Prayer for Mothers

Psalm 139:13-15

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;    you formed me in my mother’s womb.I thank you, High God—you’re breath-taking!    Body and soul, I am marvellously made!    I worship in adoration—what a creation!You know me inside and out,    you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,    how I was sculpted from nothing into something…

God, thank you for our beginning as a tiny miracle inside our mothers, nurtured in secret where only you could see us.

Thank you for mothers who nurture life; who love, cherish and care for their children.

We pray for those mothers who are separated from their children, whether by distance, illness or other circumstances. May they know that your hand is on their children, and You watch over them as a Father pours out love.

God, we pray for those who are mothers in their hearts and long for a little one to cherish. May you bring them the new life they yearn for, renew their hopes and keep their relationships strong.

We pray for those who are waiting to find out if they are mothers. Soothe the fraught nerves, bestow a sense of purpose, give patience.

God, be with mothers who are entrenched in the messiness, busyness, creativity and relentlessness of mothering. Restore frayed tempers, reveal small miracles, release laughter and life and help us to see and enjoy the moments of divine grace that exist in the midst of parenthood.

We pray for mothers who feel like they are stretched too thin, who feel they need to be so many things to different people. May they hear you say, “you are enough, because I am enough.”

God, we pray for the bewildered new mothers gazing at their precious newborns, and the mothers whose babies are now growing up and leaving home. Help each to find their purpose and the community they need.

God, give strength, grace and peace to the brave mothers whose precious children are sick. Be with those mothers whose health affects their ability to care for their children.

Father, we pray for reconciliation for mothers and children who are divided and in dischord.

God, may your peace and healing be with those for whom this is a hard day; for children remembering or longing for a mother, and for mothers who grieve lost children and babies. May they feel your compassion and understanding, and be blessed by the companionship and empathy of others.

God, thank you that you give mothers new life to love and nurture; that you celebrate diversity amongst us – help us to celebrate one anothers’ motherhood in all the forms it takes, and to seek to strengthen and support mothers everywhere.

Amen.