1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 2: You're listening to every Day Prayers with Million Praying Moms, 3 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 2: helping you pray God's word for your family in the 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: areas you need it most. I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: Here we believe prayer isn't a last resort. It's our 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 2: first and best response in parenting, and every day we 7 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 2: come together to partner with God for the hearts of 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 2: our children. 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: This fall, we are praying through. 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 2: The nine fruit of the Spirit in nine weeks using 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 2: devotions adapted from our Everyday Prayers devotional series. This week's 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 2: prayer focus is love. Today's devotion is written and read 13 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 2: by Rachel Adams, author of Everyday Prayers for Love, Learning 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 2: to Love God, others and even yourself, and she's the 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 2: host of the Love Offering podcast. To learn more about 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: rachel Our ministry, or to grab copies of our Everyday 17 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 2: Prayers devotionals, visit Millionprayingmoms dot com. You can click on 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 2: our mom shop and use the code Fall twenty for twenty. 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:09,479 Speaker 1: Percent off your order. 20 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 2: After a quick word from our sponsors, We'll pray together 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 2: for our children. 22 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 3: A Prayer to Love your Neighbor by Rachel Adams Mark 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 3: Chapter twelve, Verse thirty one. Love your neighbor as yourself. 24 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 3: There is no commandment greater than these. We were building 25 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 3: a home on our farm. In most days I'd take 26 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 3: our two dogs for a walk along the property. One day, 27 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 3: a German shepherd ran through the fields from the neighboring 28 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 3: farm to greet us. Soon after, a car we weren't 29 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 3: familiar with travel down our gravel driveway. An elderly woman 30 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 3: hardly five foot tall exited her sedan. Hello, I'm Doris, 31 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 3: the petite powerhouse, introduced herself, extending her hand in neighborly welcome. 32 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 3: She told us she'd been meaning to stop by to 33 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 3: meet us and coming to retrieve her dog. Russell stopped 34 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 3: her excuses. We later she had recently been widowed and 35 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 3: managed to farm triple our size. Her children didn't live 36 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 3: in the area, so she lived alone with Russell. He 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 3: continues to visit us almost daily, so as you can imagine, 38 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 3: Doris does too, and each time she does, we talk. 39 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 3: We love getting to spend time with her. More often 40 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 3: than not, she brings baked goods, cuttings from her garden, 41 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 3: or a seasonal surprise for the kids. On one particular visit, 42 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 3: she brought us a homemade angel food cake. This delicious 43 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 3: dessert is her specialty and she makes this available throughout 44 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 3: the year for anyone who is grieving or sick. My 45 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 3: daughter and I wanted to carry on the tradition of 46 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 3: making and taking angel food cakes to our neighbors to 47 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 3: spread the love, so we asked Miss Dooris to teach us. 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 3: We invited her into our kitchen. When she arrived, she 49 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 3: gifted us an angel food cake ten and taught us 50 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 3: how to make her recipe that now we have the 51 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 3: honor of sharing ourselves. She didn't just teach us a skill, 52 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 3: she taught us how a Christian woman behaves, how to 53 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 3: be a good neighbor. We didn't know it, but God 54 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 3: gave us our own angel right next door. My family 55 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 3: has moved multiple times, and we have not always been 56 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 3: as fortunate with our neighbors as we have been with 57 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 3: Miss Doris. She and Russell are easy to love. We've 58 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 3: lived next to people who have been nosey, rude, and unfriendly. 59 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 3: Imagine you have had many of the same experiences. But 60 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 3: God tells us to love our neighbor, not just the 61 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 3: mis Dorses or the mister Rogers in our lives, but 62 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 3: everyone Jesus teaches the concept of neighborly love and the 63 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 3: parable of the good Samaritan. In the story, a man 64 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 3: was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho when 65 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 3: he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him 66 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 3: of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him 67 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 3: half dead. A priest and a levite we're traveling the 68 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 3: same road when they saw the man. They passed by 69 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 3: on the other side. But a Samaritan, who saw the 70 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 3: injured man, took pity on him, bare his wounds, put 71 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 3: the man on his donkey and brought him to an inn. 72 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 3: The next day. He gave money to the innkeeper and said, 73 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 3: look after him, and when I return, I will reimburse 74 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 3: you for any extra expenses you may have. Jesus told 75 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 3: this parable in response to a man's question, who is 76 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 3: my neighbor. The robbers in the story treated the wounded 77 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 3: man as an object to exploit. The priest treated the 78 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 3: man as a problem to avoid. Believe I treated him 79 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 3: as an object of curiosity, and the innkeeper treated him 80 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 3: as a customer to serve for a fee. Only the 81 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,679 Speaker 3: samaritan treated the injured man as a person to love. 82 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 3: Keep in mind the Jews considered themselves pure descendants of 83 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 3: Abraham and considered the Samaritans to be unclean, a mixed 84 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 3: race due to intermarrying after Israel's exile. As a result, 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 3: there was a deep hatred between the two groups. Understanding 86 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 3: this historical context emphasizes the true goodness of the Samaritans' actions. 87 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 3: Knowing this background sheds light on why the Samaritans' actions 88 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 3: were considered good. It also calls us to consider who 89 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 3: our neighbor is and what it means to love our 90 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 3: neighbor without bias or judgment. If we see a neighbor 91 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 3: with a physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual need, we should 92 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 3: act to meet that need. Jesus praised the good Samaritans' 93 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 3: actions and told us to go and do likewise. Who 94 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 3: is next to you, who touches your life on a 95 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,679 Speaker 3: daily basis, That is your neighbor. How can you show 96 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:39,799 Speaker 3: love to them today? Let's pray? 97 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: Father. 98 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 3: Some people are easy to love, but others can be 99 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 3: more difficult. Forgive me for not reaching out to my 100 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 3: neighbors when I should have. Lead me to know when 101 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:54,799 Speaker 3: and how to help the people you have intentionally placed 102 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 3: around me. No matter where I go or who I meet. 103 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 3: Help me to see each individual as a person to 104 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 3: love and as an opportunity to fulfill your command to 105 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 3: love my neighbor in Jesus's name. Amen. 106 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 2: As part of our Fruit of the Spirit prayers and 107 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 2: everyday prayers for the School Year book Club, Tarah Cole 108 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 2: and I created a free car Conversation's guide for your 109 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 2: family to use this fall. The car is sometimes the 110 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 2: best place for our most precious conversations with our kids 111 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,239 Speaker 2: as we are praying through the Fruit of the Spirit. 112 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: Our hope is that you. 113 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 2: Can have meaningful conversations with your kids about what living 114 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 2: out these fruit looks like in their daily lives. Tara 115 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,919 Speaker 2: and I created a series of quick questions. She wrote 116 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 2: some for the older kids, I wrote some for younger kids, 117 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 2: and we share a prayer that you can share with 118 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 2: your children about each of the Fruit of the Spirit. 119 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 2: Download your copy for free on our website or the 120 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 2: link in our show notes. Until next time, friends, the 121 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 2: Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine 122 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 2: upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord 123 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 2: look with favor on you and give you peace.