A Praying Mother – Paul Chappell

“And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.”

1 Samuel 1:25–28

The noted pastor T. DeWitt Talmage had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home, and that was due to his grandmother’s praying. When Talmage’s father was a teenager, he planned to go to a party with his brother and sister. Their mother told them that she would be praying for them while they were gone, and when they returned at two in the morning, they found her on her knees beside her bed pouring out her heart to God. The next morning, the parents woke up to find all three of the children weeping and asking God for salvation.

Talmage wrote, “David [Talmage’s father] had a sweetheart living down the lane, and rising from his knees, he went right down to her home and told her the wonderful news about himself and his brother and sister being saved, urging her to give her heart to God. In the prayer there they had together she, too, was added to the host of the redeemed.” Years later, Talmage’s mother gathered a group of women from their church, and all of them agreed together to pray for the salvation of their children—and every one of them became Christians.

Not everyone can sing. Not everyone can teach. But everyone can pray. And there are few things that have the power to shape a child’s life—and the generations to come—like a praying mother.