Oh Baby: 14 Devotions for New ParentsSample

God Hears Your Prayers

I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from His sanctuary. PSALM 18:6 NLT

Our children's lives are changed forever when we pray. God hears our cries. He hears our hearts. Lay your hand on your baby each night while they sleep, praying blessings and hopes, and God hears. Cry out in pain to Him when you see your child making wrong decisions, and He hears. Your heartfelt prayers for protection or of thanks for who your beautiful child is, and is becoming, are heard by God. He delights in them. It strengthens not only your child’s life but also your own relationship with God when you pray.

The gap between our lips and God’s ears is the shortest distance in all of creation. And not only does He hear us, but I John 5:14–15 reminds us that when we ask according to His will, we have what we’ve asked for. “God, I want my child to follow You all the days of her life.” His will. “Father, comfort my child as he works out a tough problem at school.” His will. We cry out, God hears, and He sees to it. We may not always be there, available and able to hold our child’s hand through every circumstance, but we can place our child in His hands. Through the peace and comfort of the Holy Spirit, our prayer is more effective than any earthly thing we can do.

Prayer is not a last resort. It’s a first line of defense for anything you or your family may go through. Perhaps this is a reason newborns are up at night for feedings and changes? It’s an opportunity to put into place the very important habit of praying over your child. There’s not much else to do at two in the morning, after all! Use the downtime to focus on the sweetness of your new baby and ask the Lord how to cover your child in prayer. There’s literally no better investment you could make from day one.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for designing me to be stronger through prayer with You, and thank You that my prayers can effectively grow my baby into a stronger person for Your glory. Hold my baby close to Your heart, and teach me how to pray as effectively as possible.