Praying for a Child You Don't Know

“For you formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.” — Psalm 139:13

My beautiful niece came into the world on Friday, October 16th. And it got me thinking about what it feels like to pray for a child I don’t yet know.

During pregnancy, there are ultrasound pictures to look at, little kicks from inside a mother’s womb, and a growing baby bump. There are so many little reminders that a beautiful child of God is growing and that your family is preparing to welcome them.

But what about when that child isn’t with you through the preparation?

When that child is kicking another mother from inside the womb.

When there are no ultrasound pictures to stare at. No due date to count down to.

Just an empty nursery, baby clothes, and a stuffed ducky that we can’t wait to give to our baby one day.

Praying for that child feels something like this.

I don’t know where you are.

I don’t know what your day looks like.

I don’t know what your story will be.

I don’t know when I will meet you.

But God does.

Love doesn’t have to start when a child is placed in your arms. Love can begin with the first moment you start an adoption journey. With the first moment you realize that someday, you may have a child placed in your home.

Your child.

Praying for a child you don’t know, a child you long for, can be heartbreaking because they still aren’t in your arms.

But at the same time, it can be beautiful.

You are asking God to protect them.

You are asking Him to surround them with people who love them.

You are asking Him to guide their life.

You are asking Him to prepare their heart.

And you are asking Him to let them know they are loved.

Somewhere in the process of praying for your child, your relationship with the One who is writing your story grows ever stronger.

You may not know the child you are praying for.

But you know the One who holds them while you wait.

You know He is a God of love.

You know He is a God of mercy.

And you know He is with both you and your child as you wait.

You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. You don’t know how long the waiting will last. You don’t know all the details of the story still unfolding.

But you can trust the One who does.

So, in the good days, trust in Him.

On the days when it becomes harder to feel His presence, remember that He is still walking beside you.

And on the days when you desperately want the waiting to be over, but it isn’t yet, know that He is with you.

And He is with your child.

You may not be able to hold your child yet.

But you can hold them in prayer.

You can send your Guardian Angel to visit them each evening, to comfort them and watch over them while you cannot be there. You can ask your Angel, in whatever way angels communicate to little ones, to let your child know that a home is waiting and that they are already so loved.

You can place them into the hands of the God who already knows them completely.

And until the day your paths meet, you can keep praying.

Keep loving.

Keep trusting.

And keep waiting with Jesus.