Tonight We Pray for the Momma: Hope for the Midnight Moments of MotherhoodSample

For the Momma Who Feels Discouraged

My friend, Scripture is full of people just like us. They experienced great joy in the presence of Jesus and deep discouragement when they didn’t understand where He was or what He was doing.

No wonder, then, that the words of the women who had witnessed Jesus’s empty tomb seemed like “idle tales” (Luke 24:11, NKJV) to the ears of the apostles. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and others had returned from the empty tomb, declaring that Jesus had risen from the dead. But the disciples wondered how that could possibly be true.

Two followers of Jesus who heard this news set out on a journey toward Emmaus, about seven miles from where the disciples were gathered. As they walked, “they talked together of all these things which had happened” (Luke 24:14, NKJV). But another joined them on their journey:

“Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him” (Luke 24:15-16, NKJV).

As they walked together, Jesus clearly explained the fulfillment of the Scriptures concerning Himself. The two travelers invited Jesus to come in and share a meal with them, but it wasn’t until He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and offered it to them that they recognized Jesus.

Jesus was more than just a tale. His resurrection was real. And they had encountered the risen Lord.

Maybe you feel as confused as these two did on their journey. Maybe you’re in a season where hope itself feels like an idle tale.

Tonight, I’d like to remind you that the Lord is walking with you. Perhaps the stress of your situation has blinded you to even a hint of His close love, but He has been with you all along. It’s not hopeless. The stories you have heard of others encountering His love aren’t just tall tales. He is with you even now. We are praying that the Lord opens the eyes of your heart to see that He is near to you in this moment.

Tonight, we pray for the momma who feels discouraged. Lord, she has done her best to remain hopeful for the last few months. But, tonight, she has run out—it may be that she has run out of patience or hope or joy or strength. Lord, we ask that You breathe new life into her bones. We ask for hope. We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.