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Deep Forgiveness - Goodness | Zach Clinton · Meditative Prayers by Pray.com

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  Speaker 1: If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat,
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  Speaker 1: and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.
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  Speaker 1: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head,
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  Speaker 1: and the Lord shall reward thee. Proverbs 25, 21-22 Dear
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, You are the source of all love and mercy.
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  Speaker 1: We thank You for granting us Your grace and help
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  Speaker 1: to forgive even those who have wronged us. By Your strength,
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  Speaker 1: may we overcome evil with good, kindness, and service. Help
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  Speaker 1: us to be humble in our actions towards those who
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  Speaker 1: hurt us, and seek to do good in their lives.
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  Speaker 1: May we be generous with charity and bountiful in our
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  Speaker 1: offering of mercy so that they may also taste your
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  Speaker 1: grace and experience your love. Let us be mindful of
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  Speaker 1: the power of forgiveness, Lord, grateful for the opportunities you
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  Speaker 1: have given us to serve others in your name. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me in prayer. Stay tuned for
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  Speaker 1: today's free podcast, Meditative Prayers with Zach Clinton, where you
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  Speaker 1: can draw close to God and find strength in Him.
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  Speaker 2: My friends, welcome to your meditative prayer on deep forgiveness.
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  Speaker 2: To get the most out of your spiritual journey, use
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  Speaker 2: Pray.com every day and make prayer a priority in your life. Again,
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  Speaker 2: our goal for today's meditative prayer is all about deep forgiveness.
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  Speaker 2: So right now, just take a moment. To hide away
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  Speaker 2: in your secret place. Maybe it's a place where you
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  Speaker 2: can relax and be comfortable. A place where you can
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  Speaker 2: turn off all distraction. And right where you are, simply
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  Speaker 2: close your eyes. Breathe in deep through your nose. And
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  Speaker 2: exhale out through your mouth. And as you feel the tension,
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  Speaker 2: leave your body. Allow your spirit to reach out to God.
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  Speaker 2: And let his words fill your heart. Today we'll be
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  Speaker 2: meditating on Proverbs 25 verses 21 to 22 from the
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  Speaker 2: King James Version. If thine enemy be hungry, give him
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  Speaker 2: bread to eat. And if he be thirsty, give him
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  Speaker 2: water to drink. For thou shalt heap coals of fire
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  Speaker 2: upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. Right now,
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  Speaker 2: my friends, let's just take a moment to pour.
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  Speaker 1: Out your adoration to God.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus, I praise you for loving me, for dying in
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  Speaker 2: my place while I was still your enemy, for choosing
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  Speaker 2: to pour out your grace and forgiveness over me, for
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  Speaker 2: sacrificing yourself to restore my relationship with God the Father.
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  Speaker 2: I worship you for your love demonstrated in salvation. I
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  Speaker 2: praise you for you alone are good. I extol your name, God,
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  Speaker 2: for you are worthy of all glory. Defeat evil with
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  Speaker 2: God's goodness. The Bible teaches us that only love can
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  Speaker 2: conquer hate and only God's goodness can defeat evil. As
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  Speaker 2: illogical and implausible as it may seem, repaying evil for
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  Speaker 2: good will bring burning shame upon your foes and heavenly
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  Speaker 2: blessings upon you. For when you show kindness to your enemies,
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  Speaker 2: you overcome them. Because kindness does kill. It kills toxic environments.
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  Speaker 2: It kills the hold of resentment. It kills the root
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  Speaker 2: of bitterness. It kills the might of anger. It kills
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  Speaker 2: the power of hate in your life. You see, Jesus
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  Speaker 2: demonstrated this when he died at the cross for our sins.
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  Speaker 2: Christ died for us while we were yet his enemies.
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  Speaker 2: And by doing so, he broke the curse of sin
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  Speaker 2: and defeated the grave. His choice to repay evil with
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  Speaker 2: goodness and grace resulted in restoration for all mankind and
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  Speaker 2: victory over death. God knows repaying evil with goodness is
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  Speaker 2: hard to do. Jesus went to the cross, but it
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  Speaker 2: was not easy nor was it pleasant for him. To
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  Speaker 2: succeed in this fight, you must be honest with God
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  Speaker 2: in prayer. So right now, my friends, just take a
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  Speaker 2: moment to confess your sins before God. And now as
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  Speaker 2: we transition, let's think for a minute on all the
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  Speaker 2: times God showed you kindness. Think of the challenges Jesus
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  Speaker 2: had to overcome in showing you his love. All the
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  Speaker 2: pain he pushed through and the scorn he suffered at
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  Speaker 2: the cross. All of this out of compassion for you.
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  Speaker 2: Now think of past situations where God demonstrated his goodness
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  Speaker 2: in your life. All the miracles and mercies that he
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  Speaker 2: has manifested over you. Thank Jesus for his grace poured
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  Speaker 2: out to you For His provision and His care. Thank
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  Speaker 2: Him for all your current blessings and for those still
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  Speaker 2: to come. My friends, God is present and He is
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  Speaker 2: listening to you. He never said showing kindness to your
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  Speaker 2: enemies would be easy, but He promised to help you
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  Speaker 2: every step of the way. God sent His Holy Spirit
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  Speaker 2: to enable you to be compassionate, to show grace unto
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  Speaker 2: those who would not do the same for you. So
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  Speaker 2: ask the Holy Spirit to increase your mercy for others.
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  Speaker 2: Ask Him to make you more like Jesus, to aid
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  Speaker 2: those who would harm you. Ask Him to empower you
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  Speaker 2: to love the way Jesus did, to give to those
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  Speaker 2: who do not deserve your charity. Ask Him to teach
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  Speaker 2: you to imitate God's love every day and toward everyone. Remember,
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  Speaker 2: God said you are to repay evil with kindness. Helping
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  Speaker 2: your enemy out when they are in need will be
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  Speaker 2: like pouring burning coals on their head, and the Lord
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  Speaker 2: will reward you. Even though loving those who caused you
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  Speaker 2: harm is difficult and requires self-denial, it can be done
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  Speaker 2: and God promised to reward your efforts. God expects you
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  Speaker 2: to love others in the same manner you are loved
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  Speaker 2: by Him. So do not hold back. You can be
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  Speaker 2: merciful because Jesus has poured out His mercies over you.
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  Speaker 2: So my friends, do this and you will see the
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  Speaker 2: very best of God's goodness manifested in your life. As always,
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  Speaker 2: thank you guys for completing today's meditative prayer on Pray.com.
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  Speaker 2: By incorporating this healthy habit as a daily practice, I
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  Speaker 2: believe you're not only making prayer a priority, but I
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  Speaker 2: also believe that you're strengthening your walk with God. I'm
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  Speaker 2: Zach Clinton, Vice President of the American Association of Christian Counselors,
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  Speaker 2: and we love being a part of your life. Hey,
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  Speaker 2: before you go, if you're looking for some additional help, hope, information,
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  Speaker 2: or inspiration... I would encourage you guys to go visit
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  Speaker 2: our website, which can be found at aacc.net. Again, that
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  Speaker 2: is aacc.net.