THE PRAYER MY HEART NEEDED
Dear Modern-Day Parents,
Whenever everyone is home, my family has a simple tradition: we pray together at noon.
No matter what we are doing, we pause. Someone may be watching television, playing, or simply enjoying a quiet moment, but when noon arrives, we stop and come together to pray.
In another blog post, I share more about how this tradition began with my mother. As a little girl, I remember watching her pause whenever the city chimes rang exactly at noon. It was her reminder to stop and pray. Over the years, that simple rhythm became a part of my life, and now it has become part of our family's rhythm too.
During the Labor Day holiday, my boys and I were all home. When it was time for our noon prayer, I asked them to pray for me.
I had been feeling overwhelmed.
Discouraged.
Disappointed.
There were things that had not gone the way I had hoped. Some plans had not worked out the way I imagined, and if I am honest, I was struggling with the weight of it all.
So, I asked my boys to pray.
As my oldest son prayed, he used a word that continued to ring in my heart long after our prayer time had ended.
“Lord, make Mom resilient...”
Honestly, I do not remember the rest of the prayer.
But I remember that word.
Resilient.
It was the word I needed to hear.
Sometimes, when we experience disappointment or failure, it is easy to see it as the end of the road. We begin to wonder whether we have missed our opportunity, made the wrong decision, or simply are not capable of moving forward.
But resilience reminds us that failure is not a final destination.
It is an opportunity to pause, learn, adjust, and perhaps approach the journey from another angle.
That simple prayer helped shift my perspective. It reminded me that I did not need every disappointment to disappear in order to keep going. I needed the strength to rise again. I needed the courage to try again. I needed the willingness to look at what had not worked not as proof that I should give up but as an invitation to see things differently.
Psalm 8:2 speaks about God establishing strength through the mouths of babes.
That is exactly what I felt God did for me that day.
Of course, my oldest son is no longer a baby. But I am grateful that God is not limited by age. He can use anyone to speak encouragement into our hearts including our children.
As parents, we often think about what we are teaching our children.
We teach them how to pray.
We teach them God's Word.
We teach them to trust God, love others, and bring their worries to Him.
But sometimes, God allows the teaching to flow in the other direction.
Sometimes the little ones we are raising become instruments of encouragement in our own lives.
Sometimes their simple prayers remind us of truths we have forgotten.
Sometimes their questions make us stop and think.
And sometimes, without even realizing it, a few words from their mouths become exactly what our weary hearts needed to hear.
That is one of the beautiful gifts of building a culture of faith in our homes.
When we make space for prayer, we are not simply teaching our children a spiritual discipline. We are inviting them into a relationship with God and we are also creating space for God to minister to every member of the family.
Even us.
Especially us on the days when we feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or disappointed.
So, Christian parent, keep praying with your children.
Let them hear you pray.
Let them pray for you.
Let them see that you need God too.
You may be surprised by what God chooses to say through them.
I know I was.
That day, my son prayed one simple sentence, and one word stayed with me:
Resilient.
And perhaps that is a word someone else needs today too.
You may have experienced disappointment. Something may not have worked out the way you hoped. You may be tempted to see failure as the end of the story.
But perhaps it is not the end.
Perhaps there is another way forward.
Perhaps God is strengthening you to rise again.
Lord, make us resilient.
And may we never underestimate the ways God can use our children to strengthen our hearts.
PS: Wondering how to get your family started with prayer time? How Big Are God’s Ears?is a simple way to spark a conversation about prayer with your little ones. Check it out through the link below!
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