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What if the thing you've been carrying is the very thing you need to bring to God in prayer? Jesus said something powerful about praying and believing, and today we are going to look at what that really means. Welcome to God Says So, the scripture-rooted podcast created to help Christian moms just like you grow in God's Word, strengthen your faith, live by what God says, and pass his truth onto the children you love. So the next generation grows up rooted in Scripture. Hi, I'm Donna, and I hope that you'll feel right at home here. Together, we'll find encouragement and joy in what God says. You'll leave with one practical way to bring his truth into your everyday family life. So come join me. I can't wait to share today's message with you. Hey friend, welcome back. I'm so glad you're here. Now, if you've been listening to the God says so podcasts, you know that every episode comes back to the same thing: God's word. One scripture passage, one prayer, and one practical step to help you live by what God says in your everyday life. Okay, real quick before we dive in, the God says so shop is now open, and I would love for you to come and take a look around. You'll find scripture-inspired apparel and merch for women and kids created to help keep God's word close and share his truth. Come visit us at godsaysso.com. Okay, let's get into today's scripture. Imagine this. It's two o'clock in the morning. Your little one is awake again. You're tired. You've done everything you know to do. And then you whisper, Lord, please let my child fall asleep. Now that may seem like a little thing, but when you're the tired mom standing there at two o'clock in the morning, it doesn't feel so little. And I love that we can bring moments like that to God. Prayer is part of our everyday walk with God, talking with him, thanking him, bringing him our needs, our gratitude, our questions, and the things that are on our heart. Prayer is part of our relationship with him. So Jesus gives us these words in Matthew 21, 22, and whatever things you ask in prayer, believing you will receive. Okay, so let's just stay right here for a minute. So Jesus connects prayer with believing. But believing doesn't mean trying to convince ourselves hard enough that something is going to happen. It doesn't mean our thoughts have the power to create an outcome. Our faith isn't in ourselves. Our faith is in God. When we pray, we are bringing something we need, something we desire, something we're concerned about to the one who is able to do what we cannot do. And we believe him. We believe he hears us, we believe he is able, and we trust him with the answer. That's an important part of prayer because prayer changes things. But that doesn't mean every prayer will be answered exactly the way we pictured it. Sometimes the situation changes, sometimes the answer comes in a way we never expected. Sometimes we're just still waiting. But prayer is never about us trying to control the outcome. It's about trusting God with the outcome. And I think there's so much freedom in that. Because as women, especially as moms, we can spend a lot of time trying to figure everything out. We think about it, we replay it, we try to decide what to do next, but there are things we simply cannot fix. There are things that we cannot control. And there are things only God can do. So we pray. Not because prayer is our way of getting God to do what we want. We pray because we know who God is and because Jesus tells us to ask. I hope prayer becomes part of your everyday life. And I encourage you to have your children pray too. They can begin to learn that prayer is part of their relationship with God. And when God answers, we can say, Do you remember when we prayed about that? That's how our children begin to see that faith isn't just something we talk about, it's how we live. They don't need us to have every answer. They need to see where we go when we don't. We go to God. Okay, here's your one practical step for today. Okay, think of one thing that has been taking up space in your mind and pray about it. Tell God what you're asking him for. Then trust him with that. Okay, trust him with what happens next. And when that worry or that concern comes back into your thoughts, let it remind you to pray again. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that I can come to you in prayer. Thank you that you hear me. Today I bring you the thing that has been on my heart. You already know what I need. You know what I'm concerned about, and you know what I cannot see. I believe you are able. Help me to trust you instead of trying to carry everything myself. And while I'm waiting for the answer, keep my heart close to you. Help me make prayer part of my everyday life and help me show my children what it looks like to trust you. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. Gosh, I hope today's episode blessed you. And because we've been talking about how prayer changes things, I want to let you know that I have two different prayer changes things designs in the God says so shop. It's more than just a saying, it's a reminder. It's a reminder to pray. It's a reminder to trust God. And maybe when someone else sees it, it will remind them to pray too. So you can find both Prayer Changes Things T-shirt designs at Godsays So.com. And if you haven't already, please follow the God Says So podcast so you never miss an episode. Oh, wait, one more thing. If the Holy Spirit puts someone on your heart while you were listening to this episode, would you please share this podcast with them? And together, we can reach more families, all for God's glory. Until next time, stay rooted in Scripture. Live by what God says, and pass it on.