Pray To Be a God-centered Mom

Life is full of NEW Seasons, and embracing change is an essential part of our lives. I love fall and everything about it here in North Carolina! It's truly a beautiful place to live. 

We are also entering a new season in our FLOURISH Women's Ministry where we will focus our attention on the beauty and mission of Motherhood! For the past few months, our focus has been on embracing who we are in Christ. Our prayer team emails, blog posts, social media, have all reflected that theme. That season is now coming to a close, and it's time for a change. 

The Lord has impressed on my heart that the mothers in our church need special encouragement. Parenting is not for the faint of heart. They say that the days are long and the years are short. I want to help the moms in our church see the eternal perspective in the day to day grind of taking care of young children, long, sleepless nights, getting up early, navigating the teen years, carpooling, seeing your children get married, move away, go to college, start school, make mistakes, and all the in-betweens that we experience as Mothers. I want to help women see that in the tedious, mundane moments of changing a diaper, you are caring for a sweet baby that will grow up one day and make a choice to live for God, or choose a different path. It's vital that we love, nurture, pray for, discipline, and cherish these little ones, so that we can bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Discipleship starts in your home, as a young Mom, and continues on as we lay the groundwork for what our children believe about God. So, I pray that this next season of emails about the beauty and mission of motherhood are a blessing to you. 

Becoming a Godly Mother 

Being a Mother is one of the greatest joys of my life. God has truly blessed our family, and I am so grateful for the precious children that I have had the privilege to raise to adulthood. But there were many bumps along the way. There were hard days, long days, days that we had cereal for dinner, and days that the kids cried when we tried so hard to make them happy. 

I specifically remember being a young mom, when I just had my first two precious children, and we moved away from everyone we knew and loved to live in Virginia for my husband to attend a Bible College. We were literally starting from scratch. We didn’t know anyone. We started going to a new church, and my husband had a new job. He was serving as a youth pastor and delivering pizzas on the side to make a little extra money! We only had one car, so when he delivered pizza, I was stuck at home with all the kiddos! God was teaching me during this time away from all my family and friends that He was our provider. He was also teaching me how to be the mother that He had called me to be. He was shaping me as a young woman, mother, and wife. He was growing my faith, stretching me out of my comfort zone, and teaching me to rely on Him. God began to teach me what it means to be a godly mother. 

When Grant had the car to deliver pizzas, I often times put the two kids in the stroller and walked down to a local park. The park had ducks and a pond so I would bring any leftover pieces of bread and we would feed the ducks. It was so much fun and a special memory that I still have to this day. Just a few years ago, we were in that neck of the woods traveling, and we stopped by that very park. All of those old memories came flooding back and and reminded me of what it was like to be a young mom again with one car and two kids on a very thin budget to live on! But I treasure those memories. Those were special times, even if I didn’t know it at that time. God brought amazing friends into our life through a sweet church family that embraced us so lovingly! He provided every need we had. And he taught me the importance of being a godly mother.

Being a godly mother means having God at the center of your life. Living a life that pleases God impacts every aspect of our life, and that overflows into motherhood. It’s prioritizing our relationship with God, obeying His commands, walking in His way, and living out that example for our children to see. Being a godly mother means that God is at the center of our life, not our children. Even though our children are to be treasured, valued, loved, and nurtured, they are gifts from God to be stewarded well. They are not the center of our life; we must have a foundation that places God at the center. There are times where we, as godly mothers, must tell our children "no". We must set a healthy boundary. We must make them eat their vegetables over giving them what they want to eat. Being a godly mother means sometimes saying "no" to allowing them to hang out with certain friends. It means praying for them when you’d much rather sleep because you’re worried about them. Being a godly mother means you want God‘s will for their life more than you want your will for their life.

As we focus on the beauty and mission of motherhood, I want to encourage all of us as moms that the eternal impact we can have on our children can far reach further than just this generation. A godly mother can impact the lives of her descendants for generations to come. The prayers of a godly mother can change the trajectory of a generation. Let us not underestimate the impact that our life can have on our children not in just this life, but for eternity. For this reason, our relationship with God must be real and personal. We must have an honest and real relationship with God that our children see us live out and model for them. 

Prayer Tip: Pray to be a God-Centered Mom

One of the things that I did when my children were little was, I recited Ephesians 6:1-2 every time I changed their diaper. This reinforces the importance of them obeying their parents. I was teaching them that there was an authority. God is the authority in my life, and I was the authority that God had placed in their life. This is something very important that we must teach our children. That we all have an authority that God has placed over us, and we must submit to that authority. Of course, I am not talking about cases of abuse or toxic authority. I’m talking about children submitting to the loving parents that God has placed over them. One truth that I tried to teach my children over the years is that their father and I wanted God‘s best for them and for their life, more than any other person on the planet. 

Life is not perfect, and many times the images we have in our head of what a perfect mom is, will not line up with reality. As moms, we strive so hard to be exactly what our children need. I want to encourage you today that God has called you to be the mother to that child or children that He has placed in your home. And you can walk in confidence knowing that God has given you everything that you need to be an amazing mom to those precious children.

2 Peter 1:13

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 

If God has given you children, He has given you everything you need to raise those children, through the power of the Holy Spirit, through His Word. 

Here are some simple things that I have learned over the years of parenting: Pray about everything! Yes, pray about the birthday parties and the decision of where to put them into school, and when to put them into school, and for their friends, and for their future spouse, and for their safety. All of the things regarding your child need to be prayed over. And who will pray harder for their child than a godly mother? Over the years, you will see God answer prayers in your child’s life. The number one prayer that we should pray for our children is that they would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior is the best decision I’ve ever made in my life, and I can hope for nothing more that each of my children will have a fervent relationship with Christ. I accepted Christ at the young age of seven, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without him leading me, guiding me, helping me and directing my life. 

As we learn about the beauty and mission of motherhood, I encourage you to put God at the center of your life. Rely on His wisdom to be the mother that He wants you to be. Remember that you don’t have to figure everything out on your own when you join hands with God in the community that He has put around you. 

Prayer Points: 

• Lord, help me to be the godly mother that You want me to be. 

• Jesus, help me to put You at the center of my life.

• Lord, help me to model for my kids a real and personal relationship with You. 

• Holy Spirit, equip and empower me with Your divine power so that I can be a godly Mother in Your strength. 

Prayer, 

Father God, I come before You in the might name of Jesus, and I humbly ask for Your help. Allow me to see the beauty and mission of Motherhood. Let me be the kind of Mom that honors You in all I do. I pray for Your Holy Spirit to equip and empower me with wisdom and discernment to raise the precious children You have blessed me with. On the hard days, give me grace. On the fun days, give me joy. Let me not forget that I am doing holy work of raising the next generation of devoted disciples for You. And I will give You all the praise. 

In Jesus' Name, Amen

In Christ Alone, 

Michelle Staubs