Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed. (Psalm 103:1-6 NIV)
I have moms on my heart today.
The first mom is severely low on iron, to the point of needing an iron infusion. In the midst of trying to work a full-time job and care for her five-year-old, she’s navigating extreme exhaustion and other physical symptoms. The medical system is waiting on paperwork before it will schedule the infusion that will help her. While she knows the Lord is her healer and her strength, the battle is real.
The second mom just had her second baby at age 45—twenty years after her first baby—and is adjusting to life with a new husband, a new infant, and motherhood at a very different stage of life. While she knows the faithfulness of her God, the battle is real.
Another mom noticed a growing lump in her breast four months ago, met with a surgeon, and is now waiting on evidently incompetent medical offices to provide the imaging that the surgeon needs to perform a biopsy. She has four teens and preteens at home and is trying to move forward with life while others’ decisions are holding her back. While she knows God doesn’t give her a spirit of anxiety, the battle is real.
Another mom is interceding for her grown daughter and family, who found out that the townhouse they live in is going to be sold. They have ten days to either buy it or move. The mom, who lives out of state and is in her 70s, can’t be much physical help but has mustered her prayer warrior friends to intercede for favor and a good outcome for her daughter and family. While she knows Jehovah Jireh can provide for all of their needs in His timing, the battle is real.
A special group of moms in northeast Nigeria are interceding for their children today. On June 29, according to an Al-Jazeera article, “…assailants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group stormed a secondary school in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, which has faced years of violence by armed groups…At least three people were killed in the attack, including a soldier and a teacher…[E]ight people, including the school’s vice principal, have been freed..[But]25 female students, 11 male students and one staff member were still being held.”* While they may know that authorities are looking for their children, the battle against shock and despair is real.
Would you join me in praying for these situations?
God of Strength, Wisdom, and Discernment,
We praise you for all you are to moms and their families. Thank you for their hearts to serve you and honor you with their lives and for your Presence in their battles.
Today we pray your abundant grace and your deep Shalom peace be with them.
Comfort those who mourn; give wisdom to those who search.
Be their strength, their shield, and their hope. Be the calm in the eye of the hurricane. Remind them that you are the Solid Rock on which they stand.
Meet all their needs, wants, hopes, and worries. Take care of husbands, children, parents, and especially these precious women. Show them that you are the One who calms the storm and strengthens them in the battle.
Help them to lean into you and to trust you. Remind them that they are precious in your sight, fearfully and wonderfully made, and that you love them far more than they could ever ask or imagine.
Abba, we pray this in Jesus’s name. AMEN.