A Mother's Prayer

This morning I got a phone call from one of my favorite people in the world, my friend Angie. I can’t say enough great things about this woman. Suffice to say, if the only thing I ever gained from my years at seminary was my friendship with Angie, the whole thing would be more than worth it.

Toward the end of our conversation, I asked how her oldest son, who has just started college, was doing. As she filled me in on his experiences, she shared with me her prayer for her son. She said, “I pray that, beyond everything, he learns to really lean into the presence of God. I don’t care if he becomes financially successful, marries the girl of his dreams, or changes the world. I just want him to trust and rely on the Lord.”

I was so humbled and encouraged by this simple prayer from a mother’s heart. So much of what I read from adoptive and foster parents is anxiety. They worry their children will feel lost or unloved. They worry their children will struggle in school. They worry that the awful things strangers say in ignorance will wound their children. They worry constantly. And I don’t fault them for worrying; I’m sure I will worry just as much. And I don’t fault them for the things they worry about; these are real concerns that any loving parent should think about. These are certainly real issues that will come up. And let’s face it—much as we wish it weren’t, worry is a sign of love. We hate it when the ones we love suffer, and we worry in an attempt to prevent or prepare for anything that might hurt them.

One of the things I love about Angie’s prayer for her son is that it acknowledges that we fear, worry, and dream for our children. It doesn’t pretend that we can flip a switch and suddenly follow Luke 12:25-26, “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” We know worry does nothing except eat at our brains, but I’ve yet to find anyone who can simply stop worrying and be happy.

Angie’s prayer acknowledges our frailty, our tendency to worry, but it also reminds us what worry should predominate. Our focus as we love our children should not be that they survive the trials or attain the trinkets of this world. It should be that they learn to know, to trust, to rely on God. Because if this worry is laid to rest, all the others are as well. If they trust in God, there is nothing that can everlastingly harm them, no pain that can utterly defeat them, no furnace into which they will walk alone.

Pray constantly for your children. Pray for everything in their lives, from the most mundane to the most massive. But always put first the prayer that they would know, love, and lean on God.

For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:30-32