“For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there” (I Samuel 1:27-28).
This scripture, lifted from the story of the birth of Samuel, who was destined to become a great spiritual leader to the children of Israel, is really a story of the prayer of every mother with a heart for the kingdom, prayed for every child.
There is something born in the heart of every mother. Sometimes it happens when the pregnancy test comes back positive and the shock wears off. Sometimes it’s when you feel the first flutter of life. Sometimes it’s when they lay that precious life “skin to skin.” Sometime in there we realize the enormity of our responsibility as a mother in caring for this child given us by God. We realize, too, that it’s more than food and clothes, shelter and education, and friends and family. We are responsible for bringing our children to the presence of God, to the house of God, into His kingdom.
We read how Hannah turned her son over to the priest Eli, leaving him at the Temple to be raised in the presence and service of God. Yet, that lingering responsibility as a mother was present every year when she journeyed back to that place and brought with her a coat for her son. She probably worked on it all year, carefully trying to guess how much to add – imagining how much he might have grown and allowing for his continued growth. (I have a feeling that every day Hannah, the woman who had prayed so desperately for a child the priest thought she was perhaps drunk or a little crazy, might have continued to pray just as diligently even after he was born.)
Praying for your children has no start date and no expiration date. You can pray for them, as Hannah did, even before they are conceived. You continue to pray for them long after they have left you with an empty nest and have children of their own. Needs change and sometimes are not obvious, even to your mother heart. Seek God’s wisdom and guidance to pray effectively and fervently that both physical and spiritual needs are met by the God who sends only good and perfect gifts to us.
Pray for the angel army of the Lord to encamp around them and protect them. Pray for the enemy to be thwarted in every attack against them. Pray for their hearts to ever be turned toward God and that their eyes never be blinded by the enemy’s enticements. Pray Micah 6:8, my father’s favorite scripture, over them that they will act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Just like Hannah of old, when we pray and release our children into the hands of God, it is an ultimate act of worship from the heart of a mother.
BY MICKEY MANGUN
She writes “I WILL own a taco truck in Heaven…amongst cilantro fields and lime trees…a Steak & Shake on one side…White Castle on the other.” Sis. Mangun is a gifted singer, songwriter, and musician. She serves alongside her husband, Rev. Anthony Mangun, pastor of The Pentecostals of Alexandria, LA. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Reprinted with permission from Ladies Prayer International.
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