I didn’t have a praying mom. I didn’t even know how to pray except for the rote dinner prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed.” 

After marrying, my husband and I decided I should stay home with the kids. When we volunteered to work with the youth at our church, I noticed a family of teenagers who exuded a bold faith. I asked the mom how all her kids turned out so spiritually mature. She told me, “I spend a lot of time on my knees, Sally.” 

I determined to pray for my children even though we didn’t have any! I didn’t want them to follow my wandering and circuitous path of faith.

I searched the Scriptures for a mom who prayed for her kids. I found my mom after hearing a sermon on 1 Samuel where Hannah offered a prayer for her unborn child. Although my husband and I didn’t struggle with infertility, I gleaned nuggets of wisdom from Hannah’s prayers.

God listens to every prayer.

Hannah “prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.” Her hurts pierced deep. Infertility and taunting from the other wife left Hannah empty and hopeless. The wound slices deeper when we read God prevented her from birthing children. But on one visit to the Lord’s house, Hannah poured out her heart to God, “If you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11). The Lord heard her and opened her womb.

God remembers every request.

I don’t know what or who has deeply hurt you. Take that hurt and offer it to the Lord: The child who has special needs, the empty crib, the child behind in intelligence, the teenager who is angry and lashing out, the adult child who has left the faith and embraced the culture. God hears all our prayers. He remembers every request shouted, whispered, thought, or written.  God remembered Hannah and gave her five more children after Samuel.

God is our refuge in trying times.

In her hurt, Hannah sought refuge in God. We don’t know how many years Hannah visited the Lord’s house, but you can almost hear the unanswered question, “How long?” The the scriptures tell us to “trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).  Hannah completely trusted God during this of time of uncertainty and heartbreak.

Our prayers are priceless. 

Financially, prayer is free. But spiritually, Hannah paid the price. She vowed to give up her son if God would only allow her to conceive. Beyond Hannah’s request, God had divine plans for Samuel. Samuel became the moral and spiritual leader lacking during this time in Israel. Surrendering our children to the Lord allows God’s divine plan to unfold both now and in the future.

Our prayers are deathless. 

It wasn’t until years later I read and studied Revelation, and this verse stilled and thrilled my spirit:

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb when he took the scroll. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 5:8

This glimpse into heaven should thrill our hearts and empower our prayers. 

Our prayers for our children don’t evaporate. God doesn’t forget one. Instead, our unanswered prayers remain in golden bowls constantly before the Lord’s presence (Revelation 8:4).

Deposit your prayers in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, where they reside in God’s presence. 

Friend, pour out your heart like water before the Lord’s presence for the lives of your children. Cry out in those midnight feedings or sleepless nights (Lamentations 2:19).

Your prayers are building a legacy that no power, virus, or person can destroy.

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