Every Tuesday afternoon a group of employee moms and grandmothers meet in one of the conference rooms or, more recently, by Skype, to pray over our children and grandchildren.
Though the time is short, much of it includes a deep sense of intercession for our next generations. We love and care for our families by lifting our words and cares to our Heavenly Father whose ears are attentive to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12).
In the same way it doesn’t matter what our role is in the ministry, we’re not concerned about whose child we’re praying over or how difficult their present circumstances might be. Collectively, we lift up a shield of faith over them, babies to adult children with families, and pray that they will be saved from sin and death, and made well in all aspects of their lives.
“Holy Spirit, draw the ones we cherish to Jesus, give them eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that is softened toward your will and plan for their lives,” is the corporate prayer of every woman who joins.
Just as we don’t reject our children, God does not reject our prayer or withhold His love from us. As we pray for our children, we are assured through His Word that our prayers for their salvation and submission to His will are desires shared by Him (1 Tim 2:4) and that as we acknowledge Him, He directs the very path of our requests.
We may not know exactly what to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us and through us (Romans 8:26).
Praying corporately gives us an opportunity to be encouraged by one another’s prayers. We get a chance to share and collectively rejoice over answered prayers. Hope is ignited and becomes contagious in the rest of the group!
We practice not to worry, but instead to pray about everything, to intercede for our children by telling God what we desire, and to thank Him for it.
At many points, each woman has experienced God’s peace as we lay weighty burdens of care at His throne of Grace and allow peace to guard our hearts and minds as we move back to our workspaces. We carry on, praying silently, until the next Tuesday, “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth will I cry unto You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I,” (Psalm 61:1-5).
As our group of working mothers and grandmothers take refuge in the shelter and safety of His wings, we vow to raise our children in the way that they should go, as we ourselves are becoming the heritage of those who fear the name of the Lord.
If you are a mom or grandmother, do you have a group of women you regularly connect with in prayer? If not, we encourage you to find one or start one in your church or community. If you do, what are some of the answers to prayer you have seen God do in the lives of your children and grandchildren?
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