MARISSA HENLEY|GUEST

It was around 4:45 a.m. when I gave up on sleep, got out of bed, and reached for my phone. I saw a notification from our family’s tracking app—my oldest son’s phone was out of battery as of 3 a.m., and I knew what that meant. I could picture my sleep-deprived college student in his apartment, lying across his bed, fully clothed, with all the lights on. He had fallen asleep without meaning to, which meant his phone wasn’t charging and his alarm wouldn’t wake him in time for class.

My brain went into panic mode. It was near the end of the semester, so he could miss an important quiz or test. Within seconds, my anxiety convinced me that his GPA and career goals would be ruined by one morning of oversleeping. And yet, I knew I was powerless to do anything to wake up my son. I was left with a last resort that should have been my first response: I prayed.

Praying for our children is a gift from the Lord, whether our children are babies in our arms or adult children living hundreds of miles away. The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 98 teaches us this definition of prayer: “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” As we consider this definition, we see how prayer shouldn’t be a last resort. God uses the gift of prayer to grow our dependence on Him, comfort our troubled hearts, and turn our focus to His faithful purposes.

When we pray, we offer up our desires to God and ask that His will, not ours, be done in our children’s lives. We often think we know what’s best for our kids. If we could choose, we’d steer them clear of any hurt, disappointment, struggle, or suffering. But as we bring our concerns to the Lord in prayer, we’re reminded that His will prevails, and His will is perfectly wise and steadfastly faithful.

When we pray, we pray in the name of Christ, who gives us access to the throne of grace. Hebrews 4 teaches us that because Jesus is our high priest, we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Those who have been redeemed by God’s grace and adopted as His children approach the King as our heavenly Father (Rom. 8:15-16). We cry out to Him, knowing that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

When we pray, we confess our sins. As I prayed for my son that morning, the Spirit convicted me of my desire for control and my lack of trust in God’s plans for my child. God’s Spirit is faithful to show us our sin as we spend time focusing on the Lord and bringing our petitions to Him. When we’re convicted of the ways we fall short as mothers, we can cling to the promise of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”

When we pray, we thankfully acknowledge His mercies. Prayer turns our focus from our problems to God’s provision. As we acknowledge His mercies, we remember His gracious gift of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. We remember His faithful sovereignty over every moment and His steadfast love for His covenant children. Prayer reorients our hearts to Him and helps us trust Him in whichever way He chooses to answer our prayers.

After my early morning prayers for my son, he called me with a question later that day. I took the opportunity to say, “Hey, I got a notification this morning that your phone died last night. Was everything ok?” He told me that he woke up a little before 5 a.m. and discovered that he had accidentally fallen asleep hours earlier. He charged his phone, set his alarm, and went back to sleep.

God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we would choose. His purposes are righteous, even when we don’t understand. But I’m grateful that on that day, He reminded me that He hears our prayers. He is sovereign over every detail of our children’s lives. Prayer is a gift to anxious mothers from our faithful Father. Let’s not save it for a last resort but run to Him with all our needs. We can trust Him to hear our prayers and answer according to His perfect will.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash