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Speaker 1: Life Audio. You're listening to Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms, helping you pray God's word for your family in the areas you need it most. I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. Here, we believe prayer isn't a last resort. It's our first and best response in parenting. And every day we come together to partner with God for the hearts of our children. For today's devotion, I want to share an excerpt from my newest devotional, Everyday Prayers for Moms, praying God's word for your children from newborn to empty nest that came out this week. Do you believe your prayers as a mom make a difference? I mean, like, really believe it? Do you ever have the best intentions to be in consistent prayer for your children, but are unsure how to get the habit to stick? Or maybe you are praying for your children daily, but you feel the Lord sensing you to go deeper. This devotional is an invitation to spend 30 days praying God's word over your children, understanding the why to create habits of prayer that last. To grab your copy of the book or to learn more about the ministry of Million Praying Moms, visit millionprayingmoms.com. After a quick word from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our families. Day two. We believe prayer is our first and best response. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Philippians 4, 6 This past summer, we took a family vacation to the beach. We arrived at a beautiful beach house and unloaded all of our gear. We were traveling with my husband's parents, his brother, my sister-in-law, and their two kids. On our first night in the house, we were all sitting around the sofas watching the kids play, when we suddenly heard a siren noise. It was very high-pitched, and we could not figure out what had set it off or where it was coming from. Our host had informed us about panic buttons located in several areas of the property. We thought the noise was coming from one of the panic buttons, possibly because one of the kids had accidentally hit it. So my brother-in-law hit a button again, or so we thought, to see if it would turn off. Boy, did it do the opposite. We just thought the first noise was loud. The alarm started blaring, and the kids all started crying and covering their ears. We started running out of the house toward the beach, but when we opened the door to go outside, the noise just got louder. There was no escape. It was total chaos. The security guards ran in and were able to disarm the security system quickly, and we were left with the original sound again. What once seemed loud and annoying felt oddly peaceful and quiet after the big alarms were silenced. Although less annoying, the noise was still bothersome enough that we needed to figure out what was causing it. We reset the speaker system, we checked all the appliances, and we consulted the property manager. An hour passed and we were no closer to figuring it out. Finally, my brother-in-law sat on the ground to play with my nephew. near the panic button under the coffee table, where it all began. After sitting there for a minute, he pulled out a pink walkie-talkie from the box of toys atop the table. He powered it off. The sound got quieter, and all of our jaws dropped open. It couldn't be. There's no way it was that simple. He reached into the box, grabbed the other one, powered it off, and the sound was gone. For a moment, we all sat in silence, staring in disbelief. Then we burst into laughter. We could not stop giggling. It was the walkie-talkies the whole time. Unbelievable. As I reflected on this experience the next morning during my quiet time, I thought about how we sometimes hit the panic button when our problem is as simple as a set of walkie-talkies. How often do we panic before we turn to God in prayer? How often do we overreact and under-consult our Creator? We had created a much larger problem than was necessary over a couple of toys that were left powered on. Sometimes we run around resetting everything in sight, thinking hard and trying to figure things out, all the while neglecting the greatest resource we have, going to God in prayer. At Million Praying Moms, we believe prayer is our first and best response to the challenges of parenting, not a last resort. This changes the way we view prayer. Something to think about. Paul had every reason to hit the panic button. He suffered greatly for the sake of sharing the gospel. Imprisonment, hunger, shipwreck, persecution, you name it, Paul had experienced it. When Paul pens the words in Philippians 4, 6, he pens them as one who has experienced what it means to be anxious, encouraging the believers in Philippi to seek God in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. Did you catch it? In every situation. In all situations, big or small, we must seek God. This certainly includes our parenting. This verse permits us to come to God with our tears over the spilled milk of our toddler, the questions of our tween, and the slam door of our teenager. The creator of the universe invites us to bring our requests to him, whether large or small. Every day, every circumstance, every time. Theologian John Wesley wrote that prayer is our grand means of drawing near to God. We so often overlook this grand means, this incredible invitation, we try to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and add the heavy load onto our already bent backs. The Lord promises us that His burden is easy and light, yet we insist on dragging around the weight of everyday struggles. This book's title and the title of our podcast are intentional. We chose the title Everyday Prayers because we must come to God every single day on behalf of our children. The daily coming is what shapes us and transforms us, ultimately strengthening our faith to believe that God hears us and responds to us. Let's pray. Father, help me to seek you in prayer daily as my first and best response. Please help me not to hit the panic button until I speak to you. I trust that you will meet me when I come to you in prayer, helping me release my anxiety and exchanging them for thankfulness. Show me how to make praying for my family a priority. In Jesus' name, amen. My guess is that if you're here listening to the Everyday Prayers podcast, you kind of care about praying for your children. My newest book, Everyday Prayers for Moms, Praying God's Work for Your Children from Newborn to Emptiness, is a great resource for moms who desire to pray for their kids. I don't know if you've ever looked up at the end of the day and realized that you didn't pray at all. So often we have this desire to pray, but we may not know how to put that desire in to practice. I'm learning in motherhood that my prayers adapt and change based on the season that we're in as a family. I'm also learning to give myself grace in those different seasons. I know God isn't after perfect, polished prayers. He's after my heart. And He's after yours too. So my plan is to be intentional, whatever that looks like in this season. I hope that is your plan as well. God sees our hearts. He's honored by our desire to connect with Him. If you're feeling stuck in your prayer life, I've got a new free download, a five-day prayer reset. It's a great guide to help you get started, jump back in, stay consistent, grow deeper in your prayers for your kids. It's also a great tool to share with your friends or with your family members that may be seeking to know God deeper in prayer as they're wanting to pray for their kids. I hope you will grab your copy today at millionpraymoms.com. We'll also put a link in our show notes. Until next time, friends, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor upon you and give you His peace.