More Prayer, More Presence!
Prayer is so powerful because it is how we connect with God. If we have a friend that we want to be closer to, we take time to connect with them more. It’s the same with God. If we want to be closer to God, we need to take time to connect with Him more. Prayer provides us with just that connection!
Psalm 145:18 New American Standard Bible says:
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
We can call upon Him in our joys and in our disappointments. Many believers pull away from God in their trials because they blame God for their situation. This is the same trap Job’s wife fell into. She tried to get Job to curse God for their difficulties (Job 2:9 ). Please don’t fall into this trap! See our series on HOPE, if this is you (search on the Home page).
Here are some more ways for you to draw closer to God and bring more of His presence into your family and home through prayer.
- Pray in the middle of your busyness.
- Jesus gives us His example. Quite often, Jesus spoke to His Father right in the middle of His busyness and with others around. This is great for moms because so often we have our precious little “others” around! In John chapter 16-18, Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples (Jn. 16: 29-33), then with them still around, He went right into prayer with His Father (Jn. 17:1-26), and finally, He went right back into conversation with the disciples again (John 18:1). We can do this with our children-our own disciples.
- Pray in the middle of your stress.
- One time, I was overwhelmed, cooking dinner, supervising toddlers, and helping children with homework, sorting laundry, getting ready to go to work (I worked from home part-time evenings from 5pm-1am). I had been reading Proverbs 31 and came to Proverbs 31:14 which talked about the virtuous woman having maidens to help her. So I shouted out to God, “I could use some help! Where are my maidens?!” I heard Him answer,” You have some! Your washer, dryer and dishwasher!” It made me laugh!
- Pray in the middle of your wilderness seasons.
- My mom passed away last year, and I leaned into Jesus with my grief. Through hospice grief counseling, I discovered a whole other side of Jesus. Currently, I am healing from a car accident in September 2024. As I lean into Jesus, He is meeting me in my pain, and again I am getting to know Him more. Song of Solomon 8:5, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?” Lean on your Beloved in your wilderness seasons-we all have them. And, Psalm 103:13-14, “Just as a Father has compassion on His children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” You don’t have to explain your pain or suffering to Him, He KNOWS. He knows your frame, your make-up.
- Pray your thanks to Him.
- We all feel sorry for ourselves at times. It’s a human thing we do. Thankfulness is a great way to lift ourselves out of the pitty-party pit! I shared this in another blog, but when our children were younger (4, 6, 8, 12, 14), one summer for about two weeks, we had 3 kids in casts at the same time (No, I am not a negligent mom-it just happened). I called my mom to get some sympathy, because I was definitely discouraged about this. Surprisingly, she said to me, “Surely, you can find something to be thankful for in this situation.” Really, mom? But she was right! I could be thankful that no one hit their head, which would have been a lot more serious.
Concluding this series, my best advice to you is to never stop PRACTICING HIS PRESENCE, and it will help you set the climate in your home. Moms, your INFLUENCE is so much greater than you realize! As you pray and connect with God in all the big and little moments of your day, you will be welcoming Holy Spirit into your home!
Moms, remember Phillippians 4:5,
HE IS ALWAYS NEAR, SO LEAN INTO HIM.
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 