Before I married and became a mother, I said my prayers each and every evening. After a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers, I settled into praying for the sick, the elderly and weary, the lonely and homeless, the broken-hearted, and our pastors and preachers. I continued on—praying for our military and my family and friends before nestling down to sleep.
My prayers typically stayed the same for years until I started praying for my future husband, then his family. Years later, I started asking God for help in my journey to motherhood. James 4:3 tells us to pray with the right motives, so at times, my prayers went unanswered and for good reasons. Still, I prayed.
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Now as a mom, my prayers are taking more time.
You see, I have a son, so I’m praying for more these days.
I’m praying for everything above and then some.
I’m praying for my son’s health. I pray for his doctors in times of sickness.
I’m praying for his happiness.
I’m praying to the Lord for strength and patience.
I’m praying for my son’s friends and their families.
I’m praying for his teachers.
I’m praying for his coaches, his classroom leaders, music and art educators.
I’m praying for wisdom on parenting for the years to come.
I’m praying my son knows and follows the Lord and all His ways.
I’m praying my son has an open relationship with Christ.
I’m praying for forgiveness from Him, for I know I fall short as a mother some days.
I’m praying for empowerment on troubling days with our toddler.
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I’m praying for more these days as I have so much more to be thankful for and watch over.
Lord, I know I’m praying to you for a lot these days, but I’m incredibly thankful in prayer for all my blessings, too.
As for now, thank you Jesus for the generous weather today, my son and I had a beautiful day at the park. Thank you for our food and our health. Thank you for the gift of time with my child. Thank you for my heart that is bursting with happiness and memories after yet another day on this earth. Please watch over everyone in my heart.
And now I lay me down to sleep . . .