Prayers do not have expiration dates

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:5-7 NAS

Greetings,

Thank you for praying with us last week on the National Day of Prayer! We hope that you prayed together with others in your community and also with brothers and sisters around the world as we gathered in the throne room of heaven and prayed through our National Day of Prayer 2023 National Prayer Gathering broadcast. If you missed it, you can still view it or pray through it again by clicking the link on our website https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/2023_broadcast. Let us know if you have a specific prayer request or glory story to share from your time in prayer.

Prayers do not have expiration dates; they outlive us and are eternal the moment they reach God’s ears. Many of us are walking in God’s answers to prayers lifted up by our mothers and grandmothers. There are also many children lifting up prayers for their parents and grandparents as well. As we prepare to celebrate our Mothers this coming Sunday, we asked our Communications Coordinator Amy Parks to share her heart on what God has availed in her life through a praying mom…

I already know that my great-grandchildren are going to be reaping the fruitfulness of my Mama’s prayers for me, which have been unceasing for 25 years. She had already begun praying for me at this time 25 years ago, though she wouldn’t meet me face to face for another few months. As my grandmother tended to my mother and I in our first few weeks home from the hospital, I know she was covering both me and Mama in prayer.

Even through my Mama’s difficult pregnancy and postpartum, I know her prayers for me flowed into the throne room of heaven constantly. If she was sick (all the time) or I was crying from colic (all the time), she was praying (all the time). Between the prayers of desperation for relief and wholeness, she also lifted up the tender and sincere prayers of motherhood that covered my whole life. Prayers that I would grow to love the Lord and walk with Him, that I would obediently follow God’s leading in my life and that I would surround myself with godly friends and wise counsel.

She has rarely told me verbatim what she prayed for me through the years, but I really don’t need to hear it from her. I already know what she prayed, because I am living in God’s availing answers to her prayers.

When I started the first grade at a new school, I know she prayed for good friends. That year I met two other little girls and as we became friends, we play sports together, celebrated salvations and baptisms, and a decade and a half later, those two women read scripture over my husband and I at our wedding.

When I stepped away from playing sports in high school, I know she prayed for God to show me His purpose for my life. In that season, God opened opportunities for me to pursue writing, and I saw where He put a desire to work with words in my heart, which ended up shaping my choice of college major and now my job.

When I looked at the guests at my wedding, there was a beautiful collection of older women and their spouses – none of whom were biologically related to me, but all of whom had shaped me and mentored me to be the woman who stepped into the marriage covenant. I know Mama prayed for me to be surrounded by those women as my wise counsel, as examples in the faith and in life.

Of course, there were seasons in my life where the last thing I wanted to hear was her prayers or the kind of Christian she wanted me to be. But she kept praying. There were also seasons where I was struggling so much, my tears would immediately well up getting a text from her that just said “I’m praying for you today” because those prayers carried me through the day. And she kept praying.

Whose answered prayers put you where you are today? Was it your biological or adoptive mother, or perhaps a grandmother? Aunt? Older sister in the faith who stepped in to fill that role?

What spiritual mother prayed fervently in righteousness, that the Lord would avail much in your spiritual life?

Let’s pray together.

Lord Jesus, You are good and gracious, my Savior and Shepherd who never leaves us or forsakes us.

Thank you for the biological and spiritual mothers that sought Your counsel and Your guidance for the beloved young people in their lives. Thank You for hearing their fervent intercessions and moving us forward in the faith, even when we may only now see Your hand moving in hindsight. Your Holy Spirit moved their hearts to pray diligent and unceasing prayers, guiding their prayers to the needs they would have never known to pray for otherwise. Open our hearts to see the power of faithful prayer fueled by faithful love over a lifetime, and to take up the mantle of intercession and prayer over our younger brothers and sisters in the faith.

In Jesus name, amen.

Re-watch the 2023 NDP National Prayer Gathering Broadcast

Miss the 2023 National Prayer Gathering? Want to watch it again? CLICK HERE view it again!

2023 State and Territory Prayer Guide – Download Now!

CLICK HERE to download a prayer guide covering all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands! Join NDPTF leaders from all over the nation in praying a scripture over their area of influence.