Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
Shelter our loved ones in Your shadow and grant them rest.
Shield those dear to us; we know every fear You’ll arrest.
Save them from harm and cover them as they end their days.
Please command Your angels to guard all their ways.
Rescue and protect them by the power of Your Name.
Thank You for Your faithfulness that is always the same.
~Psalm 91
The adoption journey can be a difficult one. And this is one time you want to ensure you are taking time to pray diligently. Each and every day, take time to pray for the following people, known and unknown, who will help you in your journey:
- The birth mother who is carrying or has delivered your child. Pray for strength, courage, peace, and the presence of the Holy Spirit
- The birth father. Pray he is a supportive partner to her or, if absent, that he allows her the freedom to make decisions.
- Your adoption professionals. Pray that they are strong, compassionate, understanding, and protected as they work day and night to build your family.
- Your family and friends. Ask God to encircle you with the love and support you need at this time, bringing in positive people and gently letting go of those who do not choose to be.
- Your heart. Adoption is truly a matter of the heart. Pray for His love for your birth mother and His protection as you but your heart out there.
God bless you today!
Adoption Prayer, Domestic Adoption
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform.
— William Cowper
It is every woman’s dream to hold her first baby in her arms. There is nothing more painful yet joyful as giving birth to your child. You think you are ready to start a family and imagine everything will happen “just as planned.” After all, isn’t that how it is with all the other women you know? But, after 12 months of ‘trying’, you find out that you are now medically an infertile couple. It is devastating news and one that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. But, is it the end of the road? Will you never become a mother? Do you feel God has let you down?
I want to encourage you to meditate on those biblical verses that talk about God’s will and plan for His children (Psalm 25:12, Psalm 32:8, Psalm 37:4,7, Proverbs 2:6-9, 1 Cor. 10:13, Isaiah 58:11) God promises that He has plans to bless us and not harm us…plans to give us a hope and a future. There are times when the plans in our head do not match the plans that God has prepared for us. But, if you trust in Him and take that leap of faith, you will be pleasantly surprised at how God was able to work your darkest hour into a bright and sunny day!
Whether you want to try assisted reproduction treatments or want to consider adoption, invite God into the situation. Trust that God, in His wisdom, is trying to make something out of you through this difficult time. Ask Him to guide you towards His divine plan for your parenthood and show you what He wants you to do. If you are considering adoption, take a step back and check if your motives are pure: Do you want to become a parent or do you want a biological child? You cannot adopt a child for selfish reasons i.e., to make you a mother or to fill a void. An adopted child is no different from a biological one. The former is born of your heart while the latter is born of your body! God has prepared a child for you. Be strong and persevere in prayer until He leads you to your child.
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
Prayer delights God’s ear, it melts His heart, it opens His hand: God cannot deny a praying soul.
—Thomas Watson
It is so important to involve God in our everyday lives by talking to Him. Yes, talking to Him and not praying at Him! Many people confuse praying with reciting a list of requests and needs or using flowery language to impress God. In truth, prayer is simply talking to God. God loves to be a part of every aspect of our lives, from the mundane to the toughest situations we face. Adoption is one of the biggest decisions a couple can make and it can be a very confusing, difficult, and frustrating process. If you try to do it on your own, you will most likely end up jaded and feel tempted to give up when you meet the challenges of adoption. But, with God’s help, you can not only pull through but also allow Him to prepare you for parenthood.
I read this quote recently and realized how true it is when applied to our prayer lives: “Trams and trolleys and some buses have long poles which reach up and bring electricity and power to the motors from overhead wires. The pole may be within an inch of the wire, yet no power can pass; the bus or trolley stays in the same place. The people inside can sing and shout and preach and hold a great meeting, but when they get out they are still at the same place.” If we are not connected to God through prayer, we cannot progress spiritually.
No amount of preaching, praising, and worshiping can substitute for the quiet time we spend at the Master’s feet, sharing our deepest hurts and sorrows, and listening to His response. Your prayer life will establish your walk with God and will help you determine if you are on the path God has chosen for you. When you open your heart and talk to God, He will show you what He has called you to do. The answers may not be what you want to hear, but I promise you that there will always be an answer!
Adoption Prayer, Open Adoption
When life knocks you to your knees—well, that’s the best position in which to pray, isn’t it?—Ethel Barrymore
Finding out that your teenage daughter, whom you thought was sexually inactive, is pregnant can be devastating for any parent. But, it is even more shocking when you thought you had raised her in a good family with firm Christian values. While this is an incredibly difficult time, it is also the exact time when you need to turn to God and ask Him to help you handle the situation.
Remember that your daughter is scared right now and needs your unconditional love and forgiveness. She needs her parents to help her make tough decisions concerning her future and the future of the unborn child.
While you may be tempted to give in to your emotions, you can learn how to hold tight to God through this wonderful example. Greg Asimakoupoulos narrates the incident of a pilot called Henry Dempsey. On a flight from Portland to Boston, Dempsey went to the rear of a small aircraft to investigate an unusual noise he had heard. When he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket and Dempsey found out, too late, that the noise was coming from the rear door that wasn’t properly latched. The door flew open and Dempsey was sucked out of the plane. The co-pilot quickly alerted the nearest airport and made an emergency landing. While helicopters searched the ocean for Dempsey, they actually found him clinging on to the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. He had caught the ladder as he fell out and held on to it for 10 minutes as the plane flew 200mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet! Asimakoupoulos says “Things in life may feel turbulent, and you may not feel like holding on. But have you considered the alternative?”
Hold on to God because it is never too late for your daughter to make the right decision – a decision to choose life with a Christian family. http://mydaughterispregnant.com/ is a wonderful resource for mothers wanting to help their teenage daughters do the right thing.
Excerpt from Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed., 622 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).
Adoption Prayer
Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.
— Lin Yutang
The Bible compares motherhood to God’s love for us. Just as a mother loves and nurtures, so does God shower His love on all new believers who are “babes in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1). If you are considering adoption, I hope you are including God in your adoption plans. While it is important to pray for yourself and your family in preparation of welcoming a new life to love, into your hearts, don’t forget to pray for the birth mother and all other adoption professionals you come into contact with.
Why should you pray for the birth mother? Well, firstly, God is using her to ultimately bless you with motherhood. Secondly, whatever be the circumstances in which the birth mother is giving up her baby in adoption, we know for sure that it is a very painful decision for her. She is doing what Jochebed, the mother of Moses did. Jochebed gave up her son to save him from death at the hands of Pharaoh. It must have been a terrible sight to watch her baby float in a basket on the reeds, not knowing who will find him. Yet, she exercised her faith in God by taking a bold step to save his life. God honored her faith and Moses was picked up by Pharaoh’s own daughter!
There are two important lessons we can learn from Jochebed – she trusted God to save her child and she also used the opportunity she got as a nursing maid to influence Moses’s character. So, what can you do as a prospective parent? You can ask God to strengthen the birth mother to go through the adoption process and pray for her future. God is placing the life of a child into your hands. As a mother, modeling Jochebed, you must impart your faith to your child, preparing the child to serve God in every way.
As a mother, you have the responsibility of influencing your child positively during the formative years. Be committed to making a powerful contribution to the glory of God by raising godly children. When you do that, you are not only honoring God but also the woman who put her child into your hands, trusting you to do what’s right.
Adoption Prayer, Christian Adoption
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
-The New King James Version., 2 Co 3:18 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
As I read this verse this morning, I wondered what it means to be ‘transformed from glory to glory’. As I thought about it, I realized that God’s ultimate goal is to transform us from within to reflect His image. But, this transformation does not happen overnight. There is a saying that ‘it is not time that heals, but what we do in that time that brings the healing’. Every challenge or trial we face in this life is an opportunity to transform us more into God’s likeness.
What do we do when we pray for something and God makes us wait for an answer? Do we complain, doubt, worry, and feel like giving up? Do we envy all the other women who are blessed with children (biological or adopted), have great husbands, and possess spiritual and material blessings? It is so easy to give in to our feelings of jealousy when we compare our blessings with those of others. We may even end up disappointed with God or question our worth in His eyes, beating ourselves up on why we are not blessed like ‘that woman’. But, God makes it very clear that we must make Him the center of our lives in order to feel fulfilled. No child can fill that God-shaped hole in your heart.
Don’t compare your ‘glory’ with someone else’s glory. God knows our individual needs and concerns, and He will bless each one of us according to what He knows we need and can handle. His timing is absolutely perfect. He is never late and never early, but right on time! So, be confident that He will bless you at the right time with the child He has chosen for you.
