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Prayer Beyond Polished Words: Meeting God Honestly · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. We are in week
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three of September and in this episode we are
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calling it Prayer Beyond Polished Words, Meeting
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God Honestly. And so in this episode we are going
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to be talking about prayer is not performance,
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a formula or a way to pressure God into giving
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us what we want. It is communion with our Father
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through the Son in this power of the Spirit.
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In this episode we're going to be talking about
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Psalms. Jesus' teaching, Gethsemane, to show
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listeners how to pray honestly, lament faithfully,
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and listen humbly, and to trust God when answers
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are delayed or different than what we expected.
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And so welcome back to Fostering Faith. I am
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your host, Tracy, and we are going to be in week
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three of our series, Rooted. The faith it holds.
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We have talked about abiding in Christ and being
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formed in Scripture, and today we're going to
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be talking about prayer. Not polished prayer,
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not public prayer, or prayer that sounds and
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presses. We are talking about honest prayer.
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And some people avoid prayer because they believe
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that they are bad at it. They hear someone pray
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this beautiful language and think, I do not know
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how to do that. And others pray, but they edit
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themselves. They give God, the church, the vision
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of the story while angry, fear, grief, and disappointment
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stay hidden underneath. that God is not intimidated
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by the truths of your heart, because He already
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knows it. Prayer is not informing God. It is
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opening ourselves to Him. And so Jesus says in
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Matthew 6 that the Father knows what we need
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before we ask. He teaches us, His disciples,
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how to pray. And if God allows and already knows,
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then why pray? Like, why even bother? Like, why
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am I going to talk to you? Because it's about
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prayer. And if you already know, then why am
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I even going to pray? Because prayer is not mainly
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the transfer of information. It's relationship.
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It's the alignment. It's the dependence. It is
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where our hearts learn to say, your kingdom come,
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your will be done. And so let's pray. Father,
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teach us how to pray. Remove the fear that we
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have to impress you. Meet the listeners who feel
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unheard. The one who is tired of waiting. The
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one who does not want and know what to say. Holy
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Spirit, help us in our weakness and turn our
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attention towards Jesus. And we pray this in
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your name. Amen. And so God can handle your honesty.
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And so Psalm gives us a vocabulary of real prayers.
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They praise, confess, celebrate, question, protest,
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remember, and lament. Psalm 13 begins, how long,
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Lord? Will you forget me forever? That is in
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the Bible. God gives his people words for moments
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when his presence feels hidden. Lament is not
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disbelief or unbelief. Lament is pain brought
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into a relationship with God. Cynicism turns
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a wave and says nothing matters. Lament turns
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towards God and says this matters and I need
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you here. David often moves through this pattern.
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He names his pain asks boldly for help and remembers
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God's character and chooses to trust. The prayer
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does not deny the wound. It refuses to let the
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wound have the final word. And some of us have
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learned that faith means never sounding sad.
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And that is trash. No, absolutely not. We have
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learned that if you are a follower of Christ,
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you're supposed to be happy and perky. No, absolutely
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not. He never said that. He literally said, that
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you're going to have trials and tribulations
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in life. And so we quote promises before we had
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admit that we've had a broken heart. But Jesus
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wept, Jesus groaned. He sweated blood in Gethsemane
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and his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the
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point of death. Honesty is not disrespect. Whenever
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it's offered to God with humility, he would rather
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receive your real griefs than a performance that
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keeps your heart away from him. And sitting in
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class, I was in a trinitarium class and it hit
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me like a ton of bricks that God is not changing,
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that he is not going to be changing based on
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my plan. And we say this and say this and if
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you think back and reflect on that, that is great
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because he has like all these different prayers
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and that's our will. And so we can pray for really
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good things and we can pray for people to be
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healed and we can pray for this and we can pray
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for that and they all sound really great. but
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he is not gonna change his his mind is made up
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and so it would come to me it was a light bulb
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situation where i was so whatever i haven't answered
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prayer it's because my prayer actually aligned
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with what he had already planned it was such
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a light bulb moment to me i was like shut your
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face i'm like that is so great i am not gonna
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change you though i want this to happen and it
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doesn't happen because that's not his plan and
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we get that kind of we get that But I was so
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mad about it at first until I just sat with that
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and I was oh, that's good I was so mad about
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it and then and I had made a post about it on
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social media And I was just really forward about
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the whole situation and I was oh Okay And so
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like we that's the win. That's the overall arching
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kind of like I aligned I sat with him and wrestled
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enough with that I didn't change him. He changed
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me. I sat with him long enough and know his character,
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know him, that my thoughts aligned with him.
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That's the win. That's the prayer. Oh my gosh,
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like that is so great. That is so great. That
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was my whole take on it. And so prayer is not
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control. Sometimes we use prayer as a spiritual
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attempt to control outcomes. We believe that
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if we say the right enough words, that if we
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have enough faith, that if we get into people,
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we get enough people to agree, God must do exactly
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what we ask. And that is so crazy. So scripture
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invites bold requests. We are told to ask, seek
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and knock. And we are told to cast our cares
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on God. But biblical faith is trust in God's
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character, not certainty or like preferred outcomes
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is always His will. God prayed in Gethsemane,
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if it is possible, let this cut pass for me.
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Yet not as it will, but you will. This is not
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weak faith. This is perfect trust. Jesus names
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what He desires and surrenders the outcome to
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the Father. And we can do the same thing. Lord,
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heal this relationship. Open the door. Provide
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this job. Protect this person. Change the situation.
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Then, and because you are God and I am not, I
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trust your wisdom, your timing, and your love.
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Surrender is not pretending that you do not care.
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It is placing what you care about the most in
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the hands of the faithful one, the more faithful
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than yours. And so often, what about unanswered
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prayers? And you can go back and thank Garth
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Brooks for that song. Thank God for unanswered
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prayers. Can you remember all those prayers that
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we prayed in high school and junior high and
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just nowadays, just a prayer that we prayed for?
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And then we watched God unfold a greater plan.
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And we've been praying for healing for my mother
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-in -law for 20 years, for MS, for her to get
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up and just walk out of the wheelchair, and just
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for my dad not to have chronic pain, and just
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for all these things. And so what about unanswered
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prayers? And so a few things that test our faith
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is silence. You prayed, you asked, you waited,
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and the situation didn't change. Or it changed
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in the way that you feared. We should be careful
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with easy explanations. We do not know every
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reason for an answer or is a delay or different.
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Scripture shows spiritual opposition, human choices
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and their consequences, a broken creation, purpose
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that we cannot yet see, and the mystery of God's
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provisions. We cannot say that every painful
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outcome means that you didn't have enough faith.
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Absolutely not. There are faith -filled people
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and have just all the faith, and they still have
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unanswered prayers. And we should be very careful
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about turning others' person's pain into a lesson
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too quickly. And when someone is grieving, the
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most faithful response may not be an explanation.
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It may just be presence. Job's friends did their
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best work when they just sat with him in silence.
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Their trouble began when they assumed they could
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explain exactly why he was suffering. And there
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is a difference between truth in a slogan. Truth
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can sit beside tears. Truth does not have brush
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grief out of rooms. Romans 8 does not say every
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event is good. It says that God is in the work
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in all things for good for those who love him
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and that are called according to his purpose.
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The problem is not that the wound is good. The
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promise is that the wound is not yet beyond his
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redemptive power. So if you're waiting today,
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and you don't have to force a testimony before
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it's time. You can say, I still do not understand.
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I'm still hurting, and I'm still choosing to
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bring this day to God. And that's a real prayer.
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That's a root of prayer. Paul prayed repeatedly
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for the thorn to be removed, and God answered,
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but not by removing it. He said, my grace is
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sufficient for you, for my power is perfect,
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perfected in your weakness. And God And Paul
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received sustained grace instead of escape. And
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I was listening to a sermon there today. And
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it was like, you know what? I don't pray for
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situations to change. I pray that God gives me
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broader shoulders. And so I do often say that,
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that God gave me broad shoulders and long legs.
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So whatever He's brought us to, He'll bring us
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through. And so that may not be the answer that
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you wanted. It is still an answer rooted in the
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presence of God. The cross is our deepest reassurance
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when circumstances confuse us. At the cross,
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God did not remain distant from suffering. The
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Son entered it and the resurrection tells us
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suffering will not have the final word. And you
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cannot trace God's, whatever you cannot trace
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God's hands, your anchor, yourself in the character
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revealed in Christ. And so prayer includes listening.
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And so it's like we can just ramble off like
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all these things in prayer and prayer. But listening,
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is prayer. And so listening, a listening prayer
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is not an empty or discernment or treating every
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thought as God's voice. It is a making room for
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the spirit to bring scripture to mind, expose
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motives, convict sin, give wisdom and reflect
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attention. After you speak, sit quietly, ask,
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Lord, what are you inviting me to notice? Is
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there something I need to confess? Is there someone
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that I need to forgive? Is there a command I
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already know but have delayed obeying? Then test
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what comes. God's guidance will align with scripture
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and the character of Christ. It will not ask
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you to sin or flatter your pride or give you
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permission to harm someone. Major decisions should
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be held with patience, wise counsel, and humility.
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Sometimes listening reveals no new sentence at
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all. Sometimes the gift is simply awareness.
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God is here, and I'm not alone. A prayer pattern
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for real life. And so when you do not know what
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to say, use four movements. Behold, be honest,
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ask, and surrender. And so behold, God, this
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is who you are. And name a truth from scripture,
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holy, merciful, present, wise, faithful. And
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be honest. This is what happened to me. This
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is what's happening to me. This is what happened
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to me. This is what I feel. Name the fear, the
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anger, the desire, gratitude or confusion without
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editing it. You don't have to have fancy words.
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You don't have to sound like a King James Bible
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whenever you go to God. Ask. This is what I need.
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And be specific. Ask for provision, wellness.
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wisdom, healing, courage, help, whatever it is,
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ask, be honest, because he already knows, and
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surrender. Your will be done. Keep me close and
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keep me faithful. And release the illusion that
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you actually have control. Just lose it. And
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so whenever my dad was in the hospital and he
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was pretty sick, And we would pray every night
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before I would leave. And it was like, was he
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going to have to have surgery? Was he going to
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make it through the surgery? And we would say,
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let your will be done. He's been here for a while.
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His birthday is coming up as I report this podcast.
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And I've talked about my dad on here several
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times. And it was such a joy to do that video
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that I had with him just walking through scripture.
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He really has had that life of Job and Paul and
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just his ailment after ailment and just God sees
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and through it and he's just not lost his faith.
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Doctors come in and they tell him all those things
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and he's, yeah, but I got Jesus. So it's going
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to be okay. And so just his faith has really
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seeped into this generation and it's going to
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seep into Gia's generation and hopefully her
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faith and watching just generations of us, just
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broken people. time after time and she sees unanswered
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prayers. She sees how we've prayed and there's
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certain things that she doesn't understand. And
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we walk through that and just see her seeing
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all of this, you know, and hopefully this is
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transforming her and this is hopefully what she
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sees and by her faith and her kids will know.
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And so generation after generation. And so whenever
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prayer becomes a place of formation and so prayer
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does not only change circumstances, prayer changes
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the person. who was praying, and that's what
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we talked about before. As we behold God, our
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visions get corrected. We confess our defense
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comes down. As we give thanks, we begin to notice
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grace, that fear, that hidden from our view.
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As we intercede for other people, our world becomes
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larger than our own immediate needs. The transformation
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that is often slow, we may not stand up for prayer
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with completely different feeling. But over time,
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repeated honesty with God presents looseness
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of our grip and pretense. Repeated surrender
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loses the grip of control. Repeated thanksgiving
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loses our grip of entitlement. Repeated intercession
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loses the grip of self -centeredness. And so
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think about the Lord's Prayer. It begins with
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our Father. Not my problem. Jesus places our
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first inside our relationship and the people.
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He turns our attention towards God's name, God's
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kingdom, God's will. only whenever we bring our
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daily bread, our sin, our relationships, our
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need for protection. Jesus is not telling us
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that our needs are unimportant. He teaches us
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how to locate our needs inside the larger reality
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of who God is. Prayer becomes rooted when God
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is treated not as a tool for achieving our plans,
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but worshipped because He is our Father and our
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King, that He is the Lord of lords, that He is
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our Savior. And this week, Choose one ordinary
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activity as a prayer bell. Maybe it's sitting
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in your car, washing your hands, waiting for
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the coffee, or walking into work. Let that moment
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remind you to pray one sentence. Father, your
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kingdom come into me today. Small prayers, sacred
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offerings. Keep churning your distracted heart
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towards God every time that you enter your room.
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You are invited in here, Holy Spirit. Whenever
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you have a stoplight, whenever you are going
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to a meal, just turn that into a prayer. Turn
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that into a gratitude. Thank you for this job.
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Thank you for this meal. Thank you for these
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people that I'm getting ready to talk to. And
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so ask yourself, what have I been afraid to say
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to God? Am I asking in trust or trying to control?
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Where do I need to lament? What outcomes do I
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need to surrender? And so let's pray. Dear Heavenly
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Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you
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so much for these listeners. Thank you that we
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are here without performance. You know our needs
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before we ask it, yet you welcome us in to ask.
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Receive our gratitude and our grief. Forgive
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our sin. Heal what is wounded. Give us wisdom
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where the road is unclear and sustaining grace
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where the burden remains. Teach us to recognize
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your voice. through your Word and our surrender
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every answer to your godliness and your goodness.
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When the words fail, remind us what the Spirit
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is helping us and Jesus is intercessing for us.
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We pray this in your name. Amen. Thank you for
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being here this week. Sometimes if someone you
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love is walking through unanswered prayers, share
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this episode gently without trying to fix them
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because you're not. That is not your burden to
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bear. And next week, we're going to be talking
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about the next faithful yes. Why obedience and
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ordinary life matters. When the dramatic intentions
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follow the show. Leave us a review. Visit Fostering
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Faith Media. Sign up for the emails. Look at
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our blog page. Make sure that we're following
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along in the subscription guides. If you guys
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find this helpful, we got to know. And maybe
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stay tuned for some bonus episodes in fitness.
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as we are fostering your faith and possibly fitness.
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And until then, we'll talk to you guys later.
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Love you. Bye.