Earlier this year, I began a new way of praying for my children. First, I praise the Lord for all the promises He has made about their future, and I pray about that future. I pray for the spouses who will be united with my children and their children and their future jobs and ministry. I follow up my “future prayers” with praises for their past. I get to celebrate God’s faithfulness in their lives concerning their health and friendships and schools and camp and mistakes and growth. Finally, I pray about their present. I praise the Lord for the day they are living today and petition Him for their current needs.
Because Mary Moore is the youngest in our family, I pray for her last. The prayers for the older 3 have a lot of consistencies, (differences too), but Mary Moore’s past was so radically different than the first 3, and as a result, her present has more challenges. I was convicted today in how I pray for her future….
For those of you who do not know, Pat and I adopted Mary Moore from Russia in the fall of 2001. She was 10 months old and weighed 8 &1/2 lbs. when we brought her back to Memphis. The things she suffered in utero and in the orphanage are not uncommon to those of many Russian orphans. As a result of her disadvantaged start, she deals with challenges today. She faces physical, social and academic obstacles as a routine.
It brings me such joy to praise the Lord for his faithfulness when it comes to Mary Moore’s past. He began breaking my heart for Russian orphans in 1989 when I spent a summer there as a Young Life missionary. He was doing the same thing in my husband’s heart before we even met. God’s plan for our family was to have 3 amazing biological kids first and when the time was right, He clearly called us to pursue the adoption of this precious child. He orchestrated every step and every day of that journey and chose us to rescue her and embrace her as our own. I love praising the Lord for her past. I love thinking about it and talking about it. I am blessed to be her mom and help her with the challenges she faces today. I know God hears my prayers for her and cares deeply for my daughter and I am quick to say that I trust Him and have faith that His plan for her future is perfect, but I lamented today that my actions and prayers invalidated my profession of real faith and trust.
When I pray for the older 3, it seems to be expected that they will go to college, have careers, get married, have kids, and have ministry opportunities. I bank on it, but when I pray for M2’s future, my petitions are much more guarded. I pray about these future things for M2, but add on, “It’s OK, God, if you say No. Your way is perfect. Your plans are great, so if you decide that she lives at home forever and doesn’t…,well, that will be great too, because you know best.”
WHAT THE WHAT????
It is 100% true, that God’s way is perfect for all of my children and all of us, and we should rejoice in his plan for our lives. He is God. He loves us. He can do anything and His ways are the best ways, but He certainly doesn’t need me to dumb down my requests. Am I really that lacking of faith, that I dilute my prayers because I think I understand the situation better than God does? How can I celebrate the miracle of M2’s past and God’s faithfulness so radically displayed in it and then not boldly approach the throne with a heart full of joy and expectation for the present and future? I say I trust Him, but do my actions say something different? Who am I to think God needs my help or permission in anything?
I am confessing these things, because I am not alone. I love the passage in Mark 9, where the father of a sick boy approaches Jesus for the healing of his son. This faithful dad trusts Jesus can heal his son, but the circumstances of his present and future seem so bleak, that his trust gets cloudy. When Jesus asks him if he believes that He can heal the boy, the dad humbly replies:
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (NKJV)
Dear friends, we all need to examine how our actions and prayers line up with our proclamations of faith and trust. We need to repent of the foolishness of limiting God. Ask Big. When God says “No”, your big request just got a big answer of blessing. If God says “Yes”, you get the special blessing of seeing your big requests answered by your Big God. His answers of “Yes” and “No” are not determined by your standard of what is normal or worthy.
Model the behavior of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Jesus used her as an example to pray and never give up. She just would not give up until the judge answered her. Follow the example of Jacob, who when he wrestled with the angel declared,
“I will not let You go unless You bless me!” Gen 32:26 (NKJV)
Our God is faithful. He has shown you his faithfulness in your past. He is faithful today and because He never changes, He will be faithful in the future. When we are faithful to praise Him and submit our petitions to Him, we get to witness just how powerful and loving and awesome He is.