Title: A Christian Mother’s Prayers (Mother’s Day)
Series: Prayer 101 (Sermon # 3)
Date Preached: May 11, 2008
Text: Proverbs 14:1
COPYRIGHT © Joe La Rue, 2008
Introduction
A. Hook: A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. She explained all about the magnetic process, how a magnet attracts iron and picks it up and the reasons why it does. She covered her subject thoroughly, and her students knew all about magnets. The next day in a written test, she included this question: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?” When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word ‘Mother.’
B. Moms do seem to spend a large amount of their time picking up things. Maybe that’s why this other story I heard about happened. It seems that a four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their Mom with a house plant. They had used their own money to buy it, Dad said, and she was thrilled that they would have done something like that. The older of them said with a sad face, “There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ‘Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.”
C. Well, today is Mother’s Day, and I want to spend the next twenty minutes or so talking to about the prayers of Christian moms and grandmas. Take your Sermon Notes page out of the program, and lets get going. If you have your Bibles with you, open up to Prov 14:1. It’s also printed for you on the Sermon Notes page. Listen as I read. Prov 14:1. The Bible says:
“The wise woman builds her house; but the foolish tears hers down with her own hands.” (Prov 14:1, NASB).
D. Now, back in Bible times women didn’t build houses. Women didn’t hammer wood together or lay brick. So, when the Bible talks about a woman building her house, it isn’t talking about women going into the house construction business. No, what this is talking about is women going into the people construction business. It’s talking about women building up the people who make up their household: women building up their husbands and especially their children and grandchildren. “The wise woman builds her house.” A wise woman invests in the lives of her loved ones and helps them become all that God wants them to be. Now, listen to another scripture. The Bible says in Psalm 127:1,
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1, NIV).
E. Okay, let me bring this together. The wise woman builds her house, but unless the Lord builds it she is laboring in vain—it’s not going to get built. A wise woman tries to build up her family, but unless the Lord is doing the building, the woman’s efforts won’t succeed. What does this mean? It means that—this is a blank on your outline, fill it in please—it means that the wise woman is going to be praying that God will build up her house, that God will build up her family to be all that it should be for His glory. In other words, Christian ladies should want to leave a Godly legacy for their children and grandchildren.
F. Trans: Ladies: do you want to be wise? Do you want to build your houses for God? Do you want to leave a Godly legacy for your children and grandchildren, so that they will be devoted to God? Let me give you three ways that you can do that. First,
I. Dedicate Your Children And Grandchildren To God.
A. If you want to leave a true legacy of faith for your children and grandchildren, you’ve got to give them to God. Raising your children to know and love and obey God needs to be the greatest goal of your life!
1. ILL: This is what Hannah, in the Old Testament, did. She was married to Elkanah, and Elkanah loved her very much. However, as was the custom in that time, Elkanah had another wife named Peninnah. Peninnah had born Elkanah children, but Hannah was barren. Now, even today, barrenness is a horrible tragedy for couples who want to have a child. But the tragic nature of the condition was magnified in their society, because a wife who was unable to give her husband children was regarded as a second-class wife. So this weighed tremendously on Hannah. Even though Elkanah reassured her of his love, she wanted to have a baby of her own. So, she prayed to God for a child. We’re going to read her prayer: it’s found in 1 Sam 1:11. As I read it, I want you to listen to how she dedicated the child she would conceive to God. Listen:
“And Hannah made this vow: ‘O LORD Almighty, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.’” (1 Sam 1:11, NLT)
2. Did you hear what Hannah said? “God, my child will be Yours for his entire lifetime.” She dedicated her unborn child to God. Now, that implies that Hannah wanted her child to be a Godly person. You don’t dedicate a child to God if you don’t want that. So, Hannah wanted her child to be Godly; Hannah wanted her child to grow up to love God and obey God and serve God; and so, Hannah dedicated her child to God. She had settled the matter in her heart: this was going to be God’s child. So she prayed her prayer of dedication: “God, my child will be Yours for his entire lifetime.”
3. Ladies: Have you settled the issue? Have you dedicated your children, or your grandchildren, to God? Some people think, ‘Well, of course I have!,’ but the answer may not be quite so clear-cut.
a. Those of you moms and grandmas with young children still at home, what will your reaction be someday if your child says to you that he or she feels called by God to be a missionary, or a Christian school teacher, or a youth minister, or a preacher? I doubt that it will surprise you that those callings are not as financially lucrative as, say, becoming a doctor or an engineer or an investment banker. Will you encourage your child to follow God’s calling, or will you encourage him or her to study for a profession that pays better?
b. Those who have truly given their children to God, like Hannah did, will always encourage their children to follow God’s leading, regardless of the consequences.
4. This is the first step, then, to building a Godly legacy by building your house for God: dedicate your children and grandchildren to God by actually praying a prayer of commitment to God: “God, I give my children to you. They are Yours, and I will do everything that I can to help them come to love and serve You. I give them to You.”
B. Perhaps some of you, though, worry that it’s too late to dedicate your children to God. Your children are already grown, and perhaps they don’t seem as close to God as you would like them to be. What should you do?
1. Well, if there’s one thing that the Bible teaches, it’s that it’s never too late, and no one is too lost to turn to God. That’s the wonderful promise of the Bible: no one is too lost to turn to God. No one is beyond the reach of His love. No matter what a person has done, no matter how far gone a person seems to be, God still loves them and sent Jesus to die for them!
2. So, if you worry that it’s too late to dedicate your children to God, let me assure you that it isn’t. Even if your children are grown, and even if they are not as committed to Christ as you would like, you should still dedicate them to God, just like Hannah did. You should say to God, “God, I give my daughter, I give my son, to You, and I will do everything that I can to help them see your love for them, so that they can be the person you want them to be.”
3. It’s never too late, ladies. As long as we have the breath of life, it’s never too late.
C. Trans: So the first step to leaving a legacy of faith is to dedicate your children to God. The second step is to
II. Train Your Children And Grandchildren For God.
A. You have to teach them about God and His love for them. It’s more important than teaching them their ABC’s and their 123’s.
1. In the Bible, Timothy’s mother and grandmother both realized this. Timothy was one of the leaders in the early church. He was one of the Apostle Paul’s closest confidants, and a fellow missionary with him. But, Timothy had grown up in a house with a dad who was not a believer. Yet Timothy became this wonderful, faith-filled man who was totally devoted to Jesus. The Apostle Paul told us how that happened when he wrote these words to Timothy:
“I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother, Eunice, and your grandmother, Lois.” (2 Tim 1:5, NLT).
“You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 3:15, NLT).
2. Ladies, what this means is that Timothy came to faith because of the godly example and godly teaching of his mom and grandma. Ladies, do you talk to your children and grandchildren about God?
a. Do you share with them how much Jesus means to you, and how thankful you are that He saved you?
b. Do you talk to your children and grandchildren about your faith, and why it’s important to you?
c. Do you tell them how much God loves them? Do you read to them from the Bible?
d. Do you help them understand things from a Christian perspective?
e. That’s what Timothy’s mom and grandma did, and that’s why he became a strong believer in Jesus. His mom and grandma trained him for God.
f. We need women today who will do the same!
B. Ladies, will you commit to training your children and grandchildren for God? Will you commit that you will be like Lois, and like Eunice, and talk with your children and grandchildren about your faith? That’s what women who want to build their house do! And, again, ladies, please remember: even if your children are grown and out of the house, it’s not too late to share your faith with them. It’s not too late to talk to them about God, and your relationship with Him. It’s not too late to remind them how much Jesus loves them.
C. Trans: Okay, so the first step to building your house and leaving a godly legacy is to dedicate your children to God, the second step is to train them for God, and the third step is to keep them before God.
III. Keep Your Children And Grandchildren Before God.
A. You see, you keep praying for your children and grandchildren. You don’t give up. You hold them continually before God, asking for His blessing and influence in their lives. In the Bible, there is a certain woman who really teaches us about this. It’s found in Matt 15:21-28. Listen as I read it:
“Jesus then left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her.’ But Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. ‘Tell her to leave,’ they said. ‘She is bothering us with all her begging.’ Then he said to the woman, ‘I was sent only to help the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep—not the Gentiles.’ But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, ‘Lord, help me!’ ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs,’ he said. ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master’s table.’ ‘Woman,’ Jesus said to her, ‘your faith is great. Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was instantly healed.” (Matt 15:21-28, NLT).
B. Did you hear how this woman kept her daughter right before Jesus? She just wouldn’t drop it. She loved her daughter too much, and she knew that her daughter needed what only Jesus could give, so she kept asking Him and kept asking Him. She refused to be dissuaded from asking. She was persistent.
C. In the same way, ladies, your job as moms and grandmas is to keep your children and grandchildren before God. Pray for them daily. Pray for their physical needs, and also pray for their spiritual needs. Pray for their salvation. Pray that they will continue in the faith. Pray!
Conclusion
A. This week I came across a short essay called I Wish I Were A Bear. It read,
I Wish I Were a Bear If you’re a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could get used to that. And another thing: before you hibernate, You’re supposed to eat yourself stupid. That wouldn’t bother me either. If you’re a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business; You swat anyone who bothers you or your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them, too. Your husband expects you to growl when you wake up. He expects you to have hairy legs and excess body fat. He likes it! I wish I were a bear.
B. Moms, your families don’t need you to be a bear. They need you to be a godly woman, who is working hard for her family to leave a legacy of faith! Dedicate your children to God; train your children for God; and keep your children before God.
C. Invitation to decision.
