5 Prayers To Make You A Healthier Mom
by Cindi McMenamin
Are you healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually?
We want to be moms whose children want to have a relationship with us all our lives. For that to happen, we must be building into their lives instead of draining them as we age.
Recently, I shared with The Laundry Moms Five Simple Prayers That Will Make You a Better Mom. This month, I’ve got five simple prayers that will help you be a healthier mom – physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
- A Prayer to Take Good Care of Your Body
We live in a health-conscious era. We also live in a society that is telling our kids “love your body.” But the message behind that needs to be about more than self-confidence and “show off what you have because you love it.” The message our kids need to hear is that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and that our bodies are God’s temples (1 Corinthians 6:19), and therefore, we want to treat them well, for His glory. When our children see us taking good care of ourselves in how we choose to eat, exercise, rest, and treat our bodies, they will likely follow suit. They often develop their habits based on the ones we endorse by our actions.
Lord, thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Help me to live out that knowledge by treating my body well and realizing it is Your temple where You dwell. Don’t let me talk poorly about how I look, how much I weigh, and how disappointed I am in my physical characteristics or abilities, but to praise You for being my all-knowing, all-capable Creator and Sustainer. Help me and my children to see that maintaining our health, as well as keeping ourselves sexually pure, is a form of worship (Romans 12:1).
- A Prayer to Break Dysfunctional Patterns
If you’ve ever feared your children will pick up on your own dysfunctions you are not alone. You don’t have to be bound to your past. Pray that God will help you to live in your new identity as a child of God and a new creation. (For help on this see my book, When a Woman Overcomes Life’s Hurts.)
Lord, thank You that when I am trusting in Christ alone, I am a new creation; the old things (about who I used to be) are gone and the new things (that represent who I am in You) are now (2 Corinthians 5:17). When I start to revert back to old patterns or hear old tapes playing in my mind, remind me that I have left that life at the cross when I died to self. Help me to remember that “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).” Please don’t let my children repeat the mistakes I’ve made, but remind them that they, too, are new in Christ Jesus when they surrender their lives to You.
- A Prayer for a Gentle, Humble Spirit
Some of the most generous and compassionate people I know came from humble beginnings, with parents who were gentle and humble, too. It isn’t popular to be humble today. Our society feels entitled to everything. Pride is strong and ego rules. But not in Christ’s kingdom. Be a parent who prays for a gentle, quiet spirit that is humble and precious in the sight of God.
Lord, help me to understand that in Your eyes those who are first will be last. And those who allow themselves to be last will be first (Mark 10:31). Help me to humble myself in Your sight so that You can lift me up at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6). And help me to cast all my cares on You instead of feeling I have to work out everything on my own. Help my children to remember me as one who served and put others first, not as one who always had to be at the front of the line.
- A Prayer for Your Emotional Stability
I’ve often told moms, “Your children need your emotional stability even more than their own.” Don’t be a parent who pulls on your children or clings to them to fill the needs in your life. Instead, be steady as a rock so you can ultimately lead your children to Christ, their Rock, during the unstable times in their lives. You can be steady as a rock, emotionally, when you cling to Christ Jesus and look to Him to fulfill you in every way. (For help in gaining more emotional stability, see my book, Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs.)
Lord, strengthen me so I can be a parent who strengthens my child. Remind me daily that You are the Only One who satisfies and keeps me from putting an unhealthy burden on my children. Help me to cling to You so my child will see how to do that, too.
- A Prayer to Find Your Identity in Christ
Too many times parents try to live vicariously through their children to the point that they push their children into sports, hobbies, interests or excessive accomplishments. But your children need to find their identity in Christ, just as you, their mom, need to find your identity in Him, as well. It starts with you.
Lord, show me my value and worth in You, not in what I accomplish or what my children accomplish. Don’t let me put undue pressure on my children to perform because of my own lack of skills, or opportunities. Help me to support who they are as individuals, and be confident that I answer to You alone in how I parent them and You are waiting to partner with me to help me be the best parent I can be.
~ Cindi
Cindi McMenamin is a wife, mom, national speaker, and author of 16 books, including When Women Walk Alone, When a Mom Inspires Her Daughter, and 10 Secrets to Becoming a Worry-Free Mom. She and her husband, Hugh, have been married 30 years and they collaborated on her newest book, 12 Ways to Experience More with Your Husband. She and her family live in Southern California. For more on her resources to strengthen your walk with God, your marriage, or your parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.
