The prayer of the feeblest saint on earth
who lives in the spirit and keeps right with God
is a terror to satan.
The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer …
No wonder satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work
till we cannot think in prayer.
Oswald Chambers
I realize many of our MODsquad mom’s are spiritual warriors, but I feel God’s laid this on my heart to share with someone today … maybe even a few of you need to hear it … or maybe it’s a much needed reminder to some … I know personally, I wish I’d had these insights years ago!
You see, even though I invited Jesus to live in my heart close to 35 years ago, in many ways for the first time ever, I’m finally “walking the walk.” And with that, I’m realizing how very important prayer is in the life of a mother. Not only to pray over our children, but as a result of that … instill a praying heart into our children.
Oh how I desire for my girls to have a praying heart; to seek God’s face; to mimic His character; to read, know, and live out scripture … my list could go on, but I think you understand my heart here.
NOTE: I’m going to be totally honest and share what I feel is some serious spiritual warfare going on with this post. I’ve been working on it for days now. I have everything in my heart, but I can’t form the words to write {which doesn’t happen often}. I feel the enemy doesn’t want this post to be written. He knows the power of a praying mom and apparently, is trying to keep me from sharing my heart, knowledge and advice with you.
Alrighty then, so let me ask you … are you aware of the incredible power of a praying mom? In her book, “When Mothers Pray,” Cheri Fuller says, “Our prayers make a highway for God to come and bring His salvation and intervention. When mothers pray, mountains move … schools and teachers change, prodigals come home, and sometimes the stirrings of revival are seen. Prayer isn’t a secondary thing; it’s the most important thing we can do for our children … If all that we do as mothers flows out of the fountain of prayer, we will experience grace, joy, and rest in the heart of the Father.”
What does this prayer look like you might be wondering? The following verse comes to mind for me:
“The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”
Proverbs 27:12
It reminds me to pray for my daughter’s future. For their education. Their God-given gifts. Their future spouses. Friendships. Careers. Families. Their heart for God. Any area of their life where potential “danger” could set in, I’m taking “refuge” by praying for them now.
Last year, I started attending a Moms In Touch {MIT} prayer group at church. And let me tell you, there is nothing like being in a room full of praying mothers! The sheer power and presence of God is unmistakable! We pray for teachers, principals, school districts, our children, their safety, their friendships {just to name a few}. Fern Nichols, the founder of MIT, has asked the question “If we’re not praying for our children, who is?”
Heavenly Father,
You’ve laid this subject on my heart. I’m being obedient to that call. I have prayed and prayed for your guidance through this post … for Your heart to be shared. Lord, if I’ve missed something, or forgotten something that should’ve been said … Lord, I pray you’re standing in that gap and I’m trusting Your message sinks deep into the hearts of these moms today. Thank you for your precious message. You promise your Word does not return void, but will accomplish what you intended {Isaiah 55:11} and I stand firm in that today.
“Pour out your heart like water before the presence
of the Lord; lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones.”
Lamentations 2:19
9 Comments
I love the image of taking refuge when we pray. But we are also making a future refuge for them by covering them and sending our prayers on before them! Love this Tracie!
So so good friend!
Thank you for the post. I think moms just get overwhelmed thinking there is one more thing to put on their to-do list, and one of the hardest to actually accomplish. However, once you start to see your prayers being answered and your children to come to know Him personally – it just presses you on. God is so good and is just waiting to hear from us on behalf of our children. When our children can’t or don’t know how to fight, Moms can fight with spiritual weapons. Thank you for your obedience!
Oh how God has been speaking this same truth into my heart. I blogged about it here: http://tinklenwinkle.blogspot.com/2010/08/before-i-cant.html
and we’ve been doing it ever since. Tonight I prayed over them for their purity, both emotionally & physically. Ultimately, I want God to be glorified in my life & theirs, and prayer is a key component of that.
Erin recently posted..she said- she saiddinner part 2
thank you thank you for being an obedient servant! I really needed this post. When do you pray for your kids? How? Do you have some starter prayers? I get so distracted when I pray. Is that wrong? It’s hard to admit.
Jennifer recently posted..Toxic Family
hi jennifer! thank YOU for sharing your honest, heartfelt questions!! i say most of my prayers for them in the morning to cover them for the day. but then before we get out of the car at school, i pray with all of them {3 are in school} and i also take that time to ask if anyone has any pressing prayer requests that would help them for the day. if so, we pray for that. if not, i’ll pray asking for God to be with them throughout the day, to talk to them, for them to remember to talk to Him. I ask that they be good students, good friends and that they share God’s love in some way, whether by word or by action.
we pray before bed. i pray for them when there’s something on their hearts or minds. i stop right there, ask if i can pray with them {they’ve not turned me down yet} and we cover them in prayer.
i’m leaving for israel next week for 9 days and my 6yo is having a really hard time. i asked for prayer for her in my prayer group and with some friends and i told wynter about it. she felt beyond blessed and special that SHE was being covered in prayer!
the bible tells us to “pray without ceasing” … and that’s just what we have to do. pray constantly. in the car, in the shower … anytime you think of them. and cheri fuller has some great suggestions in the book i’ve linked to in this post, about getting distracted during prayer. i’m guilty of it too. one person she talks to keeps paper next to her when she prays, so if something does pop into her mind, she can write it down and get back to prayer. we’re all different. but we’re normal/human too. some of us are “marys” some of us are “marthas” one isn’t better than the other, just different. so we need to figure out what works for us.
for starter prayers … stacey has some great prayer posts on specific prayers for our girls. you can look under the category “prayer” on the sidebar, and also in the top menu. stormie omartian also writes INCREDIBLE books on prayer “the power of a praying parent” is a great place to start. i highly recommend it. and if you can find a moms in touch group nearby, i think you’d be blessed by that too.
again, thank you for your honesty!! and remember, there is no wrong way to pray!! the only thing wrong about prayer … is when you’re absent from it!
Tracie recently posted..when moms pray
Amen to all these other comments! Prayer is one of my soapboxes! I’m so proud that you pushed through everything that came up and still posted this important message!!!
I am amazed at how my own 6 year old daughter’s prayers have matured just within the past few months. It has shown me that she really listens as I pray with her! Even this morning… as I reminded her that she needed to read “for 10 minutes” according to her homework guide… she asked me if she could read from the Bible!!!
I need to increase my prayers for her future – I want to be able to laugh at the days to come because I know I’m “prayed up” where she is concerned.
I love this verse! I went and looked it up in my own Bible! Thanks for directing us to books like Lamentations!
have a great Thursday!
your sis in the faith,
pen
PENNY FRANKLIN recently posted..From my kitchen table & beyond!
AMEN! Thank you Tracie!
Cherie recently posted..A Walk Around The Block
I am new to this site and have found every word, every thought and certainly every commitment to Kingdom work to be exhilarating. Through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we became blessed parents at 37 and 40! And to the greatest challenge…a girl named Selah. And I am trying devotedly everyday to pray for her and the world she will face. I hope to share someday the story of her and the deep, deep passion I feel for her spiritual growth and eternal choices. Keep on PROCLAIMING the gift of God. Oh how burdensome to think of the Lost around the world and in the houses on our very own streets. Blog on, sweet sisters, blog on.
How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things! -Romans 15:15
And how shall they preach
Angel you are so sweet! We are thrilled that you are here and we look forward to getting to know you in the days ahead!
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