He Records Your Alms and Your Prayers
Moms, do you ever feel as if you are working so hard, doing so many things for your family, and no-one notices? Now, I am not encouraging you to have a pity party, but I want you to know that we have all felt that way sometimes. To be honest, it’s often when we are worn out or just bone tired. Sometimes I think there is no-one anywhere on earth more tired than a mom. We do a lot!
Let’s look at Acts 10:1-4 New American Standard Bible for some insight and encouragement:
Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”
Cornelius was a Gentile. He wasn’t even supposed to know about God or who He was, because He was not a Jew. Yet this man sought to know God, offering alms to His people and prayers to God, and apparently GOD NOTICED. Moms, GOD NOTICES YOU, your alms and prayers. What are alms? “Alms” G1654 is translated “compassionateness, mercy, pity especially as exhibited in giving alms, charity or a donation to the poor, alms (deeds)”. Vocabulary.com (see below*) says Charitable means, “Something that’s charitable has to do with helping people who need assistance” Do you know anyone in your house who needs your assistance? Like-everyone! When you do acts of service for your family, show compassion and mercy, offer assistance to them, God literally TAKES NOTE. It’s a memorial to Him.
A “memorial” G3422 in this verse is “that by which the memory of any person or thing is preserved, a remembrance, a reminder, that is, a record.” When you do acts of service for your family, for those who need you, God RECORDS your deeds. He makes a note of them. He makes a memorial of them. Doesn’t that encourage you? Just to know that He takes note of what you do. Wow!
And He does the same with your prayers. Cornelius prayed continually and his prayers were so important to God, that God made a remembrance of them. He doesn’t only record the prayers you pray at church, or the prayers you pray when you have a quiet moment (Moms, how many of those quiet moments do we get?! ), or the prayers you pray when you are not distracted. No, He records all your prayers! Especially when my children were young, so many of my prayers were prayed in the middle of my business, my craziness, my mess. God knows your every coming in, going out, standing, sitting, remember from our Psalm 139 study? He knows that you are busy and HE HEARS ALL YOUR PRAYERS, even and especially those spoken or cried out in desperation to Him right in the middle of your busy, messy life. He knows that we need Him.
In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3), He even encourages us to be poor and needy. So don’t be ashamed if you feel needy most of the time. There is nothing like motherhood and the incredible demands placed on you and always around you, to make you feel that you need God more than anything. And that’s OK. That is something He loves- neediness! Good thing! I think the older I get the poorer and needier I feel.
So, moms, pray those needy prayers- He hears them! He loves them! And remember that
HE RECORDS AND REMEMBERS ALL YOUR CHARITABLE ACTS AND ALL YOUR PRAYERS.
In His love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 