Let Us Pray !
This blog entry is all about praying prior to and during pregnancy. If you want children in the future, are planning to conceive or currently pregnant, I encourage you to pray about things you want for pregnancy. Every concern or desire you have about pregnancy, talk to the Lord about it! When I say every concern, I do mean EVERYTHING… Do not think that your request is too big or small. God cares about all of our concerns no matter the size so no request you present to God is insignificant.
Philippians 4:6 states, “Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”
See! The bible says “but in everything” and with everything...pray about it. When I found out I was pregnant I began to list my personal concerns I had about pregnancy and how I desired for certain things to happen or not happen. Pregnancy has negative stereotypes that women are used to hearing that can spark fear and a perspective about pregnancy that can seem dreadful. I am not saying that there may not be any unpleasant experiences, but do not allow negative stereotypes to penetrate you. So in order to avoid being consumed with all the negative themes about pregnancy, pray about your pregnancy!
When I became pregnant I began praying every day by myself and with my husband about things I was seeking for during my pregnancy. I brought my concerns to the Lord and had faith that God would see me through them. To begin, I consistently prayed for of course a healthy baby, full term pregnancy and a safe and healthy pregnancy. However, one specific request was no tearing! Yes, that is a request I presented to God on many occasions during my pregnancy. When a woman becomes pregnant, there is a possibility of vaginal tearing during childbirth; however, I did not want that…. so I prayed about it!. Even when I had a midwife appointment and out the blew she mentions “a lot of first time moms tear,” and in my mind I said “Nope, not me!” I am sure her statement came from her professional experience assisting many mothers in childbirth but I did not allow her statement to dismantle my request of no tearing because it was something I often prayed about and had so much confidence in God to answer.
Breastfeeding was also a top concern of mine so I also prayed that my breast milk would come soon after delivery of my son and it did. It was not until I actually started breastfeeding that I discovered that some mother’s breast milk may take a few days or even longer to produce. Therefore, I highly recommend that if you desire to breastfeed, pray about it while you are pregnant, specifically about the timing and the ability to produce enough milk for your child.
Going forward and having experienced pregnancy and childbirth, I have mentally created a checklist of my prayers for the next pregnancy. At the top of my list is not only success during breastfeeding but also no pain during the beginning stages of breastfeeding. Yes, I said it, no pain and I’m believing God for it! If you are a mom and has breastfed, the first few weeks were definitely trying! The pain was intense and to be honest I would get anxious when it was time for my son to nurse again because it HURT…a lot! After about two weeks, the pain ceased but during that time, it was difficult. So yes, no pain during breastfeeding will definitely be requested.
The list above are just a few things that I specifically prayed or will be praying for in the future. By no means are these specific requests more important than a healthy pregnancy, mama and baby. However, if you have extra concerns, it does not hurt to add a few more requests to God.