Expectant Prayers ®

If you have a big family, you have probably heard the silly remarks that people can make.  "Do you know what causes that?"  or "There must be something in the water where you live".  My favorites are "Are you the mother or the sister?"  or "Do you run a daycare?"  or "You must be Mormon!".   

Usually wherever we go, we are always getting complemented on the behavior of the kids.  It happens a lot in restaurants as people sit and watch the kids actually using... MANNERS!  They'll come up to us after the meal and say how well behaved the kids are, etc.    The other topic that always comes up is all the Biblical names.  People poke fun sometimes, but have never been rude to us.  I think it's funny when they'll ask the names and recognize some, but not others.  More than once I have been asked, "Is the name Titus in the Bible?"   I usually laugh and tell them... yes, it's an entire BOOK in the New Testament.   They are usually embarrassed and admit that they need to read the Bible more.  The name Celeste comes from "celestial" and means heaven(ly).  Her name literally means "heavenly angel".  I get asked about hers a lot, too.

One of my favorite things is when my family and my sister's are together.  Last time we went to Indiana, we went to Menard's to get some items for their church redecorating... oh, the looks on people's faces as we paraded through the store with all the kids.    You would have thought that people had never seen so many kids at one time...and there were only 8.  What about some families who have 12-16 kids?    LOL

When my husband and I started our family, we had no preconceived number in our mind of just how many we would have.  We started with one and literally followed the leading of the Lord for the rest.  I believe that in everything, we are to seek God and His will, which includes our families.    We should be praying about what  we do and trying our best to be obedient to the calling that God has for us.  Therefore, my approach on the topic of having a large family is similar to my view on home schooling;  IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE!

God gives the command to be fruitful and multiply in the book of Genesis, but only this was after the entire earth was destroyed by the great flood.  God spoke these words to Noah in Genesis 9:7, "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."  After that, He doesn't specify how much we are to multiply.  

In Biblical examples, we see that there are many who conceived only one or two children and others who had six or more!   If this were a Biblical mandate that everyone increase greatly, we would clearly see the pattern in Scripture.  On the contrary, we hear stories of infertility as in the story of Hannah.  She prayed diligently for a son for many years to the scorning of her friends.  Finally she gave birth to Samuel and later went on to have more children.  We also see the story of Abraham and Sarah who were barren until their later years in life when God gave them Isaac.   He was their only child. 
There are even Scriptures that attest that at times God can close up our wombs.
The Bible is full of examples of all different sizes of families and what the parents went through to conceive.   Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons.  Leah and Rachel seemed to be in competition to bear children to win the affections of their husband, Jacob.  We hear of the 12 tribes of Israel, but sometimes don't put two and two together and realize that these offspring came from many women! Leah bore 7 children and also gave her servants to her husband so that she could have "more".  Rachel also gave servants to her husband to bear children.  Rachel ended up having two sons, Joseph and Benjamin - and she died in childbirth with Benjamin!  

Over the past twelve years of speaking with moms, I have heard some pretty strange philosophies about childbearing.   Some of the strangest things are "God is our contraception."  or "It's a Christian's right to bear children."  or "We shouldn't have any pain in childbearing when we deliver God's way."  or "I must be doing something wrong or have some unconfessed sin in my life because God isn't blessing me with a child."  I could go on and on.  Honestly, I don't understand where people get such odd ideas.   

Being infertile doesn't mean God is punishing you.  Frankly, there are plenty of Christian families out there who will never be able to bear children. 
There are even some who will choose not to bear children!  They are not sinning by doing so.
Having complications during pregnancy doesn't mean that you must have sin in your life.  Delivering C-Section or with the help of an epidural or other drugs doesn't mean that you are outside of God's will.  Come on! 

I know a young woman who became pregnant and regretted being pregnant the entire time.  She didn't really want the baby and it interfered with what her plans were for her life.  She and her husband hadn't been married very long and their marriage was rocky.  It still is today.  She made attempts while she was pregnant to induce labor by throwing herself down some stairs and the like.  A few years after she gave birth, she requested prayer to have another child... even though the situation at home was still as unstable as before.  Her walk with the Lord hadn't grown... she was simply wanting to fulfill her own desires.  She quoted me some thoughts from a book that she had been reading that it's God's plan for us to have children.  Now wait just a minute- isn't that overgeneralizing?!   There wasn't any chance in this world that I was going to pray for her to conceive when she was going to bring another child into a toxic situation... a family which could separate and end in divorce at any moment.  God expects us to use wisdom and seek HIS will in all things.    Sometimes God says "NO" and that is His answer.  I felt a BIG "NO" when speaking with her.  That doesn't mean that God won't ever bless her again with children.   She should have been seeking God's will and open to do whatever He said.  It's starts with making Mom and Dad's marriage healthy. 
We also know that unplanned pregnancies happen all the time outside of God's perfect will. 

 My point is... we must seek Him and His will concerning our family planning, LISTEN to what He has to say (after all He can see the future when we cannot), and walk in obedience to the best of our ability.

So, whatever number of children you have in your home... God has an individual and unique plan for all of us.  A family isn't better because it is small or large; it's the amount of love, communication, godly influence, and encouragement that goes on within it's walls that makes the biggest impact.   

Hopefully our discussion today has opened up some thoughts and perhaps some enlightenment for readers today!   God bless your family... no matter if it's just you or an entire brood!