A Prayer for Us to Believe the Lord Will Do What He Says
By Maggie Meadows Cooper
“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.” - Luke 1:45
Each year as the Christmas season gets closer, my heart fills with excitement over celebrating Jesus with family and friends. The decorations, the parties, the gifts…they all occupy my mind and time. But as Christmas Day approaches, my thoughts usually turn to Mary. All she endured on that long trek to Bethlehem. Giving birth in a barn surrounded by unsettling sounds and smells. Her worries and fears for her newborn son. But most of all, I wonder, why her?
To most people thousands of years ago, Mary was just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. Until one night when everything changed. An angel of the Lord told her that she would be carrying a baby…and not just any baby…the Savior of the world. When the angel left Mary, she hurried to see her relative Elizabeth, who recognized that Mary would be the mother of the Messiah. Her baby (John the Baptist) jumped in her womb at the sound of Mary’s voice! And then, in Luke 2:45, Elizabeth said, “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.”
It's so simple and yet so profound, all at the same time. Mary was chosen because she believed the Lord would do what He said. Not only for those nine months. Or for that one miraculous night in Bethlehem. The Lord had to choose a heart who believed He would do what He said…for life.
On every sleepless night, as she cradled that baby boy to the training and exhausting days of toddlerhood. From the childhood days of mischievous play and games to the stressful years of life with a teenager. As she watched her grown son gain independence as a young adult teaching others, and then as she stood at the foot of the cross her precious son died on. Mary’s story was not just on that night in Bethlehem, and I think we too often forget that.
She lived every day as a wife and mama of multiple children. She cooked and cleaned on days that were long and exhausting. But on top of that, she held in her heart the moments she “treasured” and “pondered” about Jesus that must have brought her restless nights. We know from her song that she knew scriptures and stories of God’s faithfulness passed down through generations, that she most likely knew the prophecies, and therefore knew that Jesus was a part of that story.
Early on, when Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple, a man named Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but He will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose Him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
Now, if that wouldn’t burden a mama, I don’t know what else would. But Mary ... I have to think that she believed God had a plan. A good plan, in spite of bad circumstances, in spite of scary things, and in spite of what she could see in those last days. It would be hard to think that Mary never feared or tossed and turned at times. But I don’t believe she ever doubted that God would do what He said. And so she was the one.
Jesus loved his mama…some of His last words were entrusting her to John’s care. And trying to imagine that scene, my heart is torn apart. It was our Prince of Peace hanging on that cross, but it was also a son and His mama. While she knew He was the Savior, He was also her baby…that same baby we celebrate this Christmas. And she believed He would do what He said. May we all have a heart like Mary’s this Christmas season and every day after.
Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for Mary and her heart that believed when so many others wouldn’t. So often, it seems my prayer becomes, “I believe; help my unbelief.” But I long to have a heart like Mary’s. Help me believe that you will do what you say, not just for this hour, or this day, or this week, but for life.
In Your Mighty Name, Jesus, Amen
Photo credit: Robert Thiemann/Unsplash.com
Maggie Meadows Cooper is a wife, mom, educator, author, and blogger with a longing for women to grow a heart for Jesus and others. She is the author of the children’s book “Bumper” and blogs at The Little Moments about what the Lord is teaching her through her children and everyday life. She contributes to Blogs by Christian Women, Devotional Diva, She Disciples, and Connecting Ministries. An educator with an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Auburn University (War Eagle!), she has twenty years of experience working with young children. She loves all things chocolate, real Coca-Cola, and lives with her husband, three children, and two rambunctious dogs in Opelika, Alabama.
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