When my Sully was a newborn, I felt closer to God and more focused on my prayer life than ever before. My very own prayers were answered right before my eyes as I rocked my sweet, cooing baby, and my heart beamed with gratitude. Praising God for one of the biggest blessings came naturally as my days were slow and easy; praying for my newborn’s life both present and future was a simple addition to my schedule as the moments to stop and reflect came with baby wearing, rocking, bathing, and walking. God, my husband, our son, and I felt like a team.
Fast forward to the last few months, and the scene is not quite the same. Covid-19 is rampant; my now-toddler is running around, probably with something in his mouth that doesn’t belong there; my husband is running his business while in graduate school; and I am dabbling in the hobbies that were a big part of my life before I was a mom. As much as I don’t want to admit it, the number of times that I talk to God about my son other than about things that are currently happening is low. Life is busy, and our parenting team, while strong, needs recalibrating.
A few weeks ago, a friend posted a book on Instagram that I remembered I had, so I picked that back up and reread it. Whew! A wake up call to my heart it was! Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson was just what I needed to slow down and get back to those intentional praying days of having a newborn. Practically, the quiet that existed then is just not an option now, but realigning our hearts back with God’s about praying for our son can still be achieved. We pray with Sully at meals, naps, and bed time already, but like I said, those prayers were only about what is currently happening. I don’t want to forget to pray about his future relationships or pray about him finding his purpose through God; I want to cover his life with God’s promises and speak life over him, no matter how busy or loud our life gets.
The book suggests prayer posters as a way to visually see what your family is praying for, so I made a printable for Sully’s room that I’m sharing below. I had it printed at Office Depot on an 11 x 14 for less than $2, put it in a frame, and used Command Strips to hang it on his wall where we can see it. Using a dry erase marker, I write prayers for Sully about his life currently and his future. Having it so visible in his room keeps those things that I so desperately pray for in his life at the forefront of my mom brain. This has made me a more prayerful parent because I specifically pray for my son all throughout the day: changing his sheet, restocking diapers, folding his clothes, rocking him for naps, before bed when we all come together at the end of the day.
This isn’t our fool proof prayer improvement. Reading Praying Circles Around Your Children inspired me to make sure that I’m not just teaching Sully about praying at night or at meals but that I’m modeling who Jesus is in all of my actions throughout the day, that we can talk to God about little and big things, and that we can hear the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit when we stay in the Bible.
The printable below has MANY different color options for printing, including a printer friendly black and white one. As cliche as it is, I don’t know my son’s future, but I know Who holds it, and I want to talk to Him about Sully every chance I get!
