Prayer for Mother's Day

Motherhood is a lifelong journey, and on this Mother’s Day you might find yourself celebrating on a mountaintop, grieving in a valley, or somewhere in the middle. And as I sit here and pray for all of our Saddleback women, I find myself praying Ephesians 3:14-19 for all of you:

I pray that you would be strengthened by the Spirit of God

I pray that “according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (v. 16-17a)

I pray that for every homework question and for every sink full of dishes, for every birthday and for every doctor appointment, for every sweet snuggle and for every time your arms feel empty, for every impromptu kitchen dance party and for every pang of grief, that you would sense the Spirit of God strengthening you in your inner being. That His love wrapped around your heart would hold you together when you feel like falling apart, and that the joy of His presence would make the sweet moments even sweeter.

I pray that you would grow in the love of God

I pray “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (v. 17b-19)

I pray that God would open your eyes to see how His love hems you in on every side. The depth of His limitless love that goes deeper than the deepest hurt. The breadth of His unconditional love that covers every area of your life. The height of His love coming down from heaven that outshines the sun and breaks up the clouds and pierces the darkness and gives you the strength to rise above every circumstance. The length of His eternal love that outlasts any hardship. I pray that in this last year of your journey with motherhood that you have seen and experienced the love of God in new and deeper ways than ever before.

I pray that you would find your place in our community

I pray that we share in what it means to call God our Father, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (v. 15)

I pray that you would find the women in your life who would point you to Jesus, help carry your burdens when they feel too heavy to bear, and increase your joy as you share in one another’s celebrations.