1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:04,060 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,390 Speaker 2: You're listening to Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms, helping 3 00:00:18,450 --> 00:00:20,770 Speaker 2: you pray God's word for your family in the areas 4 00:00:20,810 --> 00:00:23,610 Speaker 2: you need it most. I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. Here, 5 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 2: we believe prayer isn't a last resort. It's our first 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 2: and best response in parenting. And every day, we come 7 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 2: together to partner with God for the hearts of our children. 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,210 Speaker 2: This fall, we have been praying through the nine fruit 9 00:00:35,250 --> 00:00:38,550 Speaker 2: of the Spirit in nine weeks, and we've just got 10 00:00:38,790 --> 00:00:43,449 Speaker 2: one more week to go. This week's prayer focus is gentleness. 11 00:00:43,970 --> 00:00:46,860 Speaker 2: And today's devotion is written in red by my friend 12 00:00:46,940 --> 00:00:52,060 Speaker 2: Christy Thomas. who has written a beautiful guide, Everyday Prayers 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,540 Speaker 2: for Gentleness, that came out earlier this year on what 14 00:00:55,620 --> 00:01:00,580 Speaker 2: Christlike gentleness looks like in a world that really misunderstands it. 15 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:05,300 Speaker 2: Christy's book really helped me to see what biblical gentleness 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 2: looks like in our world today. And I know you'll 17 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,660 Speaker 2: be encouraged by her words in today's podcast. To learn 18 00:01:14,690 --> 00:01:17,460 Speaker 2: more about Christi, to learn more about our ministry, or 19 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,220 Speaker 2: to grab copies of our everyday prayers devotionals, visit millionprayingmoms.com. 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 2: Just for our podcast community, you can visit our mom 21 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,900 Speaker 2: shop and use the code FALL20 for 20% off your order. 22 00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:31,700 Speaker 2: After a quick word from our sponsors, we'll pray together 23 00:01:31,740 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 2: for our children. 24 00:01:35,030 --> 00:01:39,750 Speaker 1: Philippians 4 verse 5. Let your gentleness be evident to all. 25 00:01:40,170 --> 00:01:43,310 Speaker 1: The Lord is near. When the nurses first laid my 26 00:01:43,350 --> 00:01:46,370 Speaker 1: newborn son in my arms, I couldn't believe how tiny 27 00:01:46,430 --> 00:01:49,850 Speaker 1: he was. From the itty-bitty wrinkled feet to the little 28 00:01:49,910 --> 00:01:53,590 Speaker 1: cheeks that would soon fill out, he was small, red, 29 00:01:54,230 --> 00:01:57,270 Speaker 1: and very, very vulnerable. No one laid him in my 30 00:01:57,390 --> 00:01:59,890 Speaker 1: arms and said to me, I hope he's gentle with you. 31 00:02:00,830 --> 00:02:03,860 Speaker 1: Even though I was stapled and glued together after my C-section, 32 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,820 Speaker 1: it would have been ludicrous to consider a newborn baby 33 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: to be gentle or ungentle. Despite my weakness after 24 34 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: hours of labor and an emergency surgery, I was the 35 00:02:14,660 --> 00:02:17,540 Speaker 1: one who held the power in the situation. I needed 36 00:02:17,580 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: to be gentle with my little son because I could 37 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: easily hurt him. He was weak, so I needed to 38 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:27,100 Speaker 1: be gentle with him. We often think of gentleness as weakness, 39 00:02:27,260 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: but the two are actually very different. Someone who is 40 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:33,470 Speaker 1: weak doesn't need to be gentle. Rather, it's the strong 41 00:02:33,500 --> 00:02:37,290 Speaker 1: who need to practice gentleness. True gentleness is much more 42 00:02:37,350 --> 00:02:42,150 Speaker 1: than being kind, tender, or mild-mannered. In fact, I consider 43 00:02:42,190 --> 00:02:45,910 Speaker 1: gentleness to be the radical cousin of kindness because while 44 00:02:46,130 --> 00:02:49,780 Speaker 1: anyone can be kind, a person can only truly be 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: gentle when they have strength. If you've thought of gentleness 46 00:03:01,860 --> 00:03:04,860 Speaker 1: as a weakness in the past, you are in good company. 47 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: Even the prophet Jonah thought of gentleness as weakness. After 48 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: he preached to the people of Nineveh, they repented and 49 00:03:11,940 --> 00:03:14,660 Speaker 1: God decided not to cause the destruction he had planned. 50 00:03:15,260 --> 00:03:18,210 Speaker 1: He held back his power for the sake of the vulnerable. 51 00:03:18,910 --> 00:03:23,410 Speaker 1: And Jonah was livid. He railed at God. I knew 52 00:03:23,470 --> 00:03:27,230 Speaker 1: that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, 53 00:03:27,350 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. 54 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: And now, Lord, take my life from me, for it 55 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: is better for me to die than to live. That 56 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,810 Speaker 1: tantrum is from Jonah 4 verses 2 to 3. Jonah 57 00:03:43,130 --> 00:03:46,470 Speaker 1: literally wanted to die because he was so frustrated over 58 00:03:46,510 --> 00:03:51,650 Speaker 1: God's gentleness. Drama queen! Yes, this was the same God 59 00:03:51,710 --> 00:03:54,970 Speaker 1: who had recently shown the same gentleness toward Jonah, but 60 00:03:55,050 --> 00:03:58,130 Speaker 1: he now saw God's gentleness as a weakness and not 61 00:03:58,180 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: as a strength. Like Jonah, our world does not value gentleness. 62 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:05,780 Speaker 1: The world says we should seek power over others and 63 00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:09,820 Speaker 1: grasp for control. It's not interested in holding back power 64 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,190 Speaker 1: for the sake of others. As Christians, we're often guilty 65 00:04:13,230 --> 00:04:16,130 Speaker 1: of this too. We long to receive the grace of 66 00:04:16,170 --> 00:04:20,950 Speaker 1: God's gentleness without having to extend that same gentleness to others. 67 00:04:21,670 --> 00:04:25,110 Speaker 1: We see gentleness as a weakness, so we choose to 68 00:04:25,190 --> 00:04:29,180 Speaker 1: ignore that part of God's character. But together over the 69 00:04:29,210 --> 00:04:33,260 Speaker 1: next month, we will uncover how gentleness is a sign 70 00:04:33,300 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: of strength, something to pray for and practice, not to avoid. 71 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,950 Speaker 1: Because it's so countercultural, Gentleness is one of the most 72 00:04:42,089 --> 00:04:44,690 Speaker 1: obvious markers of a Christian who is growing in faith 73 00:04:44,790 --> 00:04:48,570 Speaker 1: and godly character. When I first broached the topic of 74 00:04:48,610 --> 00:04:51,410 Speaker 1: this devotional with some readers, one of them mentioned that 75 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:54,630 Speaker 1: the gentleness section in my book, Fruitful, had a huge 76 00:04:54,740 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: impact on her. She said, It challenged me to think 77 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,980 Speaker 1: of gentleness in a much broader and more applicable way, 78 00:05:01,660 --> 00:05:05,180 Speaker 1: not just knowing how to pet a kitten. Gentleness is 79 00:05:05,540 --> 00:05:07,460 Speaker 1: so much more than knowing how to pet a kitten 80 00:05:07,540 --> 00:05:10,500 Speaker 1: or hold a baby. In fact, God's gentleness is the 81 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,350 Speaker 1: very crux of the gospel. Without Jesus' choice to hold 82 00:05:14,410 --> 00:05:17,510 Speaker 1: back his power for the sake of humanity, he would 83 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:20,870 Speaker 1: never have gone to the cross for us. At this point, 84 00:05:20,950 --> 00:05:23,750 Speaker 1: you may not be excited about growing in gentleness. You 85 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,260 Speaker 1: may want to turn this podcast series off and not 86 00:05:26,300 --> 00:05:28,660 Speaker 1: listen to the rest. If you've been steeped in a 87 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:32,180 Speaker 1: culture that sees gentleness as weakness, it may take a 88 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,020 Speaker 1: heart shift before you're ready to let God work in 89 00:05:35,060 --> 00:05:38,140 Speaker 1: you in this way. But as Paul taught the Philippians, 90 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: from Philippians 2 verse 13, it is God who is 91 00:05:42,190 --> 00:05:45,690 Speaker 1: working in you both to will and to work according 92 00:05:45,710 --> 00:05:48,430 Speaker 1: to his good purpose. When we invite him to do 93 00:05:48,470 --> 00:05:50,930 Speaker 1: his work in our hearts, God will give us a 94 00:05:51,110 --> 00:05:55,260 Speaker 1: vision for Christ-like gentleness and the desire to grow in it. 95 00:05:57,110 --> 00:06:01,370 Speaker 1: Let's pray together. Lord, I confess that I have not 96 00:06:01,470 --> 00:06:04,990 Speaker 1: always considered gentleness to be a virtue. In this world 97 00:06:05,029 --> 00:06:10,029 Speaker 1: of grasping, one-upping, and outrage, gentleness seems like a really 98 00:06:10,070 --> 00:06:12,950 Speaker 1: great way to get walked all over. Please give me 99 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,779 Speaker 1: a vision for Christlike gentleness and the desire to grow 100 00:06:16,860 --> 00:06:20,900 Speaker 1: in it. Remove my fear of seeming weak and help 101 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: me to trust that true gentleness is life-changing. In Jesus' 102 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: holy name, amen. 103 00:06:27,610 --> 00:06:29,669 Speaker 2: As part of our Fruit of the Spirit prayers and 104 00:06:29,770 --> 00:06:33,450 Speaker 2: everyday prayers for the school year book club, Tara Cole 105 00:06:33,570 --> 00:06:37,070 Speaker 2: and I created a free car conversations guide for your 106 00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:40,650 Speaker 2: family to use this fall. The car is sometimes the 107 00:06:40,690 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 2: best place for our most precious conversations with our kids. 108 00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:47,780 Speaker 2: As we are praying through the fruit of the spirit, 109 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 2: our hope is that you can have meaningful conversations with 110 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 2: your kids about what living out these fruit looks like 111 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,929 Speaker 2: in their daily lives. Tara and I created a series 112 00:06:57,990 --> 00:07:00,390 Speaker 2: of quick questions. She wrote some for the older kids. 113 00:07:00,610 --> 00:07:02,890 Speaker 2: I wrote some for younger kids. And we share a 114 00:07:02,930 --> 00:07:06,010 Speaker 2: prayer that you can share with your children about each 115 00:07:06,089 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 2: of the fruit of the Spirit. Download your copy for 116 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,980 Speaker 2: free on our website or the link in our show notes. 117 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 2: Until next time, friends, the Lord bless you and keep you. 118 00:07:17,740 --> 00:07:20,620 Speaker 2: Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 119 00:07:21,380 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 2: May the Lord look with favor on you and give 120 00:07:24,220 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 2: you peace.