One of God’s earliest directives in the Bible is for Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply” – or we might say, “have kids, lots of kids, and be good moms and dads.” Today is Mother’s Day. Will you join us in prayer for our mothers today?

Holy Father, you create us to live in families and to be loved by parents. How thankful we are today for the mothers in our lives! We thank you for the love, care, and guidance of our mothers. We look around us and see how natural the mother-child relationship is: our pets give birth and care for their young, baby ducks follow their mothers across the pond, and we see mothers in the movies, at the local park, and all around us caring for their children. Bless and protect our mothers. Give them wisdom, patience, and strength.

O God, we pray also for those who struggle on a day like Mother’s Day. We pray for mothers who are grieving the loss of a child; give them comfort and care. We pray for women who wish to be a mother but haven’t yet been given that gift. We pray for children who have been orphaned or abandoned, those who wish they had a mother: be their protection, their Rock, and their shelter, O Lord.

You are strong, loving, and kind, and we praise you, O God. Thank you for your presence in our lives, your love for us, and the gift of mothers to show us that love tangibly in this world. We come to you today with thanks, with rejoicing, and in celebration of mothers, fathers, and most especially of your great Fatherhood. Help us to love our mothers well today, and every day, and may the mothers in our lives point us to Jesus and place their hope in you alone.