One week of inspiring and practical examples of praying for your children and grandchildren.
With Moms in the School of Prayer – Part 1
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
We all know it is important, but we are not always as consistent in praying as we should be! This post will help you see into the practices of mothers and grandmothers just like you. Their personal stories will provide practical insight on how to pray for your children and grandchildren. It is my hope that their practices will encourage you in what you are already doing and inspire you to incorporate new or additional practices of prayer for your children and grandchildren.
If you read through the first three parts of the series and still struggle with your consistency, hang on until the final post in this series! There is hope and grace for those of us that find it hard to be consistent in some of these spiritual matters.
I encourage you to read the story of Hannah and her baby Samuel in 1 Samuel 1-2:11. Also, please take time to read Luke 1 and see the hearts of the expectant mothers, Elizabeth and Mary. These are just two of many Biblical passages that will inspire you toward praying that God will be honored in the lives of your children and grandchildren.
We asked several ladies that have been friends of our family for many years, ranging from young mothers to grandmothers, to share with us how they have learned to pray for their children and grandchildren. These are real people. Not perfect Christians and not perfect mothers.
These ladies have demonstrated faithfulness in this area, but all will quickly tell you that they are not promoting themselves as perfect in any way. They each continually want to learn from others. In fact, one commented, “I can certainly tell you lots of mistakes I have made, lol!” Praying for your children and grandchildren is a humbling privilege.
That in itself is a key to good parenting, the humble admission that we do not always do everything correctly. And in those imperfect times, it is such a blessing to know that our God is available for us to turn to Him in prayer, confession, and thanksgiving, as students in the school of prayer. If you have not read this classic before, pick up a copy of Andrew Murray’s, With Christ in the School of Prayer. Our greatest instruction in prayer is to know Christ more. In the final post we will also include a list of additional resources about praying for your family.
Let’s meet the ladies who will share some of their prayer practices with us this week!
For this prayer series we have chosen ladies from areas where we lived and served in ministry in the past.
Joyce Aylor (Mimi): Children/grandchildren: 2 sons, and one daughter; 7 grandchildren from age 3-18. The Aylors served at Champion Forest Baptist Church where my husband and I grew up. They have been special friends whom we have admired for 40 years!
Linita Chung (“Our only grandchild just turned 1 year old. I am ‘grooming’ her to call me “Grandma”, but she seems to be looking at me when she calls out, ‘Na-na’!”): 5 children (30, 29, 26, 23 and 14); 1 year old granddaughter. We got to know the Chungs and always appreciated their love for family as Linita’s husband, Ed, was a coach for our son’s basketball team in Houston. Their children span 16 years, but every one of them would always show up to cheer for one another; they demonstrated family!
Kathy Cooksey (Grammy): 8 children (ages 9-27) + son, David, is in heaven; 6 grandchildren from age 2 down to 6 weeks! Kathy grew up in the youth group with me at Champion Forest Baptist Church and down the street from my husband. We have watched her growing family from a distance for many years and are enjoying reconnecting with them.
Monica Cruz (Marmee) “It is old English, which means mother and can be used for grandmother.”: 3 children that range in age from 33 to 14 years old; 2 grandchildren are 2 years and almost 2 months old. Monica and her husband Zeke are like family to us. Zeke served on staff with my husband for around 10 years in the Houston area.
Jamie Essary: 15-year-old son, 12-year-old daughter, 10-year-old daughter, and 8-year-old son. Jamie and her husband were students in our youth ministry at Hunter’s Glen Baptist Church in Plano, TX. They live in Southeast Asia. God’s hand on their lives was always evident.
Julie Marler (Mammy): 3 children (41-45), 9 grandchildren from 8-20 years old. Julie and her husband were youth parents and volunteers when we served at First Baptist Church in Tomball, TX from 1990-1994. It is amazing to see them all grown with so many children of their own. Combining her husband’s great talent and Julie’s amazing eye for decorating, they have remodeled some amazing homes! They spend a lot of grandparent time at ball fields and gyms cheering on their family!
Kayla Sanders (mommy): “My husband (Thomas) and I have 3 adventurous and unique children and another one on the way this fall! Isaiah is our oldest and will be turning 7 this September. Owen is our second born son and will be 5 this October. Emma is currently the princess and just turned two this past May.”: I first got to know Kayla when we traveled to Haiti together, around 10 years ago. Kayla overflowed with the love and joy of the Lord as she ministered to hundreds of children there! Kayla and Thomas did not have children at that time. They were members of our church, Calvary Baptist in Rosenberg, TX, along with her husband’s parents.
Stay tuned to find out about #8!
These 8 mothers have been praying for their children for a total of 670 years, not counting our guest in the final post, whose years of parenthood will push the total over 700!!!
You could sit with every one of these mothers and glean tremendous Godly insight from them. None of them would ever claim to be perfect parents. That is another reason for which they are worth a listen! It is humbling to consider the mentors and friends that the Lord has given me through the years.
I hope you will join us this week in the “school of prayer” for our children and grandchildren!
We look forward to enlisting many other friends for similar “schools” from which we can all learn about building a Harvesting Home! Learning never stops, and we can all learn from one another. Please subscribe to Harvesting Home for notification when the next blog post is available to read!
Stay tuned all week and receive 31 Days of Prayer with the last post!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.