When God made me a mama, I was clueless about the power of prayer. I had no idea that He was going to teach me how to boldly pray for my children and equip me to be a warring mom.

I had prayed to be a mama and I prayed to be a good one. Then the delivery day came and I felt helpless to know how to pray effectively much less powerfully, because I wasn’t sure He was listening.

How could something so perfect land in my lap?

How in the world am I going to not mess this kid up?

I was convinced that this new little person was in dire peril because I was a rookie and it terrified me. I knew I didn’t have it within my own strength to ﬁgure motherhood out.

So with stammering lips and a racing mind, I cuddled our sweet little daughter and whispered the three words that would echo throughout the corridors of my life. I prayed “God, help me.”

He would.

The Lord turned this little girl into a warring mom by teaching me how to boldly pray for my children. Here is my story and 4 powerful tips to becoming a warring mom for your children.

4 powerful tips for the warring mom by Simply Scripture

Boldly Praying For Your Children: 4 Powerful Tips for the Warring Mom

1) Prayer is not a wish list to God.

My prayer life was pathetically lame at best.

Sometimes I felt as though God was just like Santa Claus. He was kind hearted old fellow who would grant me my wants and desires, right? If I had been good enough, He would answer with blessings and when I was bad…well, I got a lump of coal in my spiritual stocking.

He was a kind and loving God and yet He felt so distant and harsh. My prayer routine was nothing more than simply giving Him my own list of things I needed and granting Him permission to do something about it. Like a spoiled child waiting for Christmas to come, I would demand God answer my way or I would pout.

God worked with those pathetic prayers. He gave me a desire to read the Bible and talk with Him about what I read. I asked Him questions and wrestled with His answers. I realized I was not dealing with Saint Nick, but the All powerful, All knowing, Ever present, living God of the Universe. He was the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of mankind who was jealous for my spiritual ﬂourishing.

I was helpless as a new mom, but I learned God was in control and I was not. As my prayer muscles grew, I found I could trust Him not only with my needs and leave the outcome to Him, but could trust Him with the soul of our newborn and the babies that were yet to come. It was on my knees that I was becoming a warring mom.

2) Prayer is a lifeline of surrender.

Life went along fairly predictably with adding two beautiful boys to the family and all of its crazy normal milestones.

I had no idea that sixteen years of spiritual growth in my prayer life would prepare me for this moment. I was staring into the screen of an MRI image of our youngest son’s spine.

There is was, the sinister bright white glow of our new journey through years of chronic scoliosis. What was this ominous lump encapsulated inside his spinal cord? Cancer or worse? What was causing his migraines? Was he going to be paralyzed? What is happening, God? Are you seeing this God…God, where are you?

With the glow from the MRI image burning in my brain, with stammering lips and a racing mind, I went down hard on my knees and again my heart frantically groaned three words that kept me sane. “God, help me.”

He did.

The Sovereign God who heard the anguished cry of a mama’s heart, helped me face this giant head on. He helped me surrender my son to His plan. Through all of the the blood work, IV’s ,MRI’s, x-rays, bracing, therapy, multiple specialist and Children’s hospitals, God was there. I had Him to turn to.

I found God in my waiting. Waiting for results, waiting for recovery. When the words couldn’t come out, when worship was the only way for my heart to see the light and when the fear of the unknown was choking me, I had a lifeline. God was teaching me to pray without ceasing.

He heard.

He knew.

He never left me down, not once.

It wasn’t about whether my prayers were perfect or if they even made sense. He understood me because I am His and He never leaves His kids. My prayer lifeline was surrendering everything into His capable hands.

3) Prayer is releasing and embracing.

Pressing through the teen years and beyond, I set a new world record for prayers of protection over my kids!

From heartaches, heartbreaks, driver’s licenses, and drama I gained momentum with each experience. They were growing into their own relationship with God and my prayer life was growing as well. It was more than surrendering our kids, it was releasing them.

They were meeting God in their own moments and in their own way. Each one seeing God moving in profound ways and experiencing His calling on their lives through the good, the bad and the just plain ugly.

In 2017, we had two weddings and a high school graduation all within 3 months of each other.

Did I even have time to pray?!

It was a whirlwind of mama emotion.

Did I love them enough?

Did I do enough?

Did I give them what they need to make it in this world?

Did I show them enough of Jesus?

Was I enough, Lord?

In my self-centered loneliness I wondered if God would still use me as the chapter on hands-on parenting was quickly closing. Was I valuable enough to have purpose and embrace the changing season? I felt a bit used up, honestly. I needed to have Him show me what life would be like with an empty nest. I needed Him to give me what only He could give me.

Wisdom.

I wanted to use my time to honor Him and I felt lost in my new role as a mom-by-love. He walked me through feelings of loneliness and uncertainty so that I could embrace my new found purpose with fervor. The night before both weddings and the graduation, I bawled like a baby as I once again rested my weary head on my heavenly Father’s chest and sobbed, “God, help me.”

He did.

4) Prayer is interceding.

Fast forward a few years. Saturday April 6, 2019 I stared into the most beautiful, squishy, pink-faced little man I had ever laid my eyes on in almost 24 years.

I became a grandma.

My God has been so faithful! I was so smitten with this little boy that I could hardly sleep that night. The miracle of watching my son become a Dad and his beautiful bride become a mama was profound. I scooped up this precious blessing and cradled him in my arms and watched him while he slept. I gently hummed, Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

I’m a little older now. My hair is getting a tinge of grey, and the etched lines on my face speak from a place of wisdom, humility, and conﬁdence in a God that is real. He turned this little girl into a warring mama with each trial, tear, and turmoil. I learned how to war through suffering, and watching my kids suffer, too. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat. Would I have done things differently? In a heartbeat.

When I looked down at this precious little person that God has entrusted to our kids, I marvel at His handiwork. With grateful lips and a heart bursting with praise, I closed my eyes and kissed his sweet, fuzzy little head and I whispered, “God, help them.”

He will.

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