Inside: As moms we have a million things we could pray for every day. But what are the 5 things that you MUST be praying for? Here they are:

“Can you say that nicely, please?” I said to my 22 month old for the 92nd time that day. 

He mumbled back - “please” was tangled up somewhere in his response. And I could have given him his milk right then. He said the magic word, right?? But I didn’t. Because you and I both know it’s not actually about saying the right word - it's about having the right attitude.

We often teach kids the right things to say and not say. We tell them when they should appear to be thankful and when they should be quiet and when they should ask nicely. But really, as parents, we all want our kids to do more than say the right thing at the right time. We want a good attitude and heart to be behind the words.

When We Get Prayer Wrong

If you grew up in the Christian culture like I did, then you probably know all the “right” words to use during prayer. You know when to go down to a deep register and sound serious/meaningful and when to sound light and relaxed like you are talking to a best friend. 

But God isn’t impressed or honored by this knowledge. He isn’t glorified when we know what to say - He can see right past that. 

Some of us grew up believing we should pray for the stopped up toilet to be fixed in the same way we pray for a friend who lost a parent. 

Some of us see prayer as a way to ask God to reveal His will to us - to tell us exactly what He wants us to do in the moment. Right or left? Pizza or salad? Hike or stay home and read? 

Some of us believe our prayers should be less specific and more broad. That God probably doesn’t care about that stupid toilet and maybe He cares more about the kids starving in Africa. 

Here is the thing: God can be honored in each and every one of these philosophies on prayer. But equally He can be dishonored by them. 

As a Christian culture, too often we use prayer as a way to ask God for protection, for help, and for direct guidance and wisdom. But I am convinced more than ever that what we should be praying for is not the next step or God’s protection as we travel. But rather our prayer life should be defined by us sitting in humility before Him, praising Him, and begging Him to fill us with a desire to serve and honor our God with our lives. Our prayer life should be defined more by the posture that we take, rather than the words that we say. 

5 Things Every Mom Should Pray Each Morning

1. Pray that your attitudes and actions would be honoring and glorifying to God

I don’t care what happens in my day - what friend knocks on my door unexpectedly; what phone call I get with bad news; or what tantrum gets thrown - I want to come to that situation with love, grace, and obedience. Don’t you? 

There are a million and one things that we, as moms, can be praying for every day, but it is vital that we start with ourselves. It is paramount that we begin our day asking for our own attitudes to be changed, and that we would have the right posture towards God. 

Our morning prayers should not be characterized by us spewing out all the things we want for our kids or our spouse or the homeless lady we saw down the street last night. Our prayers should be first about God focusing our hearts, attitudes and minds on Him. 

I’m not saying we should stop praying for people in our lives and circumstances we find ourselves in. What I am saying is that first and foremost our focus should be on humbling ourselves before our Father and asking Him to change and open up our hearts. 

We are His hands and feet. When our hearts are open and ready, He will use us for His work. He will use us to bless the homeless women on the side of the street. He will use our lives to teach our kids about His love. He will use us to tell our friends about the Good News of Christ. 

But the first step is to focus our own heart towards Him. 

2. Pray that your husband would know the love of Christ in a real way, every day. 

Have you been guilty of praying that your spouse would see a situation the same way that you do? That he would start doing things the way you do them, or that he would start acting the way you want him to act? My hand is raised. 

And guess what? That puts all the attention and “glory” on myself. It is basically looking at God and saying “I know what is best and I do what is best - now make him more like me!”

How self-centered is that??! When we focus our prayers on the heart of our spouse, on our husbands seeing and understanding the love of God the rest will eventually fall into place.

Let’s make our prayers for our husbands less about what we want for them and us, and more about asking God to continue to show Himself to them. Because when God shows Himself, not much else is needed.  

3. Pray that today your kids will see God through His creation

“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Romans 1:20

God has made Himself known to man. And I pray that every time my boys go outside to play they see and feel the presence of God. I want them to look at the trees and know that there has to be a God who made them. I want my kids to watch a bird as it floats through the air and be amazed by God’s creativity and power.

Yes, I desperately want them to see God through my actions and attitude. But I know I am going to fail. I don’t want their view of God to be based on how I act. I do want them to look at creation and know who their Father is and what He is capable of. 

4. Pray that God will provide what you need (not what you think you need).

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He said: 

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

When we ask for things, how often are we actually asking for what we need? If I was praying that prayer, it would have looked more like this:

“Give us this day an extra large meat lover's pizza and a pan of fudgy brownies”. 

Who is with me????

But Jesus doesn’t ask for the extras when he is demonstrating how we should pray. He is asking God to provide the necessities for that day. He is exhibiting a reliance on God. We must do the same. 

5. Pray that your family’s love for each other will be a reflection of Christ’s love to the rest of the world. 

Family units are the backbone of society. And it is vital that the love that emanates from each of our little families is pointing the world to who God is and what Jesus has done. So pray that God will help your family to love each other in such a way that the rest of the world sees Christ before they even notice that you. 

The Heart Behind The Prayer

I am not saying that we should stop praying for the little, every day things. God wants us to talk to Him about every aspect of our lives. But it is when our prayers are characterized by our wants and “needs” that there is a problem. 

The heart behind prayer should be to know God more deeply, to share with Him, and to live our lives in such a way that honors Him. 

Yes, it is good to pray for the little details. But our focus should not be on the details. The focus should be on turning our hearts, minds, and attitudes towards Him.

Mama, It’s Time To Get To Praying

If you are not in the habit of starting your morning with prayer, there is never a better day to start then today 🙂 If you have trouble getting up before the kids to get some time alone, let me show you how to get up early everyday.

For those of you who do spend time in prayer every morning, here is my challenge to you: quiet the mind chatter, get still, and for the next week stop focusing your prayers on the details of your life. Start focusing them on your own heart, attitude, and mind. Remember to pray: 

1. That your own actions and attitudes would be honoring and glorifying to God. 
2. For your husband to know the love of Christ every day.
3. That your kids would see and experience God through His creation.
4. For God to provide what you need and that you would rely completely on Him. 
5. That your family's love for each other would be a reflection of the love of Christ.

Mama, God loves you. He created you. He will hold you and take care of you. Give yourself to Him, trust Him, and rely on Him.

You won’t regret spending your morning in prayer.

I’m rooting for you!