URC :: Spirituality

broadening and deepening prayer

Lydia Busagwa: Motherhood

Praying with those who wait Lydia Busagwa: Motherhood

I was raised by prayerful mother, she taught me how to pray understanding the power of God, knowing that we survive through prayer.

Being a mother is not an easy journey to take. Every mother has a different story. In the Bible, we have two mothers of faith Elizabeth and Mary, they experienced miracle pregnancies and praised God for favouring them. Elizabeth is a good example of those who are longing to get something, denied getting something and don’t understand why! Elizabeth was Zacharia’s wife, Zacharia was a priest in the Temple. Both were God fearing and righteous in the sight of God, described as very old and childless.

*Elizabeth prayed for a child and gave up hope but understood how to remain faithful while waiting on God. Even though they had advanced in years, they had the desire to stay righteous even after they waited for a long time. When Mary found favour with God, she immediately set off to see her cousin Elizabeth, who blessed Mary and encouraged her to celebrate her faith as well as her role as mother of Jesus.

I personally have 2 sons who are graduates but have OCD unable to work, I prayed and promised God that I will serve the Lord in anyway I can if He heals my sons. There hasn’t been any changes and I am waiting on God to answer my prayer.

Many times, we wait on God in our day-to-day life experiences we go through. Sometimes we get confused praying, believing, trusting in the Lord and don’t understand why! our problems are too much that we wait patiently on God to change our circumstances. It may take years slowly weakening our faith where some people, may grow tired of waiting praying the same prayer again and again without change.

There was a mother mourning, screaming and cursing because she had the pain of her babies dying soon after giving birth. She lost nine babies in counting. Number 10 and 11 survived and she praised God for her miracle babies. My sister had a baby when she was you and she was sent back to school, later her the baby died. She got married off and celebrated the 25 years silver wedding anniversary, celebrated 50 years Golden wedding anniversary without children of her own but raised many children in their home who call them their parents.

We have Biblical mothers, these mother’s had different stories teaching us that God sees our pain, rejection and struggles.

Let us look at the promises

Sarah was promised a son and to become a mother of many nations, Kings of nations will be among her descendants. She didn’t believe the promise immediately but God’s promise was fulfilled at the age of 90 years.

Hagar was commanded to return with strong promises received personally from God.

Prayer waiting on God to perform a miracle

Leah was Jacob’s unloved wife, Jacob loved Rachel her sister even though she didn’t have children at first. Leah turned to prayer. The only way Leah would have known about God’s promises, would have been through her husband Jacob telling her about the promises God promised to his father Isaac. The Bible says that the Lord saw that Leah as unloved and he enabled her to become pregnant and again, and again. The Lord took notice of the suffering unloved wife.

God blessed Leah – Through Leah there came the Lion of Judah, the Messiah’s ancestral lineage.

 

Promise to the Lord our God

Hannah’s prayer on her knees, weeping asking God to remember her and give her a son, making a promise with God that if God was to give her a son, then she will give him to the Lord all the days of his life. She took her son to the Temple and left him there.

Promises to our people

Naomi – After losing her husband and sons, she felt pain and emptiness, her daughters-in-law tried to stay with her comforting her. Ruth 1:16 She refused to be comforted and pushed them away because of her pain but Ruth did not abandon her. She said to Naomi, wherever you go I will go, wherever you live I will live, your people will be my people and your God, my God, where you will die, I will die and there be buried. May the Lord do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!”
Ruth reassured Naomi to fill better from her pain of losing her sons and husband. I know that Ruth was buried in the area H2 of Hebron the Tomb of Jesse and Ruth.

Looking our Faith


Jochebed’s Faith encouraged her to trust in God to save her son. Her Faith still have an impact on our lives today as an example of those who wait and trust in the Lord for a miracle.

(1) What do you do while you are waiting for God to do something to come through?

(2) Do you pray and wait for God’s answer patiently but become weak because of the long waiting?