Make Your Day Count

My mom and dad divorced when I was 5 years old, after they’d been married 20 years and had seven children.

Eventually, my dad remarried. My mother also had a change—she found a personal relationship with Jesus, which made all the difference in her life.

Every morning at five o’clock, I would hear my mom pray for our family, including my dad. She prayed for his new wife and their children by name, praying for their salvation and blessing, calling each one of them into the kingdom of God.

When she prayed for my dad, she would say, “Lord, he’s my children’s father,” and she would speak blessings over his family: “Lord, let them prosper,” she’d pray. “Put people in their path to minister to them.”
Now, as an adult and a mother, I think, My goodness, how hard that must have been.

It was 1976 when she started adding Dad to her daily prayer time. In 2006, my dad accepted Jesus as His Savior. My sister, Amy, led him and his wife to the Lord.

But it didn’t happen overnight. For 30 years my mom had faithfully prayed for my dad.

It’s not about our feelings
Jesus’ word to us in Luke 6:27-28 NKJV says, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. Jesus wasn’t giving us an option. He didn’t say, “Do it if you feel like it and it’s easy.” He also didn’t tell us that we should stop if we don’t see the results we want right away.

Richard Roberts was reading Hebrews 6:15 NKJV the other day, where it said of Abraham, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. That reminded me that most things don’t happen overnight. Life is a process, and in that process there’s some work to be done.

When my dad left my mother, she felt hurt and alone. But out of obedience she prayed for him and his family that they might enter into the kingdom of God. The Lord honored her obedience.

Today we’re seeing the benefits of all those years of prayer and forgiveness, and it is amazing! One of dad’s daughters has decided to become a missionary. My sister and I believe this must be the fruit of Mom’s prayers.

We can choose healing
Maybe, like my mother, you find yourself in the midst of a painful situation. You may feel devastated and alone, even ready to give up.

But I’ve learned it does nothing but continue to hurt us when we hold on to our pain. We must choose to release it to God. Richard Roberts and I believe when we do, that’s when our healing—and sometimes the healing of others—can begin.