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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 a sneak peek from my newest devotional, Everyday Prayers for Moms, praying God's word for your children from newborn to empty nest that comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's finally here. Today is the very last day to get your pre-order bonus. If you pre-order today, you receive early access to our new prayer video course that is a great preview or companion for the book. Find our pre-order link in our show notes. To learn more about our Everyday Prayers Divisional Series and the ministry of Million Praying Moms, visit millionprayingmoms.com. After a quick word from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our families. Day 1. We believe prayer works. Psalm 34, 4. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. For three years, I longed to be a mom. During this season, I was serving in the local church as a kids' ministry pastor, constantly surrounded by kids and families, a steady reminder of what I was missing. After recurrent pregnancy losses, I found myself in a place of desperation, crying out to God day after day, only to feel like my prayers were hitting the ceiling of heaven, not quite making it all the way up. Some days, I struggled to pray at all. Maybe you can relate. Have you ever prayed for something and felt like you were getting no response? Did you keep praying? Did you give up? Did you change your prayer? Our prayers aren't always answered in the way we expect, but they are always answered in our best interest. Our measure of whether prayer works should be less about if God does what we are asking and more about our proximity to him. Prayer draws us nearer to God, regardless of the outcome. A helpful question to ask ourselves is, do I want the giver more than I want the gift? In my struggle with infertility, I had to come to a place where I desired God more than I desired a baby. I had to realize that my identity and worth were not found in the title mom, but rooted in being a daughter of the father. When we pray for our children, We have to answer a fundamental question. Do we believe that prayer works? Do we believe that it is worth our time, energy, and investment? If you're like me, your answer is automatically, yes. But the way I spend my time and energy doesn't always reflect this desire. Or maybe your answer is more, I'm not sure. Maybe you want to believe it, but your experiences have taught you otherwise. or caused you to question. It's okay. God can handle our honesty when we come to him in prayer. Something to think about. King David, who penned these words in Psalm 34, certainly knew what it was to feel like God wasn't answering his prayers. He was familiar with asking and waiting, praying and believing. When he wrote Psalm 34, David was on the run from King Saul, and he was seeking refuge in the Philistine city of Gath. He was hiding out from his enemy, fleeing for his life, and he cried out to God. Even in ongoing struggle, David writes with confidence, I sought the Lord, and he answered me. Verse 4. When things didn't go the way he wanted or expected, David didn't let this keep him from praying. Instead, he allowed his struggle to prompt him to pray. Even when he felt hopeless, he kept showing up to God in prayer, being honest before God about his circumstances and his heart. His confidence in God's character and trustworthiness didn't waver. It was strengthened. As the story of David's life unfolds in the narrative of Scripture, we see how God honors David's prayers and his heart. God invites us to do the same thing. He encourages us to come to Him in prayer and to have faith that He is hearing and responding, even when our circumstances don't change in the way we might hope. David models for us what it looks like to believe that prayer works by continually seeking God in prayer. Let's pray. Father, help me to believe that You hear and respond to my prayers. Help me to trust in Your character continually. even when life doesn't go the way I want or expect. I release my expectations to you and trust you with the outcome of my request. Strengthen my faith by the power of your spirit. 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 Word 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 into 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 us. 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 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 millionprayingmoms.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.