dear Mom and a prayer blessing from me to you

 

Dear Moms, Bonus Moms (stepmoms), Moms with children in Heaven, Spiritual Moms, and to the women who never had kids but poured out their lives to others, thank you and happy Mother's day.

I pray that this day is everything that you expect and hope for, that it's more than you thought it would be. I hope that you are made to feel loved, appreciated, seen and heard, cherished and treasured, and not just today, but for everyday of the year. Thank you for being someone who pours out your life to others. Thank you for your many, many prayers and all of the sleepless nights. Thank you for being examples, full of integrity and wisdom that is far beyond your years. 

I was listening to a podcast this week and was inspired to write this post. The ladies on the Revive Our Hearts podcast (Dannah Gresh and Kristen Wetherall) were talking about prayer, and they read John 17, where Jesus prayed for Himself, the disciples, and all (future) believers. Based on that one chapter in John, this is how we can pray for those that we love, whether we are a mom or not, over the ones that the Lord has given to us in our lives. We can pray for:

• protection from the evil one
• that they would know His love
• that they would be transformed by the words of God
• that they would be in His word and know (believe) His truth

Here are some scriptures that can be turned into prayers for the ones we love:

This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.

(John 17:3)

We can pray that our loved ones would have eternal life, that they would know the Lord, the only true God, and His Son Jesus. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, and to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

(Ephesians 3:14-21)

We can pray that the Lord would grant them, according to His riches, strength and power through their inner being and through His Spirit. We can pray that He would dwell in their hearts through faith. We can pray that they would be rooted and firmly established in His love, and that they would know and be able to comprehend how much God loves them. We can pray that they would know the length and width, height and depth of God's love, and that they would know the love of Jesus that surpasses knowledge, so that they would be filled with all the fullness of God. 

We can pray that they would love God more than anything else in the world, and that they would keep Him first in their lives (Exodus 20:4-5). We can pray that they would seek the Lord before anything else, and the things of His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). We can that they would know that faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1), and that even though God cannot be seen, that they would know that not only does He exist, but that He loves them with an extraordinary love. We can pray that they would love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6), and that they would know that He goes before them, that He is always with them. We can pray that they would also love others as they love themselves (Matthew 22:39). We can pray that they would know that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). 

(These pictures are of the Northern Lights that were visible in our area this weekend! James 1:17 reminded me of this because it calls God the Father of lights.)

We can pray. It's never too early, and it's never too late to pray for our kids, no matter how young or old they are! If we don't pray for them, who will? If we don't pray for them, the enemy will have his way with them. Jesus prayed this in John 17:15—I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

We can pray that they would taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). 

And on that note, I will wrap up this post and leave you with one of my favorite songs right now, Psalm 34 from The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir; I love it because it comes straight from Scripture.

Happy Mother's day; I hope this day is as much of a blessing to all of you as you are to the ones that you love and care for. I pray that for all of us as women, moms, sisters, aunts, daughters, wives, grandmothers, and friends that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable to the Lord, our rock and our Redeemer, and that they would always be pleasing to Him. I pray that we would use our words not to tear down, but to build others up and that they would give grace to those who hear them (Ephesians 4:29). 

And for my sons, just in case they are reading this: 

Graham, Drew, Jonah, Noah, Alex, and Sylvain, know that I love you and that I thank God for you, and that He allowed me to your mom or a mom of influence to you. I am fiercely proud of you all and pray these words over you everyday of your lives. Remember how you were raised to love Jesus and to walk closely with Him. I love you. 

And to my moms:

Mom, thank you for being amazing. I love you so much!

Phyllis, thank you for loving me and praying for me since the day Todd was born.

Sandy, thank you for being such a wonderful bonus mom to me.

Jenn 🩷