Praying is an important part of my life. So much so, that I thought I would write a different post than usual and share five reasons why I think every mom should pray every day. Really, I think everybody–men, women, teens, and kids–should pray every day, but my reasons are specific to moms.
5 Reasons Moms Should Pray Every Day
Why Moms Should Pray #1– A Second to Be Still
A mom’s day is so busy and full of noise and touching. So much noise–yelling, crying, laughing, squeals, singing, talking, question-asking, etc. And so much touching–pulling, carrying, hand-holding, hugging, lifting, grabbing, poking, etc.
Prayer is an escape from the busy. It gives me a chance to stop, think, and reflect. It allows my soul to be still. My thoughts to God said quietly in my head are the only “sounds” and nobody is touching me. Like me, you can do yourself a favor and take a second to pray and be still before and after facing your day.
Why Moms Should Pray #2– A Time to Count Your Blessings
All moms have been there–the long, stressful, long, hard, long day. What if that day started with and ended with a prayer of gratitude? Wouldn’t it make your day just a little bit better?
Beginning the day with a prayer allows me to recognize my blessings which starts my day off on the right foot. Expressing gratitude helps me focus on what is right and good and beautiful around me. And, unless the day is pretty bad, it helps me remember to look for blessings more throughout the day. Ending my day with a prayer allows me to reflect on the day and think about what was right and good and beautiful.
When you think about it, God has blessed you and me with a lot. Some of our blessings might be different, but we all have them. There is literally always something to be grateful for. And literally all the blessings we enjoy are from God or made possible because of God. I believe the more we express gratitude, the more we see what there is to be grateful for. This quote is so true: “Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence.” Gratitude makes us happier! I don’t know a single mom who doesn’t want to be happier.
Why Moms Should Pray #3– A Moment to Be Humble
Motherhood is not having it all together or being perfect. It is guesswork. It’s trial and error. Motherhood is mistakes. We don’t know what we’re doing or how we will deal with this problem, this child, or this situation. Motherhood means putting others before ourselves. It means wiping bums, cleaning up unknown substances, and sacrificing. Motherhood takes humility.
People often confuse “humble” with being weak or a pushover. Not true! C.S. Lewis said it best, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Essentially, when we are humble, we don’t have to think we are lesser or lower than we are. We have to think of others more than ourselves. Mothers do that every day!
Humility is also being teachable. It means having your head bowed, your heart softened, and seeking to know what the Lord would have you do. Prayer gives us mothers a moment to turn to the source of truth and knowledge and to be humble!
Prayer for me is on my knees with my head bowed. My outer appearance reflects my inner state of reverence and humility. God is all-powerful and all-knowing yet He invites us (wants us!) to come to Him in prayer. If you need help with something (we moms always need help with something), whether it’s having your heart softened because you are mad at ____, or it’s having the energy to get through the day, or it’s having the understanding to relate to your child, use prayer and ask for help.
Why Moms Should Pray #4– A Chance to Be Better
I feel like “mom guilt” is something we moms all experience from time to time. We could be better at not yelling, we could be better at spending more time with this child, we could be better at helping this kid learn ____, etc. I think experiencing “mom guilt” is natural and not something to beat ourselves up over. Instead of letting it fester and get us down, we should embrace it and work with it!
I should clarify…. Sometimes (maybe often?) I think mom guilt comes from Satan. Satan wants us to believe that we’re not enough, that what we are doing doesn’t matter, and that we will never measure up. If you are feeling that kind of mom guilt, tell Satan to go away. The mom guilt I am talking about in the previous paragraph is the little nudges at our heart that are telling us how we can do and be better.
Prayer gives me the opportunity to reflect on my mom guilt feelings, see what areas of my life I should improve on, tell my Heavenly Father I will try harder the next day, and ask for His help in doing better. (Wow I would love some help around the house. Wouldn’t you? Well, God wants to help us! Let’s ask Him for help!)
We should always be trying to better ourselves. The beautiful thing about Jesus Christ’s atonement is that we have unlimited chances to repent and try again! Which is a good thing because we will never be perfect in this life. Personally, I don’t like the Yoda quote, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Because for real, trying is awesome! Trying means progress! Trying means you’re not giving up! I like this quote by Roy Bennett much better, “Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”
Why Moms Should Pray #5– An Opportunity to Set an Example
Moms, our kids are watching us. Have you noticed times when your kid does something that is totally from you? Obvious examples are when they start using a word or phrase you do (hopefully it’s not a bad one!). I knew I needed to simmer down when my toddler started saying, “What the heck?!” Just. Like. Me. I didn’t even realize I was saying that until he did.
Our kids like to imitate us and learn from us. They want to go on the big potty just like mommy, they want to put on makeup just like mommy, they want to drive the car just like mommy. The list continues.
I remember multiple times throughout my childhood walking past my parents’ bedroom door and seeing one of them kneeling in prayer. It made me respect them and want to be like them. My toddler likes to kneel down and fold his arms over the bed just like me. Moms, our kids are watching us. Let’s set an example for them and turn to God in prayer. If we take a moment or two every day to commune with God, to be still, to be grateful, to be humble, to try to be better, then maybe our children will too. Maybe now, maybe some day.
How to Pray
I’m guessing that some of you reading this do not believe in a higher power. Even if you don’t, I encourage you to try praying anyway! If you don’t give it a good shot then you may never know what you’re missing out on.
I believe praying definitely shouldn’t be a formula, but for the sake of those who have never done it before and need some guidance, here are the general steps I use when I pray.
1. Address God
I always begin my prayers with “Dear Heavenly Father” or “Dear gracious Heavenly Father” or something like that.
I am praying to God who I believe is literally my father in heaven. We are all His spirit sons and daughters. We have earthly parents (who created our bodies), but we also have heavenly parents (who created our spirits).
I won’t get into everything I believe here in this blog post, but in order to understand why I think prayer is important and why I address my Heavenly Father, it’s helpful to know that I believe there is a God who is all-powerful and who loves us infinitely and eternally.
The following statements about God our Father from here is helpful to understand.
“In addition to knowing that God is the Father of us all, we know these truths:
- All human beings are created in the image of God.
- Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and each has a divine nature and destiny.
- God watches over us during our mortal lives.
- God wants us to approach Him in prayer.”
2. Tell God What You are Grateful For
After addressing my Heavenly Father, I tell Him things that I am especially grateful for. Often my husband, my children, my good health, my safe home, etc. are among the list of things that I feel very grateful for on a given day.
3. Repent and Ask for Forgiveness
If there is something you need to repent of, ask forgiveness about, or do better on, communicate these with God. You can humbly turn to Him for guidance on how to be better on a specific issue.
4. Ask God for Blessings
After thanking God, ask Him for specific blessings. I believe that God wants to bless us. If you think about it, don’t you want to give your children good things/good experiences? If you’re like me, you love to see your children happy, thriving, and healthy. God wants good things for us too.
Of course sometimes God gives us challenges or allows things to happen to us so that we can learn and grow. (Wouldn’t you agree? My most challenging life experience to date–a very painful health complication–gave me the perspective and humility I needed to grow leaps and bounds physically, mentally, and spiritually.) Essentially, we are here on earth to be tested and tried, so God will not remove all growing experiences from us, but He does love us and will help us along. He wants to bless us.
5. End in the Name of Jesus Christ
We have been asked to do all things–including worshiping and communicating with God–in Jesus Christ’s name. I also believe ending prayers in the name of Jesus Christ is a sign of reverence for and recognition of Jesus who enables us to repent, grow spiritually, and live with God again through His atonement and sacrifice.
If you would like to study more about why we end prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, this article is an informative and insightful resource.
It’s Your Turn
Okay, now it’s your turn! If you’re not already praying daily, give it a try! I’d love to hear about your experience.
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Well said and beautiful! Keep up the good work! ❤️
Wow thank you, Natasha!