Who Needs A Break - Tonight We Pray for the Momma

He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.

ONCE JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY, the crowds grew and followed Him wherever He went. He would teach, heal, and deliver hearts from pain and torment. He would rebuke, show compassion, and tell stories. He loved vibrantly and taught His disciples by example. Scripture reveals the beautiful model of Jesus’s love displayed for us all to follow today.

But the Bible is also clear about another important aspect of Jesus’s life and ministry: The reason He was able to continually give others His time and attention was because He leaned on the presence of the Holy Spirit and communion with His Father through prayer. We know that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus, but in addition to this constant Helper, Jesus set aside time to be alone with His heavenly Father: “He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.” Even after gathering a following and twelve faithful disciples, Jesus understood the value of taking a break. As mommas, this practice is imperative to our mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

One of the most poignant scenes in the Gospels is Jesus’s reaction when He was told that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed by Herod. Upon hearing the news, Jesus attempted to find a place to be alone. But this story shows something interesting. When Jesus attempted to withdraw, the crowds followed Him. Yet He had compassion on them, taught them, and fed them. He met their needs, and only then returned to His original aim, to be alone with the Father: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (Matthew 14:23). Jesus modeled the importance of pausing and catching our breath by taking time to be alone with our heavenly Father.

Here’s what we love: Jesus didn’t just model how important it was to take this time alone with God; He showed how impossible it can be. He knows what it’s like when your heart is heavy and you just need a minute but those who need you are at your door. He knows what it’s like to have the people you’ve been given to love and care for pursue you even when you need a moment of peace. We love that we have a God who knows the importance of a break but who also knows how hard it can be to find one in the middle of a busy day. We can pray from this position. We can ask God, not just to help us see the value in prayer and time alone, but to help create those moments and meet us in them.

Tomorrow, when the sun comes up, we’ll be needed again. The people who call out for us or need us to feed them either physically or spiritually will be waiting for us again. God understands. He knows. And He will help us.

Tonight we pray for the momma who needs a break. Lord, she makes so many decisions for so many people. She never stops moving. She has to stay two steps ahead of everything (even though most days she feels two steps behind). Tonight, Lord, she is tired and just needs a minute. So we ask You to do what only You can do. Make a way for this momma to have some space to breathe and meet her there. Give her peace and rest.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Lord, I need a break from . . .