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Pray Before Big Decisions! · Bible Tract Echoes Podcast

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[SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to Bible Tract Echoes, the radio ministry of Bible Tracts Incorporated.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Since 1938, we've been sharing clear and powerful gospel tracks, completely free, helping churches and individuals bring the Word of God to all the world.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Today, join Evangelist Micah McCurry as we dive into God's Word together.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Stay tuned to learn how you can explore our gospel tracks and resources online.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And now, here's Evangelist Micah McCurry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Hey friend, welcome back to Bible Tract Echoes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for joining me once again today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I appreciate the fact that you had tuned in to this radio broadcast, and I'm especially glad that you tuned in today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: A friend of mine, he's actually an assistant pastor at my home church.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Matt Payne, this is name, he's gonna continue a lesson he began.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sharing the microphone with him just a little bit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He preached to this at my home church not long ago.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And he was so good at helped me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Prayer is one of the weakest areas of most Christian's life.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's weak for me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I could be better in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think we all could.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He does such a great job unpacking the Scripture about how Jesus prayed.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Listen in to Matt Payne.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Talk to us about prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Luke chapter 6 of verse 12, it says, and it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when it was day, he called unto him as disciples, and of them he chose 12, whom also he named the apostles.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus took some time in prayer alone, but this was different.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This time it says he spent all light in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then right after he spent all light in prayer, he came out and chose his 12 apostles.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The 12 men that continue to follow him, the rest of his ministry, the 12 men that stayed with him, up into the Garden of Gassemity, saved Judas.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Before he made a big decision, Jesus said, you know what I'm going to take some time alone in prayer with God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He said, He's Jesus, He's God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He knew exactly who we need He did, but He still took time to set up a time to pray and get the mind of God before making a decision.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when's the last time you and God at a long conversation?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Once the last time you and God just had a long conversation.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There's not a whole lot of times recorded where Jesus spent all night and prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There's many times where He got alone to pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But there's only a few where He spent all night and prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There was something different about this time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we get in the habit of our daily prayer routines.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully you have one of those.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The way you wake up, you read your Bible, you spend some time in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But usually it's a constrained amount of time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because you do have a schedule, you have to keep.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You have places to be.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You have to be at work on time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You have things that you have to accomplish.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You are restrained by that schedule.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But what about when you have more time?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I really need this answer, God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I really need to spend more time in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's beyond what I usually would spend, I'm going to go above and beyond because I really need an answer to this problem.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need an answer to this question.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need a solution to this problem that I can't figure out.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, sometimes if we're not careful, we'll spend the time trying to figure out and manipulate our way through.
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[SPEAKER_01]: How do I solve this problem on my own?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus was God, okay.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't have to spend all night in prayer, but he did.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Him and God are one that He still spent all night in prayer before making the decision with the apostles to choose them.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know prayer should not always be a short emergency.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know when Peter was sinking beneath the waves, he said, Lord save me.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Our prayer life should not consist of Lord save me prayers for the entirety of our spiritual life.
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[SPEAKER_01]: My relationship with my wife would not be very good if the only conversations we had were one sentence long.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Take the time that you spend in prayer, take the time I spend in prayer, and spend that much time with your kid a day, or that much time with your spouse a day, and think about how the good or bad the relationship would be accordingly.
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[SPEAKER_01]: When your kids have a problem, when your kid's having a problem, what do you do?
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[SPEAKER_01]: You focus in your time, just you and that child, just you and your spouse, we need to figure this out.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I won't ask for a raise of hands, but think about how many times I happen, it's just, no, this is a big deal.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to deal with it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to deal with it right now.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're not doing anything else until we solve this particular problem.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you engage in that conversation and it continues for however long it takes till you arrive at the solution.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Why?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because you value the relationship of the person you're trying to talk to.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You value the relationship of the person you're trying to reach.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Same with God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: When's the last time we stopped instead of our Lord?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need you in a different way.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not leaving until I get what I'm looking for.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not leaving until I get the answer that I'm seeking.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus spent all night, all night in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That sounds like a fast to me, fasting of my sleep.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Earlier, it talked about he fasted from food for 40 days.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus was getting along with God, getting serious, saying, the Lord, I need something from you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We have a convenient, minded mentality in our society.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Everything is about how can this best fill my needs, how can this make my life easier?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes God puts things in our life, we cannot solve because He's trying to make our life inconvenient, so we'll come to Him and say, Lord, I need to talk to you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus spent all night in prayer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Look and look, chapter number nine.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Luke chapter number nine, and verse number 29, we'll read a little bit here in Luke chapter nine, get the context of what's happening.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The Luke chapter nine, and verse number 29.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So as he just spent time alone in prayer, he spent time all night in prayer, a lengthy period of time speaking to God before making decisions here in Luke chapter nine, and verse number 29,
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[SPEAKER_01]: It says, and as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his Raymond was white and glistering, and behold, they're talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory and spake of his deceased, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
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[SPEAKER_01]: but Peter and they that were with them were heavy with sleep and when they were awake they saw his glory in the two of men that stood with him.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias, not knowing what he said.
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[SPEAKER_01]: While he thus spaked, there came a cloud overshadowing them and they feared as they entered into the cloud and there came a voice out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son.
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[SPEAKER_01]: hear him.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it close and told no man in those days, any of those things which they had seen, you know, hear Jesus specifically took Peter, James, and John with him to the mountain, knowing he was going to pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He took the three disciples and said, come with me, we're going to go into the mountain, and there he prayed, they fell asleep like good Christians, okay?
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[SPEAKER_01]: They couldn't stay awake while Jesus prayed, they took a nap.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when they woke up, they saw what was happening, and they were amazed, and you saw Peter's response, there let's build temples for them.
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[SPEAKER_01]: No, there needs to be times where we pray together in a group.
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[SPEAKER_01]: for two reasons.
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[SPEAKER_01]: One, how is a young Christian going to know what prayer looks like if they never see God move when they're praying?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I don't remember which preacher was at revival fires when he preached, I think it would be the cocks.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Pastor on South Carolina, North Carolina, some more over there.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He was preaching about as a young Christian, the pastor invited him to pray before the Sunday service.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think it was our Saturday evening.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And he talked about that was the first time that he ever felt like in his prayer life that he actually felt like God was listening.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He said, it was different.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Why?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because somebody said, hey, come pray with me in a group and let's go talk to God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If we don't ever, how are our children going to learn to pray if they don't see us pray?
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[SPEAKER_01]: How are our children going to learn?
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[SPEAKER_01]: They can get things from God if they don't see us get things from God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If your children never hear you pray, how do they know you pray?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Just because you say you're praying and you're sitting quietly in a room by yourself and they've interrupted you and say, I'm praying, leave me alone.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's fine for that time alone with prayer, but there needs to be a time where we instruct other people and how to pray too.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Listen, nothing is, when we were watching that video the other night, to me, the best part of it was at the end, scrolling through all the people in our church praying in all the different places.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because that's what makes the difference in what happens.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's a lot of effort that goes into it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's a lot of planning that goes into it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The logistics are a big deal, but that's what makes football, can't function.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's all these people who go around and pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: and during the week, these people who pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's what moves the heart of God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Those group prayers, but you see the results that have taken place from a meeting, where a bunch of people gathered here, the preaching of the Word of God, and there's another group of people praying, and what has God done.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Just because some people banded together and said, we're gonna pray as a group, and see what God will do.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If you look at revival throughout history, the same thing has happened.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Groups of people have gathered together and said, we're gonna pray together as a group.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And we're gonna pray at a scheduled time at a scheduled place and we're gonna continue doing this because we won't God to do something in this whether it's a preaching meeting, whether it's a revival, whether it's something that they're trying to accomplish for God they said, we're gonna get together as a group.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Where did they learn that?
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[SPEAKER_01]: From Jesus.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Is today we're gonna get a loan these three?
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I challenge a twofold one.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Get your family together and pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So that your children can see God does things.
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[SPEAKER_01]: As Betha Dewitz says, God does stuff.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Why?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because people pray because people ask.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Look over in Matthew chapter number 14.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Matthew chapter number 14.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Ember 13.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Actually let's read verse number, let's read verse 11, just give a little background here what's happening, verse 11 and his head was brought in a charger and given to the dams, he brought it to her mother and his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when Jesus heard it,
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[SPEAKER_01]: He departed fence by ship into a desert place apart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when the people had heard their of the followed him on foot out of the cities, and Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion toward them.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And he healed their sick, skipped on to verse number 33, 23, the same chapter.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when the evening was come, he was there alone.
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[SPEAKER_01]: the disciples of John, come and tell Jesus, what's the first thing Jesus says?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need to get away from all these people and get a loan with God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He's interrupted on the way, and he feeds the 5,000 there, break his apricots, the fishes, and the red, and feeds the 5,000, performs that miracle.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Then what does he do?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Goes to the mountaineering price.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Jesus gave us an example.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There's a time when people, when you are in a great loss, there's nothing you can do, but get a loan with God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So Jesus said, you know what, I need to get away.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need to get alone away from these people, so I can pray.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I can heal.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Jesus, even though Jesus was God, Jesus still hurt.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus still felt the informities that we feel.
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[SPEAKER_01]: John was his friend.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You see, later in the Gospels where Lazarus dies, Jesus weeps over him.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus loved him.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And Bible says, he hurt.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, sometimes we do one of two things with grief.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You either totally gloss over and say forget it, it's not worth it and you just, you don't acknowledge it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You haven't really dealt with it or you deal with it and never get out of it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: both are wrong.
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[SPEAKER_01]: At some point, you've got to stop and realize, no, I need to grieve, but at the same time, I also need help getting over.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I need God to get me through it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Jesus said, you know what?
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[SPEAKER_01]: My best thing I can do is get alone.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Get away from these people, spend some time with God.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Why?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Because he was hurt.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He knew John was in heaven, okay?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I know he's Jesus, but I think that's in the Bible on purpose.
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[SPEAKER_01]: God doesn't expect us to just go through things and act like nothing's wrong, nothing's going to happen.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You're not made out of granite.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, as much as we like people to think that doesn't phase me, it does phase you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It just affects you in a different way than somebody else because of your personality.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, as we sign off today, I was so struck by that thought, we like prayer to be convenient, don't we?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I pray that's not the case today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Have a great day for his glory, tune in tomorrow to Bible Traktocos, God bless.
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[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
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[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for tuning in to Bible Tract Echoes, the radio ministry of Bible Tracts Incorporated.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks again for listening.
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[SPEAKER_02]: May the Lord richly bless you as you live for Him.