Melissa Taylor Hi, everybody, so happy to have you back with
us this week for the audio teaching from our "Mom Set Free" Online Bible Study. I'm Melissa Taylor.
I'm on the team here at Proverbs 31 Ministries with the Online Bible Studies department and
I'm joined here again with the author of "Mom Set Free," Jeannie Cunnion. Hi, Jeannie.
Jeannie Cunnion Hi, y all. How are you? MT: Well, I am doing good and I'm so excited to
hear and talk about prayer today, because I know that's the message you're going to be sharing with
us. And so, you guys, moms, we had a tough one last week. We talked about suffering. And I think,
hey, right along in this week, we're going to talk about something that really, I would, I hate
to say, it comes in handy. That makes it sound so, kind of, on the surface and not important. I think
a lot of times we turn to prayer and say, "Oh, I've done everything else, I guess I'll pray."
But wow, there's a lot of freedom when you become a parent who prays and so, I'm excited
to hear from you and talk about that today. Jeannie Cunnion: Yeah, so we're talking about
the Freedom to Parent With Prayer, and I want to begin by confessing something. Because today,
while we talk about the power of prayer, you need to know that my default is problem solving,
that I am a problem solver. And that's what I do, I go straight to that kind of problem-solving mode
when my kids bring me, you know, a problem or I see something they're walking through,
I want to, I want to fix it; I want to problem solve it. So, I'm preaching to myself,
as I always am, when I say that we do our best parenting through prayer.
Oswald Chambers has a great quote about prayer. It's in his book,
"My Utmost for His Highest," and he says, "Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God.
Don't say, 'I will endure this until I can get away and pray,' but pray now. Draw on the grace
of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing. It is not simply a reflex
action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer."
And that, I get that, right? Slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer; and yet,
prayer is the most powerful thing we can do for our kids. Our kids need us to be prayer warriors
more than they need us to be problem solvers. Because prayer gives us inexhaustible,
literally inexhaustible, access to God's peace and God's power, both of which we
desperately need in our mothering. But maybe you're listening today and you're thinking,
"Well, I'm a mom who doesn't know how to pray," or "I struggle with what to say." Or maybe you're in
a season where you feel particularly helpless or hopeless. I know that feeling. Maybe you, maybe
words fail you because you're so overwhelmed, and you're so under pressure that you don't even know
where to begin with your prayers. Or maybe you're worried that your doubts or your lack of faith
will hinder your prayers for your children. If you find yourself in any of those places,
I have encouraging news for you and for me today. And I want us to turn to Romans
8:26-28, and I'm actually going to read from "The Message" paraphrase today.
And this is what Paul writes, it says, "Meanwhile,
the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along.
If we don't know how to pray, or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us,
making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we
know ourselves. He knows our pregnant condition and keeps us present before God. That's why we
can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."
See, the assurance that Paul gives us in Romans 8 is that God's very Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who
knows us better than we know ourselves, who knows our children better than we know them. He takes
our cries for help, and He prays for us. I just think that's incredible. I think about times in my
life where I've been too overwhelmed, too tired, too worried and I think if you've ever felt the
pressure to get it all right in your prayer life I hope you take immense encouragement from this.
You can run to Him, you can be honest with Him, you can share your heart with Him,
you don't have to know exactly what to say or how to say it. Because here's the thing,
He isn't judging or critiquing your prayers, He's just so happy to hear your voice.
He's so happy to be the One that you run to, the One that you cling to, the One that you trust in,
and nobody listens better than Jesus. Now, of course, this isn't discounting the fact that
there are very real things we must do and very difficult problems we must solve, right? I mean, I
know that right now in my own life, there are very real things I have to do for my boys right
now. And there are very difficult problems that my husband and I have to help them sort out.
Nowhere in Scripture do we read "pray only," right? It never says, pray only.
MT: Right. Yeah. JC: But we are continually
reminded that this is the best place to start. And it is the best place to return.
So, as we navigate each one of the pressures that we're under as moms, and we do all the
things that God has called us to do as parents, we can do it with open hands and trusting hearts,
believing that God is sovereign, that He is good and that there is
grace upon grace for us and our kids. And so, to close today, I just want to
include another passage that encourages us to be praying moms, and I'm so excited about all
the other things we're going to study about the power of prayer in our parenting. But today I
want to conclude with James1:5, and it says, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who
gives to all generously and ungrudgingly and it will be given to him." Right? So how often do you
feel like you lack wisdom as a mom. You don't know what you're doing as a parent, right? You lack,
you lack wisdom, you need to make decisions on their behalf or for their benefit, and you're
going, "Lord, I just don't know what to do. I mean, I have my hand raised so high over here."
MT: Right. Me too. JC: And yet James tells us to ask God who gives
generously. He gives wisdom generously. He wants us to come and ask Him for wisdom. We... it's
just... I think it's wild, that we are invited to bring all of our worries, all of our fears
and burdens and pressures to our all-knowing and all-loving Father who loves to help.
He loves to give us wisdom. So, what in the world are we doing settling for anything less
than being prayer warriors for our kids. And I just want to remind us again, in closing,
yes, we have to be problem solvers, but more than anything, our kids need us to be prayer warriors
on their behalf. And then... and then we get to witness God working, right? That's the coolest
thing as moms, we get to witness God's power and God working through our prayers on their behalf,
doing more than we could ever ask or imagine, by the power that is at work within us.
MT: Yes. Oh, my goodness. And Jeannie, how awesome! Just in that verse from James 1:5,
which is another one that I love, because we can ask God questions, everybody. Okay?
JC: Umm Hmm MT: That's one thing I love
about our relationship with the Lord because it's unlike a relationship with anybody else. Because
if I'm honest, when I go out, or if I run into somebody I know, pretty much I'm doing great.
I'm going to have it all together, or at least kind of look like I do, unless it's someone that
I'm super close with, and I may not ask questions even when I have them. But with God, we're told
"Come as you are! You be you! I created you to be you and that's who I want you to be. And ask Me if
you need wisdom. And guess what? You just might, you're going to hear from Me. Spend time with
Me." And you know, as much as we want to solve those problems, I'm glad that you made the point.
It doesn't mean that we just sit down and pray and say, "Hey, Lord, would You take care of this?"
and we walk away. There are things, as parents, God has entrusted us to help to guide them and
solve problems that need our help, JC: Yeah
MT: But to be a prayer warrior for your child. You, all you moms, sometimes when you're there,
like Jeannie said, throwing your arms up in the air, like, "I don't know what to do."
Don't sit with that worry. Go to God, ask Him for wisdom. And the Word right here tells us,
"He's going to give to all generously and ungrudgingly." He's not even...
He's not even going to be like, "Oh, she's here asking for wisdom again," [laughter] you
know? So, I just think there is so much freedom to parent with prayer. So much.
Thank you, Jeannie, for encouraging us to be prayer warriors on our child's behalf,
and then we also get to be the witnesses who watch what God does in their lives.
JC: Yeah. So good. MT: Yes! Okay, y'all. We
have had six wonderful teachings together. And guess what? We're not done. We have one more
coming up next week and you really don't want to miss this last teaching that we have from
Jeannie Cunnion next week. Jeannie, so excited that we get to hear from you one more time.
JC: I can't wait. MT: Alright, so join us next
week. We're going to hear about the Freedom to Be Broken Together. Another tough topic,
but one that I know God has some good news for us in. So come back next week where we'll be hearing
more about the truth; and when you know the truth and live the truth, it changes everything!