Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms - A Call to Pray for Others

0:00Want to keep God's word with you wherever you go? The Key James Bible Study KJV at by Salem Media makes it easy to read, study, share, and pray daily with the Timeless KJV translation. Enjoy features like offline access, audio Bible listening, smart search, and tools to highlight bookmark and take notes all designed to keep your Bible Studies simple and organized. Best of all, it's free to download in the Google Play Store, growing your faith every day. Search for Key James Bible Study KJV and download the app today. Life Audio We're listening to everyday prayers with million praying moms, helping you pray God's word for your family in the areas you need at 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.

1:00And every day, we come together to partner with God for the hearts of our children. Over the next several days, we are unpacking the final prayers of Jesus as we journey towards Easter. As we break them down, I believe these prayers will show us the heart of God and can teach us so much about connecting with the Father in prayer. In today's episode, we're looking at how Jesus prays for others and how we should do the same. While we follow Jesus as example in prayer, our kids will follow our example as well. To learn more about million praying moms, visit millionprayingmoms.com. You can find a link in our show notes. After a brief word from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our children. In a world that tells us to hustle harder and do more, have you ever felt the quiet ache of loneliness? We're told it takes a village to raise a child, but often we're left wondering how to build one when life is already so full. What if your village doesn't require a perfectly clean house or a gourmet meal?

2:03What if it's found in simple, sacred moments, like sharing takeout on the living room floor or crying with a friend at the top of a hike? Your in good company is a collection of heartfelt stories about what real community looks like. It's an invitation to redefine hospitality. Not as performance, but as presence. For every mom craving deeper connection and richer friendships, it reminds us that showing up imperfectly with love is more than enough. These aren't just stories you read, they're stories you live. Find your in good company wherever books are sold. Looking for a simple way to stay rooted in God's word every day? The Daily Bible Devotion app by Salem Media gives you morning and evening devotionals designed to encourage, inspire, and keep you connected with Scripture. Plus, you'll enjoy daily Bible trivia and humor, a fun way to learn and share a smile while growing in your faith. Get the Daily Bible Devotion app for free on both iOS and Android.

3:04Start an in-your-day with God's word. Search for the Daily Bible Devotion app in the App Store or Google Play Store and download it today. John 17-8-310 For I have given them the words that you gave me and they have received them and have come to no in truth that I am from you and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me. For they are yours. All mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them. Here we see a beautiful picture of Jesus praying for the disciples, his closest friends and weir to follow his example and how we pray for others. As Jesus prays for the disciples and those who will come to believe in him, that includes you and me, he says, I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy.

4:05By this statement, Jesus reveals that the purpose or in-result of what he has said to the disciples at this point was joy. All of his teachings in this farewell discourse, these last conversations with Jesus leading up to his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, all of his statements in the prayer culminate in end and purpose in joy. However, when we read what he prays, this can be hard for us to grasp. Jesus prays to the Father, I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world. Just as I am not of the world, John 17, 14, Jesus reiterates that life as one of his followers is not easier, trouble-free, he acknowledges that they will be hated by others and also acknowledges that he knows what that feels like. Then, he prays something hard for us to read. He prays to the Father and ask, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but

5:11that you guard them from the evil one. John 17, 15. My initial question when I read this is why? Why not just take us out of the world if it is hard and if where you are going is better, Jesus? Jesus always displays great intentionality behind what he says and does. There is meaning behind this statement. Any suffering we face will result in our good and his glory, Romans 8.28. This part of the prayer echoes one of my favorite verses, John 16, 33, where Jesus tells his disciples, in this world you will have trouble. But take heart or be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In his prayer to the Father, Jesus restates that trouble is a guarantee for his followers. Reflecting on how Jesus prays on behalf of his disciples in their collective time of trouble. I think about how Preston has done this for me in our marriage.

6:14Analogies of our human experience fall short when attempting to demonstrate the things of God. Still we will use a human analogy because it is what we have available. Preston often prays for me when I do not know what to pray for myself. If I am particularly stressed, worn down, exhausted or sick, he will often sense that in me and before we retire for the night, he will kneel down next to our bed, reach over, take hold of my hand and pray the words that I do not have to pray at that moment. I remember one particular night when I had allowed my worries from the day to get the best of me. I responded to Preston with a short temper and he reached over, grabbed my hand and said, can I pray for you? And my answer came as quick and as fast as my anger. No, thank you. I took my hand back and I turned the other way. A few minutes later I looked at him. I reached for his hand and I said, please pray for me. At the moment of his original invitation, I was not responding in the ways of the Spirit.

7:16I gave in to worry and fear and resisted God's gentle nudging through my husband. I didn't want to talk to God at that moment because I knew I wasn't obeying him. I wasn't acting like him and I wasn't living out love. We often resist God when we know we aren't living like him. But these are the precise moments when we must come to him. When I took a minute to think about it, I knew prayer was exactly what I needed. And I also knew that allowing Preston to pray over me, the words that I couldn't pray for myself, was the best thing that I could do then. As he prayed, I nodded in agreement as tears rolled down my cheeks. I was assured of God's love for me and his desire to draw me back to himself. I recall other instances where the reverse has been true. When Preston experienced something particularly difficult and I have had the privilege of praying over him, Jesus modeled this for his disciples. Imagine how they would have felt after hearing all that Jesus had said to them up until this point in the farewell discourse, all of their conversation about Jesus' leaving

8:18and going away. They would have been unsettled, confused, and most likely afraid. Jesus could sense this in his closest friends, so he stopped and he prays for them. Prayer is a personal practice. But it's also a communal practice. We are to pray for one another. In life's difficult moments, do we have the courage to offer prayer to those around us? In my experience, I have found that people rarely refuse prayer. Even if they don't have an active relationship with God, or if they practice another religion, people usually don't turn down an offer to pray. In the south where I live, we habitually say, oh, I'll pray for you, and unfortunately this statement is often equivalent to, bless your heart. It's something that is said because it's what good Christians say, and then most people move on. And I wonder how many times people actually pray for what they say they will pray for.

9:19I wonder what would change. We would see if we could truly begin to pray for those around us. Do we be genuine and bold in offering prayer to those that God has placed in our lives? Recently, a friend I hadn't seen in a while shared a particularly difficult situation that he was walking through. I listened intently, and when the conversation wrapped up, I resisted the desire to offer them my feedback or my commentary, sensing from the spirit that they didn't need that, they needed prayer. So I took a deep breath and I asked, can I pray for you? We bowed our heads in the middle of a parking lot on a hot summer day in Mississippi, and I offered a simple prayer for the Lord to meet them in their time of trouble and give them the wisdom and peace to walk through it. I asked that God's presence would surround them. I didn't say anything profound or significant, but their damp eyes told me that the spirit's leading is always the best thing to follow. In the same way, it's so important for us to pray for others in front of our children.

10:24Like we follow Jesus' example, our kids will follow our example. I often ask Josie in the car on the way to school, who can we pray for today? So friend, who can you pray for today? Let's pray together. Father, let us not neglect the power of praying for those you have placed in our lives. I confess that I so often want to do something to help or to fix a situation. Today I rest in the truth that prayer is my first and best response. I believe that prayer has the power to make a difference for my loved ones, but I so often neglect bringing requests for others to you. Help me today to allow my belief in the power of prayer, fuel the prayers that I bring before you on behalf of those that I love. In Jesus' name, amen. Are you a visual learner?

11:24Would you like to receive our daily devotions in written form right to your inbox? Then join our Patreon community of praying moms. Not only will you receive the transcripts of each podcast devotional, you will also receive a monthly prayer calendar and surprise bonus content. Learn more about our praying mom community in today's show notes or at millionprayingmoms.com. Until next time friends, the Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace. No matter what you're going through, you are not alone. Sis, if you've experienced pain in your father-daughter relationship, I want you to know that you are loved and seen. I'm Kia Stevens, host of the Hope for Women with Father Wounds podcast, and I created my show to help you exchange your father-wounds for the love of God the Father. Join me for encouragement, wisdom, and scripture. Just search HopeForWomenWithFatherWoundsOnLifeAudio.com or wherever you get your podcast.