Latest / LifeAudio / Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms - A Prayer to Believe "Even if He does not..."
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Life Audio.
- 0:16Speaker 2: You are listening to Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms,
- 0:18Speaker 2: helping you pray God's word for your family in the
- 0:20Speaker 2: areas you need it most. I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. Here,
- 0:24Speaker 2: we believe prayer isn't a last resort. It's our first
- 0:27Speaker 2: and best response in parenting. And every day we come
- 0:30Speaker 2: together to pray for you. to partner with God for
- 0:32Speaker 2: the hearts of our children. Today's division is written and
- 0:37Speaker 2: read by me. It comes from my new book, Everyday
- 0:40Speaker 2: Prayers for Moms. This is day 10 from the book,
- 0:44Speaker 2: and it's one of my favorite entries because it discusses
- 0:47Speaker 2: a topic that I believe keeps so many of us
- 0:51Speaker 2: from consistently praying, and that's what happens when we don't
- 0:56Speaker 2: get the answer we want or expect or maybe in
- 1:00Speaker 2: the timing.
- 1:01Speaker 1: That we expect it to happen.
- 1:03Speaker 2: I'm calling this one a prayer to believe even if
- 1:06Speaker 2: he does not. I pray that it encourages you wherever
- 1:09Speaker 2: you are in your prayer journey today. To learn more
- 1:13Speaker 2: about Everyday Prayers for Moms or more about our ministry,
- 1:15Speaker 2: visit millionprayingmoms.com and we'll have a link in our show notes.
- 1:19Speaker 2: After a quick word from our sponsors, we'll pray together
- 1:22Speaker 2: for our families. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him,
- 1:32Speaker 2: King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before
- 1:36Speaker 2: you in this matter. If we are thrown into the
- 1:39Speaker 2: blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver
- 1:43Speaker 2: us from it, and he will deliver us from your
- 1:47Speaker 2: majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want
- 1:51Speaker 2: you to know, your majesty, that we will not serve
- 1:55Speaker 2: your gods, or worship the image of gold that you
- 1:58Speaker 2: have set up.
- 1:59Speaker 1: Daniel 3, 16-18.
- 2:06Speaker 2: I've never been more convinced of the reality of heaven
- 2:09Speaker 2: than I was at a funeral a few weeks back
- 2:11Speaker 2: celebrating the beautiful life of my precious friend, Betsy. Her
- 2:16Speaker 2: faithfulness to the end of her life on earth was
- 2:19Speaker 2: an incredible witness to her hope in heaven. Her suffering
- 2:23Speaker 2: was great, but her faith was even greater.
- 2:26Speaker 1: Greater. As the pastor shared at the service.
- 2:29Speaker 2: He reminded the assembly of all of the prayers that
- 2:33Speaker 2: had been lifted on her behalf since her cancer diagnosis.
- 2:37Speaker 2: He acknowledged that while it may not feel like it,
- 2:40Speaker 2: our prayers had indeed been answered, just maybe not in
- 2:44Speaker 2: the way that we wanted. He went on to say,
- 2:48Speaker 2: heaven is not a consolation prize for those who don't
- 2:53Speaker 2: get healed on earth. This statement made my breath catch
- 2:58Speaker 2: and tears streamed down my cheeks. While I know this
- 3:02Speaker 2: is true, how often do I live as if it
- 3:06Speaker 2: is not? How often do I pray as if it
- 3:09Speaker 2: is not? Heaven is not the consolation prize. It is
- 3:13Speaker 2: the grand prize. Eternal life with Christ is the supreme prize.
- 3:20Speaker 2: But so often when our prayers don't get answered in
- 3:24Speaker 2: the way we hope, We are tempted to think that
- 3:27Speaker 2: God didn't hear us. Or maybe we think that we
- 3:30Speaker 2: didn't pray the right way. Our hearts can be broken
- 3:35Speaker 2: when what we'd hoped would happen does not. Our opening
- 3:40Speaker 2: verse for today comes from a familiar Bible story, one
- 3:44Speaker 2: you probably grew up learning about in Sunday school. Shadrach, Meshach,
- 3:48Speaker 2: and Abednego were Jewish exiles living in Babylon.
- 3:52Speaker 1: They had found favor with the king.
- 3:54Speaker 2: But refused to bow down to him when he issued
- 3:57Speaker 2: a decree that all had to bow down to his statue.
- 4:01Speaker 2: The king gave them another chance, and that is where
- 4:05Speaker 2: our verse picks up. These three believed in God so
- 4:09Speaker 2: much that they could confidently say, we know he can
- 4:13Speaker 2: rescue us, but even if he does not, we won't
- 4:17Speaker 2: worship you. They didn't question God's ability. They believed wholeheartedly
- 4:23Speaker 2: that he could rescue them from the fire, but they
- 4:26Speaker 2: knew it wasn't their place to determine his will. Their
- 4:30Speaker 2: hope and trust and faith in God was not determined
- 4:33Speaker 2: by or based upon whether God did what they asked
- 4:37Speaker 2: of him. Their hope, trust, and faith was placed in
- 4:42Speaker 2: who they knew God to be, in his character. Even
- 4:46Speaker 2: in exile, they firmly believed in his care and compassion
- 4:51Speaker 2: for them in his sovereignty as the only true living God.
- 4:58Speaker 1: Something to think about. You most likely know the rest
- 5:01Speaker 1: of the story.
- 5:03Speaker 2: God allowed the three young men to be thrown into
- 5:06Speaker 2: the furnace, but he didn't let them go alone. The
- 5:09Speaker 2: king notices four men walking around in the fire unharmed.
- 5:14Speaker 2: Many scholars believe that this first person was Jesus himself.
- 5:18Speaker 1: Remarkable.
- 5:20Speaker 2: Emmanuel is God with us, the Hebrew meaning of his name,
- 5:25Speaker 2: even in the fire. I truly believe that these three
- 5:29Speaker 2: men meant it when they said, even if he does not.
- 5:34Speaker 2: I believe their faith wouldn't have wavered if there would
- 5:37Speaker 2: have been a different outcome. It's the same faith that
- 5:41Speaker 2: Abraham displayed when he placed his son on the altar
- 5:44Speaker 2: and God provided the ram and the thicket. But even
- 5:48Speaker 2: if he does not, was a truth my friend Betsy
- 5:51Speaker 2: believed to the core of her being. Her faith wasn't
- 5:55Speaker 2: dependent on if she was healed in her earthly body.
- 5:58Speaker 2: The sicker she got, the more radiant she became. We
- 6:02Speaker 2: kept praying bold prayers, asking God for a miracle. But
- 6:06Speaker 2: even when it didn't come in the way we'd hoped,
- 6:08Speaker 2: we could confidently rejoice in the miracle of her healing
- 6:12Speaker 2: in heaven. Betsy's hope was truly eternal, and it was a.
- 6:16Speaker 1: Beautiful sight to behold. even in the middle of the fire.
- 6:22Speaker 2: So when we pray for our children, whether we are
- 6:25Speaker 2: begging God for their healing, for mercy from bullies at school,
- 6:30Speaker 2: for help with a certain subject, or for behavioral concerns,
- 6:34Speaker 2: we can be encouraged that we pray with the hope
- 6:38Speaker 2: of heaven. In raising our kids and praying on their behalf,
- 6:43Speaker 2: we are taking part in what Jesus taught us to pray.
- 6:46Speaker 2: Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as
- 6:50Speaker 2: it is in heaven. From Matthew 6.10. Let's pray that together. Father,
- 6:58Speaker 2: give us hope of the reality of heaven. Increase our
- 7:03Speaker 2: faith and trust when it seems that our prayers aren't
- 7:07Speaker 2: being answered in.
- 7:07Speaker 1: The way we hope.
- 7:10Speaker 2: Help us to boldly believe in your miracle working power
- 7:14Speaker 2: and to confidently be able to say, Even if he
- 7:18Speaker 2: does not, I still trust him.
- 7:22Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen.
- 7:25Speaker 2: My guess is that if you're here listening to the
- 7:27Speaker 2: Everyday Prayers podcast, you kind of care about praying for
- 7:32Speaker 2: your children. My newest book, Everyday Prayers for Moms, Praying
- 7:36Speaker 2: God's Word for Your Children from Newborn to Emptiness, is
- 7:40Speaker 2: a great resource for moms who desire to pray for
- 7:44Speaker 2: their kids. I don't know if you've ever looked up
- 7:46Speaker 2: at the end of the day and realized that you
- 7:48Speaker 2: didn't pray at all. So often we have this desire
- 7:52Speaker 2: to pray, but we may not know how to put
- 7:56Speaker 2: that desire in to practice. I'm learning in motherhood that
- 8:00Speaker 2: my prayers adapt and change based on the season that
- 8:03Speaker 2: we're in as a family.
- 8:04Speaker 1: I'm also learning to give myself.
- 8:06Speaker 2: Grace in those different seasons. I know God isn't after perfect,
- 8:11Speaker 2: polished prayers. He's after my heart. And He's after yours too.
- 8:16Speaker 2: So my plan is to be intentional, whatever that looks
- 8:20Speaker 2: like in this season. I hope that is your plan
- 8:23Speaker 2: as well. God sees our hearts. He's honored by our
- 8:27Speaker 2: desire to connect with Him. If you're feeling stuck in
- 8:31Speaker 2: your prayer life, I've got a new free download, a
- 8:35Speaker 2: five-day prayer reset. It's a great guide to help you
- 8:41Speaker 2: get started, jump back in, stay consistent, grow deeper in
- 8:46Speaker 2: your prayers for your kids.
- 8:47Speaker 1: It's also a great tool to.
- 8:49Speaker 2: Share with your friends or with your family members that
- 8:53Speaker 2: may be seeking to know God deeper in prayer as
- 8:57Speaker 2: they're wanting to pray for their kids.
- 8:59Speaker 1: I hope you will.
- 9:00Speaker 2: Grab your copy today at millionprayingmoms.com. We'll also put a
- 9:04Speaker 2: link in our show notes.
- 9:07Speaker 1: Until next time, friends, may the Lord bless.
- 9:10Speaker 2: You and keep you. Make His face shine upon you
- 9:14Speaker 2: and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with
- 9:17Speaker 2: favor upon you and give you His peace.