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The Prayers
of a Mother Romans
12:9-12 Scripture 9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor
what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference
to one another in honor; 11not lagging behind in diligence,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12rejoicing in hope,
persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer Introduction: A. Mother’s Day 1.
Mother's Day isn't about gifts or flowers. 2.
It isn't about breakfast served on a fancy tray. 3.
Nor is it about having our children say "Thanks
Mom." That's just icing on the cake. 4.
It is, however, a time of reflection and prayer to say thank
you to our Creator for his gift of motherhood. 5.
God never forgets Mother's Day. 6.
He celebrates it every day! B. What people do 1.
There are some things in life you can count on. a)
Little boys are drawn to puddle of water. b)
Twelve‑year‑old girls are crazy about recording
stars. c)
Any child will choose chocolate pie over green beans. d)
Whatever your daughter wants, everyone in school already has
one. e)
The pants that your son rips will always be his newest pair. f)
Moms pray for their kids. 2.
Call them the facts of family life. a)
Everyone knows that mothers are supposed to pray for their
children. b)
It’s there in the job description somewhere, isn’t it? c)
It must be, because more good is attributed to the effect of
Momma’s prayers than nearly any other power source in history. d)
“If it weren’t for my praying mother, I don’t know where I’d
be today.” e)
We hear it so often it sounds like a cliché. 3.
God has created within mothers a drive to pray for those they
love, to seek His daily protection, help, and insight. a)
Non‑Christian moms may pray, too, but probably only in
times of crisis. b)
Unfortunately, God may be quickly forgotten when the crisis
ends. 4.
Mothers and fathers need God in each day‑to‑day
situation and decision. a)
That means learning to pray. b)
Without prayer, a family will drift further and further away
from God. 5.
One enemy consistently rears its head in preventing a
mother’s faithful attention to prayer. a)
That enemy is time. b)
It doesn’t seem to matter (1)whether a mother works at
home or outside the home (2)whether she lives
downtown or out in the hills (3)whether her home has five
bathrooms or an outhouse in the back (4)she will fight for that
quality time to pray. I.
Finding Time for Prayer Solving the problem of finding time for prayer is
much more difficult than identifying it, but here are three suggestions that
stretch the possibilities for more than “on the run” prayers. A. Get Up Earlier (Psalm 5:3) 1.
It sounds dreary just to write those words down on paper. a)
It sounds like a cheap shot at an exhausted mom, right? b)
99 percent of mothers claim, “I’m just not an early morning
person.” c)
Well, no one ever claimed that a strong prayer life would be
easy just extremely worthwhile and necessary. 1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. 2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You I will pray. 3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. 2.
Just fifteen minutes earlier would produce amazing results. a)
All you need is the motivation. b)
Admit it, if your husband came home and announced, “Hey, I’ve
got two tickets for a week long vacation in c)
It’s called finding the proper stimulus. B. Try Departure Prayer 1.
If you stay at home during the day, set aside the first
fifteen minutes after the last child leaves. a)
Unplug the telephone, refuse to answer the door, go into a
back room, and pray. b)
If you commute to work, use the travel time to offer
intercessions for your family. c)
You can carry your prayer list with you on the train, or tack
it to the sun visor of your car. 2.
If you arrive at work early, complete your prayers in the
parking lot before you get into your office and the phone starts ringing. C. Sacrifice Lunch 1.
You can still eat a nourishing bite at lunch but arrange your
time so that you have at least fifteen minutes alone. 2.
If necessary, eat at the park, in your car, out on the patio
or balcony, or right in your kitchen. 3.
Those prayers for your family are just as vital as food is to
your body. 4.
You must find the time somewhere. II. Reasons Why Mothers Should Pray A. If You Don’t Pray, Who Will 1.
Are you counting on the pastor to remember your children? 2.
Do you assume that their Sunday school teachers are praying
for them? 3.
But those busy people have so many to remember. 4.
They can’t put the same degree of emphasis on your children
that you can. 5.
The only one you can be sure of is you. You must pray. B. Our Struggles Are Spiritual (Ephesians 6:12) 1.
All the real struggles in this world are spiritual. a)
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians
6:12). 2.
Spiritual battles can only be fought with prayer. a)
It’s not merely the unpleasant little kid down the street
that your child has to watch out for. b)
It’s not just a humanistic educational system that threatens your
child. c)
An eternal war for our children’s very souls rages. 3.
We can’t afford to be so naive as to think we’re immune to
those conflicts. C. Kids Won’t Pray for Themselves 1.
Chances are your children won’t remember to pray for
themselves. 2.
Most children have a hard enough time remembering a)
to bring their coats home from school, b)
to not slam the front door, and c)
to keep the television turned down. 3.
They sure won’t be consistent in prayer. a)
We certainly can’t expect children to be more disciplined
than we are. b)
If it takes a near miraculous act of strength and
concentration for moms to find time to pray, think of how much more difficult
it will be for anyone less motivated. D. Prayer Gets Results (Jeremiah 33:3) 1.
“Call to Me, and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 2.
“The effective prayer of a righteous man [or woman] can
accomplish much” James 5:16 3.
“The Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord receives my
prayer” Psalm 6:9 4.
“O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble, You will
strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear” Psalm 10:17 5.
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God
for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him
came into His ears” Psalm 18:6 6.
“This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, and saved him
out of all his troubles” Psalm 34:6 7.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and
heard my cry” Psalm 40:1 III. Ways to Pray Each family member has very specific needs that a
mother wants to remember, however there are always general topics to keep
before God’s attention too. A. Pray for Their Health And Safety (Psalm 5:12) 1.
“For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”
Psalm 5:12 2.
Children live in a dangerous world. a)
In a closed‑quarters classroom of twenty‑eight
disease‑prone children, Junior is sure to catch a bug eventually. b)
In an environment overrun by tons of motor‑driven
metal, he faces a major hazard crossing the street. c)
One weak moment of temptation could lead a young mind into an
incapacitating battle with substance abuse, an outbreak of bizarre and
violent behavior, or worse. 3.
Pray for God’s hedge of protection around each child and for
His measure of courage and wisdom for each day’s particular stresses. B. Pray for Their Physical And Mental Growth (Luke 2:52) 1.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with
God and men.” 2.
Ask God to help them with the trauma of growing up, whatever
that means for each child. 3.
Pray that their understanding of themselves will grow at the
same rate as their bodies. 4.
Pray that they will feel comfortable with the physical
changes that come. 5.
Pray for their knowledge to increase, as well as their
wisdom. 6.
Wisdom is knowing the right thing to
do with a particular bit of knowledge. C. Pray for Their Spiritual Growth (2 Corinthians 3:18) Consider, honestly, where they are in their
spiritual lives. 1.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to
glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2.
Pray for them to understand God better. 3.
Pray that they will think of Him often. 4.
Pray for their personal commitment to Him. 5.
Pray that they will have an increasing desire to read God’s
Word. 6.
Pray for them to increase their attempt to live a life in
obedience to the Lord’s commands. 7.
Pray that they will be able to resist temptation. 8.
Pray for them to have opportunities to share their spiritual
knowledge with others. D. Pray for True Abundance in Their Lives (John 10:10) 1.
When Jesus promised us abundance (John 10:10), He included
the young too. 2.
Abundance means a life with a)
purpose, b)
meaning, c)
joy, and d)
satisfaction 3.
Pray that your children’s daily routine is satisfying. 4.
Pray that the joy will be deep within them. 5.
Pray that they will feel they are a part of what God is doing
in this world. E. Pray for Their Friends (Proverbs 20:11) 1.
Kids select playmates very casually‑often based on
whoever is available. 2.
Yet what those friends say and do greatly affects their own
behavior. 3.
The Bible says, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether
his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Proverbs 20:11, KJV’ ). 4.
Pray for each friend by name. F. Pray for Their Future Spouses (Proverbs 18:22) 1.
“He who finds
a wife finds a good thing, and
obtains favor from the LORD.” 2.
Whether your child is three months, three years, thirteen
years, or thirty years old, pray for his or her future marital partner. 3.
Pray that he or she will make a lifetime, permanent
commitment to the marriage. 4.
Pray that he or she will openly acknowledge Christ as Savior
and Lord. 5.
Pray that the future spouse will have the qualities and
temperament to bring out the best in your child. G. Pray for Their Self‑Acceptance (Galatians 5:14) 1.
14For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” 2.
Pray that your children will like being who they are and will
be freed from the slavery of always comparing themselves to others. 3.
Pray they will have a healthy balance of self‑confidence
by recognizing their importance to God, to you, and to their community. 4.
Pray that they will accept their present age, mental ability,
and skill level and will find contentment in each day’s activities. H. Pray for Them To Develop A Big Vision (Jeremiah 29:11) 1.
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the
LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a
hope.” 2.
Who knows what God may have in store for them? 3.
That preparation begins now. 4.
Pray that they will learn to look beyond the immediate to see
how today’s actions affect tomorrow. 5.
Pray for just the right challenges to come their way. I.
Pray for Peace With
Siblings (Psalms 133:1) 1.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to
dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). 2.
Pray that in the midst of the squabbles they will grow in
their appreciation of one another, to see how much alike they are and how
valuable their differences can be. J. Pray with Your Child 1.
The best time to pray with your children seems to be at night
when he's ready for bed. a)
But that's often the time you are most tired and impatient. b)
You may be tempted at times to pass over this or pray in a hurry.
c)
But don’t do that! 2.
When a prayer is answered, write down the circumstance and
date in a notebook and think of the legacy that will leave for your child! 3.
for the child, memorized prayers are all right in
the beginning, but gently urge children to express their feelings, desires,
and struggles in their own words, when they're ready. 4.
Ask your child to pray for you and Dad on special occasions. 5.
Let them know you think their prayers are important. 6.
Most important, let them hear you lifting them up to God! IV. Some Children Are More Difficult Than Others Some take every ounce of your courage, wisdom,
and sanity. A. What the Bible says 1.
“A foolish son is a grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). 2.
“A foolish man despises his mother” (Proverbs 15:20). 3.
“He who assaults his father and drives his mother away is a
shameful and disgraceful son” (Proverbs 19:26). 4.
“He who curses his father or his mother, his lamp will go out
in time of darkness” (Proverbs 20:20). 5.
“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own
way brings shame to his mother” (Proverbs 29:15). 6.
There is an “eye that mocks a father, and scorns a mother”
(Proverbs 30:17). B. Praying for a problem child It is difficult to know how to pray for a problem
child. In addition to the suggestions already mentioned, you might try the
following: 1.
Pray that God will use the present difficulties to accomplish
His best in the child’s life. 2.
Pray that the struggles the child is now facing will lead to
the discovery of the hidden hurts that cause such behavior. 3.
Pray that Satan will not gain control of his life, especially
during this time of rebellion. 4.
Pray that every painful lesson will be a tool for helping
others in the future. 5.
Pray for others around him who could be hurt during his
rebellion. The innocent often suffer when a prodigal roams from home. 6.
Finally, pray that you will not grow weary of praying for
him. Pledge yourself to pray as long as it takes. C. Good moms will pray 1.
Good moms always care and the way you can show you care the
most is by praying for your child. 2.
Moms with troubled kids will never stop praying. |
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Copyright © 2008, by ToBeLikeHim
Ministries