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During The Holidays, Down Regulate Through Prayer · WholeHeart Conversations

• 0:00
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: The holidays are approaching.
• 0:03
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Generally, it's a good time as we think of family, time off from work, celebrations, but it can also be stressful.
• 0:14
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: The busyness, expectations, and anticipations, and even though it's a good thing, before you realize it, you find yourself in a state of stress, worry, what I have to do, didn't do, or forgot to do, feeling anxious, mentally drained, physical tension in your shoulders, neck, or back, headaches, heart palpitations, clenching your jaws, these are all signs of a stress response.
• 0:52
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: There are ways to overcome a stress response, like diaphragmatic breathing, relaxation exercises, and I talked about meditation last week.
• 1:04
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: The Bible gives us another solution.
• 1:07
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: We can downregulate our stress response through prayer.
• 1:13
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: You're listening to Whole Heart Conversations, a podcast especially for women to receive biblical encouragement that fosters resilience through the practical application of God's word.
• 1:28
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: I'm your host, Constance Lavonice.
• 1:32
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: So what is prayer?
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Prayer is simply having a conversation, talking, communicating with God.
• 1:42
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And not only talking and communicating with God, but also listening to what you sense He's saying to you.
• 1:52
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And that may seem strange, but in reality, we have conversations all the time with ourselves.
• 2:00
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: So instead of having a conversation in your mind with yourself, direct that conversation to God.
• 2:09
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And it can be a quiet prayer or you can pray out loud.
• 2:14
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Sometimes it's not appropriate to pray out loud, but we can always pray in our heads and in our minds.
• 2:24
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Scripture tells us to pray.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: First Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 16 and 17 states, rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
• 2:41
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: This instructs us to pray always.
• 2:45
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Just like we get up each morning and we brush our teeth, prayer should be a daily practice.
• 2:54
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: James chapter four, verse eight says, Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
• 3:03
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: As we focus on prayer, we focus our mind on God and away from all of the activities, and God will draw near to us.
• 3:16
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Isaiah chapter 26, verse 3 says, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Perfect peace.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: That's the opposite of anxiety, worry, and tension.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Whatever we focus on the most is what we manifest.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: So in the process of your daily life, in the process of the busyness of preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the new year, focus on God.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Keep your mind stayed on God.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And lastly, Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven says, don't worry about anything.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Instead, pray about everything.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
• 4:40
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
• 4:50
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: God will give us a peace that surpasses understanding as we pray.
• 5:00
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: His peace.
• 5:03
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: So, ladies, I want to encourage you this week to pray, fellowship with God, and allow His peace to reign in your heart.
• 5:17
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: Downregulate your stress response through prayer.
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  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And if you've heard anything helpful, please subscribe, encourage your friend, and share.
• 5:32
  CONSTANCE LAVONICE: And send a text to the show to let us know what's on your heart and the topics you would like to hear next.