Are you a praying mom? I think most Christian moms pray their way throughout the day, but do you take time alone with God? If not, make this a part of your new routine. Get up fifteen minutes earlier than you are, or stay up fifteen minutes later and give God your time. Even if you don’t hit all five points of prayer, setting time aside will make a huge difference in your life!
I was the queen of excuses for this for longer than I care to admit. I would say things like, “Girl, I pray all day long–it’s the only reason my children are still alive!” Or “I’m not giving God my best when I’m losing sleep because being tired makes me grumpy.” And then, there was the time that I tried to start doing this and Satan attacked me so consistently that I ultimately decided it just wasn’t worth it.
But one day, I was convicted that I was not spending enough time with Him. And I decided that no matter what, I was going to make this a habit. I started BIG! I taught my five-year-old son to turn the TV on for his brother and himself while I spent an HOUR in prayer each morning. They loved having screen time, and I got time with God.
Whenever I heard them come upstairs when their cartoons were over and say, “Mom? Are you and God still having your time together?”, I knew I was doing the right thing.
Life has changed since then, and I now get up at 4:30 so I can get some time in (usually 20 minutes) before I start work in the morning. Yes, my time in prayer is shorter. However, I usually spend 30 minutes a day reading the Bible with the kids, which also makes a HUGE impact on our family life!
So, right now, families all across the country are in a crazy state of upheaval. You may have seen different quotes about how God is bringing families back together during this pandemic, even though Satan desires to tear families apart.
Or how God is teaching us to trust in His provision, while Satan wants us trust in our own abilities. And while I firmly believe the promise that God works all things together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28), I’m not sure that will just happen in this situation without a lot of prayer!
Moms are exhausted from trying to supervise distance learning. They are tired of the bickering that comes from children who haven’t seen their friends or participated in activities for months! They’re annoyed from trying to work from home alongside their husbands while their children interrupt. If this keeps up for too much longer,
Satan will certainly have his way and tear families apart!
And right now it’s a pandemic, but soon, we’ll have moved onto a new crisis requiring prayer from so many of us. (Election, anyone?)
So, how can we fight back? I have told my children so many times that trying to fight against evil without prayer is like showing up to a war with a pocketknife. We are told that the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit—so if I’m going to war, I need that with me! Of course, if I’m going to war, I also want the God of the Universe on my side!
Dear friends, you may be able to get through all of this on your own; but if you could take a better road, why wouldn’t you? There is no better time than to be on our knees, praying for this world, this country, our towns and our families.
Beloved, I know you’re tired right now, but keep your eyes on the horizon. If you can, get up a little before your kids do so that you can have time with the Lord before you start your day. Then, be sure that you start your school days off with prayer with your children. It keeps them grounded.
If you’re new to this, you might not know where to start.
Five Points of Prayer (to get you going):
- Start with Your Husband—
You may not realize it right now, but your husband is under a lot of stress because of this pandemic, but really, there is a lot of stress at any time. Most husbands naturally assume the role of “provider” for their families. (Even if only in their own minds, and especially if you are a stay-at-home mom.)
This is a hard time for him, even if he is working like usual. We have all heard and can connect the dots on what this is going to do to the economy. I’m sure your husband has at least thought about it, and most likely, it is weighing on his mind.
Pray for him– that he will be able to trust the Lord’s provision and rest well at night. Ask God to provide a healthy balance between work and family for your husband—especially if he is working longer hours than usual, or from home.
Lift him up–that the Lord would grant him the strength to continue working hard and the energy to give to the kids whose energy has been pent up all day!
Also, pray for your husband as he leads his family in Spiritual growth. This is his role! However, if you have a husband who has not assumed the role of leader yet, and you’ve asked, but he just doesn’t see it as important. I firmly believe that you should step in, lead your family, and pray for your husband to step up!
My husband is a much newer Christian than I am, and for years, he felt like he couldn’t lead, even though I was longing for him to. I kept praying, and I kept leading (someone had to!) and gradually, he became more confident and stepped more and more into his role.
Prayer changes things!
- Pray for Your Children’s Attitudes—
Our kids may not always tell us that this is taking its toll on them, but it often comes out in their attitudes. None of this is too extraordinary for my children, but once in a while, I get a glimpse into how all of this is really affecting them.
One of my sons is adamant that we don’t talk about COVID or the elections on holidays. At Christmas, my dad made a comment about COVID, and my son quickly, and quite rudely said, “Grandpa! It’s Christmas! Can we PLEASE not talk about this?!?”
Of course, I wasn’t thrilled with his rude attitude, but I get it. This does affect our children, and it trickles into their general attitudes. Pray for them and be compassionate. They may be processing more than we realize!
- Pray for Your Children’s Efforts—
Ask the Lord to bless their efforts when they are doing their classwork! This doesn’t mean He will make it easy on them. Instead, perhaps you will be able to see the deeper, more meaningful life lessons that can come from all of this.
Having your children at home will allow you to teach them so much more than what their distance learning plans require. See the positive in this. This is a year you’ll never get back with your children and what a blessing it is to have so much extra time with them!
Thank God for that! And ask Him to pour out His blessings on your time with your family. He will use this year for His glory! Don’t forget that.
Again, keep your eyes on the horizon. Remind your child that he or she can do this! We can all get through this!
- Pray for Your Relationships to Deepen—
This is a prime opportunity to get to know your child. You are getting to spend time with him or her, relatively distraction-free. (Well, maybe anyway!) Use the time to cultivate your relationship. Look at the individualized instruction you get to give your child as a gift in an otherwise too-busy world.
Blocking out quality time with each of your children (even if it’s only to do work on their school lessons!) can really deepen your relationship.
But try not to only spend time doing school. Remember that you are not just their teacher, but their mom. They still need you to have fun with them and they need a little extra fun right now. Be intentional about having some family fun so they realize that you’re not all work and no play.
Playtime with your child is the perfect time to get them talking. They won’t necessarily just tell you everything on their minds or how things are affecting them in a “sit-down” talk. But they might allow you into their thoughts as you play together.
But Satan wants to ruin your relationships. The Bible tells us he seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Pray that the Lord will guard your relationships, with your husband and children, especially, and that He will deepen them as you go through the next year…whatever that may bring!
- Pray against attack!
Of course, Satan does not want any good to come of this, so he will be shooting those flaming arrows at you right and left! He will be there throwing things at you that will test your patience, exhaust you, and tear your family apart.
You must be on your guard. Recognize when everyone is tired—and REST! Sundays are mandatory nap days in our house because we all get tired—and then we become the devil’s playthings. Not cool. Recognize the methods of the enemy. Then, pray that God will protect you from them and give you wisdom in handling them.
Ask the Lord to keep you safe from the enemy; to put up a hedge of protection around you and your family; and to help you recognize when Satan is having his way with you or your family. It happens to the best of us! We can’t do anything about it if we don’t recognize it!
Final Thoughts on How to Start Praying for Your Family
I cannot stress enough how much starting my day with prayer changes things! It changes my heart and my attitude. It also gives my children an example of how important talking with God is! After you have prayed for your husband and your children, pray with your kids!
Remember that praying for our nation together shows your children that they have power in this situation! They have the power of prayer! Give them confidence and courage to meet tomorrow’s challenges by teaching them that they have the God of the Universe to help them! Show them that they can be on the frontlines of this battle by getting on their knees.
Society, government, and the media are all telling us what to do…but are we praying? There is a “mask campaign” in our area with the slogan, “It’s up to me to stop the spread.” FOR REAL?! Uh. Uh.
This is a virus. The problem is that we think that we are powerful enough to stop the virus by wearing masks, staying home, not gathering for Christmas, etc. but we are powerless against this…on our own, that is.
Are we working to do all these things on our own and consequently, showing up to the war with a pocketknife? Get out your swords, Moms! And show your kids the power of prayer!
RElated: Encouragement for Exhausted Moms
