Is Jesus Your Living Water?

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

Sleepless nights, disrespectful attitudes, teen drama. Friend, as a mom of three grown kids, I can testify that I’ve been through it all. Motherhood is surely not for the weak!

In the first few years of mothering, when faced with a challenge, I usually looked to my own resources to parent my kids. The result was an often stressed and fearful woman who failed to be the kind of mom I wanted to be. Our temptation as sinful women is to “dig our own cisterns,” to try to solve problems ourselves instead of living in dependence on Jesus, the living water that satisfies our souls. Although I’d been a Christian for a few years, I still thought I had to do everything myself.

Whether I needed wisdom, patience, or just the energy to get through the day, I hadn’t learned yet how to submit my concerns to the Lord in prayer and trust Him for the answers.

When I first attended a Moms in Prayer group, I was a young mom juggling the responsibilities of three children and a home. Through this time, I slowly learned how to pray and stop digging for my own water and instead, invite Jesus to supply it. Praising God for who He is, our first step of prayer, was an eye opener that taught me to first consider the greatness of the God I believed in.

I entered the group full of anxiety and left with a new heart of peace.

Of course, I am a work in progress, a Christian along the road of being transformed into the likeness of Christ, as we all are. But participating in the regular practice of prayer with other believing women changed my outlook and attitude. As the new school year gears up, where will you be looking for the strength, courage, wisdom, and persevering grace needed to get you and your kids through the day?

Will you be digging your own “cistern” to hold you up? Or will you submit to the One who can provide the best water you’ll ever drink?

Pray with other moms to the One who gives us living water:

• Be encouraged to take your eyes off of yourself and your problems and to look up and focus each week on who God is: His power, grace, and mercy.
• Be strengthened in your prayer life and assured that your prayers will be kept confidential.
• Silently confess your sin and be reminded of your forgiveness through Christ.
• Spend time thanking God for the blessings you’ve received.
• Get the chance to pray for your child and school and hear another mom agree with your concerns in prayer.
• Develop mom friends who will celebrate your highs and walk with you through the lows.
• Discover the power of prayer as you lift your cares together with these praying friends.

One mom in my group that prays for college/career age children, shared that being in a group has taught her to trust the Lord. A few months ago, she received a phone call from her adult son that he had been diagnosed with a difficult medical condition. This mom told us that when she hung up the phone, the first thing she did was pray, asking the Lord to enter this situation and to provide wisdom, healing, and peace. Only after she had prayed, she started researching his condition online.

In the past, she would have started with fear, but the Lord has taught her a better way of looking to Him first.

When the alarm goes off on Monday morning and your week of responsibilities starts, as a Christian, you’ve got a Friend who understands the real challenges you face. Someone who promises to walk with you through each one, providing help and hope. When you pray, submitting your concerns to the One who goes before you, gradually, your heart will ease as you learn to lean on Him and not on yourself.

Dearest Father, please help us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. May each mom seek You first and submit to You in all things as she parents her children. By Your grace, love, and mercy, cleanse us from our habit of digging our own cisterns and renew us in the vision of You as the only source of living water we will ever need. Help us in our sisterhood of praying women to encourage each other in our walk with You. Amen!

If you’re not currently praying with other moms in a Moms in Prayer group, please reach out and get connected. Join in our fellowship of prayer this school year and find the source of living water to meet all your needs.

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Carolyn Keehan serves as the Virginia State Coordinator for Moms in Prayer. She and her husband Tim reside in the Washington, D.C. area and are parents to three grown children. She currently leads a Moms in Prayer group for women praying for college/career age children.