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Transcript

Words as Creative Power · The Holy Pause

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: A reading from Scripture, Proverbs 18, verses 19-24.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: From the fruit of their mouth a person's stomach is filled.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: With the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: but there is friends who sticks closer than a brother.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not big into the manifesting craze which swept the internet a few years ago.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: It seemed like every momfluencer which came
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: across my feed was manifesting her happiness and Or manifesting a new car.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Or manifesting her child becoming the next Taylor Swift.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of my children who think if they ask for something enough times, I will get it.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: My son has written PS5 on the family grocery list every week,
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: perhaps trying to manifest it into existence,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: or perhaps believing I might slip up one week and pick it up along with a carton
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: of eggs and jug of milk.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: The promise of manifesting is that if you say something enough,
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: the universe will reward you for it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of talk about positive energy and letting the universe know exactly what you need.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you aren't listening closely, it almost sounds like prayer.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Except in prayer,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: we don't just make a litany of everything we want God to do for us and
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: then walk away.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: In reality,
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: this is exactly how most of us pray,
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: a Christian form of manifesting,
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: where we believe if we just say the right words
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: and let God know exactly what we want and need in a given moment,
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: then obviously God will just give us that thing we asked for.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: As if God is some sort of cosmic Santa,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: and we are writing our letter to the heavenly North Pole.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: The problem with this construction is we are all really bad at knowing what we need.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure we are particularly good at knowing what we really want from minute to minute.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I pull up to the drive-thru of fast food joints I've been to a million times
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: and never know what to order.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: The menu at McDonald's hasn't changed all that much since 1987.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know the options which are available to me.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know what I want.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: The scripture reminds us how important it is for us to recognize
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: and identify what it is we are really asking for in prayer.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do we really want the better parking spot?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: What if it prevents us from that chance meeting which changes the course of our day?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Or what if there's a car wreck in the road and it slams into that choice parking spot?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then we wouldn't want it at all.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: There are simply too many variables at play for us to tell God exactly what should
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: or shouldn't be done.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: We can't manifest a future which is too complicated for us to understand.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, we might approach God.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Asking for a change of heart or mind,
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: which allows us to deal with whatever happens in that inevitable future.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Even on those hard days.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Even on those days where you'd really like a new car, but it's not in the budget.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Though if you could all try to manifest me an Audi convertible, I'd be okay with that.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Take a few minutes in quiet.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of speaking or trying to tell God what to do, just listen to the air around you.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: What is it whispering to you?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: This one time, don't try to control it or minimize it or reduce it.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Chase that thought all of the way through until you hear the words of God in your heart.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Join me in prayer.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Loving Lord, I pause now to hear from
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was written and recorded by Reverend Elizabeth Troyer
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: with audio engineering and editing assistance from Jermaine Taylor.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: These podcasts will always be free,
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: but if you would like to support our online ministry,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: you can donate using the link in the bio or at wakeforestpres.org.