Honest Prayers for Mama Bears

by Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Julie Loos

Encouragement to Pray What You Really Feel

In the everyday battle of raising kids who love Jesus while living in a world that doesn’t, God invites you to come to Him. No cleaning up, no pretenses, no fancy words—all you need is to tell Him what’s truly on your heart and then ask for the wisdom, encouragement, and protection that only He can provide.

From the bestselling team behind Mama Bear Apologetics® comes a one-of-a-kind book of prayers gathered from mamas just like you, speaking to the spectrum of seasons, concerns, and needs faced throughout Christian motherhood. You will become more vulnerable and intentional in your conversations with God as you pray in specific and timely ways for your family, your community, and even for yourself.

Honest Prayers for Mama Bears puts words to the cries of your heart as you seek clarity and truth in today’s confused culture. Through these praises, laments, confessions, and petitions, you’ll lay your burdens at your Heavenly Father’s feet and experience His comfort and hope as you entrust Him with your unedited thoughts.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Christian, Prayer, Family, Faith

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2024

Reviews

[Whitney Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!!! I was perusing through one of my favorite stores, Hobby Lobby :), and this book grabbed my attention. I flipped through and it looked awesome, so I bought a copy and I’m so glad I did! It has changed my prayer life! Sometimes when you are praying, you just can’t find the right words that you want to say. This is where this book comes into play! It has prayers laid out for you for smaller, everyday topics like praying before you do laundry or before you tackle a chore you don’t want to do to more deep, serious topics like marriage crisis, addictions, loss, etc. There are prayers for yourself, your husband, your children, your children’s future spouses, your church, schools and teachers. Whatever you need to pray for, it’s in this book! This book is so helpful and helps to grow your prayer life and give you the right words to make your prayers deeper and more meaningful! Highly recommended for all the praying mama bears out there!!

[Lia Ross Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a gem! It is compiled of relatable prayers from different moms to help in different seasons and topics such as school, social media, marriage and so much more. I am so glad this resource exists! This would be perfect to add to your Mother’s Day wishlist. I think new moms and seasoned moms would enjoy this book. The prayers are broken up into 12 sections with some journaling and practical steps you can take after reading the prayers. I think this would be nice to incorporate into your devotional time for some encouragement and springboard you to pray your own honest and heartfelt prayers.

[Zorina Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great prayer resource for mamas! This book is for Christian mamas of all seasons and circumstances. There are over 100 prayers and they are divided up into 12 different sections. There are prayers for yourself, the home, your children, and all stages of motherhood. One of the things I really like about this book is it encourages readers to pray honestly to God, but to also root our prayers in God's character. "Cry out to the Lord, but always circle back to who He is and what He's done. Honest is only to honest when you refuse to move on from your grief, pain, or anger." I love that these prayers have been thoughtfully created and can be used as a guide for our own prayers as mama. Sometimes it is hard to know what to pray when you are in the midst of circumstances and this book helps as a resource to come to to help give us the words we need.

I also love that you can look up prayers by topic in the back as a reference. This would make a lovely mother's day gift!

[Koren | the_blue_eyed_bluestocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful collection of curated prayers designed to supplement and springboard your prayer life. The mundane and the major... it's all in there. There was so much work put in to this beautiful work by people who have walked where you've walked and experienced what you've experienced. Every Mama Bear will benefit from all this book has to offer.

[Amy Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good, so convicting. No doubt I’ll be referring back to this over the years.

[Rachelle Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve long loved Every Moment Holy, a book of prayers for “everyday” occurrences. This is the mama’s version. I have underlined, taken notes, sent screenshots to friends, and recommended it to many. This will be a treasured part of my Bible study basket for years to come.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Christian parent, I genuinely believe that praying for my kids is one of the most important tasks in my role as their mom. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to know how to pray. Enter Honest Prayers for Mama Bears, a prayer guide that “puts words to the cries of your heart as you seek clarity and truth in today’s confused culture.” This compilation of nearly 150 prayers is gathered from real moms and speaks to the spectrum of seasons and situations faced by contemporary Christian mothers, with prayers for the range of situations our kids may face, for ourselves as moms, and for the individuals, organizations, and cultural influences surrounding our kids. The book also incorporates essays on how and why we pray, as well as additional activities, ideas, encouragements, and journaling exercises that coordinate with specific prayers.

This book is an incredible resource for every mom, from the woman who is new to faith and uncertain of how to pray, to the seasoned prayer warrior who is seeking to expand her prayer life. The prayers are organized by category, making it easy to flip to a prayer for a specific circumstance. I read this one cover to cover, using it as an opportunity to pray along with the prayers that were relevant to me. Many prayers did not pertain to my current circumstances, but I appreciated the window into the hearts of women who WOULD be in need of such prayers (such as widowed or divorced moms, adoptive moms, or moms of prodigal children). The prayers are unfailingly honest (a great reminder that we can come before the Lord with our full, unpolished selves) and theologically rich, and reading through them offered fresh perspective on a number of relevant parenting and faith-related issues.

I will absolutely be referring to this book when seeking ways to pray in the future, and I hope to pass copies to many of my mama friends. I purchased this one on Kindle but the note-taking hardcover version is calling out to me!

I’m so grateful for the team at Mama Bears Apologetics and have benefitted greatly from their podcast and books on teaching doctrine to our kids. I love that they have branched into the spiritual realm of prayer with this newest addition to the Mama Bear canon.

My Rating: 5 Stars // Book Format: Kindle

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for the #gifted book!*

Title: Honest Prayers for Mama Bears
Author: Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Julie Loos
Genre: Nonfiction/Christian Living/Parenting/Prayer

Review: “As your read these prayers, my hope is that you will learn how to craft honest prayers for yourself, learning how to speak authentically about where you are and then intentionally about how you’d like to see God move—specifically and according to His will and character.” This beautiful book is a collection of prayers to pray in just about every season or situation of life. I think it’s a book every mama bear should have on her bookshelf! And it would make an excellent gift for any mom you know! Rich in theology and truth, this book guides you in words to pray when you don’t know where to start. You’ll be encouraged and convicted. You’ll laugh and cry and find yourself pouring your heart out to God right alongside the authors. And I love that it acts as a springboard for your own intimate prayers with practical tips and steps along the way. This was one of my favorite reads from 2024, and I know I’ll cherish it for years to come!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Brittany Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Be steadfast. Even when there appears to be no answers to prayer— persevere. Even if you must pray out of a sense of duty, do it! Soon it will turn to delight as you concentrate on the character of God more than the charity of God.”


I think this book is definitely worth owning, even if you’re not a mom, but especially if you are. It enriches your prayer life and gives words to all the things you want to pray but never knew how to. It also brings up things you didn’t realize you needed to pray for but are glad you can now.

I’ve been using this book for a couple months now. I would take one or two prayers a day, read through them, and then personalize the concept to my own life. Normally I’m a very distracted pray-er and not a very consistent one. I would lose focus or just not know what to pray about. My mind was either blank or too overwhelmingly full to know where to start. This book has really changed the way I’ve prayed. I’ve prayed for longer periods than I ever have before.

There are so many ways you can use this book. You can go through the book cover to cover and let it give you an area to focus. You can search for the type of prayer that resonates with you on a particular day. You can send these prayers to others you know are struggling. You can pray them on your own for other people. You can use them as launching points to talk to your kids about certain topics or teach them how they can pray about things they’re struggling with. You can also gift this to another expecting mom at a baby shower!


The prayers are divided up into 12 sections ranging from prayers about the self, your home, rhythms of life, things our kids will have to deal with, things you pray you never have to pray, things for church and school, and more.

Within each section they have prayers titled well to help you find what you need like:

- When God Feels Silent
- Pregnancy Loss
- When My Child is Bullied
- While Doing Laundry
- Before a Family Trip
- Cultivating Sexual Faithfulness
- Stewarding My Body Well

That’s just a sampling of the 147 prayers in this book. You can also access the index in the back that categorizes the prayers by topic like ‘anxiety’, ‘comfort’, ‘culture’, ‘fear’, etc.



I appreciated the afterword and appendix that talk a little more about what prayer is for and what could hinder our prayers. The idea of creating a legacy of prayer really resonates with me even though I think I’m doing a terrible job of it right now.

Because I don’t like to pray out loud I know I’ve already missed a lot of great opportunities to pray more with my kids than I have. I worry they won’t even really know how to pray and I don’t want them to turn into me! So a lot of my prayers will be centered around asking for help and courage and motivation to be more intentional and purposeful with my prayers around my kids and trying to disciple them in prayer.

I have many memories of my own mom praying daily. I’m not sure my kids have those same perceptions about what I do with my time, at least yet. But I want them to know that prayer is important and commanded and I want them to know they grew up in a home covered in prayer.

Let me be clear: this book did not guilt me, it has encouraged me and reminded me how easy it can be to ‘pray without ceasing.’



Recommendation

I just really love the whole Mama Bear inventory. I’ve read their other books (THIS ONE and THIS ONE) and highly recommend them. They provide so many tools for parents to disciple their children and to answer hard questions and broach tough subjects as we point them to Christ. I cannot recommend their stuff enough.

Buy them because it’s not something you just read once and move on. It’s a reference and a resource and every parent should have them. This prayer book included. Although, one of their goals is that in using their book to help you pray that eventually you won’t need it anymore because you will have trained yourself in how to do it. At that point, then you can gift your copy to someone else.

So yes, I recommend this book one hundred percent. It’s enhanced and grown my ability to pray so much.


**Received a copy via Harvest House Publishing in exchange for an honest review**

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[Karen Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of prayers has been such a blessing in my life already! It is filled with real, honest prayers that address concerns across the many seasons of life. I love that it contains prayers that I need to pray but have often not had the words to voice on my own. In true Mama Bear Apologetics style, it is also filled with practical next steps to take after praying about specific situations. I’ll be recommending this prayer guide to all the mamas and grandmamas I know!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been pulling out this book throughout the year, praying the various prayers that capture the words I want to say to God, but haven't always known what our how to say. I love that the book is divided into categories, and each prayer is topical. In any given situation or occasion, I can look up what I know I need to bring to God, turn to the page, and be inspired to know how to cover my children, husband, family, and home in prayer.

[Tandee Rousselle | thebookishgirlmom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing resource for prayers over the sweet little babies we care for. So many things that I didn’t think to pray over and now I have examples to help me target my prayers and be intentional over my children. I want to leave a legacy of prayer for my daughters. When I pass on to Glory, I hope my daughters remember with fondness the amount of times I spent in prayer over them. Such a good book!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish. It wasn’t bad. But it was so exhaustive as to be almost dorky.

More meaningful to give principles for prayers or Bible verses instead of all this micro minutia. There was one for acquiring a pet followed by a separate prayer for if the pet dies; certainly its fitting to pray then or any time, but it seems like guiding principles could do the stronger better work instead of laboring over so many unnecessary examples, which left it feeling cheesy and too automated.

[Alexa Cramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a blessing these prayers are. I've talked to God since I was a little kid, and prayed throughout my day to Him, but a lot of these are things I never thought to pray for!! In fact, I am learning so much more about prayer through these examples/guides because they are so specific and are rich with solid theology. I feel inspired to take more of my everyday moments to the Lord.

[Barb Hegreberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught my eye while standing in line at Hobby Lobby, and it is the book I wish I had had as a young mom. How freeing to be reminded that God embraces and responds to all our prayers no matter the length, simple words, or even unuttered words.

If any young moms are in your life, gift this book to them today!

[Andrea Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful compilation of “honest prayers” for all the ages and stages. Per the MBA way-tons of “honest” extras, references, and ideas for digging deeper.
Highly recommend ALL the Mama Bear ministry books & podcast!

[Bonnie Krueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for different topics and examples of how to pray through the parenting years. It makes you think outside the box and consider how impactful our prayers can be as parents and grandparents.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn’t a “read through cover to cover” type book. But I’ve loved pulling it out and reading through the prayers. Sometimes we just need someone else to help us get started or have the words we don’t have. Wonderful resource to add to the Mama Bears library.

[Tahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely lovely prayer book, every mum who contributed has done an amazing job! I love seeing women come together on Godly projects like this and every prayer and the topic it covered was so well thought out

[Melinda Claucherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically.dont like using prewritten prayers. However, it was wonderful writing each one out with my.name or children's names added in. There were also ideas that challenged me in great ways!

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took notes and prayed over the topics that I read.

[HM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really helpful! Sometimes exhaustion just takes over- it’s helpful to have these prayers as a springboard. Highly recommend!

[Jennifer DeFrates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a breath of fresh air! It is timely with prayers for every reason and season of motherhood. It’s a resource that every parent can use to help them pray about hard situations and develop a better prayer life.

Sometimes we struggle to find the words to pray, especially in difficult circumstances. This prayer book gives suggested prayers and topics to pray over and about your children and their lives.

I've already used it as a resource several times to pray in the weeks since it's release and given it as a gift to virtually every mama I know.