A Prayer For Feeding A Baby

A Prayer for Feeding a Baby

O God who does not forget us,

Help me remember You are near

In the sleepless nights,

The midnight feedings,

And the too-early mornings.

Help me remember You are near

In the warmed-up bottles and stained nursing tanks,

In the rocking chairs and swaddling blankets,

In the burp rags and the diaper blowouts,

In the undereye bags and the reheated coffee.

I am bleary-eyed

And so in love

As I marvel at this little creature,

Whom I get to call my child.

Help me remember You are near

As I feed my footie-clad babe

At my breast or with a bottle

Or with the help of a feeding tube.

Thank You for the beautiful ways

Parents can provide nourishment

To help our babies grow.

Help me remember You are near.

Thank You for the connection

And magic that happens skin to skin,

For the eye contact that nurtures bonding,

And for the way that little hand

With tiny fingers

Reaches up

And pulls on my heartstrings just so.

Help me remember You are near

In these moments that tick by.

They say the years are short,

But I know too well the nights are long.

In the moments when my patience is thin

And my capacity is stretched,

Extend Your peace like a river

And Your glory over everything like an overflowing stream.

Help me remember You are near

As I sway and rock my child to sleep.

May I remember You are the Rock of ages—

Like a loving parent who doesn’t abandon

But rather promises care,

Like a mother who nurses a baby

And carries her little ones on her hip.

Help me remember You are near.

In my fears and hopes for my baby—

Who they may be

And what they may be like—

Comfort me.

As a mother and father soothe their child,

You give compassion even greater than any human bond.

Help me remember You are near.

It’s amazing to us, God,

That You love our babies more than we do.

Thank You for the gift of caring for them

And feeding them.

Will You nourish their minds and bodies, hearts and souls?

Will You nourish us, too?

Help me remember You are near

To the mothers and fathers

Who can’t feed their babies

The way they would if they could

And must make impossible decisions to survive

And keep their babies full.

I pray that You will move within me

A spirit of compassion

To work for a more just world

So that all babies may eat.

Help me live with open hands

So that other parents may have the dignity

Of feeding their little ones

By their own hands.

Help me remember You are near.

Help me not forget these moments,

For this fleeting time

Will be so easy to forget.

For formula, we give thanks.

For the milk of a mother, we give thanks.

For bottles, we give thanks.

For the breast, we give thanks.

For babies to nourish, we give thanks.

For a world in which they’ll flourish, we give thanks.

Isaiah 26:4; Colossians 2:6-7