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171 | Praying God’s Word for All of Life's Seasons with Jodie Berndt
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I'm thrilled to introduce you to my friend Jodie Berndt as we wrap up the prayer series with three special interviews. I've known Jodie for eight years, and her books have been such a blessing in my life—especially "Praying the Scriptures for Your Children," which I've read three times. Jodie has written over a dozen books on praying scripture for your children, teens, adult children, marriage, and life, so whether you're a parent or not, there's something here for you.
In this conversation, Jodie shares her personal testimony of why she came to praying scripture and how it's impacted her walk with God. We talk about why prayer matters, how to turn passages into conversations with God, and practical ways to get started if this practice is new to you. Jodie's wisdom comes from 40 years of marriage, raising four children, and teaching Bible study in her local church—and her heart for family and scripture shines through everything she does.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by what to pray for or struggled to find the words, this episode will equip you with a biblical framework for praying with confidence. You can find Jodie's books wherever you buy books, and she offers free prayer calendars and resources at jodieberndt.com.
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Transcript
Introduction to Jodi Berndt
00:00:00
Speaker
how that happens as we remain in Him and let His words or remain in us, I see that as a way of giving God access to our hearts and our minds and our deepest longings so that as we're spending time in Scripture, it's beginning to transform how we think and how we pray.
00:00:21
Speaker
Hello, friends, and welcome back to Verity Podcast. I'm so thrilled to introduce you to my friend Jodi Berndt today. As we wrap up the prayer series, we're concluding with three special interviews, and this is one of them. I've known Jodi for going on eight years now, and her books have been a huge blessing in my own life. In fact, Jodi has written over a dozen books, and the one that I've read the most is Praying the Scriptures for Your Children. Now, if you don't have children, don't worry, because Jodi has also written Praying the Scriptures for Your Marriage and Praying the Scriptures for Your Life, among other books, and she'll talk about those on this episode.
00:01:02
Speaker
When i knew that we wanted to talk to people who could speak to prayer, Jodi was the first person who came to mind, because not only does she write about this, she actually lives it out. And in this episode, you're going to get to hear her personal testimony of why she came to praying the scriptures and how praying the scriptures has impacted her and why she teaches it today.
00:01:25
Speaker
If you're not familiar with Jodi, you can grab her books on Amazon, um Barnes & Noble, Christian Book, anywhere you like to buy your books. But Jodi isn't just a writer. She also hosts Mom Life Unscripted with Jodi and Friends, which is a program featured on Focus on the family's YouTube channel.
00:01:44
Speaker
Jodi and her husband, Robbie, have been married for 40 years. They have four married adult children and eight grandchildren and live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. You can follow Jodi on Instagram at Jodi underscore Burnt. And you can also get a free collection of printable prayer calendars, study guides, and other resources at jodyburnt.com. And we'll have all of these links in the show notes for your leisure.
The Impact of Jodi's Book 'Praying the Scriptures for Your Children'
00:02:12
Speaker
Well, without further ado, please join me as we listen to the interview with my friend Jody Burnt.
00:02:20
Speaker
Well, Jodi, I am so excited to have you join us as we wrap up the Verity Podcast prayer series. I've recommended your book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, so many times, and I've actually read through it three times myself. And so having you on and sharing your wisdom with all of our listeners is such a privilege and an honor. so why don't you... Well, it is a huge joy for me, Fi. I mean, it just... We've been friends for a long time, and I... We'll never forget the day my little two-year-old granddaughter picked up every woman a theologian and started running away with it. And I said thought to myself, yes, let it be, you know, that the two-year-old will grow up to believe that and know she can know it. So thank you for all you do.
00:03:06
Speaker
Of course. I would love for you to share a little bit about yourself and your ministry before we jump into more about what it means to pray scripture. Oh, gosh, thank you for that question. um Well, I have been married to my husband for just over 40 years, and we have four adult children who um are now starting families of their own. um So I think we are expecting our eighth grandchild soon. And of course, that is not necessarily an answer to your question about my ministry, although I think my ministry really did come out of that. I never forget one time I was ah being interviewed by a head of a big speaker agency, because I do speak. And um he said, you know, what are you passionate about? And I just remember wishing I could say something really
00:03:54
Speaker
important sounding, you know, environmental or human trafficking or things that I do care about. But when he asked me my passion, I said, well, you know, i just love my family and I love scripture and I just hope that would be enough for him. And he smiled. He said, well, I would have been surprised if you'd said anything else. So, you know, those are two big passions for me. um Ministry wise, I write, as you know, books, mostly books about prayer, but I've done others as well. um And I speak around the country. My favorite thing right now is teaching Bible study at our our local church. It's just really been a sweet season of kind of leaning in local. And I bet a lot of your listeners can kind of resonate with that just because i I see God kind of all over the country calling people to, to lean in, you know, not that there's anything wrong with social media and our digital friends, but to love the person next door, to love the person in the next pew. And that's really been ah a fun season for me.
00:04:45
Speaker
I totally resonate with that priority on local community. It brings me so much joy to lead and teach in my own home church. Obviously, I love visiting other women and other churches and events, but there's nothing like that being with the people that you you see every Sunday and getting that. And they know you're real. They know what your kids do. They know all that. So it's a good humbling thing, too, at least for me.
00:05:12
Speaker
but lisa you know it's hard I think it can be harder to be in that you know that local community that does see you warts and all than to go visit and teach somewhere else or write somewhere else for sure.
Understanding the True Purpose of Prayer
00:05:24
Speaker
Well, I think that your love for your family in scripture is exactly what qualifies you to speak about this topic and is why you were the first person I thought of when was thinking, you know, how do we conclude this series? What final things do we want to talk about in the last few episodes on prayer? um and you, you have written the book, how to pray, and I might be miss misstating the title, um,
00:05:50
Speaker
I always think of it as praying the scriptures for your children. Is that the name of it? That is the name of it, although How to Pray was written by Pete Gregg, and I love that book too. So if your listeners want to avail themselves of How to Pray, that's a good one. But yes, mine are Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, and then Teens, Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children, Your Marriage, and Your Life. So kind of covering the gamut of things we might want to pray scripturally for.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yes, exactly. i i wanted to point out for our listeners who aren't married and don't have children that you've written books about praying the scriptures for so many other things as well, that it's not just about praying for your children. And actually, what I learned from your books in praying the scriptures, I now teach the women that I'm teaching in my local church, I just wrapped up an eight-week teaching session. And one of the things that we did as part of that session was take the scriptures we studied on the topics that we were we were reading about and then turning those into scripture-based prayer. So instead of ah a normal prayer time where we would all just pray out out loud extemporaneously, we would write out our prayer on a card and read it out loud. and it was so neat to see women who were really quite nervous to pray out loud at the beginning of the eight weeks, praying out loud confidently at the end of those eight weeks just by turning scripture to prayer. And so I can't wait to hear you talk about this. So let's back up a little bit, though you've written about...
00:07:19
Speaker
praying over your life, praying over your marriage. um Why, just in general, why does prayer matter so much? If you could speak generally, and then specifically, why does it matter for our marriages and our families?
00:07:34
Speaker
Well, in general, I think prayer matters because it signals relationship with God. You know, it acknowledges our dependence on him, It's a way we release his provision in our lives or the lives of the people we love. I mean, over and over and over again in the Bible, we are commanded to ask, to pray. um so you know, God does that for us and he gives it to us as an invitation because you and I know he could you know, make it rain here heal that person there, ah you know, provide financially or health for this, that. He could do any of that on his own.
00:08:09
Speaker
He doesn't need us to pray. And yet sometimes scripture says, and I believe he can hold his hand out back, just waiting for us to to partner with him, to work with him. Not that we bring the power to it, but he loves to work in relationship with us, just like we are with our kids. I was making cookies last week with my grandson. And I'll tell you what,
00:08:30
Speaker
it would have been so much faster, so much cleaner, so much more efficient had I just made those cookies. We were doing them for a church event. And yet the joy of doing it with him, you know, he didn't bring any expertise to it, but just that he was in it with me just made my heart sing. And I think that's how it is with the Lord when we come to him and when we pray and just acknowledge our dependence on him. It's a beautiful thing. So that's, I think, one of the greatest things about prayer.
00:08:58
Speaker
But specifically, you know, ah Yes, i I wrote Praying the Scriptures for Your Life to cover kind of everything from suffering and grief and anxiety to my favorite chapter on aging well. um but But in specific ways, like for your marriage, you mentioned, um you know secular research points to all kinds of benefits that come with prayer. It gives you a greater sense of satisfaction in your marriage. It reinforces the idea that you're on the same team. It gives you a chance to calm down when you're all worked up about something. So many things. They say it even leads to, you know, better sex life.
00:09:34
Speaker
And yet I think all those things are true. But biblically, if I were answering that question and in my own experience, I would feel like um praying for our marriage. And, you know, you could say this for our children or our friends or anything else. It opens the door to peace, you know, kind of Philippians 4, right? Don't be anxious about anything, but instead pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. It says, and the peace of God will rule over your hearts and your minds. you know and And so I think as we pray, saying, God, I don't know what to do here.
00:10:08
Speaker
It's a way of trading our anxiety or our fear for supernatural peace. I think that's one of the biggest reasons and the biggest benefits of praying. um And then I think it it also connects you with God in such a way that you can begin to see what Psalm 16 calls the fullness of joy that we find in his presence.
00:10:31
Speaker
Because I'll tell you, when I started praying, um I really liked it when prayer worked like a vending machine, you know, I'd put my request in and the answer would, I hope popped out the way I liked it. And and that does happen sometimes. um I love it when that happens.
00:10:45
Speaker
But I've prayed long enough now and I'm old enough now to know that, you know, it's not really the gift as much as it is the giver. And when I can... be like, you know, David's satisfied with God's presence. Nothing I desire on earth is as much as I desire you. And that sounds so holy and lofty and ah unreachable when, you know, what you really want is for your kid to make the volleyball team or, you know, the finances to come through to make rent or the cancer to go away. And you're going, Jodi, you're telling me i want the fullness of joy in his presence.
00:11:16
Speaker
And I would say it's a both and because we want to ask him for these specific needs. He does promise to supply all our needs. He wants to be involved in those things. But yet at the end of the day, you know, it's not about our agendas. It's not about the results. It is about the relationship.
00:11:33
Speaker
That's so good because I think, you know, whenever we teach on prayer and even the questions that have come into our inbox throughout this series, there's a lot of, well, it doesn't matter because I didn't get the answer I wanted or God's not listening because he didn't respond within the timeframe that I anticipated. yeah So how can prayer matter if there's no result? And it it's really, you know, I understand and have compassion on on those feelings for sure. But I think a lot of this does come from the way our society frames ourselves.
00:12:07
Speaker
effort to like discipline and effort to do something is that, well, the only reason to do something hard long term or something that's a daily practice is if there is a specific outcome that I can measure and see. And so a lot of times with prayer, there isn't an immediate or even a quick, you know, visible outcome
Aligning Prayer with God's Will
00:12:31
Speaker
for a while. And you're saying that this is an intimacy. This is a relationship that's a long-term thing. And there are benefits. There are visible benefits. But oftentimes that is something that's going to kind of be not the goal. The goal is that relational conversation itself. Yeah. Yeah. the the But for anybody who's listening and is saying, I'm not there yet. You know, I hear you. I'd like to be there. I mean, i I've spoken about prayer. I've written books on prayer for twenty more than 20 years.
00:13:06
Speaker
And it wasn't that long ago that i find myself I found myself just crying out to God about something he didn't answer, something that I thought for one of my children would be good and right and noble and I could see no downside. And I was praying about it.
00:13:20
Speaker
And, you know, the answer was a no. And i looked at God. I said, I trusted you. I trusted you. Like, I shouldn't be so so sad, so disappointed. What's wrong with me? What's wrong with my faith? You know, and God did two really good things for me in that. And the first was that he said, Jodi, you know, your sadness and your disappointment are real. Those are real emotions. And that's okay. I want you to bring those to me.
00:13:45
Speaker
Let me comfort you, you know, the same way I would comfort my child when they faced a disappointment, when they scratched their knee, you know, whatever it is, climb into my lap. God's like, climb into my embrace. I know you're disappointed. You can trust me with that.
00:13:57
Speaker
But then he was also a little bit, um a little bit, I don't want to say hard. He was he was firm. he was He was gentle with that, but firm with me. And he said, Jodi, you know, you say you trusted me.
00:14:10
Speaker
but you were trusting in your agenda. you know You were trusting in the result you want to see. I want you to want me. And I was like, oh, Roger that. So so I just don't want anybody listening to think, oh, I need to you know get my act so together to where I'm just content and never have disappointment in prayer. Tim Keller says something that has freed me up ah so much in his book by the title Prayer. He wrote... that when we pray, God will either give us what we asked for or what we would have asked for if we knew everything he knows.
00:14:43
Speaker
And I have just hung on to that so many times when God's answer isn't, in the timing I want, because I like things fast, or if it's not the result I want. So I just have to kind of say, God, I know you love me and you're giving me what I need.
00:14:58
Speaker
That's so good. That's something we've talked about in this series is that it's really about trusting and praying the character of God. Like you're building all of your your faith in prayer is based on who he is, not on your feelings, your emotions, what you've done, what you say, the right words. It's not based on that. It's based on who he is, which really segues nicely into my next question for you, because um who he is is outlined in scripture. That is the basis for how we know him, how we know who he is, how he acts, how he's acted in the past, which tells us likely how he will continue to be in the future. So you've written all these books about praying scripture. So tell us, how is praying scripture important and transformative for our spiritual lives?
00:15:51
Speaker
Maybe not versus praying the other ways, but definitely in addition. Right, right. Yeah, praying the other ways are wonderful. you know um i love liturgical prayers. I love help me prayers. you know Help me, that's a great prayer. And in fact, I think that's a scriptural prayer because ah King David, yeah He used it plenty of time and we read it again and again in the Psalms. I think Psalm 70 is one long cry for help.
00:16:14
Speaker
um But praying scripturally, as in using the actual words in the Bible to help shape your prayers the way you described your group doing it at your church. um I think there are several reasons why it's important. You know, Isaiah 55 talks about how God's word doesn't come back empty. It doesn't return void, but it always accomplishes the purposes for which it's sent. So it's powerful that way.
00:16:37
Speaker
Similarly, you know, Hebrews 4, verse 12, it's his word, it says, is alive and active. It's it's a power tool. um But I think the number one reason why I have been convinced of the power of praying scriptures, the value of it, is what Jesus says in John 15. That's, you know, I'm getting ready to teach a series on that at at at my own church, his last words. Um, last conversation with his disciples. And I think, boy, if he ever wanted them to listen to him, it would be this night, right, before he's going to the cross. And what's he going to teach on? And what's he going to talk about? And I love that he talks about prayer. And he says, John 15, verse 7, if you remain in me, some translations say abide in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. And he goes on, and he says, this is to my father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. So when we pray his words, how that happens as we remain in him and let his words or remain in us, I see that as a way of giving God access to our hearts and our minds and our deepest longings. So that as we're spending time in scripture, it's beginning to transform how we think, you know, the things we long for, the things we desire and how we pray. so um I love scripture's power to shape my own thoughts and desires as I pray for myself, my marriage, my kids, my friends, my church, all of that. And honestly, i reel off that litany of topics. There's not a need we'll face or a concern that we're ever going to have that God hasn't already thought of and provided for in the pages of Scripture.
00:18:13
Speaker
That's so good, Jodi. I think, you know, we we did an episode on praying God's will. And I think a lot of people get really paralyzed with praying God's will. They're like, oh, I need to, like, find this mystical hidden scroll of knowledge that I'm praying that's God's will. And right then God will hear my prayers. or Or even like if I say, you know, the right the right stamp of approval, if I make sure I say in Jesus' name, amen, that's like my seal. We're always looking for the formula. yeahp Yeah, but i can I can send it off, you know, and and it's like one of those tubes at the bank when you send.
00:18:48
Speaker
That's a great image. but Send it up and make sure that it's you know all sealed up with Jesus' name and God will answer it. But what we you know learned in that episode is that praying God's will is praying in alignment with his heart, which is what you're saying here is that scripture always in alignment with his heart. It tells us who he is and and how he acts and um what we can trust. And so when we're doing that, it really helps us to understand what the will of the Lord is yeah and bring our hearts into that alignment with his. So it's not like finding the formula. It's that through that relationship, through scripture, we actually we actually become more like him. And then we're praying the way that
00:19:37
Speaker
He ah would pray or he does pray because we know the spirit intercedes for us as right well. Think about the Bible is like his half of the conversation with us. You know, those are his words. And when we pick them up and, and talk you know, return them to him, it's again, it's like me watching my grandkids learning to speak. And we say, can you say apple or can you say thank you? And as they're parroting our own words and the conversation evolves, it's just a joy to me to hear their voices. And I think, God, it's a joy to him to hear us speak back the words that he first breathed over us.
00:20:11
Speaker
That is so good. I love that, though that it's one half of that conversation. So how did you get started praying scripture and then eventually writing about it? Well, I grew up in a praying home, you know, when we were sick.
00:20:26
Speaker
my parents would pray we'd feel better or that we would do well on our tests or that kind of thing. And when I had my own children, I sort of continued in that pattern. But I will tell you that my prayers began to get a little bit rote. I found myself asking sort of the God bless you prayers. um Nothing wrong with those again, but ah day after day. And um then I got involved with a group called Moms in Prayer. And Moms in Prayer, um i love what you said about yeah the gals in your church that were hesitant to pray at first. And then eight weeks later, they're just letting it rip.
00:21:00
Speaker
And that's how moms and prayers for a lot of people, because you come and they will give you these scriptures to pray. And so even if you've never spoken an out loud word of prayer before in your life, you know, you can do it and pray
Jodi's Journey into Praying Scripture
00:21:11
Speaker
powerfully. And I loved what I saw happening as we prayed scripture over our children through that. It was, I was with a group of other moms, all at our same school. And we were praying for the school and the teachers and the kids.
00:21:22
Speaker
And um I began seeing some really cool answers in our family. And I thought to myself, I wonder what other parents are praying for, like around the country, my friends, different things. So I made a survey. And this was before, it was even before email, let alone Facebook or SurveyMonkey or any of these you know things. It was a little piece of paper. And it just said, if you could ask God to do anything for your children or for your family, you know what would it be?
00:21:50
Speaker
And I put those things in our Christmas cards. I would carry them around in my purse. And if I saw you in the carpool line or at the grocery store, I would hand you my survey and say, I'd love to know what you're thinking. And honestly, Fai, I got more than 100 of these little pieces of paper back. And you can imagine the things people wanted. um Again, I was asking specifically for children at this time, but they wanted their kids to have a strong faith, a saving faith. They wanted good friendships, good relationships with their teachers or or their coaches, um character traits, wisdom, kindness, you know, other centered outlooks, those kind of things, and certainly health and safety, physical protection. Some people were even like praying about their child's eventual marriage partner and their child would be like three years old in the preschool. And I'm like, way to go, you know, thinking big. And so I used the top 20. I saw some common themes that
00:22:39
Speaker
And I thought, I wonder, I'd already had a relationship with the publisher because I'd been writing some other books. And I said, I feel like there's a book here. Would you be interested? And they said, you know yes. And so I took those top 20 answers and shaped them into a table of contents and then started poking around in the Bible. And again, this is before Google, so I couldn't just type in verses about protection. I'm just reading all my own pages of of my own Bible um and using concordance and things. but looking up to see what the Bible said about them all and how we can shape those as prayers and interviewing different parents who were willing to tell me their own stories, you know, the the triumphs and the hearts, because I think we're all in it together. And it really helps to see someone else walking through a path that you may be walking through.
00:23:20
Speaker
um And so that book came together almost accidentally. Like I didn't say to myself, I want to write a book. I said, you know, I want to know what other people are praying. And then the publisher said yes to it. So um it was, that's how it happened. And then, as I said earlier, you know, the kids got a little older, they began dating, driving, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, gotta go back to the drawing board, get some teen issues. And then the adult kids looking for jobs and wanting to start families, all that. So, you know, you write what you know, right? So just kind of wrote along what I was doing.
00:23:53
Speaker
Right. I love that. And ah my my oldest is 10, but I can already feel like how many more things that I'm thinking of to pray for, like as she gets, you know, closer to the teenage years. So it's so nice because you have a book for every season. So we can just follow you. Yes, born out of my own desperation. Right. i Share it with others.
00:24:18
Speaker
No, I love it. It's so great. So for you, do you have a favorite passage to pray or passages? Oh, what a great question. What a great question. um Golly, my gut instinct answer is it's whatever I read that morning becomes my favorite. You know, it just sort of sticks with me. But I think when our kids were growing up, and I think I write about this and in the book, I'm not sure, what i think I do. um Ephesians 4.29 was sort of our go-to verse, go-to prayer again and again, because we would get, and I'll tell you what it is in minute, but we would get in the car to go places. And we had four kids in six years, so it was always a scramble. Everybody always wanted you know a certain seat. They're complaining about whose feet smell or who sat on whose lunch, you know all of that. And I just would find myself getting so frustrated, by the way,
00:25:06
Speaker
They were speaking to each other. and And, you know, the way I'd speak to them, too. I mean, they're like, Mom, why are you so mean to us and so nice to the lady in the bank window? You know, so so it just was one of those.
00:25:16
Speaker
And I was reading my Bible and I came upon Ephesians 4, verse 29. It says, let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it would benefit those who listen.
00:25:30
Speaker
And py I looked at that and I was like, oh my gosh, God has been spying on our family. He had to show me that verse because I need it. So that became, you know, the verse I would pray over our children and I'd pray over myself, just that our words would be kind, would be like gifts to one another, would be beneficial, all of that.
00:25:46
Speaker
And that kind of took me through childhood. And then as they hit the teen years and as I was trying to figure out how to be a good parent, you know, when they when things were getting a little more complicated, um,
00:25:59
Speaker
ah Philippians 2 verse 13 is such a beautiful promise and it's a great verse turned into a prayer. It says, it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. In other words, he gives us the desire and the ability to do the things that please him. And so I would pray that over my teenagers, God, give them the desire and the ability to do what pleases you, to fulfill your good purpose. And I would pray it over myself. You I don't know what to do about this decision or that decision, whether it's in my marriage, my parenting, my career, any of that. And I'd be like, God, you know what? Give me the desire and the ability to work in accordance with your good purpose for my life. And um and so that Philippians 2, 3 was great very much. And then I think in my marriage,
Generational Impact of Prayer
00:26:47
Speaker
one that I've really grabbed hold of, we're teaching a marriage class right now too for our young marrieds. And one I return to again and again is Ephesians 3.
00:26:56
Speaker
ah Sorry, four. I think it's verse 32. You might have to go back and check me on all these, but it's 432. I think be kind and compassionate, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. And I think God led us in our marriage. And you could pray this in your friendships too. Be kind and compassionate, you know being quick to forgive one another. um That's kind of my my favorite these days.
00:27:21
Speaker
And so interesting because it's the Ephesians verse is the one that I have prayed for my kids because of the car. which Come on, Fai. You're my soul sister. I know you are. oh like i'm saying oh and You're describing the the chaos because mine are the bigger span. I have four kids under 10.
00:27:39
Speaker
ten But, you know, three of them are within five years. And so, yeah, no there's a lot of the the sitting on the lunch, the making and the yelling right now. It's, you know, mouth noises. You were humming, you were clicking and I don't want to listen. Oh, my word. You know were breathing. I know. were breathing. Stop breathing. It's so annoying. And that's the verse that they have memorized. And in fact, i I had like this little kind of like thing that we would say before we'd get out of the car and go in somewhere, you know, Masonheimers are. loving and kind.
00:28:12
Speaker
But then they memorized Ephesians 4.32. I think that's what it is. And they started saying that instead of o i love it the original phrase. I don't even remember the original phrase. and Now it is, what do Mason timers do? They are kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other. You know, and they're just saying it so fast. But it's so good though. It's so good. It's planted in there. You know, my grandmother used to make us memorize a verse for her every year for Christmas. She was like,
00:28:40
Speaker
I don't want any Christmas presents. And I'm ah thinking to myself, why can't she just want, you know, a poinsettia or a framed picture of me like a normal grandma? She would choose these big, long passages, even in the King James. And I want i look, you know, I rolled my eyes certainly as an 11, 12, 13 year old. But as an adult, even in college, I would look back and think, wow, all those years of memorizing those things she picked, they equipped me for life in a way that nothing, you know, and she didn't give us a lot of presents either. She was like, I'm going to pray for you. That's my present for you. And so I would have much rather at the time, you know, had a pair of bell-bottom jeans or a Barbie doll or something, but I think about her prayers and how much they kept me out of trouble and gave me blessings I probably didn't deserve. And then I think about the scriptures I memorized for her and what a, What a gift they've been to me. so
00:29:31
Speaker
Well, and how powerful that, you know, your grandmother was praying for you. You raised kids in the Lord who are raising kids in the Lord. So now as a grandmother yourself to have children and grandchildren who are walking with the Lord, like that is so rare these days. Yeah, yeah. And yeah.
00:29:50
Speaker
And it's just beautiful to see how, you know, when when one person prays, how it really does impact generation upon generation. i think we tend to. Yeah. And even if you didn't grow up with that, you know, even if you're like listening and kind of going, That wasn't my grandma. That wasn't even my mother. You can start that now, you know, as well as I do. Psalm 78, verse 4, you know, we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, his wonders, the wonders he's done. And then it goes on. If you read that in Psalm 78, it says, then.
00:30:24
Speaker
they're going to put their trust in him and they'll obey him. And I'm like, okay, so all it takes is us talking about God, his power, his wonders. The Misenheimers are kind and compassionate. You know, we talk about that stuff enough and it then it just goes into our kids and they turn and they put their trust in the Lord.
00:30:41
Speaker
It's truly beautiful. And it reminds me of of you saying that it's the one the one side. You know, God's scriptures are one half of the conversation, but also that when we pray, we're storing up the word in our hearts and We're also storing up the word with the Lord, and at least in my head. I'm very visual person. So, you know, it says what you have treasures in heaven. um I'm sure that that has to do also with the works that we do as Christians, not that we're earning salvation with works, but also the good works we do. God does reward those. yeah But I think that some of what we store up in heaven, um you know it says in Revelation that the incense that is before the Lord is the prayers of the saints. yes's That's us. like We are the saints. Those are our prayers. And that's being stored up in heaven as we pray for, yes, for ourselves, but also for our children, for our marriages, for the people around us, for those who need salvation.
00:31:42
Speaker
um They matter. They're remembered. They're a part of They aren't. Yes. And our prayers continue to unfold long after they've left our mouths. Like, you know, we pray something and we might be done speaking and we might not even remember what we prayed two or three years later, a decade later. And yet that prayer continues to unfold and continues to be answered. I was made so aware of that so powerfully. We went back and updated praying the scriptures for your children because the first edition came out in 2001. There was nothing in there about technology. It wasn't even on our radar. Nothing in there about things like a child's sense of identity or belonging. So all those things um went you had to kind of be updated. And I went back and read the whole thing. And I've kept up with a lot of the families that shared their stories.
00:32:31
Speaker
And I was stunned to see the immeasurably more. You know, Ephesians 3.20, he does immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. to see that legacy of prayer in ways that we never could have predicted back when kids were in second grade and we were praying for them. you know wow
Encouragement for Beginners in Praying Scripture
00:32:46
Speaker
Amazing.
00:32:46
Speaker
I was actually going to ask you about that because when when I've read through your book, and for those who haven't read Jodi's book yet, there are these like anecdotal stories of parents who are praying for their children. And and one example that you used was a mother who was praying for the relationship between her two daughters, so a sibling relationship. And that's something that I do pray about a lot with my kids because we homeschool. So they're with each other all the time. And that has pros and cons. but um And they would definitely say it has, you know, pros and cons. So, you know, we are with each other a lot. And that that can cultivate positive sibling relationships, but it also causes a lot of conflict. and yeah
00:33:28
Speaker
And the specific story that you shared in the book about that family, you have to read the book, listeners, if you want to find out what it is. Um, really encouraged me to keep praying in that area. And in the last year, i would say really devoting myself to pray over that in my kids' lives. And I have seen very tangible answers in that area. that and I love it I think, yes, the Lord is working in their hearts, but also when you pray for those specific things, I think that he also opens your eyes to see when their hearts are changing. Whereas before you might kind of just blow past it.
00:34:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's an interesting side effect of prayer is it makes... you notice things, you notice his blessings, his provision. Yes. Yes. And that's definitely, you know, what we've seen has been, it's been so encouraging to my heart and I've been so blessed by, by the practice of the specific, um, encouragements you give in terms of what to pray for. Cause I think a lot of us, whether you're a mom or not, you can start to feel overwhelmed with everything to pray for. And you're thinking like, what specifically do I even, where do I even start? And yeah and you've given us a great framework for that. So as we wrap this up, I had one final question for you, Jodi. What would you say to someone who is just starting out praying scripture?
00:34:51
Speaker
That is also a great question. And, you know, you don't have to buy the book to get any scriptures. You can go to JodiBurton.com and download free prayer calendars for all of these things that just have these verses.
00:35:03
Speaker
But I would say even more than that, um, to go back and just look at your Bible. And when you're reading your Bible, approach it not just as something you read, but as something you pray. And you just mentioned sibling relationships. um Not too long ago, I was reading, my my daughter was expecting her second son.
00:35:24
Speaker
And I knew that the sibling dynamic would come into play. I knew that the older boy was two and all of a sudden he's gonna have to share his mother's love, her attention, the toys, you know, all of the things.
00:35:37
Speaker
And I was just reading scripture, not even thinking about praying for these little boys. And I came upon, think it was 1 Timothy 6, 18. And it says, you know, command those who are rich to do good, to be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share.
00:35:53
Speaker
And it was like God just dropped a picture of these two little boys. And i was like, Lord, you know may they do good. May they be rich in good deeds. Help them be generous with one another and and willing to share.
00:36:07
Speaker
i mean, that was not anything I was thinking of before i was just reading through scripture. So I would say, if you're new to this, as you open your Bible, just say, God, you know give me a verse or two today as I'm reading.
00:36:18
Speaker
that I can pray for myself, my friends, my kids, you know, my job, whatever it is. And um he will, he'll show you something and you can just turn it into prayer, just like we've been talking about.
00:36:29
Speaker
I love that. One thing that we have done in um our, my Bible study that just ended, so when we would do the scripture based prayers, is I would try to encourage them to look for the principle about God in the passage they're reading. So so love it.
00:36:48
Speaker
Is he loving? is he merciful? Is he gracious? Redemptive? Is he just? You know, whatever that main principle is, and let that kind of guide how you write the rest of the prayer. And of course, just changing the words to be, you know, in first person or or however you need to do it to to pray it back to him. But coaching them into not jumping to application, but first looking for that principle kind of guided how they would then pray that back to the Lord and um keep it from becoming um just, you know, sometimes it it could become a little bit more me centered, but starting with being God centered and then taking it over to that application um was really helpful. i love that. And I'm going to um approach my own. praying and reading with that in mind, that's a great ah to do just to kind of be looking what this reveals about God.
00:37:45
Speaker
Well, Jodi, you have been such a blessing in my life, and I hope that our listeners are as blessed um as I have been from learning from you. Where can people find your books and your resources if they want to learn some more about praying scripture?
00:38:00
Speaker
Well, everyone's favorite Amazon has them, but they can also go to my website again, jodyburnt.com because there are so many freebies there, prayer cards and prayer calendars and also information on all the different books. so you can kind of scroll around and see what might apply to your season of life. um So that's a great way to connect.
00:38:18
Speaker
Awesome. Thank you so much, Jody. Thanks. Bye.