“To you I lift up my eyes. O you who are throned in the heavens.”
– Psalm 123:1
Is that not an awesome verse to start a Psalm, to start a day, to start anything we’re doing in our lives, to start with lifting up our eyes to the one who is enthroned in the heavens? So on this Mother’s Day as we read Psalm 123:1, I actually want to invite a special guest, my wife, Heather, to lead us to lift up our eyes to the one who is enthroned in the heavens and to pray for women in general and moms specifically in light of Mother’s Day. So will you join with me, with her now, as we lift up our eyes to the one who is enthroned in the heavens.
A Celebratory Prayer for Mothers
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day where we celebrate mothers and the influence they’ve had on our lives. Thank you for my personal mother, who you transformed and redeemed and took into glory. God, I’m so grateful for her influence on my life. Thank you for the many ladies who have invested in me to teach me life lessons and how to live out your word.
I pray that all the ladies listening right now, whether they’re a mom or not, would see opportunities to love and encourage those around them in need of a mother figure. Thank you that you are using women who are listening, to teach children your ways and point them towards Christ. Lord, your word says that children are a heritage from the Lord and I thank you for the opportunity you’ve given moms to love, nurture, and shepherd their children for the glory of God.
We know, Lord, we cannot do it on our own and we beg you to grant us your wisdom, grace, patience, and kindness with our children, both young and old, as we long to show them your ways, Lord. Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters listening, who are struggling this Mother’s Day, for those like me, who’ve lost their mother either recently or many years ago. I know times of celebration like this can be difficult and heart wrenching.
Psalm 123:1 Prays for Healthy Motherly Relationships
For those whose relationship with their mom is not what they would like for it to be or for mothers whose relationship with their children is strained or heartbreaking, Lord, please give them your peace, your comfort, and your strength today and grant them the ability to praise you even during their sadness and despair. Lord, I pray for women who long to have children, but for whatever reason are having difficulty. Lord, you know the desires of their hearts and the tears that they cry, the longing to be a mother. I ask that you would be their strength when they’re weak and their comfort when they’re hurting and their peace in turmoil. I pray that you would give them the desires of their heart and may your will be done in each of their situations.
For those who’ve lost children through miscarriage or even through abortion. Lord, comfort them in a way that only your Spirit can. Thank you for caring about our deepest hurts and struggles. Lord, thank you for withholding children from David and I for a time as difficult as it was many years ago. I believe that you are sovereign and have a far better plan for our lives than we do. Thank you for beginning our family through adoption in Kazakhstan, through biological children and then another adoption from China.
Psalm 123:1 Thanks God for the Children of Mothers
I praise you for what you taught me through a failed adoption to Nepal and the fruit that has come out of a difficult and sad circumstance. Lord, you have blessed us beyond words. I pray specifically for others who are waiting to adopt internationally or domestically. Would you make their heart strong during this time of waiting, prepare them for what’s ahead. For the moms who serve as foster parents, please uphold them with your righteous right hand.
You are the healer of broken hearts, Lord. Thank you that you can redeem any situation. I also pray specifically for the moms of special needs children. Father, give them grace for the days. Sustain them in unique ways for the task you have given them to care for their children. Lord, we are so helpless without you. And finally Lord, thank you for our new child in China, JD, waiting for us to bring him into our family. Thank you for pursuing me, pursuing us, Lord, for adopting us as children of God. I am always amazed at how you work. Lord, we yield our will to you. Bless your name for you are good. Your love endures forever. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
