Join Adrian Rogers as he delves into the story of Hannah to reveal five key principles of godly parenting. From the power of prayer to the importance of setting purposeful goals for your children, this episode provides a profound exploration of how mothers can shape the spiritual lives of their children. Be inspired by the influential stories of great Christian leaders and the heartfelt prayers of their mothers. Whether you’re a parent or aspiring to be one, this conversation is a treasure trove of divine wisdom and encouragement.
Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
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We’ll be finding 1 Samuel chapter 1. 1 Samuel chapter 1. I am speaking today on this subject. HOW TO RAISE GODLY KIDS. I DON’T KNOW OF A MORE PERTINENT SUBJECT IN THESE DAYS IN WHICH WE’RE LIVING. IT’S WELL BEEN SAID THAT THE HEAD OF THE HOME IS THE HUSBAND, BUT THE HEART OF THE HOME IS THE MOTHER. And I want to speak to you today about the incredible power, the influence of a godly mother in raising godly children. Sometimes when you ask a mother what she does, she may say, oh, I’m just a homemaker and a mother. But I want to say without stutter or stammer or apology or equivocation, after having thought about it, and I sincerely mean it, The most powerful and influential class of people in the world today are mothers. Now in this chapter we’re going to meet a mother whose name was Hannah. And if your name is Ann or Anna, well you’re named after Hannah because the H is an aspirate which may be dropped and the name is a beautiful name. It means gracious and indeed she was a gracious woman. She’s what I would call a maximum mom. Now, she didn’t live in ideal circumstances. As a matter of fact, her circumstances were not ideal at all. She lived in a day when polygamy, that is more than one wife, was tolerated. And she had an adversary, another wife, who ridiculed her and taunted her and made fun of her because she was barren. She had no children. And Hannah wanted more than anything else to have a son to serve God. And she prayed and asked God to give her a son, and God gave her a son, and the name of that son was Samuel. And Samuel was perhaps the greatest prophet of God or one of the greatest prophets at least in the Old Testament. I would say he’s the most significant figure between Moses and David, the prophet Samuel. And what we learn from Hannah in this passage of Scripture we’re going to look at are what I want to call five powerful principles of for raising godly children. If you’re a mom or a dad or want to be a mom or a dad, I want you to tune in to what Hannah did because what happened to Hannah and what Hannah did is a great idea and a great instruction for us today. First of all, the first of these principles is what I want to call the principle and the power of proper priority. THE PRINCIPLE OF A PROPER PRIORITY. NOW LOOK IF YOU WILL HERE IN 1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 1 AND YOU’RE GOING TO FIND OUT THAT IN VERSE 2 IT SAYS THAT HANNAH HAD NO CHILDREN. AND THEN LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE 10, AND SHE WAS IN BITTERNESS OF SOUL AND PRAYED UNTO THE LORD AND WEPT SORE. NOW WHY WAS SHE SO HEARTBROKEN? WHY WAS SHE SO BITTER? WHY WAS SHE SO BROKEN? BECAUSE SHE WANTED A BABY. SHE WANTED GOD TO BLESS HER WITH A CHILD. WHY WAS THIS? BECAUSE HANNAH HAD A GOD-GIVEN INSTINCT TO BE A MOTHER. DID YOU KNOW THAT IS AN INSTINCT FROM GOD? AND THAT CHILDREN ARE A BLESSING FROM GOD? A STRANGE THING HAS HAPPENED IN THE WORLD TODAY. WE HAVE WOMEN WHO ARE COMING UP TODAY WHO HAVE NO DESIRE TO BE MOTHERS. THEY WANT TO HAVE A CAREER RATHER THAN TO HAVE A CHILD. BUT THE BIBLE SAYS IN PSALM 127 VERSE 3, LO, CHILDREN ARE THE HERITAGE OF THE LORD, AND THE FRUIT OF THE WOMB is His reward. That’s probably not a greater earthly blessing, not a greater earthly blessing than children. And in Psalm 128, the Psalmist is talking about the man who loves God and who fears God, and this is the blessing God describes for him. In verse 3, thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. There’s something basically wrong in America, isn’t there? When we have a generation today that does not desire to have children, they look upon children as burdens rather than blessings. They say, well, you know, Now children, they make a rich man poor. No, they make a poor man rich. The rich man can’t take his money to heaven. I’m taking my children to heaven. And which of us would sell one of our children for a million or a billion dollars? Our riches are in our children, and we thank God for them. I say there’s something basically wrong when we have a generation that doesn’t desire children, and there’s something drastically wrong when we have a generation that is putting children to death in the mother’s womb. That, friend, is terrible. It is an abomination to Almighty God. And my heart goes out to those who cannot have children and want children. May God bless you. but I have some questions about those who can have children and should have children and for whatever reason have stultified the God-given instinct that was in the heart of this precious woman whose name means gracious, this woman named Hannah. So the very first thing in rearing godly children is the principle of a proper priority. She wanted children. Secondly, the THERE IS THE PRINCIPLE AND THE POWER OF PRAYER. OF PRAYER, NOT ONLY OF PRIORITY, BUT OF PRAYER. NOW LOOK AGAIN IN VERSE 10, AND SHE WAS IN BITTERNESS OF SOUL, AND SHE PRAYED UNTO THE LORD. SHE PRAYED UNTO THE LORD. NOW HERE’S A PRINCIPLE, LISTEN TO IT. THE TIME TO BEGIN TO RAISE GODLY CHILDREN IS BEFORE THEY ARE BORN, AND EVEN BEFORE THEY ARE CONCEIVED. BEFORE THEY ARE BORN, And even before they’re conceived, you should begin to pray for your children. How wonderful that she prayed and asked God to give her a child, and God did give her a child. AND THAT CHILD CAME AND ANSWERED A PRAYER. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE NAME SAMUEL MEANS? DO YOU KNOW WHY SHE NAMED HIM SAMUEL? THE NAME SAMUEL MEANS ASKED OF THE LORD. I ASKED GOD FOR A CHILD AND GOD GAVE ME A CHILD. I WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN A BLESSING TO THE WORLD BECAUSE THEIR MOTHERS PRAYED AND ASKED FOR A CHILD, SARAH. who had a son when she was 90 years old, had a son in answer to prayer. Up until then she’d been barren. Rachel, who was barren, prayed to God and said, Oh God, give me children or I die. And God heard Rachel and she had a son and his name was Joseph, the mighty deliverer his people. Manoah’s wife wanted a son. She’d been barren and she prayed and asked God to give her a child and she had a son and his name was Samson, the heavyweight champion of the Old Testament, the judge of Israel and the deliverer of God’s people. Ruth, the Moabitess, was a widow and she was barren and she prayed and God was gracious to Ruth. And God gave to Ruth Obed who was the grandfather of David and was in the house and lineage of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think in the New Testament about Zachariah and Elizabeth. They didn’t have a child and they prayed and asked God for a child and God sent John the Baptist. And Jesus said of John the Baptist, there was not a greater born of woman than John the Baptist. But these came, they were miracle births. They came because their parents prayed and said, God, give us a child. NOW WHAT WOULD THE WORLD HAVE BEEN LIKE WITHOUT SAMUEL? WHAT WOULD THE WORLD HAVE BEEN LIKE WITHOUT JOSEPH? WHAT WOULD THE WORLD HAVE BEEN LIKE WITHOUT SAMSON? WHAT WOULD THE WORLD HAVE BEEN LIKE WITHOUT THESE MIGHTY LEADERS THAT CAME BECAUSE THE MOMS, THE DADS PRAYED AND THEY SAID, GOD GIVE US A CHILD. HAVE YOU THOUGHT HOW THE WORLD HAS BEEN BLESSED BY THESE BABIES WHO CAME AND ANSWERED A PRAYER? NOW LET ME JUST TURN THAT AROUND. Have we thought about why doesn’t God send a cure for cancer? Or why doesn’t God give us an answer to the AIDS epidemic? Or why doesn’t God do something to help the nations to live together? Why doesn’t God raise up a statesman? Why doesn’t God raise up a leader? Who is the person who’s going to take Billy Graham’s place? Where are these people? Why aren’t they surfacing? Have you ever thought that maybe we’ve already killed them in the mother’s womb? Have you ever thought about that? Maybe there was a little child that had the answer to cancer, but we killed that child. Maybe there was someone who would have been a mighty deliverer. And we destroyed that child. Thank God for the babies that were born in answer to prayer. And thank God for the babies that were preserved in their mother’s womb. What is the first principle? It is the principle of priority. Children are a blessing of the Lord. What is the second principle? It is the principle of prayer. YOU BEGAN TO RAISE GODLY CHILDREN EVEN BEFORE THEY’RE CONCEIVED. AND BEFORE THEY’RE BORN YOU BEGAN TO PRAY FOR THESE CHILDREN. NOW WHAT IS THE THIRD PRINCIPLE? IT MY FRIEND IS THE PRINCIPLE AND THE POWER OF PURPOSE. OF PURPOSE. LOOK IN VERSE 11, AND SHE VOWED A VOW AND SAID, O LORD OF HOSTS, If thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but will give unto thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life.” She said, Lord, if you will give me a child, I will give him back to you. What was her purpose in prayer? Why did she want a child? That her child would glorify the Lord. That’s what she wanted. She said, God, if the child is a gift from you, then I’m a steward of that gift, and therefore I must give this child back to you. TO YOU. NOW THAT IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPLES IN HAVING GODLY CHILDREN IS TO SEE YOUR CHILD AS A GIFT FROM GOD AND BECAUSE YOUR CHILD IS A GIFT FROM GOD, YOU GIVE THAT CHILD BACK TO GOD. NOW WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR YOUR CHILDREN? why did you have children you say well i want someone to love and i want someone to love me that’s fine but what is the burning ambition that you have for your child what do you want for your child is it fame is it money is it power is it prestige Is it notoriety? What do you want? What is the purpose of your child? You say, you know, God doesn’t seem to answer my prayer when I pray for my children. Well, what are you praying? What is your prayer for your child? You know, James says that we ask and we don’t receive because we ask for the wrong things. We ask amiss that we might consume it upon our lusts. Joyce and I have four wonderful children. Well, we have five. We have a little boy in heaven. So we have five children. We have four wonderful children that still walk God’s green earth. We pray for our children. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever, ever prayed that they would be successful in business. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed that they would be famous. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed that they would be wealthy. I have prayed that God would keep them strong. I have prayed that God would give them joy and happiness. But you know what the burning prayer of my heart has been for my children? That they would know and love God with all of their heart. That’s what I prayed for them. That’s the desire of my heart. My prayer can be summed up in a verse from 3 John 4, I have no greater joy that my children walk in the truth. No greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. Now you know that Psalm that I read to you, Psalm 127 verse 3, Lo, children are the heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is the IS HIS REWARD. AND THEN THAT PSALM GOES ON TO SAY, AS ARROWS ARE IN THE HAND OF A MIGHTY MAN, SO ARE THE CHILDREN OF ONE’S YOUTH. WELL WHAT ARE ARROWS FOR? ARROWS ARE TO BE SHOT AT THE ENEMY. WHAT ARE OUR CHILDREN FOR? THEY ARE TO BE USED IN THE WARFARE AGAINST SATAN. AND I THANK GOD FOR THE ARROWS THAT GOD HAS PUT INTO OUR QUIVER AND INTO OUR BOW AND WE HAVE USED THOSE ARROWS AS BEST WE KNOW HOW TO SHOOT AT THE ENEMY AND I CAN PRAY AND ASK GOD TO BLESS THESE CHILDREN Because my prayer for them is not that they’re going to be wealthy, not that they’re going to be powerful, not that they’re going to be influential. They may be somewhere buried and forgotten in the hearts and minds of some people. But God knows where they are. That is the purpose, the principle of purpose. Now we can’t control them. They must make their own decisions. And let me tell you this about raising children. You must have desires for your children. You have goals for yourself. Now my desire for my children is that they will be godly children. My goal is that I will be a godly dad. I cannot ultimately control my children. BUT I CAN BY THE GRACE OF GOD BE A GODLY DAD. BUT WHAT IS THE PURPOSE THAT YOU HAVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN? What do you desire for your children? I love that song that says, Give of thy sons to bear the message glorious. Give of thy wealth to speed them on their way. Pour out your souls for them in prayer victorious. And all that thou spendest Jesus will repay. So what are the principles? Priority. Prayer. Purpose. And now here’s a big one. Persistence. Persistence. Look in verse 12. And it came to pass as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked, that is he noticed her mouth. And now Hannah, she spake in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought that she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord. I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. And Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast desired of him. That is, the prophet of God said to Hannah, Hannah, BECAUSE YOU HAVE PERSISTED IN PRAYER, GOD HAS HEARD YOUR PRAYER. NOW SHE WAS A WOMAN OF PRAYER, BUT NOT JUST PRAYER EASILY UTTERED AND SOON FORGOTTEN. SHE PRAYED AND PRAYED AND CONTINUED TO PRAY BEFORE THIS CHILD WAS BORN AND AFTER THIS CHILD WAS BORN. As a matter of fact, if you’ll read the next chapter when you get home, it will bless you. I wish I had time just to preach a message on chapter two, which is the prayer of Hannah as she is rejoicing in the might and the strength and the power of her great God. And I thought as I read that prayer in my study, if I had a problem and I wanted somebody to pray for me and Hannah were around, I would want this woman to pray for me. She knew how to get hold of God. AND NOT LET GOD GO. I’VE SEEN JOYCE PRAY OUR CHILDREN THROUGH SO MANY HEARTACHES, SO MANY TEARS, SO MANY DIFFICULTIES, SO MANY PROBLEMS. I’VE WATCHED HER AS SHE HAS PERSISTED IN PRAYER AND REFUSED TO LET SATAN HAVE HIS WAY IN THE HEARTS AND LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN. HERE’S A PRINCIPLE. LISTEN TO IT. NEVER WAVER IN YOUR PRAYER NO MATTER HOW DARK THE CIRCUMSTANCES. NEVER WAVER. There is the principle of persistence, just keep on keeping on. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Psalm 27 verse 14, wait on the Lord, be of good courage. Parents, there will be times when you will think that you have failed. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I THOUGHT WE’RE JUST NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. RAISING CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY BACK IN THE 60’S, WAS LIKE RIDING A BUCKING BRONCO. AND ALL OF THE WORLD AND THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL WAS PULLING AT THEM. BUT WE CONTINUED TO LOVE AND CONTINUED TO PRAY. OH, FRIEND, THERE’S THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE. AND IF YOU’RE A MOM OR DAD HERE AND YOU’VE GOT A WAYWARD TEENAGER, A REBELLIOUS CHILD, KEEP PRAYING. KEEP PRAYING. KEEP ON PRAYING. NOW SHE PRAYED AND DID NOT QUIT PRAYING UNTIL GOD GAVE HER A CHILD. YOU SAY, WELL, PASTOR, IF I DON’T HAVE A BABY AND I WANT A BABY, AND I PRAY LIKE HANNAH PRAYED AND I JUST WON’T QUIT PRAYING, WILL GOD GIVE ME A BABY? NOT NECESSARILY. Not necessarily, that may not be God’s plan for you. But it was God’s plan for Hannah. And we know it was God’s plan for Hannah because Hannah asked a specific thing and God gave her a specific thing. And the prayer that was in Hannah’s heart, God put in her heart. And I’ve said before, the prayer that gets to heaven is the prayer that starts in heaven. But if you persist in prayer, God will show you His will. And prayer will enable God’s will to be done in your heart and in your life. But if God gives you children, then you must persist in prayer for those children and you never, never cease praying for your children. We never get beyond praying for our children. Now here’s the fifth principle. Remember what they are. First of all, there’s priority. And then there’s prayer. Then there’s purpose. And then there’s persistence. And then here’s the fifth one. And it’s the power of persuasion. The power of persuasion. What a great, great influence a mother has on a child. A father. has influence on a child, but he does not have influence like a mother. A mother makes the deepest impression on a child and especially during the early days. I remember reading about TIMOTHY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IN SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER ONE IN VERSE FIVE THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID WHEN I CALL TO REMEMBRANCE THE UNFEIGNED FAITH THAT IS IN THEE WHICH DWELT FIRST IN THY GRANDMOTHER LOIS AND THY MOTHER UNIS AND I AM PERSUADED IN THEE ALSO SO WHY DID TIMOTHY LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE OF HIS GRANDMAMA AND HIS MAMA NOW I think I have an influence on my children. You say, Pastor, the sermons you’ve preached, that’s what’s influenced your kids the most, isn’t it? No. I hate to say that. It’s a bitter pill. But no, no, not the sermons I’ve preached. I hope they’ve enjoyed my messages. I hope they have remembered one or two things I may have said over these low many years and thousands of sermons they’ve had to endure. Poor things. But that’s not what has influenced the children. You know, the thing that has influenced our children is the life they’ve seen Joyce and I live in our home. That’s what’s influenced our children. Not the sermons I preach from this pulpit. As a matter of fact, the sermons I preach from this pulpit would have a reverse effect on our kids if they weren’t seeing it lived at home. It would turn them off. And I want to say something else. It’s not primarily my influence, it’s Joyce’s influence. I’ve watched. I just stand back in awe. I have seen our children come to her in times of need. I wonder, why don’t they come to me? I know so much more than everybody. Why don’t they come to me? They don’t come to me. They go to her. As a matter of fact, I was reading a statistic. About 23% of the boys said if they had a problem, they would go to their father. And 77% said that they would go to their mother. Oh, the influence of a mother. And you see, look if you will, in this passage here, the influence of Hannah. Look in verse 21, And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah went not up. For she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned. And then I will bring him that he may appear before the Lord and there abide forever. She said, I’m not going to leave him. I’m not going to let somebody else have these precious years. You can go if you want. And that’s a fine thing for you to go, husband. But I have a responsibility. I’M A MOTHER. I’M GOING TO TRAIN MY CHILD. I’M GOING TO BE WITH MY CHILD. AND THEN WHEN HE’S OLD ENOUGH TO TRAVEL, THEN I WILL BRING HIM TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. ISN’T THAT A WONDERFUL MAMA? THAT’S THE INFLUENCE THAT SHE HAD. YOU GO ON TO READ IN THIS STORY THAT HANNAH WAS THE ONE WHO WHEN SAMUEL WENT TO STAY WITH THE PROPHET ELI, THAT HANNAH WAS THE ONE WHO EVERY YEAR SHE SEWED A SPECIAL LITTLE COAT FOR HIM. AND BROUGHT IT TO HIM. AND EVERY STITCH WAS STITCHED WITH LOVE. THAT’S THE POWER, THE POWER OF A MOTHER’S INFLUENCE. I WAS THINKING AS I WAS GETTING READY TO PREACH THIS MESSAGE ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF MY OWN DEAR MOTHER IN MY LIFE AND HOW I THANK GOD FOR HER. ONE OF MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS IS TO SEE MY MOTHER DOWN ON HER KNEES JUST LIKE THIS MOTHER. I USED TO WONDER WHEN I WOULD WALK IN THE BEDROOM SOMETIME AND THERE WOULD BE MAMA down on her knees. I cannot tell you the profound influence that had on my own heart. I think of the late great Dr. Robert G. Lee, the former pastor of this church, would talk about the influence of his mama on his life. And remember when he went away to Panama and came back and his mother made him look her in the eyes and tell her that he had been pure and clean the whole time he was away down there in Panama working. Abraham Lincoln said, all that I am and have and ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. I’ve had the privilege of having some face-to-face time with President George Bush. And sitting in President George Bush’s library, he looked in my face and I thought I saw tears come to his eyes when he spoke about his mother and how godly his mother was. And he said, if she’s not in heaven, there’s no one HEAVEN. THEY TALKED ABOUT HIS GODLY MOTHER. I THINK ABOUT AUGUSTINE, THAT GREAT FATHER OF THE FAITH, ONE OF THE CHURCH FATHERS. BUT WHAT MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT IS THAT AUGUSTINE HAD A MOTHER WHOSE NAME WAS MONICA. AND WHILE AUGUSTINE WAS A WASTERAL AND A PROFLUGATE, MONICA WAS ON HER KNEES PRAYING FOR HER SON AUGUSTINE TO BE SAVED. AND AUGUSTINE WAS SAVED AS A RESULT OF THOSE PRAYERS. We think about the Methodist Church and thank God for our Methodist brothers and sisters. And we think about John Wesley and we think about Charles Wesley. And what great leaders are the Wesleys and how much the Christian world owes to the Wesleys. But many people do not know about the mother of John and Charles Wesley and the other brothers and sisters. That mother’s name was Susanna. Susanna. While the Wesleys may have been called the father of Methodism, many have called Susanna Wesley the mother of Methodism. It was Susanna who put that faith in the heart of those children. But I’m thinking about another boy. This boy was born to a cruel, a selfish child. A DOMINEERING MOTHER. SHE HAD NO REAL TIME FOR HIM. AS A MATTER OF FACT, SHE’D BEEN MARRIED THREE TIMES. AND THE SECOND HUSBAND THEY DIVORCED OVER THIS, IT WAS ABUSE. SHE WAS ABUSING HIM. AND THAT’S WHY THEY GOT A DIVORCE. This boy’s mother said, don’t pester me. Don’t bother me. Don’t ever call me when I’m at work. I don’t want to be bothered by you. He felt total rejection. He had a good IQ, but he dropped out of high school. He didn’t have a trade. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t even get a driver’s license. He went to a foreign country, met a girl there and married her. But after a while, she got tired of him and left him. He persuaded her to come back. He was a total failure. There was about only one thing he knew how to do, and that was to shoot a rifle. And he got a rifle and went to Dallas, Texas, and got up in a book repository and pointed that rifle out the window. And in 1962, he shot Kennedy. And all the world knew about Lee Harvey Oswald. He finally had some attention, didn’t he? He was a mother. who rejected him, a mother who forgot him, a mother who had no time for him, a mother who said to this boy who was a relatively smart boy, don’t pester me. What is the weapon that a mother has in her arsenal? What is that weapon? Friend, that weapon is the power of her persuasion, her influence. I thank God for that power. And if you’ll take these five things, if you’ll take that priority, if you’ll take that prayer, that purpose, that persistence, that persuasion, put them together, I believe by the grace of God you’ll raise godly children. Let me close with this parable. A young mother set her feet on the pathway of life. Is the way long, she asked. And her guide said, yes. And the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning. But the young mother was happy and would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed them in the clear springs. The sun shone on them and life was good. And the young mother cried, nothing could be lovelier than this. Then the night came. And the storm came, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold. And the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle. And the children said, Oh, mother, we’re not afraid because you’re near us, and we know that no harm can come to us. And the mother said, THIS IS BETTER THAN THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE DAY, FOR I’VE TAUGHT MY CHILDREN COURAGE. AND THE MORNING CAME, AND THERE WAS A HILL AHEAD. AND THE CHILDREN CLIMBED AND GREW WEARY, AND THE MOTHER WAS WEARY TOO. BUT ALL THE TIME SHE SAID TO THE CHILDREN, A LITTLE PATIENCE, AND WE’RE THERE. A LITTLE PATIENCE, AND WE’RE THERE. SO THE CHILDREN CLIMBED AND CLIMBED, AND WHEN THEY REACHED THE TOP, THEY SAID, MOTHER, We couldn’t have done it without you.” And when the mother lay down to sleep that night, she said, “‘This day is better than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today I gave them strength.’ And the next day the strange clouds came, clouds of war and hate and evil. And the children groped and stumbled, but the mother said, Look up, lift up your eyes to the light. And the children looked up and saw above the clouds the everlasting glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God. AND THE DAYS WENT ON, AND THE YEARS, AND THE MOTHER GREW OLD, AND SHE WAS LITTLE AND BENT, BUT HER CHILDREN WERE STRONG AND WALKED WITH COURAGE. AND WHEN THE WAY WAS HARD, THEY HELPED THEIR MOTHER, AND WHEN THE WAY WAS ROUGH, THEY LIFTED HER, FOR SHE WAS LIGHT AS A FEATHER. AND AT LAST THEY CAME TO A HILL, AND BEYOND THE HILL THEY COULD SEE A SHINING ROAD, AND GATES FLUNG WIDE. AND THE MOTHER SAID, I HAVE REACHED THE END OF MY JOURNEY, AND I KNOW THAT THE END IS BETTER THAN THE BEGINNING, FOR MY CHILDREN CAN WALK ALONE, AND THEIR CHILDREN AFTER THEM. AND THE CHILDREN SAID, YOU WILL ALWAYS WALK WITH US, MOTHER, EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH THE GATES. AND THEY STOOD AND WATCHED HER. as she went on alone and the gates closed after her. And they said, we cannot see her, but she’s with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence. If you’ve had a godly mother, thank God for her. And if you are a mother, would you pray, God, make me a godly mother. And if you’re not yet a mother, but it may be God’s plan for you to have children, would you pray, God, put the proper desire in my heart and help me to be one day a godly mother. Father, seal the message, I pray, to our hearts. And thank you, Lord, for the power that you’ve shown us here in the life of Hannah. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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