Devotions for Women: The Pregnant Woman Devotional

These devotions for women are from the book The Pregnant Woman Devotional.

Two Must Merge

For a healthy pregnancy to occur, a sperm must merge with an egg.

Similarly, for your prayers to be answered, you must mix your petition with faith because the Bible tells us to Ask in faith without doubting. (James 1:6)

Therefore, ask God for what you need while believing that you will receive it.

It Is A Process

Pregnancy is a natural process and a pregnant woman cannot rush the development of all her baby’s organs and tissues in the womb. Consequently, she has to wait in patience until the right time to deliver her baby comes.

Similarly, answering prayers is a supernatural process and we can see a good example of this from Daniel when he prayed for God to reveal to him the meaning of a vision because the angel who brought him his answer told him, “From the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard and I have come because of them. But, the prince of Persia withstood me for 21 days and Michael one of the angels came to help me … and now I have come to make you understand what will  happen in the latter days.” (Daniel 10:12-14)

Thus we can see that Daniel had to wait in patience for the supernatural process of bringing the answers to his prayers to be completed by the angels who were fighting to accomplish this mission.

Therefore, once you have said your prayers, learn to wait on God in patience until the answer from heaven arrives because Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. (Isaiah 40:31)  

You Do Not Have To Understand the Process

A pregnant woman does not have to understand the intricacies of embryology in order for her to deliver a healthy baby.

Similarly, you do not have to understand how God will answer your prayers in order for Him to answer them.

We can see a good example of this from Moses when God told him He would feed 600,000  Israelite men and their families in the wilderness with meat for one month because Moses asked God, “Shall flocks be slaughtered to provide enough meat for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be caught to provide enough for them?” (Numbers 11:22)

God answered Moses’ question by asking him, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened?” (Numbers 11:23) 

God then proved His arm was not shortened for A wind went out from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the Israelite’s camp. (Numbers 11:31) 

Therefore, even if you do not understand how God can answer your prayers, decide to believe that He can answer them.

To learn more read The Pregnant Woman Devotional

Jesus is the Best Stress Management Therapist

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him. (Revelation 3:20)  

Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and knocking for you to let Him in. 

So, listen to His voice and open the door of your heart to Him so that He can come in to your life and dine with you as He helps you manage your stressful situation. 

Even if you have broken all the commandments and brought the stressful situation upon yourself, know that He still wants to help you and that is why He is standing at your door knocking because God did not send His Son Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but rather that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:17)

In addition to not condemning you, Jesus also sympathizes with you for We do not have a High Priest Who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted just as we are and yet He was without sin. 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace so that we may obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

So do not feel shy because He already knows about the chaos caused by the stressful situation in your life.

Open the door to Jesus right now and let Him in by deciding to turn away from your sinful past and saying with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" while you believe in your heart that when He died for our sins, God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Jesus Manages Emotional Stress

After letting Jesus into your life, let Him see the emotional wounds caused by the stressful situation so that He can help you manage emotional stress. 

For example, you can show Him the mutilation inflicted by your child’s suicide that has ached for continually for decades. Show Him the windows of your heart patched with old newspapers that will not let the light of love in after the panes were shattered by an unfaithful spouse. Show Him stinking garbage that you brought home one evening, grew attached to and have been unable to throw out. Let Him palpate your pain and fell the frustration that is erupting in angry outbursts. 

Jesus Manages Spiritual Stress

Jesus can manage your spiritual stress the way He managed that of the many who were demon-possessed for He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick, (Matthew 8:16 ) So let Him see the spiritual issues you are dealing with so that He can help you manage spiritual stress. 

For example, you can show Him the nights you spend awake and unable to sleep due to unexplained insomnia. Let Him see the nights you fall asleep only to wake up drenched in sweat due to horrifying nightmares. Show Him the things you do against your will due to demonic oppression.

Jesus Manages Mental Stress

Let Jesus also see the mental wounds in your mind so that He can help you manage mental stress. 

For example, you can show Him the cracks in the walls of your mind that keep extending every day as your problems become more and more unbearable. Show Him the rooms in your head that you will not enter as they are haunted by broken dreams and wasted opportunities. Show Him the toilets that will not flush and let go of painful memories as they are clogged with anger, bitterness, and hatred. Let Him decipher your tears and doctor the silent screams that are smothering you into depression. 

Jesus Manages Physical Stress

Jesus can manage your physical stress the way He managed that of the leper whom He healed. (Matthew 8:1-3) Therefore, unveil the wounds and sores on your body so that He can help you manage your physical stress. 

For example, you can show Him the mastectomy scar and lymph-edematous limb. Let Him see the eye that was blinded by the freak accident. Show Him see the kidneys that have failed due to diabetes. Let Him auscultate the lungs afflicted by cancer.

Jesus Manages Financial Stress

Jesus can manage your financial stress by telling you where to get money the way He told Peter where to fish for the money to pay for their taxes. (Matthew 17:27) Therefore, do not hide your financial statements from Him so that He can also help you manage financial stress. 

For example, you can show Him the meals you forego to buy your medication. Let Him see your last pay slip before you were unjustly sacked. Show Him around the tiny room you are cramped in since your house was repossessed.

Jesus Manages Family Stress

Jesus can manage your family stress by solving the problems in your family the way He solved those of the widow of Nain by raising her dead son. (Luke 7:11-17) So, do not hide the problems in your family from Him so that He can also help you manage family stress. 

For example, you can show Him the pain caused by the wayward spouse. Tell Him about the son who has been addicted to drugs for years. Let Him see the daughter who has departed from the Christian foundation you laid for her.

Jesus Manages Social Stress

Jesus can manage your social stress the way He helped the couple at the wedding in Cana by turning water into wine to save their day (John 2:1-11). So, do not hide your social problems from Him so that He can help you manage social stress. 

For example, you can show Him the rejection your felt when you were ostracised by those who should have accepted you. Let Him see the pain caused by the bullies. Show Him shame you felt when you were publicly embarrassed.

Jesus Manages Environmental Stress

Jesus can manage your environmental stress the way He calmed the storm in the sea (Matthew 8:23-27). Therefore, do not hide the problems in your surroundings so that He can help you manage environmental stress. 

For example, you can tell Him about the drug dealers who make your neighborhood unsafe. Let Him hear the neighbors who play loud music during the night. Show Him the cold you feel as the wintery winds blow into your home.

Jesus Manages All Stress

Since Jesus can manage all types of stress, let Jesus see the full extent of your stressful situation so that He can restore you to wholeness. 

Do not fear to bare it all for Him for He looks with love, listens with compassion and loves you just as you are and that is why He wants to dine with you. 

Do not try to edit your sources of stress because He is the only one Who can see it all and heal it all. 

Decide to let Jesus be your Chief Stress Management Therapist because He is the only one who can solve it all. 

Consult Him every day by praying. Read your Bible every day to know His prescription for your problems and then heed it just as you obey recommendations from your psychiatrist, family doctor, psychotherapist, family therapist, financial adviser or social worker.

This devotional is part of our Free Daily Devotions series.

How to Achieve your Goals

Regardless of whether you are trying to lose weight or get married or have a baby or increase sales or climb the career ladder, there are 3 simple spiritual steps that you must follow to achieve your goals.

Write the Goal

The first step to achieving your goals is to write down the goal.
Habakkuk 2:22 advises us to write down the vision and make it plain so that we may run when we read it and not dither in indecision. Therefore, write down your family aspirations, weight loss goal, sales target, career ambition or New Year resolutions.

Pray for the Goal

The second step to achieving your goals is to pray.
Matthew 7:7 tells us to ask and we will be given our requests. Therefore ask for your ideal spouse, child, body mass index, sales target or dream job. As you ask, remember that James 1:6-8 cautions us that we have to ask in faith because a skeptic should not suppose that they will receive anything from God. Therefore, ask in faith.

As Hebrews 11:1 informs us that faith is the substance of the things we hope to receive from God, asking in faith means asking while holding on to the essence of what you want God to give you in your heart. Therefore, if you are praying for a spouse, you have to picture yourself in your wedding attire embracing your spouse while framed in love and confetti.

If you are praying for a child, you have to conceive an image of your healthy baby nestling in your arms, cooing in delight as you stroke them tenderly. If you are praying for a healthy body mass index, you have to imagine yourself fitting into your favorite clothes of that body size.

If you are praying for a specific sales target, you have to conceptualize yourself receiving the order, signing the contract and cashing the cheques. If you are praying for your dream job, you have to see yourself doing it. See it, feel it and then ask God for it fully believing that He can give it to you.

Work for the Goal

The third step to achieving your goals is to work.
James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead. This means that believing for something without working towards it is tantamount to nothing. Therefore combine your spiritual work with physical work for it is in the process of working in the physical realm that the substance of the things you are hoping for in your heart will materialize into things you can hold in your physical hands.

How to Manage Stress at Work

This How to Manage Stress at Work blog post has been adapted from Rules of Relaxation.




If the thought of going to work fills you with dread each morning because of the amount of stress you face each day, and if you don't have an alternative source of income, follow these 3 tips to help you manage the stress at your workplace.

1. Pray every Morning

Begin each day by thanking God for your job even though it is full of stress, and then ask Him to intervene in your financial situation and at your workplace.

2. Read your Bible

Begin by reading Ecclesiastes 9:1 which declares that the work of the righteous and the wise is in the hands of God. This means that even if the source of your job stress is a supervisor scheming to terminate your services unjustly, the final say is not in his or her hands. It is in God’s hands. Therefore, do not let the fear of being sacked stress you as long as you are doing the right thing and behaving wisely at your workplace.

Then read Psalm 75:6-7 which states that promotion does not come from the east or the west or the south. It comes from God. Therefore, if the source of your work stress is a boss who ignores your good work or takes credit for it himself, God can still cause you to be promoted miraculously. Let this Scripture encourage you to keep on working and doing the right thing in God’s eyes regardless of the negative feedback you get from your boss.

Then read Jeremiah 31:16 where God tells you to stop weeping and dry your eyes because your work shall be rewarded. He says He will reward your good work even if your employer causes you undue financial stress, physical stress, and emotional stress by forcing you to work overtime and not remunerating you sufficiently.

Finally, affirm yourself by reading Isaiah 49:4 which states that surely your just reward is with God. Believe that God will reward you you will be better able to manage the demoralization that comes from chronic job stress.

Copy these Scriptures on a small card and carry them with you so that you can meditate on them every morning as you commute to your workplace and during your work breaks. Fill your mind with them and you will be able to manage stress at your workplace as well as the stress that arises from the fear of layoffs.

3. Exercise Aerobically

Schedule at least two hours of aerobic exercise into your weekly program and you will be able to manage work stress more effectively. This is because aerobic exercises such as jogging or walking briskly result in the release of endorphins which are the body's feel good hormones. These make you feel better even if your job situation has not changed for the better. 

In addition, as you exercise aerobically, your body is able to mop up stress hormones and this reduces your chances of developing stress related illnesses.

To learn more read Rules of Relaxation.

Christian Stress Management Poem: I shall not live like a godless person; sad, scared or stressed out

I have a God.
I have a powerful God, the God of Abraham and Jacob who raised His Son Jesus from the dead.
Therefore, I shall not live like a godless person: sad, scared or stressed out.


I trust Him.
I know that He sees my troubles and tribulations, pain and persecution.
Therefore, I shall not live like a godless person: sad, scared or stressed out.


I have done my best.
I have prayed and fasted, worked hard and tried to live right.
Therefore, I shall not live like a godless person: sad, scared or stressed out.


I will stand.
I have done my all and stand looking up for my help comes from God who made me and the Heavens and earth.
Therefore, I shall not live like a godless person: sad, scared or stressed out.


I will not fear.
I know the battle is not mine, it is God's and He'll protect me when the enemy attacks me like a flood.
Therefore, I shall not live like a godless person: sad, scared or stressed out.

4 Steps to Overcoming All Addiction

The following are 4 simple steps that can help you overcome any addiction. These steps are summarized by the mnemonic STOP

S Set a date to stop.

T Think about why you want to overcome the addiction and write down your reasons.

O Omit the people and places that encourage you to use addictive substances from your diary.

P Put obstacles between you and using the addictive substances.

S

The first step is to set a date to stop using drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Know that today is the best day. So commit to breaking free from the bondage of addiction right now.

T

The second step is to think about why you want to break the addiction and then write down your reasons. 

If you are addicted to cigarettes, do you want to stop smoking to avoid developing cancer of the lips, mouth, throat, larynx, lungs, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, colon, kidneys, bladder and cervix? 

If you are addicted to alcohol, do you want to stop drinking to avert developing liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and pancreatitis? 

If you are addicted to drugs, do you want to break the addiction to circumvent cannabinoid impaired concentration, stimulant induced strokes, and depressant induced drowsiness? 

Write down your reasons on a card and carry it with you wherever you go so that you can refer to it when you are tempted to feed the addiction.

O

The third step is to omit the people and places that encourage you to use drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes from your diary. 

To identify these people, ask yourself, “Who do I drink or chew or smoke or sniff or inject or ingest the addictive substances with?” Name them and then stop spending time with them. 

The next question you should ask yourself is, “Where do I drink or chew or smoke or sniff or inject or ingest the addictive substances? Pinpoint the places and stop passing by them.

P

The fourth step is to put obstacles between you and the drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes so as to make it harder for you to use them. 

To do this ask yourself, “Why do I drink or chew or smoke or sniff or inject or ingest the addictive substances?” Answer this question with brutal honesty so that you can deal with the emotions or trigger situations that tempt and tie you to the addiction.

To learn more

Buy the Christian Addiction Treatment Program Amazon Kindle Ebook

Buy the Christian Addiction Treatment Program PDF Ebook

Buy Christian Addiction Treatment Program Paperback

Overcoming Addiction: A Personal Inventory

To break any addiction you have to be clear in your mind why you want to do so. 

Knowing why others want you to stop using an addictive substance is not as important as knowing why you yourself should stop using it. This is because personal conviction is more effective than the convictions of your parents, spouse or friends in fighting the confusion that develops in tempting situations. To avoid this confusion that breaks willpower and strengthen your personal conviction to overcoming your addiction, answer the following questions for yourself.

Nicotine/Cigarette Addiction Questions

If you are addicted to cigarettes, do you want to stop smoking to avoid developing cancer of the lips, mouth, throat, larynx, lungs, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, colon, kidneys, bladder and cervix? 

Or is it because you want to steer clear of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, strokes, heart attacks and ulcers? 

Or do you want to stop smoking to prevent birth defects and the premature delivery of your unborn baby? 

Or is it simply because you don’t want your skin to age prematurely?

Alcohol Addiction Questions

If you are addicted to alcohol, do you want to stop drinking to avert developing liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and pancreatitis? 

Or is it because when you drink you are irritable, weepy or violent? 

Or is it because you are worn out by the withdrawal symptoms of sweating, shaking, confusion, convulsions, and hallucinations? 

Or do you want to overcome the addiction as you have made terrible, irreversible errors when the alcohol blurred your vision, impaired your judgment and slowed your reaction time? 

Or is it simply because you are miserable like all those who linger for long with alcohol? (Proverbs 23:29)

Drug Addiction Questions

If you are addicted to drugs, do you want to break the addiction to circumvent cannabinoid generated impaired concentration? 

Or do you want to elude inhalant induced nose bleeding, confusion and brain damage? 

Or do you want to sidestep stimulant induced strokes? 

Or do you want to duck depressant induced drowsiness? 

Or do you want to overcome addiction to dodge narcotic induced drowsiness? 

Or do you want to pass up the hallucinogen induced illusions? 

Or do you want to dodge the disorganized thinking induced by dissociative anesthetics? 

Or do you want to evade club drug euphoria? 

Or do you simply don’t want to die a drug addict?

Clarify for yourself why you want to stop using addictive substances and let your reasons serve as your incentives to continue resisting them and overcome the addiction permanently.