"Mother's Day Prayer" from Sunday, written by Caroline Mercer

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this beautiful day that we can gather together and worship you. Thank you for this church, and the community here at Wilkesboro Baptist Church.

Lord, we come before you today, remembering Mother’s Day

And that there are many feelings that come with this day,

All of us have mothers

     Some of us are mourning mothers who are no longer with us

     Some of us have had challenges in our relationship with our mother

     Some of us are mothers

     Some of us have a deep longing to be mothers

     Some mothers have experienced the heartache of losing a child

Lord, we pray for those in our church who are grieving today. Bring them comfort and peace. We turn to you for healing in our relationships. Please bring restoration. We ask you to help us forgive and seek reconciliation in broken relationships.

Don’t let us lose hope and forget what you have done in our lives or for us through Christ, and that you answer prayers and hear the cries of our hearts. You are near the broken-hearted; you are with us through trials and troubles.

We make our plans, but we know that Your plan prevails. And although we do not always understand your plans, we know that your purpose is for our good and your glory. We trust you and your plan and how you are working out our lives. Lord, give us the strength to trust you.

Thank you for mothers, the women who raised us, the women who invested in us, the women who loved us.

Thank you, Lord, for the women in our lives who have been given the gift of children. We pray for each of them that they will see what a beautiful gift children are, and take the responsibility of stewarding this gift well, to further your kingdom, and increase your glory.

Lord, for the mother with littles, who is exhausted, weary, spiritually malnourished, and just trying to survive. Please bless her with energy, patience, and rest. Help her to persevere on the hard days and seek you for her strength. Help her to remember the high calling of motherhood, in raising up the next generation for you.

We pray for the mother of older children, with sleepless nights of worry about her child’s decisions and future. Lord, give her peace, and remind her that you are in control even when things seem so out of control. Watch over her children, guide them, be with them, and draw them to your truth.

We pray for the mother of adult children, that she may find peace that can only come from God, knowing that God is sovereign over every person’s story and he is still at work. And we pray that her children already know and serve God, but if they do not, Lord, please open their eyes to your truth, give them a desire to know you, and put people around them who will be a light and lead them to you.

We pray for foster moms that you will give them the strength to be strong for the children they serve and love, that you will provide a support community so that they don’t feel alone. Help them to feel your presence as they walk through heartbreaking situations, and help them to provide a safe space for these children to find hope and healing.

Lord, we praise you for grandmas, who are still pouring into their grandchildren, loving and caring for them. And we praise you for the many surrogate grandmas who have blessed families in our church who do not have grandparents nearby.

We praise you, Lord, for the spiritual mothers in our lives who encourage, support, and walk with us, and show us what it looks like to follow you through the good and the bad.

Lord, build up the women of our church, help them to find community and family. Bring a spiritual mother into their lives to encourage and mentor them. Bring a spiritual daughter into their lives that they can pour into and walk with. Strengthen their families, strengthen their marriages, help them to grow in their faith and desire for You. Almighty God, remind them that you are with them through the mountains and the valleys.

Thank you for creating the family to point us back to you and reflect the relationship of the Trinity. Thank you for the hope we have in wholeness and restoration through Jesus Christ.

Most of all, we are thankful for your son, who you sent to die on a cross, a death we deserve. Please forgive us for our selfishness, and help us to serve and love you, our families, and others the way Christ came to serve and love us.

Lord, thank you for this day, and for the reminder to be thankful for the relationships you have given us to steward. Please help us to serve you well through them.

In Your Most Holy Name we pray, Amen