Can I ask you a personal question? What is your prayer life like?
As moms, we are the middle of a current, being pulled by the rapidly moving water downstream – it’s life. And life is coming at us on all sides with pressure: schedules, to-do lists, achievements, requirements, and crazy. Meals must be made, kids must be fed, laundry must be washed, kitchens must be cleaned, and jobs must be done. In the middle of that, we ought — no, we need — to be women of prayer.
In the middle of this thing called mom’s life – what does it even look like to be a woman of prayer? Is it okay to pray on the go? Yes! Of course! But your prayer life can be so much more than that. Let’s look at what it takes to go deeper.
I don’t think any of us is questioning why moms *need* to pray. We have children we’d like to see grow up to live Godly, faithful lives. We’d like to have grandkids and see them grow up to lead Godly faithful lives someday too. We see the hurting of the world all around us, and we know from the Bible that prayer can make a difference in people’s lives. In fact, we have been taught to pray by the very man who’s living saved us. Prayer is important.
The question is – how can we make prayer a consistent, vibrant part of our every day busy mom lives. And the answer is grit.
“To have grit means you have courage and show the strength of your character. … A person with true grit has passion and perseverance. Goals are set and followed through. A person who works really hard to follow through on commitments has true grit.” (MSU)
“firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck” (Dictionary.com
Grit is about follow-thru. Grit is about the long game. Grit is the mom who prays for years and years — and prays ahead in addition to praying for the current moment.
Let’s look at five steps you can take to have a more gritty prayer life:
- Pray Often. This means throughout the day you are looking for opportunities to talk to God. These prayers might be short, as you chase a toddler around the room with a diaper off. Or they might be longer prayers as you pray over your tween at bedtime. But purpose to pray often.
- Pray Consistently. It might sound like the same thing, but consistency is a little bit different. You can pray often on one day and then forget to pray for several days in a row. Make it a goal to have consistent prayer times. In our home, we have consistent family prayer before meals, and I consistently pray out loud over my children before bedtime. Those are the “scheduled” prayer times I try very hard not to miss.
- Pray LIke Jesus. Jesus specifically took the time to teach the disciples how to pray. He also lived a life of prayer as witnessed throughout the gospels. We can learn to pray like Jesus by following His example and by learning from His teaching.
Matthew 6:9-13 says 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
- Pray Persistently. This is about not giving up. Be like the widow petitioning the unjust judge. Isn’t it wonderful that we know our God is not unjust!
Luke 18:1-8
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
As we approach Mother’s Day, I always like to be reflective about the year past and the year ahead. What has my motherhood looked like to this point? What could I change? How can I grow? What can I pray about?
Kristen McKnight
Thank you “MOM FIERCE” for the giveaway opportunity! Happy Mother’s Day a lil early! Prayers for all in this season of our lives!