Wow.
First of all,
Let me just say that I'm so happy for you and I can't believe that you're on this journey of motherhood.
Whether this is your first time getting pregnant or you've had fertility issues,
There are so many things that women go through when it comes to our desire to have a baby,
Our guilt,
Our shame that we carry from previous decisions,
Or just maybe the hardship that you carry from trying so many times.
And unfortunately this world just doesn't really talk about it enough,
So today I just wanted to encourage you through scripture,
Through God's Word,
About what he says about your pregnancy because there will be so many voices and so many people with so many opinions about what motherhood looks like for you,
Or maybe how you should have your birth,
Or maybe what you should be eating,
Or how you should be taking care of your body.
At the end of the day,
This experience is between you and this amazing creation inside your body.
This is your body,
This is your baby,
And God is here to support you.
He's here to cradle you in his arms and protect your beautiful child as he or she is being knit together in your womb.
Bit by bit,
Piece by piece,
God is putting your baby together.
I want to pray right now against any anxiety that you may be having that is coming up.
There were times in my own pregnancy when I could feel my heart race,
My anxiety creep in,
And I knew that it was the enemy trying to rob my joy.
So I want to lift you up in prayer right now,
A prayer of protection to surround you whenever or if any feelings of anxiety start to arise.
I pray in Jesus name right now that anxiety would have no place in this woman's body.
Lord,
You say we have the authority to command anxiety and fear to flee.
In Jesus name,
I command anxiety and fear to flee right now in Jesus name.
Instead,
Lord,
Replace any feelings that are surfacing of anxiety,
Of fear,
Of anything that is suppressing this beautiful mother-to-be.
I pray against that.
I pray that you would lift the chains of heaviness off of her,
Whether she's carrying too much at work,
Too much at home,
If she's carrying something heavy within her body,
Within her mind.
Jesus,
I pray right now that you would just lift any burden,
Any weight she has off of her,
Lord.
I pray a spirit of protection to surround her.
You have not given her a spirit of fear,
A spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.
You have given this woman a sound mind.
You have adopted her into your kingdom,
Lord,
And she is safe and secure in you.
Let her not forget that.
I ask,
Lord,
That this prayer would surround her,
That there would be this surround sound of your comfort,
Of your peace just resounding around her throughout her pregnancy.
May she almost feel your presence like a tone or like a soft melody that would just protect her throughout her entire pregnancy,
God.
And now I just want to read scripture over you to remind you of what God's Word is,
And I pray that His Word,
His Spirit,
His truth would rest upon you as I read these verses.
May they come alive to you.
May they not just be words that you're hearing right now,
But remember these are words from olden times.
These are words that Jesus gave us to cling to,
To be washed over us,
To wash us clean,
To purify us.
So I pray that it would just rest deep within you as I read His Word,
His truth over you right now.
Psalm 127,
3 through 4,
Reminds us that children are a gift from the Lord.
The fruit of the womb is a divine reward.
The children born when one is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
Get ready.
You are a warrior.
You are strong.
You were built for this.
God made your body for this.
Don't let anyone or anything come up against you and tell you otherwise.
We cast out any voices of fear,
Any voices that are coming up against this beautiful mother to challenge her strength,
And we cast that away because we already know,
Lord,
That you have created her for this.
You have equipped her with what she needs,
And she is a strong woman because you are strong in her.
Jeremiah 29 11 reminds us,
I know the plans I have in mind for you,
Declares the Lord.
They are plans for peace,
Not disaster,
To give you a future filled with hope.
If you're like me and you have been thinking about your delivery or your birth and you've had anxiety come up,
Let us remember that he already has it planned.
We can write our birth plan.
We can imagine exactly how it's gonna go,
But Jesus has already gone before you,
And he has an amazing plan for you.
It's plans for good,
And we can rest in that truth.
James 1 17 through 18 says that every good gift,
Every perfect gift,
Like this beautiful baby,
Comes from above.
These gifts come down from the Father,
The creator of the heavenly lights,
In whose character there is no change at all.
He chose to give us birth by his true word,
And here is the result.
We are like the first crop from the harvest of everything he created.
God is so beautiful and so vast,
And he created us,
And I just think it's so beautiful that he has given us the ability to create this life within us as well.
So with that being said,
Let us just take some time now.
The music will continue to play,
And you can take this time to say a prayer to God.
I love to start my prayers with gratitude and just thanking God for all the blessings he's bestowed upon me.
Then I usually lead into my requests and my petitions,
Asking God for the desires of my heart,
And I do confess.
I confess my fears.
I confess anything that I believe is holding me back or obstructing me from receiving more of his grace and mercy,
And then at the end of my prayer,
I just meditate and think about who he is.
I imagine his eyes.
I imagine how he's looking at me.
I imagine how he feels towards me,
And I imagine him just happy and content with me,
And so I pray that you can try to remember those things as you pray to him,
But remember there's no right way to pray.
There's no perfect way to pray.
If you just say,
Lord,
Help me,
That is more than enough for him.
Even if you don't utter a word,
He will interpret your groanings.
He will interpret your silence for you.
He loves you so much,
And he is such a gracious God,
And he knows exactly what you need before you even ask,
So let's take this time to either say a prayer,
To just meditate on what he promises to do for you,
Or just to let his truth,
His love soak into your spirit,
And just enjoy him,
And just know that he is with you.
He will never leave you.
You are not alone,
And you have got this.
You are made for this.
God bless you.
