A Mother's Prayers
She continued praying before the Lord . . . . Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.
1 Samuel 1:12-13
Recommended Reading
1 Samuel 1:8-18
Someone once said, "It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it!"
That's especially true for mothers torn between work and home. Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir put it this way: "At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent."
But Christian mothers have a secret weapon—prayer; and the "patron saint" of praying mothers is the biblical hero named Hannah. In half of all the verses about her in 1 Samuel, she is praying; and her prayers produced one of the greatest heroes of the Bible, her son Samuel.
You can pray for your children when you're at work. You can pray for them when they're at school. Your prayers can pursue them to college, to Iraq or Afghanistan, or to the far corners of the world. Your prayers can mold, shape, protect, recover, and enrich them. And in praying, you can trust the Lord with their welfare and remain hopeful for their success.
In an age of "Hannah Montana," it's time to rediscover the original Hannah and to emulate her example.
Praying Samuels come from praying Hannahs. . . . Praying leaders come from praying homes.
E. M. Bounds
Read-Thru-the-Bible
2 Chronicles 29:1- 31:21
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That devotional is just so beautiful! It truly touched my heart; and I'm sure that it will touch the hearts of many who happen to come here and read it today.
Over the course of my marriage I have been both a working mother and a stay-at-home mom. For me, staying at home with my children while they were growing up was most rewarding.
On Fox News this morning, there was a statistic that read, Stay-at-home moms worth $117,000 per year. I can tell you this, I NEVER earned that much per year when I was a working mom! Now that I am caretaker of two dogs, I'd say I would deserve that much money just for getting them clean before they come back into the house each day! Ha!
The other day, I went out of my way to help my husband with something. I said, "See? You still need me!" He replied, "Honey, we all need you."
It's so nice to be appreciated! It's even nicer to hear it occasionally!
My husband works extremely hard at his job. We are counting down the years to retirement. Words of appreciation are shared with him often. I remind our adult children to do that too. I know that such praise and appreciation helps him to keep going!
Why do we crave words of praise and appreciation? I think that it is because it is built into us by God. But even more important is the fact that we OWE GOD MUCH PRAISE AND APPRECIATION!
The other day I caught my husband staring at me across the kitchen. He then said, "do you know how much I love you?" I'm tearing up...again. He then said, "We are not perfect; but we have a good life. We are so blessed."
I agree. We have so much to be grateful for!! Despite all of the craziness that is going on in this world, our family is intact, loving, following Jesus Christ, and we can be nothing but grateful for that!
All families have their problems and hard times. But we have survived and gotten through them - ending up stronger for having been through them. That's a phenomenal reality. It reflects what the Bible tells us:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
Our children have been, and continue to be, one of the greatest joys of our lives! Therefore, I was very surprised to read that a Harvard professor stated: Children Spoil Happiness,
That has certainly not been our experience!! What does a psychology professor know about this anyway? Just another example of man's wisdom attempting to trump God's wisdom!
If this particular professor's experience was bad (that is, if he is/was ever married and has children) why make ridiculous claims that others must think that way too?
Note what the article also shares:
"In a Pew poll taken last July, 85 percent of people said that their relationship with their children was their greatest source of fulfillment," she said. "I think that says more about the value of children to their parents" than Gilbert's conclusions.
Yes...that sounds more like the genuine experience of most Christian parents. It's more in line with this quote:
"The Scriptures teach us that kids are an inheritance of the Lord. They're a gift that God gives us."
Please keep all moms in your prayers this Mother's Day - especially those closest to you in your lives. If you are a mom, please pray for your children. The Bible story about Hannah, the mother of Samuel, teaches us all the power of intercessory prayer - especially when directed towards those we love and cherish!
In Christ,
Christine
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HT: Turning Point
Citizenlink
Fox News
Posts
2 comments:
Thanks!!!!
I just sent this to my amazing mom, and prayed for all moms and children.
(like she taught us kids to do)
Happy Mothers Day!
A humorist (a woman) once wrote,
"There are two influential people in a man's life.
They are both his mother. A man's mother has more influence on him than any other person, real or fictional, living or dead."
Funny words, but I think they're true enough.
As for that article about children spoiling marital happiness: where is it? Your Focus On The Family buddies refused to either give further details OR supply a link in order to read what was actually said. I suspect it's not quite what they claim it to be. "Citizenlink", indeed!
I don't personally know any moms who aren't happy to have their children; indeed, a few widows dote on their kids, saying things like, "Oh, if only his father could have seen that..."
Fortunately, for every Susan Smith or Andrea Yates, there's a hundred thousand other moms who don't give in to madness or depression. They might pass it on to their kids, but they don't suffer from it! (j/k)
"Why do we crave words of praise and appreciation? I think that it is because it is built into us by God. But even more important is the fact that we OWE GOD MUCH PRAISE AND APPRECIATION!"
Well, I think that should be taken a step further: why does God crave words of praise and appreciation?
"In a Pew poll taken last July, 85 percent of people said that their relationship with their children was their greatest source of fulfillment," she said. "I think that says more about the value of children to their parents" than Gilbert's conclusions."
Wow. I'll bet that fellow talking in Luke 14:26 is gonna be upset with that news!
Happy Mothers' Day.
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