The Faith of Our Mothers
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Pastor Mark D. Boykin
Watch the full sermon in it’s entirety here:
“His mother was his counselor to do wickedly.”
2 Chronicles 22:3
What a marvelous blessing it is to be a mother. No other institution has ever been able to adequately take the place of motherhood. When God said, it isn't good for a man to be alone, He created woman. That's why the first face a baby sees after they are born is their mother. Someone else said, the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. Mothers are very special.
A mother’s influence is powerful.
It was Napoleon who said the thing France needs most is mothers. What a wonder it is to find a mother's love. And there are many motherless children who would have moved heaven and earth to simply be able to to look into the bright, sunlit face of an adoring woman and simply say one word, “mother.”
In this passage from 2 Chronicles, the Bible gives a tragic description of a king whose mother influenced him toward evil rather than righteousness. Instead of guiding her son toward God, she encouraged wickedness, and the result was destruction.
But throughout Scripture we also see the opposite: mothers whose faith changed generations.
Motherhood is one of God’s greatest gifts. Even after many years, people still carry the spiritual imprint of the women who raised them. Some remember discipline. Some remember tenderness. Many remember prayer.
I remember my own mother praying beside the beds of me and my siblings late into the night. She was not a famous speaker or musician. She did not stand in front of crowds. But she possessed something powerful — a praying spirit.
I remember hearing her cry out to God for her children’s salvation and future. Those prayers stayed with me throughout my life. They became part of my spiritual foundation.
That is the unseen power of faithful prayer.
Many believers today are walking with God because someone refused to stop praying for them.
Spiritual motherhood extends beyond biology. Some women never have children of their own, yet they become spiritual mothers through encouragement, mentoring, and prayer. There a woman who was a pillar for as long as I have pastored this church. She passed away about 20 years ago. She never had her own children, but she produced more spiritual children than any woman I have ever met in my entire life. She invested in countless young people and prayed faithfully for the congregation. There was not a day that went by that she did not pray for this church. Her life proved that influence is not measured by popularity or position, but by faithfulness.
Let us pause to consider not only the powerful effect mothers possess over their children and families, but let us look at what they possess over their husbands. The influence of a wife over her husband is greater than that of any other influence.
Ahab was the most wicked king that ever sat on the throne of Israel because of Jezebel.
Solomon's heart was stolen from him in later years because he married foreign wives.
Haman's wife urged him on in his wickedness and later looked at him dangling from the gallows he had made for Mordecai.
Sapphira was privy to the plans of Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit.
Sam Houston of Texas fame, had a wife by the name of Margaret Lee. History tells us that Margaret Lee took a wild boar of a husband and won him to Christ. She molded him into a great husband. If you have a restless husband, let that encourage you today. Houston’s last four words were “Margaret. Margaret, Texas. Texas.”
Maybe you’re reading this and you are carrying heavy burdens as a parent. Some mothers and fathers are praying for prodigal sons or daughters who have wandered from God. Some are grieving broken relationships, addictions, or spiritual apathy in their families. I want to encourage you:
Do not stop praying.
God still reaches wandering hearts. God still restores families. God still answers persistent prayer.
Take my cousin. He was planning to join his friends on a late-night trip to drink and party one evening. At the last moment, he felt compelled not to go. That night, the car crashed, killing one young man and seriously injuring another. I believe that decision was shaped by years of spiritual influence and the prayers of godly mothers.
Prayer matters more than we often realize.
I also want to warn you against pride, it will destroy you. In the bible, we see King Uzziah and how success and popularity caused a once-godly king to become arrogant. Pride convinced him that he no longer needed boundaries or humility before God.
Pride still destroys people today. Sometimes pride keeps us from repentance. Sometimes it keeps us from asking for help. Sometimes it keeps families from admitting they are hurting.
But God honors humility. When we come before Him honestly, He meets us with grace.
I want to challenge you today. Everyone can shape someone else. It can be children, spouses, friends, coworkers, or younger believers watching quietly from a distance.
Mom, you hold the gravitas of truth in your family. Now listen, my father taught me how to be a pastor. But it was my mother who taught me how to love people unconditionally. Not that my dad didn't love people, but my mother had a compassion that I have seen.
The question is not whether we have influence. The question is whether our influence leads others closer to Christ.
Will our words build faith?
Will our example encourage holiness?
Will our prayers outlive us?
A faithful life leaves eternal fingerprints.
Reflection
Who has influenced your faith the most?
Are you praying faithfully for someone who has drifted from God?
What kind of spiritual example are you setting for those around you?
Is pride preventing you from fully depending on God?
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the mothers, fathers, mentors, and spiritual leaders who prayed for us and guided us toward You. Help us become people of faithful influence. Teach us to pray persistently, love deeply, and walk humbly before You. Strengthen every parent carrying burdens for their children. Restore prodigal hearts, heal hurting families, and let our lives reflect Your grace and truth.
Amen.