We can’t believe it! Even still, at 15 weeks along, we look at each other and say, “Is this really happening?”

Benjamin and I are really, honestly, it-must-be-true-because-we-now-have-ultrasound-photos going to be parents to a squirmy, cuddly baby!

It’s a big undertaking, this parenting! God is using my body right now, and our parenting later, to take care of and grow a precious little life that He has plans for. This baby is more than just our baby, it’s a person designed by God to glorify Himself.

I love reading Psalm 139 and thinking about it in terms of this little one.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

-Psalm 139:13-16

I love thinking that, though I have never seen this baby’s face, God is personally designing a tiny nose and wide grin. Though I have no idea of the baby’s personality or what life will be like, God has every day written down in His omniscient book.

5 Prayers for Our Baby

As we head toward this new season of parenting, of trying our best to guide this baby toward godliness and toward a loving, dynamic relationship with God, Benjamin and I know that we need to be on our knees in prayer. God is the only One who fully understands this baby’s heart and is the only One who can give us the strength and the wisdom we need to guide that heart well.

So as we look forward to kissing chubby cheeks, we are praying that God would bless this baby’s life in these ways:

1.Salvation. More than anything, we pray that God would show this baby Himself. We pray that He would help us to teach this baby that he was born a sinner in desperate need of God’s saving grace. We ask that God would show this child the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” and of John 5:24, which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” No matter how healthy, how fun, or how worthwhile this baby’s life is, it will mean nothing if he or she never comes to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Health. We pray often, especially in this stage, that God would give our baby health, that He would step in and form each body part in a functioning, problem-free way. We also pray, though, that if that isn’t God’s plan, that He would give us the strength to cope with any difficulties and the joy to still celebrate the life that He designed.

3. Usefulness. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We know God can do amazing things with this person He has created, and so we just ask that He would work through this child’s life to reach others for His glory.

4. Big faith. Life can be hard and it can be scary, but we have a God who can walk on water, who created the stars, and breathed life into man. Nothing is impossible with God. So, as Benjamin and I are learning these truths daily ourselves, we need God’s help to show us how to teach our child to step out in bold faith every day.

5. Joy. In Romans 15:13, Paul prayed over the Roman believers, saying, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” And we want to pray those truths for our baby, too — that his or her relationship with God will be filled with the overwhelming joy and hope that comes of knowing that you are loved by the King.

Parenting is a big job, and it’s an important job. With God’s help, we want to do it right. We want to always point our child to the Father and to His love and grace, and we want to just enjoy the time that God has given us to spend with this little baby.

25 weeks until we get to meet this baby face to face!

Share your story! What have you prayed or what are you praying over your babies? Do you have any parenting advice for us? How has God used parenting to grow your faith?