Two factors contribute to the challenging—and rewarding—nature of parenthood.
One factor is the difficulty of the job. We multitask on little sleep for the first few years, we navigate difficult conversations a few years later and, of course, throughout it all, we make hard decisions we hope are in the best interest of our family.
According to a 2023 Pew Research survey, about two-thirds of parents believe parenting is a harder than they thought it would be pre-parenthood.
The other factor is simply that we care.
About 90% of us consider being a parent “one of the most important” aspects of who we are as a person—30% of us consider parenthood the most important aspect.
When we succeed, we find bursting moments of God-given fulfillment in our duty.
When we struggle, we tend to overexert. We feel compelled to act (to fix things, to do damage control). We attempt our best problem-solving to find solutions. Many times it works. But when it doesn’t, we wear out from our efforts and an unhappy merry-go-round of thoughts.
God’s Word says in every moment, including these moments, we can lean on him in prayer. (Philippians 4:6).
When we are at our end, God is still at work. (John 5:16-17).
Among many other things, God’s Word assures us that prayer is taking action. Prayer is problem-solving.
The Bible shows us that blessings happen that would not happen without prayer. (See Matthew 6:6; James 4:2).
In James 5:16, Jesus’ brother James says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (emphases added).
Events happen that would not happen without prayer.
One instance out of the book of Job makes this clear. In this book, we see God’s servant Job suffer great tragedy all with faith intact, even as his friends feed him painful lies about why God has allowed his suffering.
In the aftermath, God states that not one, but two, blessings are contingent on the faithful prayers of Job. (Job 42).
The first blessing is the forgiveness of Job’s friends. God tells Job’s friends that Job must pray for them in order to receive God’s forgiveness for the falsehoods they told Job.
In Job 42:8, God says, “[M]y servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (emphasis added). Job’s friends “went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.” (Job 42:9).
God acted in response to Job’s prayers by forgiving Job’s friends.
The second blessing is the restoration of Job’s fortunes. Job 42:10 says, “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends.” (emphasis added). God waited to restore Job’s fortunes until after he prayed for the forgiveness of his friends. Without Job’s prayers, events would have turned out differently.
When you are struggling and the enemy attempts to tell you otherwise, remember that prayer is powerful for those who love God. Events happen that would not happen without prayer.
If you are at your end, turn to prayer. Praying is action. Praying is problem-solving. Take a while and rest in God’s strength and power. When you are at your end, God is still at work.
