Ever heard the saying “Don’t leave your future to chance”? I believe that this saying cannot be truer than when pregnant. According to Sociologists, every child is born a clean slate upon which words and experience write.

During pregnancy, this clean slate can be written upon with our words of prayers. It has been medically proven that from the age of 16 weeks, babies in the womb begin to respond to voices, words, moods, thoughts etc of the mother. This gives the mother the rare opportunity of being the sole influence on the baby. This is how and when we begin to write on this clean slate.

Prayer, as we know it, is communicating with God and, at the same time, instructing creation to align to meet our needs. You will declare a thing, and it will be established for you (Job 22:28). So we cannot overemphasize the power of an expectant mother’s prayer.

From the time of Moses till this very day, some of our most influential heroes became history makers because of their mothers’ prayers.

The late Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, in a number of her sermons, spoke of how she prayed her first child Toluwani into the singing ministry while she was pregnant. Today, if you hear Tolu’s voice, you will immediately understand the importance of the prayers of an expectant mother, no matter how trivial or insignificant they may seem.

Abraham Lincoln, unarguably one of America’s most influential presidents, said: “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me, they have clinged to me all my life.” He attributed all his great feats to his mother’s prayers.

Another name worthy of mention is George Washington whom his mother prayed for, just few hours before his delivery. Upon achieving many successes in life, he attributed all his successes to the prayers of his mother and honoured her with the words: “All that I am, I owe to my mother.”

So, you do not have to leave your future to chance like most mothers do inadvertently. Pray constantly (that is without ceasing) for your unborn child.

Prayers aid divine perception and so many gain prophetic insight into the future during prayers. God can reveal certain aspects of the child’s future to the mother. Examples in the Bible include the mothers of Moses, John the Baptist, Samson, Jesus, to mention a few.

Also, you can sometimes influence your unborn child with certain God-like attributes (probably the ones you lack but which you wish you had). For example gentleness, self-control, kindness etc.

Rise up, Expectant Mother! God is depending on you.