Prayer Warrior

A late evening knock on the door revealed our daughter and son-in-law, both with ear-to-ear grins. “Hello, Ema!” they said. That was the code word. (Months ago as we joked about what the grandchildren would one day call me. I’d told them I would be Ema.) Now they stood tall in our living room to announce a pregnancy! Nine weeks married and three weeks pregnant.

“You’re a mama!”

“You’re a grandma!”

“Oh,” I told the two of them, “Baby changes everything!”

The countdown to May has begun. Each week we chart the embryo’s progress and imagine how big he has become. She’s outfitting the nursery, reading books on prenatal nutrition, attending classes at the birthing center and sleeping a whole lot more. Their life is beginning to revolve more and more around the little one that grows within her, and the baby hasn’t even been born.

She takes her vitamins, gets plenty of rest and exercises regularly. She monitors the proteins she needs for the baby to grow strong. “I couldn’t have a soda; the sugar isn’t good for Baby,” she says. The proud daddy guards his wife, careful to shield her from stress and comfort her concerns. He questions the medical staff. He plans for the baby’s future and how he will provide for the growing family. The fetus, now the size of a lime, could easily be held in the palm of her hand, but either one of them would give their lives for the tiny baby.

A fertilized egg implanted in a proper environment, and given enough nutrients and time begins to grow. The seed becomes an embryo and then a fetus. When it’s big enough to be viable he is born as a helpless babe. After twenty years of training, he’s ready to face the world on his own. That’s quite a commitment for a set of young parents.

Unwanted Pregnancy

Sadly, many a mother today is not as excited about her pregnancy as my daughter is. Babies require a lot of energy and time and money. Parents sacrifice many of their own desires to help the child succeed. They must put their own needs aside. Of necessity, their priorities change so that the child will be healthy and live.

If the mother does not take care of her own health or worse yet uses substances during pregnancy, the baby may not live or could be born with deformities. Worse yet, she could terminate the unwanted baby.

If a baby is born, he will then requires many years of conscientious care and loving discipline which many parents today are not so willing to provide.

Jesus’ Baby

Now, I begin to wonder. How does Jesus birth His children? He plants a tiny seed in a fertile heart. Will it grow? Will it become a baby? Will it live to be born? Will it grow to adulthood? Will it nurture another?

He has planted His seed in hearts all around us. He intends for us to nurture some of them, just as a mother cares for her own prenatal child. He wants us to bring them to term and then bottle feed them till they are ready for solids; spoon feed them till they can handle the utensils themselves; cut up their meat until they are competent with a knife; teach them to survive in the world on their own.

Then, we watch in awe as they nurture the next generation. Such a miracle! Yet so many dangers exist along the way.

Our Birthrate

This brings me to ask about the birthrate in our churches today. I’m talking about Jesus’ new babies, spiritual births.

A new baby is noisy and messy and requires round-the-clock care. Spiritual birth is a messy process, too, and baby Christians require a good deal of nurturing, if they are to survive past infancy.

Perhaps we as mature Christians are too busy to be bothered with an unplanned baby. What is the spiritual abortion rate in our church?

Perhaps we are content to keep doing the “adult” things we enjoy, and we take great care with our birth control ,so that we don’t have to worry about children affecting our church lifestyle.

Maybe the Lord has already given each one of us an embryo to nurture and protect. Are we too busy to parent?

Is there a neighbor asking spiritual questions? Maybe the Spirit’s been urging you to talk with someone at work ? Do you need to write a card to a family member who is in need?

That could be the seed He is planting in a fertile heart. Will you abort that new life?

Is a new ministry beginning that you feel the Lord is drawing you to get involved with? A homeless woman needs a ride to her work. Is that a parental responsibility He would give to you? The food pantry needs someone to hand out bags of canned goods on Friday. Maybe that’s your opportunity to nurture new life.  A team is setting up a one-day portrait studio for less fortunate people. Is He asking you to greet people as they come in and talk with someone who is hurting? Did you see a teenager kneel to pray in the service, or a child crying?

Could the Lord be calling you to shepherd that one? What if He was pairing you with one baby Christian so you could walk him or her through some of the darkest days of their life? Would you choose life?

Choose Life

Choice! Does that baby Christian (born or unborn) have the right to life? Will we take the responsibilities of parenthood? I wonder, will I? Am I too comfortable? I like my church the way it is. Do I have the courage to pray, “Lord, I want a baby of my own to raise”? Would my heart ache for a newborn the way my daughter longs for her new baby? Could I anticipate the birth the way she is? Would I prepare a spiritual nursery? Would I be reading all the books and saving for the baby’s future?

Church, if we were serious about the family of God, we would be preparing ourselves to birth the babies. Get in shape and take your vitamins. In this case, that would be getting into the Word and exercising our prayer muscles, specifically the ones required for the hard process of laboring over the unsaved.

Let’s paint the spiritual nursery and set up the cribs. If we are expecting a baby, we will be preparing. We need Bible studies and small groups for new believers. We need to meet people where they are at with divorce recovery groups, financial planning classes, prayer times, fellowships and socials.

The baby must become the priority for a while, as we set our own desires aside. Perhaps you’d love to attend the new Bible Fellowship class, but you really feel the Savior urging you to get involved with the new members class or the nursery.

Empty Nesters

As new parents, we imagined what our children would become when they were grown. To watch that miracle take place before our eyes made all the sacrifice and investment in them worthwhile. We poured into our children, and now it’s so thrilling to see them affecting the world and starting families of their own.

The birth of a baby is so exciting. It is such a joyous time. The energy and excitement is contagious. Imagine what life our church would burst forth with if our sanctuary were full of baby Christians who are just beginning to explore the Kingdom. With each new discovery they make, we are transported back to the time when the world was new for us, too. A baby changes everything. Wouldn’t you love to have a baby of your own?  Choose Life!  ♥