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314 | The Simple Elements of Prayer - A Journey Through Philippians 4:6-7 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ. She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  You can't get an answer to prayer unless you pray.
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  The Bible tells us to pray, but many people who claim to be Christians don't
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  pray. Their number one reason? They don't know how to pray.
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  Join Kim in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as she takes us on
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  a journey through Philippians 4, 6, and 7, revealing the simple elements of prayer.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
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  We're going to be looking at Philippians 4, 6-7.
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  We're looking at it today from the perspective of what does it mean to pray?
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  What does a prayer look like?
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  So many people speak to me on a regular basis, and they explain to me that they
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  would love to pray. They don't know how to pray.
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  I submit to you that a prayer is a simple conversation with Jesus.
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  You are telling him what's on your heart and he is revealing to you what you need to know.
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  This happens in various different forms. I believe sometimes we sit and we pray
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  and that's our intent and we are explaining our heart and we're talking to the
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  Lord and we are required to sit and listen as we're told to do in.
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  Psalms 46.10. Sometimes I think the prayers are fast and furious.
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  I'm reminded of Peter when he is sinking after taking his eyes off of the Lord,
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  and he says, Lord, save me.
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  And the Lord immediately reaches down and picks him up and takes him to safety.
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  Sometimes I think we repeat Scripture because we are repeating back the words
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  of the Lord, and as we're doing so,
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  they are increasing our faith and they are laying a foundation for what we believe
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  and what we know and what we see.
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  As a result of that, I believe those prayers are slightly different maybe than
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  other prayers, but the words that we're saying, we believe from the depths of
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  our heart and they're reaching our heart to heaven.
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  Jesus is listening and he's taking those words and he's doing with them what needs to be done.
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  But I think when someone says to me that they don't know how to pray,
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  I think first of all, they have a misconception of what prayer is.
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  As I said before, it's a conversation with you and Jesus.
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  I think sometimes they've heard people wex eloquently while they pray,
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  and they think that they have to have a beautiful, smooth prayer in order for
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  the Lord to hear them, and that's not true either.
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  He said in Jeremiah 33, 3, call unto me and I will answer thee.
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  But he does give us a lot of examples in the scriptures of how to pray,
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  and we see the Lord's Prayer as a model example.
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  We watch Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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  We're told often of how Jesus went away to pray.
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  And if Jesus had to pray, who is fully God and fully man, how much more do we need to pray?
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  And so this question being brought to my attention recently has weighed heavily on my mind.
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  The Lord has placed upon my mind today to just speak to you about a simple prayer.
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  Now, I'm not one that believes that rote prayers are probably the best to pray.
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  Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
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  If you mean those words from the depths of your heart, then that's a prayer.
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  If you're just quoting it and saying it out of habit, it's simply just speaking words.
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  When we pray, we must acknowledge who we are praying to.
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  But you're never going to get a prayer answered unless you pray a prayer.
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  The Bible tells us in James 5 that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
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  And so there is power in prayer.
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  There's power in prayer when people
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  have humbled themselves placed their
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  faith in God who are trusting in
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  him to deliver them of whatever
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  it is they need to give them their needs to direct them to lead them to guide
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  them sometimes we pray just simply worshiping him But I have to believe that
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  this person who was speaking to me really just wanted to know,
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  how do I speak to God?
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  And so there's many scriptures we could use.
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  But what's impressed upon my heart today is Philippians chapter 4,
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  verses 6 and 7. And it goes like this.
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  Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
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  Let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God,
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  which passeth all understanding,
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  shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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  Now, we can take this and,
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  divide it into four elements, and I believe that is a great place to start if
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  you're trying to understand, how can I speak to the Lord?
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  But I want you to understand in and wrap all of this with this,
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  that Jesus will hear the prayer of a repentant heart, regardless of what someone
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  beside of you may think it sounds like.
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  God wants to have a relationship with you.
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  He tells us that in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 20, when he says that,
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  Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hears my voice and opens
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  up the door, I will come in unto him and I will sup with him and he with me.
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  He's knocking at our heart's door, and he wants to spend time with you.
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  And the Holy Spirit will teach you and lead you and guide you.
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  But if you're looking for a place to start, here's what I offer to you today.
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  The first thing we see in Philippians 4, verse 6, is be careful for nothing.
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  In other words, don't worry.
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  Don't be anxious and ask. He says, be careful for nothing, but with prayer and
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  supplication, you let your requests be made known unto God.
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  So the invitation is there for every born again believer.
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  They have an invitation to come to the Lord and pray.
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  In Matthew 7, 7, he says, ask and it shall be given you.
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  So the first thing we have to do is we have to not be worrying, and we have to ask.
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  Now, we're not going to worry if we're coming in faith believing. leaving.
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  I want you to know that when we ask the Lord to help us, to intervene,
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  to give us something we need, you need to understand that you are making a request
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  to an almighty God who knows more than you know, who sees more than you see,
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  and who loves you even more than you love yourself, whose plan is a good plan
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  for you, whose ways that are higher than your ways.
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  So you don't come to the Lord telling him what it is he needs to do for you.
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  You come to him asking for his intervention in your situation.
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  God is not a puppet on a string that you tell him your list of wants.
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  You give him your laundry list of things to do.
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  No, when you come to God in prayer, you are coming in faith,
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  believing that he is bigger than you are. He is greater than you are.
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  He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He's omnipotent. He's omniscient.
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  And so you're letting your request be known to him because he's asked you and
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  invited you to do so. home.
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  He has given you an opportunity to come before him.
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  And when you ask him in faith, believing in the faith that says,
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  I'm telling you my situation and I'm asking you to intervene,
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  I'm asking you to be in the midst of it.
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  And Lord, I'm asking for your help and your need. You're not telling him how to fix it.
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  You're not coming to him with your need and saying, this is what I need.
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  Give it to me. Because you have a short-sighted view.
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  And what you may be asking for that you think is your need may be a very strong
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  stumbling block in your life.
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  No, you let him know the situation. situation and you have the faith and the.
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  Courage and the strength and his power of the Holy Spirit in you to wait upon
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  him to give you that answer and to be happy with it.
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  See, that's where the second element comes in.
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  We must believe. In Mark 9, 23, it says, Jesus said unto him,
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  if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
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  When you come to the Lord in a position of asking him to intervene,
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  inviting his presence into your situation, praising him and worshiping him because
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  you are in the presence of almighty God.
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  When you come to him with the perspective that you're asking for him to reveal
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  himself to you and for him to open up all of heaven's resources and to take
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  this situation and to manage it and to do with it as he wants,
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  as he sees fit, as it fits into his plan for your life.
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  When you come to him, that is very different than saying, Lord,
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  I want that promotion, give it to me.
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  See, he knows what the promotion may cost. He knows it may take you from church.
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  He knows that it may distract you from what he wants you to know and be and live.
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  He knows that it may not be good for your soul. It may cause you to be self-reliant
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  instead of God-reliant.
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  It may put you around people he doesn't want you to be with.
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  You don't have that information.
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  The information you have is you think it would be great for you.
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  Hey, and it's okay to ask.
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  He says, don't worry about things, just ask.
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  But you've got to come in faith believing that his answer is correct.
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  It's the best for you. It's the best for your condition.
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  It's the best for your life. It's the best for your family. It's the best for
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  your witness. It's the best for you.
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  That's the believing part it's also the part where you come to him because you
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  know he's the one who can help you you know that his presence in your life is a game changer,
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  You know that him being with you and for you is all that you need.
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  You understand his grace is sufficient.
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  So in Philippians 4, 6, he says, don't worry about anything.
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  But in everything by prayer and supplication.
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  So ask, don't worry, ask.
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  You got to believe because he says, let your requests be made.
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  Known unto God. But before that, he says, with thanksgiving.
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  See, belief is why we're there.
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  If you believe in God and you trust in God, as we're told to do in Proverbs
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  3, 5, and 6, where he says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean
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  not unto thine own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.
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  If you trust the Lord with the the right kind of faith, you're not going to
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  be tempted to tell him how to answer your prayers.
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  You're just going to keep making your situation known before him.
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  You're going to ask for him to intervene.
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  You're going to ask for him to take over the situation.
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  You're really asking, Lord, protect me from anything the devil has.
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  Lord, I'm coming to you. You're my shield and my faith. You're my buckler. You're my stronghold.
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  Lord, you're my tower, my high tower. And I want you to preserve me to the end
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  and not let the devil take one shot out of me.
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  Don't let him get a chunk of me. Don't let him get a piece of my mind.
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  Don't let him trick me into using my skills and my talents for his glory.
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  No, Lord, help me to trust and believe in you. Keep me on the right spots.
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  Keep me in the right place.
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  Put your righteousness in me and on me. You got to believe.
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  You got to put your situation in his hands and allow him to produce the outcome.
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  And you got to be grateful and accepting Accepting of whatever the Lord has
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  for you. You got to trust him in all things.
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  You got to acknowledge him in all ways. And when you do, he'll put your feet on solid ground.
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  He will walk with you and talk with you. You'll have uncommon favor,
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  and you'll have joy unspeakable and full of glory because the things of the
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  world won't be what you're looking at or listening to,
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  but there'll be a calm peace within you because he's whose mind is stayed on him has peace.
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  We learn that in Isaiah 26.3, that thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee.
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  See, we walk different and we talk different and we look different because we
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  are different as Christians.
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  1 Corinthians 5.17 tells us that we're new creatures and the Holy Spirit within
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  us, it changes our worldly attitude.
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  It cleanses us from all unrighteousness and we are pure with him.
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  And when we pray, we are standing in his presence with full faith,
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  absolute belief, complete trust, and we are thankful.
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  We are thankful for the outcome before it even happens because we have trusted
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  him to the point that we know that his plans for us are good,
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  to prosper us and to give us a hope.
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  The fourth element, simple element of prayer, is waiting.
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  And for some of you, that is the hardest of all of them, because you think waiting is passive.
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  But waiting isn't passive. It's an action verb.
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  And when you are waiting, you are anticipating and looking for what God will do in this situation.
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  You have a front row seat of the miracle that's getting ready to unfold.
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  In Isaiah 40, 31, he says, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strengths.
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  They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary,
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  and they shall walk and not faint.
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  Psalms 46.10 says, Be still and know that I am God.
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  I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.
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  When we pray, there's a very simple four-element process.
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  And we can spend many days and many messages on prayer, and we probably will
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  before my ministry is done.
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  And we can elaborate on all of them. and we can dissect the Lord's prayer.
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  We can watch Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.
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  We can see the prayer of Jabez.
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  But all of them will sync up to Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
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  They all will start with a request that isn't done in desperation or worry.
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  They all will be done because of a belief that God is able and he is capable
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  and he has our best interests at heart.
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  And all your successful prayers will include thanks, for the outcome isn't yours
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  to predict or to determine.
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  Prayer is inviting Jesus to take over the situation and allowing Jesus to have
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  full reign in the situation.
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  And being thankful is being accepting of the answer he has determined that is best for you.
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  Final element will always be waiting. Don't get ahead of the Lord.
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  Don't take your prayers, your situation into your own hands.
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  Make your request with faith.
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  Believe in who God is and anticipate his presence in your situation to deliver
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  you the absolute best outcome come in his perfect timing.
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  To God be the glory for the great things he has done and the things he will
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  continue to do. Remember, you are loved.
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  Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  Thank you to the gospel group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  Remember that God loves you.
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  Music.