Dawn Williams | Call A Mother

Devotional

Day 1: The God Who Sees You

Hagar collapsed in the desert, her tears mixing with sand. An angel found her by a spring, calling her by name. “You are the God who sees me,” she declared after encountering the Lord. Her story shifts from abandonment to divine recognition. God met her exact need without fixing her circumstances first. [01:01:55]

Hagar’s encounter reveals God’s attentiveness to the marginalized. He didn’t rebuke her for running or minimize her pain. Instead, He named her son Ishmael—“God hears”—eternally marking His care. Jesus later demonstrated this same focus, stopping crowds to see Zacchaeus and the bleeding woman.

You might feel invisible in your struggles—unnoticed at work, overlooked in relationships, or weary in private battles. God sees the details others miss. Where have you stopped expecting to be seen?

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
(Genesis 16:13, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal His nearness in one area where you feel overlooked.
Challenge: Text someone today: “I see God’s strength in you.”

Day 2: Whispered Prayers in Shiloh

Hannah’s lips moved silently in the temple, her anguish too deep for sound. Eli accused her of drunkenness, but she clarified: “I was pouring out my soul.” Her raw prayer birthed Samuel—a prophet who anointed kings. God honored her persistence, not her eloquence. [01:10:18]

Hannah teaches us to bring unfiltered honesty to God. She didn’t sanitize her grief over infertility or her rivals’ taunts. Jesus similarly welcomed the Canaanite woman’s desperate plea (Matthew 15:22-28), valuing boldness over pretense.

What burden have you stopped voicing to God? This week, carve three minutes to speak your heart plainly—no spiritual jargon. How might He reshape your prayers?

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly… “I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
(1 Samuel 1:10,16, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one frustration to God using everyday language, not “churchy” words.
Challenge: Set a 3-minute timer; pray aloud while walking around your home.

Day 3: May It Be Unto Me

Mary’s world shattered with an angel’s announcement: pregnancy before marriage. Yet she responded, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Her surrender altered history, birthing the Messiah through scandal and sacrifice. [01:17:13]

Mary’s “yes” required releasing control. Like Abraham offering Isaac (Genesis 22), she trusted God’s plan beyond her understanding. Jesus mirrored this surrender in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but Yours.”

Where are you clinging to safety instead of obedience? Identify one step God is asking you to take—even if it feels irrational. What makes this hard?

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
(Luke 1:38, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific ways He’s provided for you in past obediences.
Challenge: Write “Your will, not mine” on your palm; photograph it as a lock screen.

Day 4: Inventing Hope Through Faith

Sarah Olson sketched catheter designs on scrap paper, YouTube tutorials playing in the background. A college dropout, she patented a medical device to save her son Levi—proving God equips the unlikely. [01:14:06]

Sarah’s story echoes Moses’ insecurity (Exodus 4:10) and Gideon’s doubt (Judges 6:15). God specializes in “weak vessel” miracles, as with the boy’s loaves (John 6:9). His strength shines through our limitations.

What problem feels insurmountable? List three practical steps you can take—like Sarah’s first sketch. Who can you recruit to help?

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Prayer: Name one weakness; ask God to transform it into a testimony.
Challenge: Research one resource (website, contact, tool) related to your current challenge.

Day 5: When the Church Becomes Family

The Moores stood onstage, cradling miracle baby Amelia. After doctors warned of miscarriage, their church prayed—and God reversed the prognosis. Like the paralytic’s friends (Mark 2:3-5), the community carried their faith. [34:13]

The early church “shared everything” (Acts 4:32), modeling radical interdependence. Paul called believers to “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Miracles multiply when we stop isolating.

Who have you allowed into your struggles? If your first instinct is to hide pain, what fear drives that?

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
(Galatians 6:2, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for someone who’s carried you; ask Him to highlight who needs your support.
Challenge: Call a friend today: “How can I pray for you specifically this week?”

Sermon Summary

We celebrate mothers whose faith shapes God’s unfolding work in families and communities. We gather around families dedicating children, naming foster and adoptive stories that show God’s providence in messy, joyful living. We notice how prayer partners and church prayer changed medical reports, reconciled fear into thanksgiving, and knitted a congregation into a village that carries children. We hold up examples from Scripture that mirror these lived realities: mothers who waited for miracles, risked everything to protect a child, trusted God with a vow, and surrendered to a call that seemed impossible. We see God described with maternal imagery in Isaiah, promising comfort, nursing, and restoration like a mother tending her child. We remember Hagar, who felt invisible until God stepped into her wilderness and named himself the God who sees her. We remember Hannah, whose whispered, broken prayer in worship birthed a leader and shifted history. We remember Mary, whose radical yes to an unimaginable calling opened the world to salvation and taught surrender under suffering.

We trace a modern story of a mother who would not settle for a painful medical reality for her son, who sketched a device, pursued a patent, and trusted God through both rejection and unexpected provision; that innovation healed one child and then became a lifeline for many. We reflect on the posture of prayer that turns desperation into invention, shame into identity, and waiting into worship. We commit to choosing faith when fear asks for our attention, to bring grief and inventiveness to God first, and to stand ready to receive and steward miracles. We declare that God never wastes the hidden nights, the tear-streaked prayers, or the restless hands of those who nurture. We call out Jeremiah’s promise that when we call, God answers with things beyond our knowing, and we step forward together in expectancy, offering blessing, healing, and hope for mothers and families everywhere.

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[27:04] - Child Dedications Introduced
[28:02] - Family Slides and Stories
[30:03] - Kramer Foster Family Testimony
[32:06] - Chappelle Adoption Miracle
[33:26] - Moore Family Pregnancy Miracle
[40:32] - Prayer Over Families
[49:54] - Mother’s Day Reflection Begins
[53:28] - Key Thought: Mothers Trust First
[55:13] - Isaiah’s Motherly Image of God
[56:58] - Sarah and Levi: A Mother’s Invention
[60:47] - Hagar: The God Who Sees
[67:10] - Hannah’s Prayer and Promise
[75:35] - Mary’s Surrender and Calling
[82:15] - Jeremiah 33:3: Call and Answer
[83:34] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Isaiah 66:13 (ESV)
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Genesis 16:13 (ESV)
“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’”

Luke 1:38 (ESV)
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’”

Observation Questions

In Isaiah 66:13, how does God describe His comfort? What maternal imagery is used to illustrate this?
What did Hagar name God after He met her in the wilderness, and why did she choose that name? [01:01:55]
How did Mary respond to the angel’s announcement in Luke 1:38, and what does her answer reveal about her posture toward God?
The sermon shared a modern story of a mother who invented a medical device for her son. What motivated her to act despite her lack of expertise? [57:47]

Interpretation Questions

Why might God use maternal imagery (like nursing, carrying, and comforting) to describe His relationship with His people in Isaiah 66? How does this expand our understanding of His character?
Hagar felt invisible and abandoned, yet God “saw” her. How does this story challenge assumptions about who God notices in moments of pain or injustice?
Mary’s surrender to God’s call involved risk and uncertainty. What fears or cultural pressures might she have faced, and how did her faith overcome them?
The sermon emphasized that “faith is a choice” even in hardship. How do stories like Hannah’s persistent prayer or Sarah’s invention reflect this truth? [01:10:18]

Application Questions

When have you felt overlooked or unheard, like Hagar? How might remembering God as “the God who sees” change how you bring your struggles to Him?
The modern mother in the sermon turned her desperation into prayer and action. What situation in your life needs both persistent prayer and practical creativity? [58:27]
Mary’s “yes” to God required surrendering her plans. What is one area where God might be asking you to trust His purpose over your preferences?
The sermon mentioned “whispered prayers” that precede miracles. What ongoing need or burden can you commit to praying about consistently, even if answers feel delayed?
How can you actively support someone in your life who feels “invisible” or stuck in a “wilderness” season, reflecting God’s heart to see and comfort them?
Sarah Olson’s story showed faith paired with action. What step of obedience—big or small—could you take this week to align with God’s promises, even if it feels beyond your ability? [59:31]

Sermon Clips

19s

#DiscouragementFuelsMe

“You may make a lot of money, but you put your pants on the same way that I do every morning. If you can do it, so can I? So what you are saying to discourage me is only lighting a fire in me to keep going. And so she thanked him for his help, and she had other similar meetings with other uppity people.”

18s

#FaithIsAChoice

“Sarah determined after that, when the days were hard, if I have the choice to pray and trust God or the choice not to pray and trust God, I'm going to pray and trust God. Faith is a choice, and my journey has proved that faith in God is always the right choice.”

27s

#TrustAfterTheMiracle

“but she has something else now because now she's promised God that she's going to give this child to Him. She's gonna let Him go live and worship and be a part of the temple and all of that. So once you get your miracle, it's not like, okay, kind of like this the story of Sarah and Levi. It's not like, okay. It's all good. No. We're always gonna have something new. We're gonna have something to celebrate and keep celebrating, but we're always gonna have something new to keep trusting God for.”

25s

#ChooseJoyDaily

“wise beyond his years, life goes the way that this is a 10 year old. Life goes the way the corners of your mouth turn. If you smile, life goes better. So if I have the choice, why wouldn't I smile? And I have the choice to complain or not complain, I'm gonna choose not to complain. Because if my mind is complaining, my body is going to complain too.”

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Dawn Williams | Call A Mother | May 10th, 2026