The Beginning of Restoration: Prayer

The Beginning of Restoration: Prayer

Restoration is the season where we learn to trust God with our pain. It is not about God suddenly making our lives perfect. Instead, it is about Him healing what is broken and teaching us to release it to Him through prayer. Prayer is where true intimacy with God, begins. In fact, during seasons of restoration, you may find that God allows you to feel uncomfortable. That discomfort is often where He gently teaches us to rely on Him instead of our own strength. Scripture reminds us of this promise.

Isaiah 43:19"Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."

Restoration is not about receiving a perfect life. It is about God restoring your heart. Prayer is the place where restoration begins. It is where we release what is broken. We bring our pain, our regret, and our confusion to Him. As we trust God with those things, He begins the work of healing that only He can do. Restoration is the season where we learn that we can trust Him with everything. Sometimes, as God restores us, He also begins restoring relationships that are important to us.

There was a time in my life when my relationship with my mom was very broken. One day I would tell myself I had forgiven her and act cordial, but the next day I would find myself punishing her in my heart. For many reasons, my mom was not part of my childhood in the way I needed her to be. I used to say she chose not to be there because we all have choices. But over time, God softened my heart and helped me see it differently. I began to realize that perhaps she simply was not able to be there. Her pain may have been deep enough to cause her to step away, and the guilt and shame she carried may have silenced the ways she secretly wanted to reach out. Her greatest regret may have been leaving me behind. For me, that is where my pain as a little girl first began.

On April 30, 2017, I gave birth to my firstborn daughter, Patience. Shortly after, I made a public post on Facebook letting my mom, and the world, know that she would not be allowed to be part of her granddaughter’s life because she had not been the mother I wanted her to be. My pain justified withholding forgiveness. It justified robbing my mom of the opportunity to meet her first grandchild. Bitterness controlled my heart for three long years. One day I was in a grocery store and realized my mom was in the same aisle as me. I quickly covered my baby’s face and ran in the opposite direction so she would not see us.

That day, someone very dear to me said something that changed everything. They looked at me and said, "Destiny, that is not right. You need to forgive your mother." Thank God for godly friends. As believers, it is our responsibility to lovingly correct one another when we see someone we care about walking in hurt or bitterness. The purpose of correction is restoration, speaking truth in love. Ephesians 4:15 reminds us to speak the truth in love so that we may grow.

That night, after hearing those words, I cried out to God in prayer. I said: "God, please take this pain out of my heart. I want to forgive my mom, but I do not know how. I am so tired of being angry with her. I just want to love her and get to know her." Days passed before I gathered the courage to reach out. Eventually, I asked her if she wanted to meet Patience. To my surprise, she said yes. In that moment I realized something beautiful. She had already forgiven me. She had already extended mercy to me. Later, as I watched how much my daughter loved my mom, I felt deep conviction in my heart. I realized that I had robbed her of a blessing she could have experienced three years earlier.

But even in that realization, God was restoring something beautiful. Through prayer, He did not just restore a relationship. He showed me how powerful prayer truly is, how God can heal brokenness that neither you nor I have the ability to repair. When we refuse to pray and bring our pain to God, the enemy often uses those wounds as a doorway to whisper lies. He tries to convince us that people who have made mistakes are undeserving of forgiveness. But God’s truth is greater than those lies.

Today I want to gently encourage you to reflect on your own life. Are there places where pain may be preventing the restoration God wants to bring?

Are there relationships where God may be inviting you to release bitterness and trust Him with the healing?

Your prayer life depends on you. Restoration, however, is in God’s hands.

Mom, if you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for the restoration God has brought into our lives. As an adult, I admire the strength you have shown and the ways you have allowed God to work in your life. Your story and the challenges you faced as a mother remind me of who God is shaping me to become. They remind me not to focus on who I once was, but on who God is calling me to be. The restoration God created between us reminds me to never stop extending grace. As a parent myself, I know that one day I may need my own children’s forgiveness. I pray that when that day comes, God will speak to their hearts the way He spoke to mine.

I love you.

I leave you with this scripture.

Mark 8:25"Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he was restored and saw everything clearly."