Prayer Prompt #5 : The Fruit of Our Labor

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you

Galatians 4:19 NIV

Paul was referring to the church in Galatia whom he longed to restore to an accurate understanding of the gospel of God's grace. I hear you, Paul - us moms know about the pains of childbirth!

In painful labor we bring forth our children into this world. We sweat, we groan, we experience pain, we long for the end result that the discomfort will eventually produce - the baby that we have loved and carried.

When the baby is placed in our arms, the memory of pain is replaced by the bliss of new life. The hardship and toil, every push and every pain, was so worth it.

So it is with raising our children to be Christ followers. We labor and toil to show them the right way to live. We experience deep soul pain and, at times, the only way we know how to pray is a groaning in our spirit (Romans 8:26). There are days that we feel weary and long for the finished result.

Yet, when we see the character of Christ being formed in them, we don't regret the labor or the pain because the fruit of righteousness it produced is so beautiful.

Dear LORD, help me labor in love for my children until Christ is formed in them. May the reminder of your labor for us and the pain you endured on my behalf move me to tirelessly shepherd them towards Jesus.

Prayer Prompt #4: How to be a Fruitful Vine

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

In the very heart of your house,

Your children like olive plants

All around your table.

Psalm 128:3 (NKJV)

As Christian mothers, God should be the heart of our homes. Psalm 128:3 says we are invited to dwell there with Him, close to His heart, in His presence. From that place of closeness with the LORD, we will be filled with love, grace and mercy to pour out on our families.  From that place, we will reflect our LORD’s glory and show our children who Jesus is by how we live our lives.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4-5 (NKJV)

Dear LORD, I desire to abide in You and daily know Your precious presence. Make me a vine in the heart of my home whose fruit reflects the character of my Savior and draws my children into His presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Prayer Prompt #3: You Have a Father

The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
Romans 8:15 NIV

We all have dreams for our children.  We want them to embrace Jesus and live for Him all of their days. We want them to be secure in His love, joyful in His presence, hopeful in their futures.  We want them to reach their full potential and truly believe that all things are possible through Christ.  

Did you know that your heavenly Father also has these dreams for you, dear mom? Have you heard His whispers lately - reminding you that you are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), proclaiming His everlasting love for you (Jeremiah 31:3), declaring your beauty (Song of Solomon 4:7)?

Dear mother, as you ceaselessly strive to parent your children, don’t forget that you also are being parented by a loving Father.  He has dreams and plans for YOU too -- beautiful dreams, good plans, that will bring glory to His name.  Keep seeking them.

Dear LORD, thank You for bringing me into Your family for all eternity and loving me as Your daughter. Cause me to remember that as I delight in my children, so You delight in me.

Prayer Prompt #2: Honoring the Giver

I had eight years of post-secondary school education and three degrees before my first child was born, yet motherhood was like starting school all over again.  There was so much to learn! How to adjust to a bigger family, how to discipline, how to potty train, how to develop their character -- the list was endless! And sometimes, overwhelming.

Then I remembered that the One who gave me the gift of children has also supplied an instruction manual (the Bible) and a Helper (the Holy Spirit - see John 14:26) for their upbringing.  Moreover, He’d modeled what perfect parenthood looks like because He is a perfect Parent to me.  And so an ongoing prayer was born in my heart:

Dear LORD, You have given these children as a gift to me. Help me to parent them in a manner worthy of the Giver of the gift. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Prayer Prompt #1: A Great Gift

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Psalm 127:3 NASB

Has your heart ever been tempted to not think of your children as a gift? Mine has! When I craved more sleep but the baby just wouldn’t sleep past 4:30 a.m.  When the “me time” I formerly enjoyed was drastically reduced and I had to set aside certain hobbies.  When post-partum depression set in.  When I longed for more time alone with my husband.  When I’ve had an “I need ice cream” day after several rounds of temper tantrums.

The Bible says our children are gifts and rewards from God.  Motherhood is not easy.  Raising children is not easy.  But they are gifts, and God can shift our perspective so that we see the gift in each moment - even the difficult ones.

Dear Lord, I am determining by faith to see my children as gifts -- not only on the good days, but on the hard days.  Open my eyes to see the blessings in the good seasons and the opportunities for my own growth in the difficult seasons.  Teach me to rejoice in both the blessings and the refinement of my own heart.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Introducing Prayer Prompts for Moms

“Well obviously you pray for your children every day, right?” My friend looked me in the eye, waiting for an affirmative answer. “RIGHT?” she repeated.

Gulp.  I sure wanted to say, “Oh yes! Every day - of course!” Especially since we were chatting in the church vestibule. But the truth was no, I didn’t.  I wanted to pray for them every day. I intended to pray for them every day. But some days I fell asleep too early or was too mad about an evening discipline issue or wasted too much time on social media or just plain forgot to pray for my children.

God laid Prayer Prompts for Moms on my heart as a tool to help solve this problem -- for me, and other moms with the same struggle.  Instead of waiting until the end of the day to pray for my children, I’m training myself to pray for them throughout my day - even if I’m not alone (which I seldom am, hahaha…) and even if I’m doing something else too (no guilt for multitasking prayer sometimes!).

A Prayer Prompt is a reminder to pray with a built in Scripture, thought or encouragement to get you started, and this is why they work for moms:

• You can pray right now. Prayer Prompts are designed to be used immediately: when it pops up in your inbox or news feed, pray it right then - don’t save it for later and risk forgetting altogether.
• You don’t need a ton of time.  Prayer Prompts overlay your schedule rather than adding to your (already full) schedule.
• You can multitask. Read the Prompt and continue washing the dishes as you respond to it in prayer.
• You don’t need to be alone.  Go ahead and let your children hear you (use discretion for sensitive topics) - your example will help teach them how to pray continuously through their days.
• You don’t need to figure it out yourself.  All of us need a hand sometimes. Each Prayer Prompt focuses on a concise topic relevant to your children, family or motherhood so you have a clear roadmap of what to pray.

I invite you to join me in a no-more-excuses journey of praying for your children.