A Momma's Prayer

Motherhood has taken my world and flipped it on its side. I see everything now through a new pair of lenses. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, before I had kids of course, “Just wait until you have children. Then you’ll understand.” So much that was never on my radar before has now hit me right between the eyes.

Like, for example, the hitchhiker who now touches my heart because he is “Somebody’s Jake.” I don’t know him, but someone does. I can’t drive by any longer without wondering, “Does his Momma know where he is and where he’s headed?” And even if his Momma has no clue, God knows. God knows his story, because God made him…. in His image. And He loves him.

Or the child living in poverty on the other side of my world who may not get a meal today. It breaks my heart not only for the little girl with the empty belly, but I am torn over the helplessness her mother must feel, knowing that there is nothing she can do. I wonder, sometimes, how I would react if I knew Lilly needed something (even something as basic as food) and I could not provide for her. But I am reminded over and over that God knows that mother’s need. And He hears her prayer.

This morning I was looking up a passage in 2 Timothy that was referenced in another book I am reading. I skipped back up to the very beginning, just started reading, and there it was, staring right back at me, almost jumping off the page:

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5

I am sure that I have read this before, but never before have I let it really sink into my soul. In this letter that Paul is writing to Timothy, the very first thing he mentions is the “real or authentic” faith of Timothy’s mother and his grandmother, and the evidence of that faith being passed down to him. I believe that God wants to speak to us through His Word, and I received such an encouraging message in that one verse.

The message I heard was this:

A mother’s prayers for her children are so vital. God listens to a Momma’s prayers, and He is faithful. When I think about how much I love Jake and Lilly, and how I’d do anything for each of them, I am sometimes overwhelmed to think that God loves them even more than I am even capable of. And the most significant gift I can pass down to my children, and my grandchildren one day, is my faith. Faith that they can see… real faith, not the kind we just talk about. What an incredible responsibility and honor to be trusted with teaching my children to walk in His truth. And on those tough days, when as a mom I don’t even know what I need, God knows. And He hears my prayer, even before I speak it.