Preparing My Heart For Labor and Delivery | 13 Scriptures to Meditate On

As Oakley’s due date got closer and anticipation mounted, I found my excitement mixed with fearfulness. Many times in my third trimester, I would think, “I’ll go through anything to get this baby out, so I can meet him!” followed by, “Actually, maybe not quite yet!” I never had gone through this whole having a baby thing, and I heard it is just a bit painful. Even my 8 year old nephew would come up to me before Oakley was born, put his hand on my shoulder, and say, “You know, Suey, having a baby is going to be the most painful thing you’ve EVER gone through.” Leave it to kids! 🙂

I read a blog post in my first trimester (now I don’t even remember where) that suggested setting aside some focused time with the Lord before your due date: journaling thoughts and fears, looking up Scriptures, writing down helpful reminders and verses, making a worship music playlist to have playing during labor, taking a walk and praying…This time could look differently depending on what you wanted to do with it. The idea of it was picking a spot, hanging out with the Lord, pouring out your thoughts and fears to Him, and listening to what He has to say to your heart. I looked forward to doing that before my due date in May.

Whenever I have been going through a rough time in life or my emotions have been a roller coaster, spending some focused time with the Lord has been the perfect thing for me. It always has a way of settling my heart. So, a few weeks before my due date I set aside this time on two different mornings to talk with Him about my upcoming labor and delivery. I prayed. I read a few articles that reminded me of how God had masterfully made my body to do this thing, to have babies. I looked up Scriptures that would encourage me leading up to Oakley’s birth and wrote them down on big yellow papers to tape to the wall in my bedroom (where we were planning Oakley’s birth would take place).

My labor went much faster than expected, so I really didn’t have time for Andrew to read any of those verses to me or to read them myself during labor. However, leading up to Oakley’s birth date, I would read and meditate on the verses as I passed them throughout the day. Each morning I would specifically pick one of the Scriptures to just think on for a few minutes. Those times of thinking on God’s presence and strength that would be with me during labor were invaluable. I began to have more peace, and any time I would have those thoughts of fear come, I could more easily recall the verses and their truths that I had been meditating on. During labor their reminders were with me as I relied on God and knew more confidently that he would give me everything I needed to deliver our baby boy.

I hope as you, beautiful mommy, prepare your heart for the birth of your little one these verses will refresh your heart in God’s care for you in every moment of life and will be your strength as you make it through those tough moments of labor. God is with you, and He loves to provide you with His love, comfort, and ability in your weakness.

13 Scripture Passages for Labor and Delivery ~

1. Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
2. Psalm 18:1-3 I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
3. Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
4. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
5. 1 Peter 5:7  Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
6. John 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
7. Lamentations 3:21-25 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
8. Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
9. 2 Corinthians 12:9  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10. Jeremiah 17:7,8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
11. James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
12. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
13. Romans 5:3,4 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 

*To see a product recommendation I have for pregnancy, labor, birth, and nursing, click here. This super comfy nightie will be the perfect addition to your pregnancy/post-pregnancy wardrobe!