1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Daily Prayer, 2 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: a podcast dedicated to helping you find the words you 3 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: need to connect with your Father in Heaven. No matter 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: what is going on in your life today, you can 5 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: trust that God wants to hear from you. Right after 6 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: this short word from our sponsor, people pray through today's 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: prayer to be Pored Out together. A Prayer to be 8 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: Pored Out written by Emily Rose Massey read by Carrie Iiberger. 9 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility 10 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. 11 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, 12 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: but also for the interests of others Olybeyians two, verse 13 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: three and four. A popular phrase that you hear online, 14 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: especially among women and mothers, is you can't pour from 15 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: an empty cup. This means you need to take care 16 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: of yourself before you can take care of someone else. 17 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: This phrase is used to support the importance of self 18 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: care and meantime, but this often becomes an ideology completely 19 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,639 Speaker 1: centered around self while not advocating that our own needs 20 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: don't matter. We should question this mentality as Christians because 21 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: our lives are to be ones of sacrifice, selflessness, and humility. 22 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: If we wait until every area of our lives is 23 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: perfectly overflowing with everything we need before caring for others, 24 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: we will most likely never take our gaze off me, 25 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: myself and I. We will never experience the beauty of 26 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: relying upon God's grace in the midst of our own 27 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: weakness and struggles to lay down our lives for another. 28 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: In Philippians, too, the apostle Paul exhorts the church at 29 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,279 Speaker 1: Philippi to imitate Christ's humility that led him to obedience, 30 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: even to the point of his great sacrifice on the cross. 31 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility 32 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. 33 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, 34 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: but also for the interests of others. We, of course, 35 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: can lean from this exhortation ourselves as we look to 36 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: Jesus as our perfect model for the Christian life of sacrifice, selflessness, 37 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: and humility. Because he regarded others more important than himself, 38 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: Jesus stepped down from his heavenly throne, emptied himself, taking 39 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: the form of a bond servant being made in the 40 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: likeness of men. If you listened to the world, he 41 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: would be told he could do nothing for anyone else 42 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: if he were running on empty. But Jesus showed us 43 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: a better way to live. Although he was truly God 44 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: and truly man. Jesus showed us what true humility looks like. 45 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: But in addition, he also showed us what a life 46 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: entirely dependent upon the Father looks like, because the grace 47 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: to pour our lives out for others comes only from Him. 48 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: What does this way of living look like in your 49 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: current season? Are you asking the Lord to give you 50 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: opportunities to empty yourself even more and serve others, preferring 51 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: others above yourself. One way God will inform us into 52 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: the image of Christ so that we can truly imitate 53 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: Him to others is to get us to the end 54 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: of our own strength, so that His strength can shine 55 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: in and through us. When we are entirely dependent upon 56 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: God's grace, we are showing others that we can do 57 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: nothing apart from Him. Instead of looking for an escape 58 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: from your trial, your exhaustion, or your pain by trying 59 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: to fill up your own cup with whatever the world 60 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: offers us. As satisfying and fulfilling. Perhaps the Lord wants 61 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: you to look to him first to satisfy you and 62 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: fulfill you where you're lacking. This requires us to humble 63 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: ourselves before God. After all, he gives grace to the humble. 64 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 1: When you feel like you are running on empty, what 65 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: things do you try to fill yourself up with. We 66 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: are often tempted to render worldly distractions and temporary solutions 67 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: when life is difficult. Another temptation we might face is 68 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: to isolate ourselves from others. But one of the most 69 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: loving things we can do is become vulnerable with others 70 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: about what we are struggling with. This is holf The 71 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: body of Christ is able to bless each other as 72 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: we meet each other's needs. Do you feel like your 73 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: cup is empty? And let's look to the Lord to 74 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: use that emptiness for his glory by serving others as 75 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: we point them to him, and to trust that He 76 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: will fill us with his grace and strength, conforming us 77 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: to Christ's humility day by day. Let's pray, Father God, 78 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: I am feeling so weak and depleted, but I know 79 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: your grace is more than enough to strengthen me. So 80 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: often I don't ask you for your grace that is 81 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: readily available to me, and I try to do it 82 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: all in my own strength, which just leaves me discouraged 83 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: and disappoint it. You know my weaknesses and the things 84 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: I turn to for comfort. Help me get my eyes 85 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: off myself to fully surrender and rely on your grace 86 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: that will empower me to do all that you have 87 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: called me to, which is to love others like Christ does. 88 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 1: Like Paul, I long to be poured out like a drink, 89 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: offering all for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Your 90 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: Daily Prayer is a production of Life Audio and Sale Media. 91 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: If you haven't already, be sure to follow the show 92 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: on your favorite podcast app so you never missed an episode. 93 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: For more faith ful inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio 94 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:57,359 Speaker 1: dot com