Have you ever known a mother that was beyond the ability to pray for her child? These are times when we can pray for her. Once I had an experience like this, but I was on the receiving end.
It was a long time ago, when my children were all teenagers. The dating years were upon us, and I lived in a permanent state of internal panic. Fortunately I had a husband who reveled in those years, and so I leaned on him. One day, however, he was away, so I couldn’t “lean,” and a young man asked my young daughter, Judy, to the school dance. I panicked, until she explained I could come and chaperone. At that I gladly gave permission and the invitation was accepted. Then I looked in my appointment book. Both my husband and I had meetings out of town on the day of the dance. Neither of us could chaperone! I panicked. Suddenly this perfectly nice young man took on another image in my imagination.
I couldn’t get out of my commitment, and so I arrived at the meeting in total spiritual disarray. Looking at the program, I saw that there was a prayer room. I made a beeline for it and met Margaret, whose ministry it was to help people like me!
I explained my problem, and she listened to me patiently and gave me some Scripture. Then she said I would need to let my daughter go. “After all,” she said, “Moses’ mother put Moses in the little ark and let him go among the crocodiles.” Now that I didn’t want to hear. Suddenly all the nice boys that Judy knew took on the shape of crocodiles! Then Margaret told me she would be like Miriam for me. She would stand watch on the riverbank in prayer. In essence, Margaret said to me, “Give me your child.” And from that day to this she has carried my child to the upper room and prayed for her.
A few months after this incident, I received a package through the mail. It contained a little crocodile with its mouth tied up. “That’s what prayer does,” said the note.
Can you think of a mother in need, a father in trouble, a friend in dire distress with a child in a rehab facility? There are plenty of empty places on the riverbank today, waiting for watchers. You can be the prayer that makes a difference!
In Christ,
Jill Briscoe
Why is prayer so hard? We know we need to grow in our prayer life, but it can be such a struggle. And, too often, instead of using it as the first line of defense, we go to it as a last resort. Are you desiring a deeper prayer life…do you want to get the passion back? If you want to walk in greater victory while enjoying answered prayer on a regular basis, it’s time to engage with God on a deeper level. Discover how prayer can be one of the greatest adventures of your life - for yourself and for others.
Read through these devotions on prayer and remember - God wants us to pray, just as a loving earthly father would want you to share what’s on your heart.