Sending Your Daughter Off to College: 5 Powerful Prayers for Moms

11 August 2023

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Prayer

Sending Your Daughter Off to College: 5 Powerful Prayers for Moms

Is anyone else purchasing laundry supplies, toiletries, twin XL sheets, and twinkle lights? If so, you likely possess a daughter who will be heading off to college in the next few days. This year, Daughter #5 is embarking on a journey out of state as a freshman, and it hasn’t become any easier through experience. I am fully aware of the bittersweet mixture of pride and trepidation that fill your heart as you prepare to send your daughter off to college. This momentous moment signifies growth and independence for her, as well as a time of deep soul-searching for you. Moreover, as a fellow mom who has navigated this journey and survived, I want to offer five heartfelt prayers for those of us who are entrusting our daughters into God’s hands.

Off to College Prayer #1: The Prayer for Protection

Heavenly Father, I pray for a hedge of protection around my precious daughter as she embarks on this new chapter. Guard her physical safety and shield her from harmful influences. May Your presence surround her, continuously guiding her steps and watching over her night and day.

Off to College Prayer #2: The Prayer for Wisdom

Lord, grant my daughter wisdom beyond her years. As she faces academic challenges, social pressures, and life decisions, may she also seek Your guidance. And let her seek You first in all things, trusting that Your wisdom will lead her on the right path.

Off to College Prayer #3: The Prayer for Faith and Resilience

Dear God, I ask for a strong and unwavering faith to be planted deep within my daughter’s heart. In moments of doubt, loneliness, or difficulty, may she remember Your promises and find strength in her relationship with You. Give her the resilience to overcome obstacles and grow through every experience.

Off to College Prayer #4: The Prayer for Genuine Friendships

Loving Father, I lift up a prayer for authentic and godly friendships for my daughter. Surround her with companions who will encourage her faith, support her dreams, and challenge her to be the best version of herself. May she find a community that reflects Your love and grace.

Off to College #5: The Prayer for Purpose and Direction

Lord, guide my daughter’s steps as she discovers her purpose and calling in this world. Help her to discern Your voice as she explores her passions and talents, and to use them to bring glory to Your name. Lead her to opportunities that align with Your divine plan for her life.

Final Encouragement for the Send Off

As you pack those boxes, load her up, and drop her off, remember, you are not done momming. Your role in your daughter’s life can be profound during these years. While this transition may feel like a death, or as if you’ve lost a limb, it’s only a pivot with some Klenex and change. God has a beautiful plan in store for your daughter and for you. May this next journey be one of growth, discovery, and unwavering connection with the One who holds both your hearts.

For His glory,

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You can meet Cheri on the She Yearns blog for more truth-saturated, Gospel-centered encouragement like this:

6 Powerful Prayers for Moms

12 May 2023

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Prayer

6 Powerful Prayers for Moms

One of the greatest gifts you can give a mom, is prayer. Can I get an AMEN?!? Whether it’s you or a woman you know, all of us in the mom category could benefit from the prayers of others. Although the Bible doesn’t label or identify any particular prayers exclusive for moms, it swells with truths designed to meet a mother’s needs. Here are six powerful prayers to prayer over the moms in your life today.

1. Power Prayers for Wisdom

I don’t know another mother alive who doesn’t feel the need for wisdom, even beyond the grown and flown years. There are many days on this journey called motherhood that exceed our abilities and know-how. If we are honest, there are times when we really don’t know the best decision to make or which approach to take. Oh, there’s a plethora of books filling Amazon pages oozing with ideas, theories, and hacks for how to rock mom life, but nothing leads a searching soul the right way like Scripture. When we don’t know which road to take, or how to handle a situation, all we need to do is ask God for wisdom. And He will give it.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5

Powerful Prayer for Wisdom

Dear God,

I ask that you give my mother wisdom. When she doesn’t know what decision to make, which way to turn, or the correct procedure to take, please show her. Give her insights into what she needs to know, and the discernment for navigating every sticky situation. Help her trust in You for every decision whether great or small. Grant us the ability to support and encourage her as she seeks You in all things. Amen.

2. Powerful Prayers Asking for Protection

Jesus taught that he came to bring light and to bring it abundantly, but that the enemy, Satan, came only to steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). Because this is the reality in which we live, it is right and good to ask the Lord for His protection over our moms. Not only do we seek His protection against sickness, natural disasters, accidents, and sundry other tragedies that could occur, we need the protection only He can give against evil.

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Powerful Prayer for Protection

Dear God,

I ask for protection over my mother. Thank you for your faithfulness. Keep her safe wherever she travels, and secure as she goes about her days. You have plans for her life that are good. Establish her and guard her against the evil one. Let him not have victory over her in any significant way. Be the wall around her as she trust in you. Amen.

3. Powerful Prayers of Gratitude

Mothers are not appreciated nearly enough. Instead, they routinely get the life sucked out of them for doing thankless work. For years. Maybe a lifetime. The Bible is replete with verses calling us to be a thankful people. In fact, Paul does not lightly suggest being thankful. He commands it. For one of the most overlooked and forgotten people on the planet—mom—let us thank God for her. Even if she didn’t do such a bang-up job during your childhood, the calling remains.

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Powerful Prayer for Gratitude

Dear God,

For the woman who spent her life for my benefit time and time again, thank you. Thank you for providing me with someone to care for me in her own particular way – by Your design. Bless her for the gift of time, nurture, and sacrifice. Help me to be ever increasingly grateful for all You have provided through my mom. Amen.

4. Powerful Prayers for Growth

The pursuit in the Christian life is not for approval, financial success, or to make a name for ourselves. It’s about becoming more like Jesus, every day of our lives. Your mom needs to continue growing in this direction until her dying breath. For this, we can pray.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18

Powerful Prayer for Growth

Dear God,

Tender my mother’s heart toward Your voice and Your instruction. Draw her to Yourself. Give her the resources to continue to know You better and the grace to pursue You with more vigor and tenacity. Reveal Yourself to her as she pursues You, for her good and Your glory. Amen.

5. Powerful Prayers for Provision

What an incredible God we serve. He takes notice of the needs in our lives. From the greatest to the smallest, He truly cares about you and me, and the moms in our lives. He is able to supply what we lack, and He is willing to give it. Much like wisdom, all we need to do is ask.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Powerful Prayer for Provision

Dear Lord,

Thank you for Your care of my mother. Thank you for being a God who provides. Give her a confidence and boldness to come to You for whatever she needs. You hold all the riches. We live in Your assurance and promises. For whatever she needs, I ask that You provide as only You can. Amen.

6. Powerful Prayers for Grace

Not only is the calling to motherhood wrought challenges of all sorts, most take the failings and faltering personally. Moms tend to be harder on themselves than the rest of us. Plus, we do mess up a lot. God is familiar with the humanity of being a mom. There is grace enough. We can stop kicking ourselves for all our missteps, wrong turns, and regrets. He gives more grace.

Not only does He give more grace, but he gives it in the measure we need to be successful in whatever He has purposed for our lives. Just because we mess up doesn’t mean we’re screw-ups. Grace extended to us means that we can get back in there. Knowing that He has provided all that we need to do what He’s called us to do, we can start again. We can take that next step. God is in our corner, encouraging and equipping us to “overflow with abundance in every good thing we do,” (TPT). Because He is willing and able to do this work, we should ask for it.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Powerful Prayer for Grace

Dear God,

I thank you for your provision of grace—grace that exceeds our understanding. Thank you for the gift of grace to cover every failing and mistake. Please enable my mother to receive this grace You so lavishly want to shower on her. In this, I ask that You be true to Your word, making every grace abound in my mom, so that she will have all she needs, at all times, to abound in the good works You have prepared for her to do. For this miraculous work, we trust You to fulfill. So be it. Amen.

XOXOXO

Before you Go

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Praying for the Wayward Child

21 April 2023

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Prayer

It has been my joy across the last several weeks to spend time with women in different states as I speak in different locations. Between sessions or over meals we talk about life. More often than not, I hear a familiar tale of a child who has rejected their faith completely or is not engaging in Christianity right now. The details display differently, but the heartache felt by these moms was similar. Would you join me today for these precious moms in praying over the wayward child?

Before we do, let’s think about the issue for a moment. Why has this tale become so common, even in Christian homes and schools?

Why are young people leaving their childhood faith?

Young people abandoning their roots of faith is not new. It’s an increasing phenomenon that has been tracked for decades. And the trend is not hopeful. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Family Life Council, LifeWay Students and LifeWay, along with the Barna Group all found a majority of students who were active in church during their high school years, leaving the church in the years that follow, with numbers ranging from sixty percent to eighty-eight percent.

What can we do when our child is wayward?

Honestly, I’m not walking this particular path. Half of mine (4 kids still in the home) are yet to launch. I carry no judgment. The only wisdom I can offer springs from what I have gleaned from others, which is great first step. Strategist and scholars suggest seeking out people who hold a biblical worldview and have experienced what you are going through.

Most people well-versed on what to do when you have a wayward child quickly warned against blaming yourself. Our tendency is to look at ourselves and the situation as our fault. We perseverate on how our actions could have changed the current outcome. Maybe things would be different if they had not missed those nights of AWANA or if the time had been spent filling in every blank for Bible study. The point is that we can beat ourselves up all night long for all our lack, but it won’t change the situation. Only God can woo the wayward soul back to himself.

Great advice from those who know is to let past go and, instead, position yourself for battle. Pray for all that needs to be prayed over. The Bible is replete with examples for how to respond to a wayward child and what to pray. Turns out, we are all prone to wonder.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love:
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
With Thy Spirit from above. (Come Thou Fount)

What does the Bible say about the wayward?

The prophet, Jeremiah, is a prime example. Jeremiah was sent to God’s people—the collective poster child for the rebellious, the backsliders, and those that refused to listen. He was sent to speak Truth to them anyway. To warn them, teach them, care for them, and to pray for them. Jeremiah was to declare and demonstrate God’s love them in spite of their waywardness.

“Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel — one from this town and two from that family— from wherever you are scattered.

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

“And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD ’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.

In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the LORD .’ All nations will come there to honor the LORD . They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.

In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever. Jeremiah 3:14-18

And he did because these actions and attitudes reflect the very heart of God.

Consistent throughout Scripture is the character of God to search for and bring back the lost, the backsliders, and even the one steeped in sin. The very essence of the Gospel is God’s willingness to forgive the unforgivable, love the hateful, and show mercy on the merciless. Personal transformation is His specialty. So, hang onto hope, my friend, and allow me to join you in praying over the wayward child in your life.

A Prayer for the Wayward Child

Dear God,

I come before you today asking for the heart of my friend’s child. No matter how difficult the situation or the magnitude of mess made, I pray for your wooing power to draw them to Yourself. You, along, restore the broken and bring back the lost. Forgive us for having any part of the brokenness and restore us by the righteousness of Christ.

Lead my friend to the Truth she can rely upon. Give her courage to leave her child in your hands. Provide the resources she needs to be ready and able to give a reason for her faith when hard questions are looming, and the grace to love unselfishly the one who has turned away from You.

Guide the wayward away from sin, the desire for it, and the people involved in it. Illuminate the Truth. Bring back the one who has strayed, showering them with love, forgiveness, and mercy as only You can.

Amen.

XOXOXO

Before you Go

Don’t forget to check out the latest FREE reading plan available from YouVersion!

Have you received Cheri’s FREE gift to you? For a limited time, get 3 resources to help you experience more of God in your everyday life. It’s filled with practical help for living out what really matters. (Hurry because this gift is going away soon.)

DOWNLOAD NOW

For the one who feels invisible, largely passed over, and insignificant – Cheri has created a resource for you. Grab your copy of Can You See Me, Now? Good news for the lonely, left out, and less than today.

Buy the Book

WAIT! THERE’S MORE.

If you would like to become a part of the private FB group, She Prays, we would love to have you. Click the image to join.

You can meet Cheri on the She Yearns blog for more truth-saturated, Gospel-centered encouragement like this:

Honoring Mom During Quarantine

8 May 2020

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Podcasts

Honoring Mom During Quarantine

Welcome to the Stirring Faith Podcast – Honoring Mom During Quarantine

Hi there! I am so glad you have stopped by. Before I give you the skinny on the podcast today, please allow me to invite you to join me in reading the newest release, Flourish in Your Present on YouVersion in Plans with Friends. We begin Monday. You can join us by accepting this invitation: https://bible.com/p/27379221/c769e9f9ec1f7cfa6e4e8a4f6f379436 Along with this release are some new products in the Shop that go perfectly with it: a journal as well as a set of digital Scripture cards. Both are super cute. You might even consider the cards as we are thinking about Mother’s Day: Honoring Moms during quarantine.

This episode is shorter as we have moved to our summer format — as we are looking at five of the best ways to honor mom for her day. I hope you benefit from these ideas or can share them with someone who will.

And While you are here — Don’t forget about The Show Notes!

Just fill out the form and today’s note will go straight to your inbox. Because this episode is not hardy in material, we won’t send out notes, but, generally speaking, every episode, after you sign up, should show up on the device of your choosing. What could be better?

How Awesome is Show Notes?

If you are already a subscriber to the She Yearns Updates, you will begin receiving a link to a pdf. But this is different. By signing up here, you will ONLY RECEIVE Show Notes for the podcast. There is nothing to download unless there is some sort of bonus offered.

You can also use this resource to take with you to coffee with a friend or sit with a small group and talk about the topic together. It’s a quick low prep to no prep way to have a deep discussion about relevant Gospel-centered topics that matter to your everyday lives. So don’t wait! Sign up today!

Besides 5 Ways to Overcome Fear, Flourish in Your Present is a really applicable episode for what we are experiencing right now. You can find it here if you are interested.

You can now check out the latest episodes from iTunes, GooglePlay, Stitcher, iHeartRADIO, or BuzzSprout. Just click on the links below! As always, you can scroll down and listen right here!

And if you have not already become a subscriber to the podcast, allow me to invite you to become one for the She Yearns Podcast by going to any of the providers and signing up for the RSS feed to have it automatically updated to your device! It’s basically ONE CLICK! And it doesn’t use any extra memory and really makes life easier.

If you enjoyed this episode, 5 Ways to Overcome Fear, or found it helpful, please leave a comment or review in your hosting provider service! We cannot do it without you! The only way the word goes out further is with your help. Please share it as you feel the leading.

Thank you for listening,

While They Were Sleeping

17 July 2018

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Podcasts

While They Were Sleeping

Podcast #26

This episode of the She Yearns Podcast is the newest installment in the new series, More Than a Blur–Making Motherhood Matter. What can we do, as moms, that makes the most impact on our present and for our futures? In this episode, While They Were Sleeping, Cheri proposes it is what happens while they (the children) are fast asleep and you and I can choose to do something else. What does this mean and how can it impact your life? That is what awaits you. Take a listen. In this installment of the series, More than a Blur, Cheri brings this question to the forefront and meets it head-on. This series continues to be real, raw, and absolutely hope-filled.

You can now check out While They Were Sleeping from iTunes, GooglePlay, Stitcher, or SoundCloud. Just click on the links below! As always, you can scroll down and listen right here!

Allow me to invite you to become a subscriber to the She Yearns Podcast by going to any of the providers and signing up for the RSS feed to have it automatically updated to your device! It’s basically ONE CLICK! And it doesn’t use any extra memory and really makes like easier.

If you enjoyed this episode or found it helpful, please leave a comment or review in your hosting provider service. I also love it when you post below! It really helps the ministry. We cannot do it without you! The only way the Word goes out further is with your help. Please share it as you feel the leading.

Thank you for listening.

Cheri