Isn't Mother's Day a great day where we can celebrate motherhood? I think back to the day I found out I was pregnant for the first time. Pure joy filled my heart. I was instantly in love. I knew that God had entrusted me with a special gift, and I would do anything and everything to keep this child safe. Not too far after the celebration began, I found myself in my first down on my face mother moment with God. I was just seven weeks pregnant. My husband and I were in a remote resort on the island of Antigua. We had a private bungalow on the beach – no television, no phones, no cell service. How romantic! Well, it was, until I started having symptoms of a miscarriage.
The romantic “baby moon” was suddenly turning into a nightmare. I sat in the tiny, open-aired lobby of the resort on the single hotel guest phone with my doctor back in Connecticut. I explained to him all my symptoms, and he explained that there was nothing I could do. A miscarriage was likely.
Tears streamed down my face. My heart began to ache. The situation seemed irreversible and out of my control, but not out of God’s. I was not giving up that easily. I turned to God in my utter sadness and desperation, and I pleaded with Him. He directed me to this passage of scripture found in Philippians 4:6-7:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Peace instantly filled me, although the symptoms continued. We had one more night on the island before we returned home. I just kept praying and believing that God would do a miracle. As soon as I got home, I went directly to the doctors, and to their surprise, not mine, I was still pregnant. And that baby is headed to high school this fall. God is so faithful!
I know some of you went through a similar experience, but your outcome was different than mine. I experienced just a glimpse of that pain and I’m deeply sorry.
You see, God allowed me to go through this trial because He was shaping me from the beginning as to what kind of mother I needed to be, that we all need to be . . . a mother of great prayer, interceding daily for her children. Our children need our prayer time. They need their mother to get on her knees and intercede and contend for them each and every day.
Paul, a master of living a life of prayer, instructs us in Colossians 4:1 to “devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” He later instructs us to "pray without ceasing." This is the greatest gift we can give our children.
This generation has access to such horrible things. Temptations like drugs, alcohol, smoking, and promiscuity are still prevalent, but this generation now deals with Internet access at their finger tips, cyber bullying, texting, camera phones, and all sorts of social media pressures. I won’t even get into the deterioration of television and movies today.
Our youth are in a battle. The Devil is coming after this generation hard. He’s very smart. God has a destiny and a plan for each child, and the enemy is fighting to stop him or her from fulfilling it. 1 Peter 5:8 says,
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
That “someone” is our children and we need to fight this with prayer!
PRAYER changes things.
PRAYER moves mountains.
PRAYER tugs on the heartstrings of God.
PRAYER calls things that are not as if they are.
PRAYER can impact history.
Ladies, I know mothering isn’t easy. We endure a lot. But we need to remember, the best gift we can give our kids is to pray for them with unwavering persistence.
God never called us to be perfect, but He did call us to be prayers!
