Praying for Passion

After yesterday’s post, I’m thinking about prayers; mine, in particular.  Not long ago another mom asked me, “What’s the most significant thing you pray as a mom?”  I thought about that for a while and immediately had dozens of prayer topics racing through my mind– prayers for my kids to grow in Christ-confidence and joy, prayers for my husband to rest in God’s favor, prayers for our family to leave behind a legacy of faith… the list of significant prayers seemed endless. Then I thought about the prayer that I toss Heavenward nearly every day; a prayer for myself.  And at the risk of sounding selfish, I answered my friend:


“I think one of my most significant  prayers morning after morning is simply this: that God would give me a passion for the life I’m living, because sometimes it’s just hard to face another day of the same-old thing.”


As C.S. Lewis once said, “The thing is to rely on God… Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done.”


After that conversation, I came home and paged through my prayer journals.  Sure enough, the prayer I’d shared with my friend was scribbled on nearly every page of every journal I’d kept in the past five years. Interestingly, in the past five years, I’ve come to truly love my call as a mommy even though I never dreamed I’d STILL be stuck in the diaper pail.


 I love to pray with girlfriends. There’s something indescribably sweet about storming Heaven’s throne with sisters in Christ. So, today, I thought I’d invite you to eavesdrop on a past conversation with the Lord. I found it scribbled in green ink in  my 2008 prayer journal. Ironically, I prayed nearly the same thing this morning as I faced yet another normal day in the throes of mommyhood.


 If you were here with me, I’d grab your hand and pray the same thing for you.  After all, what mom couldn’t use an extra dose of passion.  It’s my earnest hope that the honest cry of my heart will in some small way minister to the cry of yours…


December 4, 2008
(Written just six weeks before the birth of my fifth child)


Father,


I’m sitting in the lights of the Christmas tree, in the dark quiet of morning, and I’m longing to be the woman you’ve created me to be.  I want to be a woman who is wildly in love with Jesus. I want to be passionate about the work you’ve designed me to complete.  I want to speak life, to love well, to leave this corner of the world ABLAZE with Your passion flowing through me.


Yet my day ahead looks like this- five loads of laundry, a meal to deliver to a tired mom, a tantrum-prone toddler to ‘tame’, tator tot casserole to prepare, a kicking baby in my womb to carry and children to chauffer.  Oh, show me how to do the daily grind with passion.  Make me beautiful inside my heart with the lasting charm of a quiet and gentle spirit which is so precious to you.  Grant me your love for the children with whom you’ve entrusted me. Help me to see my husband through your eyes. Transform me into the wife he needs to become the man you want him to be.  Help me to cherish the life you’ve chosen for me.


I love you, Lord.


I’d love to hear your answer to the question my friend asked:  What’s YOUR most significant prayer as a mom? Take a moment to leave a comment if you can. Let’s spur one another on through the dailyness!




Today’s Treasure:  “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”        
                                                        -Proverbs 8:34