Dear Father, As we honor mothers this week in prayer, I pray today for mothers of teenagers and adult children. As our children grow, they become more independent. At times, especially during the teenage years, that independence and general season of life can be turbulent. This often results in added friction in the relationship between teenagers and mothers. A similar tension is not uncommon when children become adults. As they develop additional relationships in these later years, including the establishment of their own families, their dependence on mothers decreases.
Nevertheless, lead all children, regardless of age, to honor their mothers, in keeping with the Fourth Commandment. While the role of mothers transitions from one season of their child’s life to the next, keep their special connection strong. Help children to always treasure the love and care of their mother. Help mothers to respect the relationship boundaries their children establish with spouses, careful not to overstep them. Grant both mother and child grace and patience, and guide them to navigate their relationship by seeking to understand the other’s perspective. Bless the bond of mother and child, no matter the age.
Dear Father, As we honor mothers this week in prayer, I pray today for mothers who also carry the added responsibility of being an adult care-giver. Whether that role is by choice or out of necessity, caring for other adults while also caring for children of any age as a mother can easily test a person’s limitations. The challenges may vary depending on the nature of who is needing the care – parents, other aging family members, or a husband – but the burden remains especially heavy no matter what.
Give mothers in these scenarios a competent and caring support system, so that others can intervene and provide them with assistance or even insist that they take time for needed self-care. Make children aware of the added responsibility their mother has, so that they might be more sensitive and appreciative, even lending assistance when possible. Sustain these moms with your strength and perseverance, and nurture their faith so they see you as their rock and refuge. Bless their children and all others on on the receiving end of their care.
Dear Father, As we honor mothers this week in prayer, I pray today for working mothers. Whether working full-time or part-time, in the office or from home, the juggling act of being a working mom takes its toll in many ways. It’s not as easy as flipping a switch to go from mom mode to work mode and vice versa. Not only do the responsibilities themselves overlap over and need to be carried out, but the mental and emotional burdens are heavy, too.
Grant working mothers coworkers and employers who are both understanding and accommodating. In cases where additional assistance is necessary for childcare, provide whatever is needed. When working moms wrestle with the guilt of not being available for their children around the clock, release them from that guilt and assure them that you are always present, caring and providing for every child’s need. Keep work requirements from robbing them of the joys of motherhood, and give them sufficient rest to be able to carry out both roles well and to your glory.
Dear Father, As we honor mothers this week in prayer, I pray today for mothers of children with special needs. The general responsibilities of motherhood are daunting on their own, but even more is required of moms raising children with special needs. Whether the needs of their children are physical, mental, emotional, or some combination thereof, give these mothers an abundance of strength and perseverance. When they are exhausted or near the point of breaking, generously replenish them with whatever they need. When their faith is tested and their days are filled with defiance or discouragement, lovingly remind them that your grace sees and is delighted with their faithful efforts.
Graciously allow them to experience the many unique blessings that children with special needs demonstrate. Let their children exude a joyful innocence and bright smiles whenever possible. Let them show obedience, gratitude, and generous affection to their mothers. When such blessings are not able to be present in the child, let others take note of the hard work and dedication of these mothers, and express their appreciation and admiration accordingly. Finally, while no earthly recognition these mothers receive may ever adequately suffice, reassure them that their rich rewards of grace await them in heaven.
Dear Father, As we honor mothers this week in prayer, I pray today for first-time mothers. As they experience the mixed feelings of joy and fear over this new responsibility, free them from the worry and anxiety of feeling as if they have to have all of the answers. No mother has ever attained the status of perfection when it comes to motherhood, and no one ever will. There will be mistakes and things will go wrong, but remind them that you are able to provide and protect their child at all times.
As they get more and more used to carrying out these new responsibilities of motherhood, alleviate their concerns and raise their confidence level. See to it that they have a network of support through family and friends who can help and assist when needed. Grant these new moms opportunities for rest and self-care. Let the husbands of first-time mothers be especially aware, both of the child and the mother’s needs, as they navigate this new chapter of their lives together. Lead them to be attentive to their child’s spiritual needs, prioritizing baptism, praying, and planning for continued spiritual growth.
Loving Father, Equip fathers to be strong spiritual leaders in their homes. While it is one of the greatest responsibilities of Christian fathers, it is also among the most neglected. Many fathers struggle so much with leading themselves spiritually that they are not prepared to lead their families. Others may prioritize their own spiritual health, but lack the ability or confidence to lead anyone else.
Help fathers see how important their role is in shaping the spiritual health of their children. Children whose fathers worship with them are far more likely to continue attending church as adults, so lead dads to embrace the blessing of regular worship together and to take responsibility for leading their family to your house for worship. Make them aware of informal and unplanned opportunities to discuss your Word and their faith. Provide fathers with pastors and strong believing friends who can support them in their leadership. Move wives and children to encourage fathers in this area, and to cause their collective efforts to bear abundant fruit.
Loving Father, Thank you for the gift of daughters. All children are a blessing from your hand, but sons and daughters are each unique in their own ways. Daughters often display natural relational abilities and an empathy for others that you develop into a blessing to serve both families and society in general. They can exhibit both determination and a genuine sweetness in their demeanor that provides unique perspectives and approaches to responsibilities and tasks.
I pray that you provide daughters with strong fathers who love and protect them, and who welcome their hugs and affection so they know how to express their feelings and emotions appropriately. Lead fathers to raise them to be prudent and careful, and to be able to know how to defend themselves. Use fathers to model what a godly man looks like, so they have high standards and expectations in their relationships.
Bless daughters with mothers who foster a strong mother/daughter bond, establishing a beautiful relationship that will bring joy to the lives of both. Let mothers show them what godly confidence and drive look like. Use mothers to help their daughters discern healthy avenues along which to direct their determination. Teach them also what a blessing meekness and a submissive spirit can be through mothers who model it.
Through both parents, ensure that above all else, Christ is central in the home and in life, so that daughters may learn to know what unconditional love is, and love Christ and others deeply in return because of it.
Heavenly Father, Sundays are sacred. Satan knows this and tries to throw every excuse, hindrance, and obstacle in our way to keep us from gathering together around your Word. Parents with small children are in a season of life marked by the uphill challenges of bringing their little ones to your house for worship. So today I pray for them.
Help fathers and mothers to provide a united front in modeling a regular and consistent worship life for their children. When they are on the same page, they provide each other with the blessing of mutual encouragement and support. Reward their efforts by allowing them to see the fruit of their labors as your Spirit nurtures and grows the faith of their children. Let their children, too, see and experience the richness of regular worship. Lead them to appreciate the sacrifices their parents make to keep Jesus at the center of their lives. Provide struggling and single parents with a church family that welcomes them and finds delight in sharing the burdens of bringing up little ones in the shadow of the cross.
Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
On the one hand, I don’t want to come across as insensitive to people who have struggled with this question; on the other, I have to be honest and share that it’s not a question that has ever weighed heavily on me. Why?
I have yet to meet any “good” people.
Now before you dismiss me as having a very low opinion of people in general, let me just say this: I have a very low opinion of people in general. There – glad we got that out of the way.
Let me at least explain why I hold that opinion. See, I have kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, and I think they’re the greatest! However, there’s something I notice about them that I also found to be true about my own childhood (and let’s be honest… my adulthood as well): they/we all need to be taught and trained how to do the right thing.
I haven’t had to teach my children how to lie. I haven’t had to teach them how to say mean things about people. I haven’t had to teach them to be disobedient to me or others in charge. I haven’t had to teach them how to get angry and hit each other. I haven’t had to teach them to be selfish. Somehow they have each had a good handle on how to do and to be all these things without a single how-to lesson.
However, I have had to teach them to tell the truth, to say kind things, to obey, to not lose their temper and keep their hands to themselves, and to think of others first. And I had to be taught all these things as well (and still need to to this day – I think that is why God tends to bless us with saints for spouses!).
Now to me, that says something. Why is there not at least one parent in this world who has had a different experience, whose child never required an ounce of discipline or correction because the child naturally knew only virtue and goodness? I’ve always found that to be rather curious.
So, while I don’t deny that people have carried out countless achievements that we might view as positive, good, noble – phenomenal even – contributions to society, such things don’t whitewash the inherent reality that each of us starts out as something rotten, and throughout our lives we strive to be… less rotten.
That is why I have such a high opinion of God. And, that is why I have always struggled with a different question than the one originally raised: Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”
(Psalm 103:10 NIV)
I personally think that’s pretty good news. Wouldn’t you agree?
