scaly) friends.

God cares about the well-being of your animals, but know that God cares about you even more. This was Jesus’ message to the crowds when he said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 26:6). When you pray for your pets, you are trusting our loving God who cares deeply for all his creations, and even more so, for you.

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