God’s Highest Praise for Mothers By Pastor Jerry McCullah
“Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!” (Proverbs 31:30, Amp.)
In Proverbs 31:10-31, it is to miss the mark of God’s intention when this description of His ideal woman is interpreted merely to its literal sense—her ability as a homemaker. It is obvious to the student of the Spirit of the Word that far more than that is intended here. When this passage summarizes what makes her value “far above rubies”, in Prov. 31:30, it is her spiritual life that is emphasized.
For this reason, my intention is to give a testimony of praise to two special women in my life, my grandmother and my mother; both of which are with the LORD in glory. I owe my life, my salvation, and my ministry to the multiple prayers of these wonderful Mothers!
My grandmother, Floy Hillhouse McCullah, was a praying woman. To a large extent, I owe my salvation and call to ministry to the prayers of this godly woman. I will be forever grateful to you, Grandma.
But, I want to share an experience in my young life having to do with my mother’s prayers of protection over my life.
In the early Summer of 1966, I received orders to report to Vietnam for a tour of duty. I was not quite out of my teen years and had assumed the worse for my part of the war. I had determined in my mind that I would not survive, thus I began to slowly drift away from close ties with family, friends, and even my girlfriend, whom I loved very much.
I wanted my eventual passing to be easier for my mom, so I did a couple of things before I shipped out. One was to write little notes to her and leave them in little obscure places throughout her house. My thinking was that as she cleaned house she would eventually discover those notes. There were dozens of them. I have no knowledge of whether or not they all were ever found.
The second thing was that I wanted her to have something to remember me by; something for the house that she would see daily and think of me. I went to K-Mart (it was her favorite store in those days). I am now convinced the LORD directed me to the wall picture of Jesus praying in Gethsemane, that I trust you are looking at on this page. It was so like my mom’s taste, I thought, so I purchased it for her. It was one of those pictures with a light over the top of a metal frame.
I was not a Christian in those days, fool that I was, but mom was. Just before I left for Vietnam she hung that picture on the wall directly over her piano where she could see it as she sang and played hymns to the LORD. She had left that light on 24/7 while I was away from home. Every day she worshipped the LORD and prayed for my safety. I did not know she was doing this until I returned home.
On the morning I was due to return home from Vietnam, the light went out on its own for the first time in 13 months. Mom later told me it was at that moment she knew I was coming home.
Dear ladies, God expects you will be more than a good housekeeper, or even a good mother. His greatest desire for you is to be a woman of prayer and worship! God bless, and Happy Mother’s Day!
About Pastor Jerry McCullah
Pastor of Green Valley Bible Chapel 2005- Present
Prayer Consultant for California Southern Baptist Convention 2001- Present
Founder and President of Impact Prayer International 1999 – Present
Teaching and encouraging intimate relationships with Jesus Christ in churches through seminars, prayer revivals, concerts of prayer, prayer retreats, and more.
Headquartered at 15724 Calle Hermosa Green Valley, Ca. 91390 Ph. 661-270-9671
