1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: Life Audio. You're listening to every Day Prayers with Million 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Praying Moms, where we're dedicated to helping moms pray God's 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: word for their families in the areas they need at most. 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. Over the last decade, we've 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: helped thousands of moms make prayer a priority for their families. 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Our mission is to help you do the same. Prayer 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: is not a last resort. It's our first and best 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: response to the challenges of parenting, a partnership for the 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: hearts of our children that God invites us into. Today's 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: devotion is written by Rachel Adams, author of Everyday Prayers 11 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,599 Speaker 1: for Love, a part of our Million Praying Moms every 12 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: Day Prayers devotional series. This month, with Rachel as our guide, 13 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: we are walking through some excerpts from this book as 14 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: we focus on what it means to truly love God, 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: love others, and even ourselves. Our prayer and hope is 16 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: that this month our understanding of God's love would grow 17 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: deeper as we pray together. To learn more about Rachel, 18 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: or to learn more about how you can get involved 19 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: in the ministry of Million Praying Moms, visit today's show 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: notes or million Prayingmoms dot Com. After a brief word 21 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our children. 22 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 2: Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and 23 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 2: lean on your own understanding in all your ways. Submit 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 2: to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs, 25 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 2: chapter three, verses five and six. I remember attending a 26 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 2: Woman of Joy conference where Dave Ramsey and his daughter 27 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 2: Rachel Ramsey Cruz, delivered a keynote address on parenting. Dave 28 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 2: talked about learning to trust your child as you gain 29 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 2: confidence in their choices and behaviors. He spoke metaphorically of 30 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 2: a rope tied to a child while a parent holds 31 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: the end of the rope. As the child makes good decisions, 32 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 2: they receive more rope. If poor choices occur, the parent 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: pulls the child closer to keep them safe until confidence 34 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 2: is restored. What was so special about this example was 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 2: how Dave shared that he gave Rachel a rope as 36 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 2: a gift when she married. This gift symbolized his belief 37 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 2: in her and served as a tangible reminder of that. 38 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 2: I've never forgotten this endearing image, especially as I began 39 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 2: parenting my children. It amazes me how God has entrusted 40 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 2: me to care for them. He has also asked you 41 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 2: to care for something or someone. He charges us to 42 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 2: love others and holds us accountable to steward specific roles, 43 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 2: but we need his help to fulfill these responsibilities. Relying 44 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: on God allows us to care for what He has 45 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 2: entrusted to us. It takes a long time to develop 46 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 2: trust in others and just seconds to lose it. However, 47 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 2: Paul writes that love always trusts. So often we place 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 2: our confidence or trust in earthly things other people, wealth, position, talent, 49 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 2: and even ourselves, but all of these things can fail us. 50 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: God is the only entity in heaven and on earth 51 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 2: worthy of our complete reliance. Trustworthiness can be measured by 52 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 2: a person's follow through in keeping their word God, as 53 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 2: the Word establishes the standard for this metric. Scripture tells 54 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 2: us in John chapter one one, in the beginning was 55 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 2: the word, and the word was with God, and the 56 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: word was God. God has always honored his covenants throughout Scripture. 57 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 2: God has proven that what he says is trustworthy and true. 58 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: Bible scholars have estimated there are approximately eighty eight hundred 59 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 2: and ten promises in scripture. When Jesus came to live 60 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 2: as Emmanuel God with us. He fulfilled more than three 61 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 2: hundred biblical prophecies written between five hundred and one thousand 62 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 2: years before Jesus was born. The mathematical probability of one 63 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 2: person fulfilled just eight prophecies is one in one hundred 64 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 2: million billion. Doesn't this strengthen your faith when you understand 65 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 2: the depth of God's assurances? For Corinthians thirteen and verse 66 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 2: seven tells us that love believes all things. When we 67 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 2: bear witness to the actualization of God's promises, it bolsters 68 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 2: our belief in his love for us too. Since he 69 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 2: promises to love us with an everlasting love, like it 70 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 2: says in Jeremiah chapter thirty one, verse three, we can 71 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 2: take him at his word. The difficulty comes when we 72 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 2: experience hard seasons, when God's timelines or outcomes don't align 73 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 2: with ours, or when he's asking us to obey and 74 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 2: his plans don't make sense. However, in these instances, God 75 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 2: is giving us a little rope, beckoning us to trust 76 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 2: him in allowing our faith to grow regardless of our circumstances. 77 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,239 Speaker 2: He is asking us to believe God knows and wants 78 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 2: what is best for us, far more than we ever. 79 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 2: His ways are higher than ours, and his thoughts are 80 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 2: higher than our thoughts. We may not have all the 81 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 2: answers in this life, but each experience allows us to 82 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 2: learn to trust Him with all of our heart and 83 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 2: not rely on our own understanding, knowing that the longer 84 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 2: we walk with him, the stronger our faith becomes, while 85 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 2: our reliance upon him continues to grow. I don't think 86 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 2: God ever intends to give us the entire rope. We 87 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 2: will always need to depend on his leading. I pray 88 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 2: we are tethered so closely to him that we hear 89 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 2: the cadence of his voice since every movement to stay 90 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 2: near him forever, especially as we care for what has 91 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 2: been entrusted to us. He is true to his word, 92 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 2: He has demonstrated his faithfulness, and his love can be trusted. 93 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 2: Let's pray, Father, thank you for being trustworthy and true. 94 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 2: I want to trust you and your love for me. 95 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,559 Speaker 2: Help me to believe your plans for me are good 96 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 2: when my faith is stretched cling tightly to you and 97 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 2: your promises. Forgive me for acting inauthentically. May I be 98 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 2: a person others can depend on to lead them into 99 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 2: a closer relationship with you than Jesus's name. Amen. 100 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: Are you a visual learner? Would you like to receive 101 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: our daily devotions and written form Write to your inbox. 102 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: Then join our Patreon community of Praying Moms. Not only 103 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 1: will you receive the transcripts of each podcast devotional, you 104 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: will also receive a monthly prayer calendar and surprise bonus content. 105 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: Learn more about our Praying mom community in today's show 106 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: notes or at million prayingmoms dot com. Till next time, friends, 107 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: the Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face 108 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the 109 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.