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Devotional-Prayer from The Moon is Round · The Father's Business Podcast

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Father's Business Devotional Podcast, which flows from the heart of Sylvia Gunter and her deep desire to help people know God.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: May God quiet your spirit and soul, draw you close to the Father's heart, and anchor you in the unshakable truth that you are deeply loved and securely held.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Today's devotional prayer is centered around a phrase that you hear a lot if you've been around the Father's business.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: The phrase is the moon is round.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: We've written devotionals about it.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's included in our book, Safe in the Father's Heart.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And while it is a simple phrase, it carries a deep, deep truth.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: The basic gist of the moon is round is that from our perspective, the moon appears to change.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Some nights it's full, other nights it's a little sliver in the sky.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is it's always round.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes God can feel that way.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are seasons when his presence feels big and bright and awe-inspiring in the sky, just like a full moon.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's seasons when he feels distant or quiet or even hard to find.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So the moon is round has been our way of saying God doesn't change, his character is still whole, he's still there for us, even when we can't see him.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked about sometimes the only prayer we know to pray is the moon is round.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had people ask me, but what does that really mean?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: What is the prayer going on in your heart when you pray the moon is round?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: So today I wanted us to pray together.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: For all of us that find ourselves in situations where the road ahead doesn't seem clear, or the problem doesn't feel like it's going to be solved, or the situation feels impossible.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray together.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Father God, we come to you in a world that feels unsteady, whether it be because of the headlines that are screaming, chaos, and fear, or the personal battle that we're facing that no one really knows about.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it feels like our feet are on shifting sand and fear rises up so quickly in our hearts.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when we find ourselves in those places, the enemy tries to plant lies that you're not with us, that you're distracted, that you're silent or uncaring.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But today we come to you as your beloved children.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: We come to you as our Abba, our Father, who sees every fear that we haven't even spoken out loud to our closest loved ones, who knows every question we carry, who understands the weariness that settles on our shoulders with things that are so uncertain.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we choose today to declare that you are not distant, you are not absent, you're not confused about what's going on in the world or in my personal life.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: You are steady, you are good, and you are trustworthy.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so we say, teach us to trust.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: As Thomas prayed, I believe, help my unbelief.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Teach us to trust in your character instead of our desired outcomes.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Teach us to trust in your ability and your strength and your truth.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when the accuser comes to wage war against our minds, draw us back to what we know about you.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Allow the truth of your word and who you are to speak louder than the voices that rage against us.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: We declare the words of 2 Timothy 1:12, we know whom we've believed in, and we are persuaded, we're convinced that you are able to guard what we have entrusted to you.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, Father, would you come and guard our minds, guard our loved ones that we are praying for, guard the places that feel uncertain, guard the broken promises that we carry in our hearts.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Father, would you teach us to trust not what we feel, but what we know, and what we know is this you are faithful, you are unchanging, you are love, and love always trust.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we choose to believe the best about your heart towards us today, God.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: We choose to believe that even when circumstances are hard and outcomes unclear, you are working, you are weaving things behind the scenes, you are redeeming things that we don't even understand you're redeeming.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: So would you give us a heart that anticipates your goodness even in the dark?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Father, train our eyes to look for evidence of your hand, not in the big and the dramatic, but in the quiet moments, the whispers of you that are in our day.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: You say you give us daily bread.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: You are our daily bread.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: You give us sustaining grace, and you give us strength to make it through one more day.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Father, whether we find ourselves in a season where you feel like the big, bright, beautiful moon in the sky and we can see even the indentations of the moon as we look up, or we are in a season where we don't feel your dearness, and it feels like everything is covered in clouds.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Would you anchor us in the truth that the moon is round?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Even when we only see a fragment, even when the clouds are in the way, the moon has not changed, and you have not changed.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: You do not leave, you do not withdraw your love based on our performance, and you do not grow weary of holding us up and giving us what we need to make it one more day.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: And in those times when we don't even know what to pray, don't feel like we can pray, when words fail us and all we have is a groan.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are interceding on our behalf in groans.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, you are our advocate at the throne room of God.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so if all we can do today is whisper, the moon is round, then thank you, Father, that you receive that as a delightful offering to you.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is our offering saying that we trust you, that we surrender to you.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So in the midst of global uncertainty that feels heavy and deep personal battles, in the midst of diagnosis that we didn't see coming, or disappointments, or broken relationships, or grief and anniversaries of grief, financial stress, or just spiritual dryness, where it feels like it's been a long time since we've heard anything from you.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: We lean into who you are.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: We lean into your character and your strength and your ability to keep showing up for us.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I pray that you would let our roots grow deep down beneath the surface, that we would learn to rest in the assurance that you are working even when we cannot see you at all.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Father, I ask that you would break any agreements we have made with fear, any agreements we have made with the lies the enemy has tried to tell us, that we are isolated and alone, and that you would replace those agreements with the truth of who you are and who we are in you.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: We are loved.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: We are deeply, fiercely, abundantly more than we can comprehend, loved by you.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And because we are loved, we can trust, even when it's hard, and we don't feel like doing it, because in some ways it feels like you've let us down.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So would you come into every broken place in each of our hearts and fill us to overflowing with you?
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Bind up the brokenhearted, redeem and restore the crushed in spirit, and allow us to have an overwhelming sense of you, even if the circumstances do not change.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: May you know who you believe in and be persuaded and convinced that God is able to guard whatever or whoever you have entrusted to Him.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed with trust that takes deep root in your heart, so much so that fear loses its grip over your heart and mind.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed as the lies of the enemy are exposed and silenced.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: And may your mind be blessed to be studied, and your heart anchored in the truth, and your spirit in full alignment with who God is and who he is for you.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And when clouds obscure your view, may you remember that the moon is still round.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: For some of you, I just bless you to hold on.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: The moon is still round.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And God may feel hidden, but when he does, be blessed with supernatural trust that he is still whole, he is still present, he's still powerful.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because the truth is whether we see the moon or not, it still affects the tides of the earth.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: It has that much power.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So be blessed to experience the quiet strength of a father who has not moved from his place right beside you.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can't sense him right now, I bless you with a supernatural ability to sense his presence.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed to sense his nearness in the night.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed to rest in his unchanging character, and be blessed to live with a steady, confident hope that anticipates the goodness of God in the land of the living.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who are listening who don't even feel like you can pray, be blessed to say the moon is round.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: We trust you, Father, when we can see you and when we can't.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we pray all this in the faithful and unchanging name of Jesus.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to this devotional.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can find an archive of devotionals and other podcasts on our website, www.thefathersbusiness.com.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is made possible through donations from people like you.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: To donate, click on the donate tab on our website at www.thefathersbusiness.com.