The Wild Joy of Mothering and Prayer

Yesterday morning as I worked through my independent Bible study at the kitchen counter, I could hear the voices of my children connecting together — grouped up in my youngest daughter’s room the three of them laughed in between small talk and LEGO building.

Like music to my ears (hearing them bond) I shot up a heartfelt prayer of thankfulness to the One who encourages loving relationships. I thanked God for the laughter, for zero arguing and that the Holy Spirit would flood that room with joy. I closed with a blessed feeling of Amen.

No joke within seconds my boy comes storming out of his sister’s bedroom — head down, arms crossed tightly to his chest and feet stomping madly as he made a beeline straight for his basement bedroom.

Yup I’ve seen this move a thousand and one times before…

“Dude! Please get back here so we can talk about this situation, and when you come right away it shows me respect!” I pleaded.

With that, he turns around before hitting the steps and marches straight over to where I sat on the kitchen stool waiting.

“What in the world happened?…I just finished offering up a prayer of thanksgiving that y’all were getting along so well and I even boldly requested that Satan stay the heck out of that room, so how did things turn south so suddenly?” I spouted out calmly but rationally.

Our eyes met and a sly smile spread across my son’s playful face immediately, followed by — “I was just kidding mom, we’re fine!”

Goodness! Isn’t mothering full of surprises?

I’m fully convinced though, had I not just covered those kids and that bedroom with prayer that deal could’ve been a real outbreak without a healthy resolve for peace. I faithfully believe in the power of prayer. We’ve been down this path more than a time or two so I’m no stranger to bumps in the road — but these days I’m paying attention to the caution sign reminding me to yield to the Lord’s way.

Prayer is essential. And it changes things for His glory.

Mama or not, part of our role when we call ourselves Christians is that we should be fully connected to God through prayer in all areas of life — praising Him for the blessings and crying out to Him before the battle has a chance to begin…and when it’s already begun it’s still not too late to hit our knees and throw our hands up…

In the times when we feel hopeless or overwhelmed it can cause us to be left speechless — the beautiful hope and truth is that the Holy Spirit helps to convey our prayers of struggle to God even when our words are absent.

Mothering, especially when arguing kids are taking over, has often times left me with feelings of frustration and words that should’ve been replaced by cries to our Father.

As I mature in my faith I’m learning and going to prayer much quicker and I’m leaning on (and remembering) this verse for unfailing help when I’m at a loss of words:

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26b-27

So today I just want to encourage you to lift up every single one of your concerns to God…sweet friend, even if all you feel is a world of pain and tears give that over to our God no matter what the grievance involves.

Surrender it!

Cry out! The Holy Spirit will turn your mess over to God to bring you a message of hope but you must have a willing and patient heart, eager to listen to Him whisper over your fret. Allow God to settle over any of your uneasy feelings. Pray with sincerity that the Holy Spirit would flood your heart and your situation with peace and direction.

And MAMAS if your trial just happens to involve the disciplining of a child remember how patient the Lord has been with each of us…without raising His voice He comes alongside us offering hope so that we can share it with our mini-me’s. That hope revolves and remains easy to grasp and understand the more we stay connected to Him through prayer.

Dedication: TO MY OWN MOM who has shown me the kind of mothering that echos an unending supply of mercy and grace. Happy Mother’s Day! I LOVE you! Thank you for relentlessly pointing me to Jesus when I thought I could figure out my mess on my own back in my twenties. Surely your prayers for my salvation were nonstop; I finally caved and there’s been no regret since! To Him be the glory!

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

42 thoughts on “The Wild Joy of Mothering and Prayer”

    1. Thank you!! Boy isn’t it wild and joyful all packed into one as we do this mothering thing though!! Ahh we’re more blessed than we recognize ❤️Happy Mother’s Day to you as well friend!!

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  2. Seems like I do more praying on the go then I use to. Short, quick, before I forget prayers. Like I just did for you right now, Lord bless Alicia, give you wisdom as she raises her children. Great post Alicia, good reminders our days do go better no matter what comes if we can start it in prayer and end in prayer. Blessings.

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    1. ❤️thank you so much! I definitely hear ya!! I sometimes forget what all I want to pray over so I’ve also been getting better about praying right on the spot when I recognize the “prayer request” or “praise”…I was thinking actually about starting a prayer notebook so I wouldn’t forget what I want to pray over!
      Thanks for reading! Bless you!!

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  5. Happy Mother’s Day, Alicia! Love this sweet story and message. We should turn to God in all our struggles and needs. ♥ I love the play on words of giving God our mess and getting a message of hope in return. 🙂

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    1. They sure do, and I’m so thankful for that! I actually had to search up quiver lol and google actually offered a Biblical definition on its own:
      “Biblical reference is to children (the preceding line is: Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.”
      Love that!!❤️take care!!

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    1. Ya that’s true! I feel like I’m my own worst enemy anyway, probably critiquing too many flaws against myself and them…yet I remain in prayer and see that we’re still headed the right direction regardless!
      Thank you, hope you had a blessed Mother’s Day also!❤️

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    1. Definitely!! In all areas of life!
      And I noticed I missed a call from you yesterday, didn’t even hear my phone!! I switched to a new phone recently and it doesn’t seem to be working quite right! I’ll get a hold of you today if you’re available 🙂

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      1. So thankful!!! Sometimes it’s the real deal (bickering, whining, etc) but the more I pray the more that all gets washed out!!🙏🙏🙏

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      1. It was nice! I got to spend the afternoon with my mom. It’s been a while since we got to spend that much time together so I enjoyed it. 😀 And I agree about the warmer weather! It’s been so cold here, too!

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      2. Awesome so glad you spent time with your mama, I did also and with my mother in law…my group of ten (with the quarantine) has consisted of my family of 5, my mom and my in-laws..blessed to have them near during this mess!

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