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A minister was speaking to a little boy, “So your mother says your prayers with you each night. What does she say?” The youngster replied, “Thank God he’s in bed.”

What weary mother hasn’t felt that way! Someone has described motherhood this way, “If it was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor.” Many a mother has labored in prayer for her children too.

If you’re ever tempted to doubt the importance of motherhood, just remember the words of William Ross Wallace. “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” Consider the words of two presidents, the founder of the Methodist Church, and three other historical religious leaders.

George Washington paid tribute to his mother, “All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” He also observed, “No one is poor who had a godly mother.”

John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist Church, made this statement, “I learned more about Christianity from my mom than from all the theologians in England.” Susanna Wesley has been called a mother who made a difference. She lived long enough to see her son, John, preach a series of revival messages in their hometown of Epworth, England to the biggest crowds that area had ever seen.

Billy Sunday, the well-known American evangelist, has stated, “I don’t believe there are devils enough in hell to pull a boy out of the arms of a godly mother.” According to Charles Spurgeon, “Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother.”

The greatest gift a mother can give her child is the gift of her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Author and minister Charles Stanley states, “Children who grow up hearing of God’s faithfulness learn at an early age how to face life’s ups and downs with a sense of peace and security. Even if a child strays from the truth of God’s Word, the testimony of a godly mother will remain hidden in his heart.”

In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote to his young friend, “I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5 NAS). I am grateful for the faith of my mother and the faith of grandmothers, who prayed for me. As a mother and grandmother myself, I want to continue that heritage of faith for my daughter and granddaughters, for whom I pray.

The author Rev. Lee Thomas has said, “Only eternity will reveal the incredible number of souls that have been saved through the tears and prayers of a mother’s love.” The value of a godly mother can be measured when “her children rise up and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28).

— Jan White has compiled a collection of her columns in her book, “Everyday Faith for Daily Life.”