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26. When You Need a Boost - Wednesday Evening · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good evening, Grace Harbor - it’s Dan!
• 0:03
  I hope you had a joy-filled Wednesday after our time together this morning.
• 0:08
  We have been celebrating Wright Brothers Day, as Wilbur and Orville Wright
• 0:12
  made the first successful motor-powered, human-controlled
• 0:15
  airplane flight 122 years ago today.
• 0:19
  There’s a little more to the story I wanted to share.
• 0:23
  First, it’s important to know that there were quite
• 0:25
  a few other inventors also trying to make the first airplane.
• 0:29
  Most of these other inventors believed the problem was power.
• 0:33
  Like the Wright Brothers, they understood that lift was generated
• 0:37
  by air passing quickly around the wings, and so they wanted to make engines
• 0:42
  that would propel their flying machines fast enough to take off.
• 0:46
  However, for an engine to be more powerful, it needed to be bigger.
• 0:50
  And if it was bigger, that meant it was also heavier.
• 0:54
  All that extra weight and power would make the airplane much harder to control.
• 0:59
  The Wright Brothers saw the problem differently.
• 1:03
  To them, getting off the ground didn’t really matter
• 1:06
  if you were just going to fly out of control and end up crashing.
• 1:10
  Before they started making airplanes, Wilbur and Orville made and sold bicycles.
• 1:15
  And if any of you
• 1:16
  are learning to ride a bike, you know they can be tricky to control.
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  It takes balance and coordination and the ability to steer.
• 1:24
  The Wright Brothers realized that they would face
• 1:27
  pretty much the same challenges with their flyer.
• 1:30
  So, they poured their focus
• 1:32
  into creating a way for the pilot to control the airplane.
• 1:35
  Believe it or not, the system pilots use to control jumbo jets
• 1:40
  today is based on the same system
• 1:42
  the Wright Brothers came up with over 100 years ago!
• 1:46
  But even with control, their engine
• 1:48
  still needed a little help to get the flyer off the ground.
• 1:52
  That’s why they first tried using gravity by sliding down a sand dune on the beach.
• 1:56
  That did not work.
• 1:58
  Then, a storm passed through a couple days later,
• 2:01
  and after the rain stopped, the wind kept blowing.
• 2:05
  They realized the air itself could provide the boost!
• 2:08
  And thanks to the wind, they made their historic first flights.
• 2:12
  Life kind of works like this sometimes.
• 2:15
  We face challenges or problems, and we have to figure out how to solve them.
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  Sometimes problems can be easy, but sometimes,
• 2:23
  no matter what we try, nothing seems to work.
• 2:27
  It’s good to work hard and keep trying.
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  But sometimes, just trying harder isn’t the answer.
• 2:34
  Sometimes we need help from others.
• 2:37
  Learning to both try hard *and* ask for help
• 2:40
  will make you an expert problem solver.
• 2:43
  In addition to our family, our friends, our teachers,
• 2:47
  and others like that in our lives, we can also ask God for help.
• 2:52
  God might not sit down and go over math homework with you,
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  but if you’re having a tough day, or you’re upset about something,
• 2:59
  or you’re feeling lonely, or there’s
• 3:02
  someone who is sick and you want them to feel better,
• 3:05
  those are the kinds of things God wants us to ask for help with.
• 3:09
  God *wants* to help us be filled with the kinds of things
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  we’ve been talking about this Advent season - hope,
• 3:16
  peace, joy, and love.
• 3:19
  Why don’t you take a moment together as a family and share your prayer
• 3:23
  requests.
• 3:24
  Are there any things you’d like to ask God for help with?
• 3:28
  If you need more time, you can pause the podcast, and I’ll be
• 3:31
  right here when you get back.
• 4:02
  If you
• 4:03
  didn’t do it already, adults why don’t you write down those prayer requests.
• 4:08
  This is a really good practice you can start as a family.
• 4:11
  It can help you remember to keep praying for these things.
• 4:14
  But also, as you look back at the list
• 4:17
  at the end of the week or next week, maybe it’ll help you see the ways in
• 4:21
  which God has started answering your family prayers.
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  Ok, let’s end our time together tonight by praying.
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  If you want to, you can close your eyes and fold your hands.
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  Dear God, we thank you for the people in our life, including *you*,
• 4:38
  who give us that extra boost, that extra help, when we need it.
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  We lift up our prayer requests to you, and we ask
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  that you would be our helper in these things.
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  Give us a good night’s sleep tonight and fill us up with joyful dreams.
• 4:53
  Amen.
• 4:55
  Ok, Grace Harbor.
• 4:56
  Sleep well, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.