How to Nurture Your Prayer Life in the Midst of Motherhood

When it comes to praying and early motherhood, it’s hard to imagine that moms in the midst of so much giving and exhaustion would have any time or energy to pray. I get it. I have six sons, 12 and under in my house. I’ve often felt overwhelmed. But the truth is I’m too busy not to pray. I’ve got too many anxious thoughts crowding in on me to ignore my best weapon for peace. I’ve got too much at stake to forego the single best thing I can do for my kids’ hearts. Let’s talk about how to nurture that prayer life in the midst of the manic days of motherhood.

Get Creative

For moms, the days (and nights) can be full. We don’t have the luxury of much quiet time or even alone time. We must learn to fit it in when and where we can. We must learn to be creative when it comes to our prayer lives. For me, many a nursing session has become prayer time. While washing dishes, I often pray over a single verse of Scripture prominently placed at the window over the sink. I’ve learned to hit pause on the worship music or Christian podcast while folding laundry and pray one of the truths revealed for me or my children. And taking the baby for a walk has grown to be some of my best times for praying through my emotions, worries, or hopes.

Praying to Combat Anxiety

Whether it’s having a newborn or a teenager, motherhood calls us into uncharted territory. All our normal anxieties are now multiplied by having children to care for also. How comforting to know that God cares about our anxieties and tells us how to combat them. As anxious thoughts arise, we are to take them captive (2 Cor. 10:5). We should see each anxious thought, not as a hamster wheel to go round on, but rather a conversation starter with our Father who loves us and cares about us. Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). The moment a worry pops into our heads we take these anxieties to God in prayer.

Praying when Perplexed

Motherhood is perplexing business. If we are honest, we often feel completely out-of-our-league, overwhelmed and, frankly, perplexed on how to handle everyday situations. As you feel baffled and perplexed, ask for wisdom. Jesus says: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt. 7:7). And James tells us our God gives wisdom “liberally without reproach” (James 1:5). God doesn’t find fault with us for not knowing something or for needing his guidance. He doesn’t roll his eyes at us and think, “Again?” He wants us to ask.  

Breath Prayers

As a mom, the times I’ve lacked brain power—because kids take it out of us—I’ve been grateful for the little prayers from the Bible that spring to mind. I utter these little prayers throughout the day as I need His grace. These are prayers inspired by spiritual ancestors, such as David, “Create in me a clean heart” (Psalm 51:10); or an unnamed father, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), or my favorite and the most frequent request made of Jesus, “Lord, have mercy” ( see Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30–31; Mark 10:47–48; Luke 16:24; 17:13; 18:13, 38–39).

Some people use simple prayers like “Have mercy on me!” to help them calm and center their minds in anxious times. They breathe in while saying, “Lord, Jesus Christ, my Savior,” and breathe out while saying, “Have mercy on me a sinner.” Many of the Bible’s prayer could be broken up in this way. Breathe in, “Oh Lord, my God,” and breathe out, “in you do I take refuge” (Psalm 7:1).

Building in Rhythms of Prayer

One of the best things my husband and I have done for our family is from our kids’ infancy is to build prayer into the fabric of our day. While Jesus never prescribed when we should pray, tying prayers into habits we already have helps make prayer into a reflex.

While you probably already do this naturally at mealtimes and perhaps bed-time, try adding some other points of prayer into your day with your kids. For instance, whenever we get into the car, we pause for a minute and pray for God’s protection on us as we travel and for Him to be glorified in our activity.

You can try stacking prayer with anything that comes up habitually: pray for God to give a clean heart as you bathe your little ones, teach your kids to take a moment to pray for peace when they have to ask forgiveness, pray aloud for help when you hear an ambulance, or add prayers of blessing into your birthday celebrations.

Abiding in Him through Prayer

Prayer is a conversation and it’s one of the best ways we can draw close to God. As we cultivate awareness of God in our everyday lives, every moment can become an opportunity to draw near. In the minutiae of life, as you dress baby—thanking God for this gift of wonder; as you change a diaper, thanking God for an opportunity to serve; as you wait in the carpool line or drive to pick up a child from an activity, talk to God about it all. He wants to hear from you and help you.

Written for Faith.Full by Catherine Claire Larson, author of Watching in Wonder.

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Your Turn

Where could you get creative when it comes to working prayer into your daily or weekly routine? Are there ways you could stack habits of prayer onto existing habits you have as a family? What worries could you turn into prayers today? What baffling situations should you seek God’s counsel? Take time to pray about them today.