PrayingWithoutCeasing | Kristi's Morning Devotional

Good Morning and Happy Mother’s Day!

This morning my thoughts are on Samuel, the priest’s mother. (I Samuel chapters 1 & 2)

Hannah had no children and her heart ached. She was the second wife in a plural marriage, which was common in that day. Her husband’s other wife had children and taunted her with unkind comments.

Each year the whole family went to the tabernacle to worship. This year in particular, Hannah poured out her heart to the Lord. She wept as she prayed.

“When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship. ¹⁰Hannah was heartbroken and was crying as she prayed, ¹¹ “Lord All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I promise to give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut.”

^12-13Hannah prayed silently to the Lord for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴“How long are you going to stay drunk?” he asked. “Sober up!”

^15-16“Sir, please don’t think I’m no good!” Hannah answered. “I’m not drunk, and I haven’t been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I’ve been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.”

¹⁷Eli replied, “Go home. Everything will be fine. The God of Israel will answer your prayer.”

¹⁸“Sir, thank you for being so kind to me,” Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.¹⁹Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the Lord blessed Elkanah and Hannah ²⁰with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the Lord for him.” I Samuel 1:9-20 CEV

Many of us have cried over our children. Praying God’s best for them. Asking the Lord to protect them, give me peace and comfort, provide them with His best. And still others have cried out to the Lord to have children.

That’s what mothers do!

As a mother with years of experience in praying with and for her children, I encourage you to never give up. Your prayers are not in vain.

“…The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].” James 5:16b AMP

Last night a small group of neighbors got together for prayer. Not just any prayer but prayer with a purpose.

“Our Lord, everything you do is kind and thoughtful, ¹⁸and you are near to everyone
whose prayers are sincere. ¹⁹You satisfy the desires of all your worshipers, and you come to save them when they ask for help. ²⁰You take care of everyone who loves you, but you destroy the wicked. ²¹I will praise you, Lord, and everyone will respect your holy name forever.” Psalm 145:17-21 CEV

When we come to the Father in prayer, we are saying “I can’t do this on my own. I need Your direction, Your intervention, I need Your help – Your answer”. That’s the kind of prayer the Father gets involved in.

“Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! ¹⁶So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:15-16 CEV

I encourage those who pray to keep a prayer journal. One where you not only write the request but also write the answer. One friend said last night that she periodically goes back and reads her journal and then writes P.T.L. beside the answered prayer. Praise the Lord! It builds our faith when we see the answers.

As we were finishing up our “road to the cross” devotionals I came across these verses written by John.

“Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.” John 20:30-31 CEV

John recorded the miracles of Jesus so that our faith would be in Jesus. Writing down our requests and the answers reminds us and others that we can put our trust in Jesus. We can roll our cares over on Him because we know He cares for us.

We can have faith in Him to answer in time of need. Now that’s prayer with a purpose – purposely involving God, letting Him work and bring the answer.

Tag: PrayingWithoutCeasing

A Praying Mother

Pray with Purpose