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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,

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Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to

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Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening

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Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants

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Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after this short word from

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Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer of Gratitude when

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Speaker 1: Life Feels Hard. A Prayer of Gratitude when Life Feels Hard,

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Speaker 1: written by Rachel Wojo, read by Lea Gerard. The leaders

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Speaker 1: of the Levites were to give thanks according to the

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Speaker 1: commands of David, the Man of God, at the dedication

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Speaker 1: of the Wall of Jerusalem. The Levites were sought out

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Speaker 1: to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving. The

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Speaker 1: sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

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Speaker 1: Niamiah twelve, twenty four, twenty seven and forty three. Niamiah

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Speaker 1: thirteen two shows that our God had turned a curse

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Speaker 1: into a blessing. It was one of those perfect autumn days,

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Speaker 1: the kind where the sky is impossibly blue and the

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Speaker 1: air feels like a gift. I was sitting beside my

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Speaker 1: daughter Taylor's bed, watching golden sunshine pour through her window

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Speaker 1: while she slept. Taylor was terminally ill and too weak

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Speaker 1: to be carried down the steps to go outside. My

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Speaker 1: heart was breaking over her and all the beautiful days

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Speaker 1: she was missing. I wish we could just be outside.

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Speaker 1: I whispered to God, my words more accusation than prayer.

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Speaker 1: She loves the sunshine. Can't she just have that? But then,

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Speaker 1: in that gentle way the Holy Spirit speaks when we're

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Speaker 1: raw and hurting, I heard him whisper to my heart,

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Speaker 1: See that sunshine coming through the window. I looked again.

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Speaker 1: The afternoon light was painting golden rectangles across Taylor's bed,

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Speaker 1: warming her face, making her hair glow. The sunshine had

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Speaker 1: come to her. God had brought the gift right into

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Speaker 1: our darkness. That moment changed my heart. I realized I'd

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Speaker 1: been so focused on what we couldn't have that I

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Speaker 1: missed what God was still giving us. The sunshine through

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Speaker 1: the window, the peaceful rise and fall of her breathing,

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Speaker 1: the fact that we were together. My weak, trembling gratitude

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Speaker 1: found its voice. Thank you that when I'm weak, you

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Speaker 1: are strong. Thank You that you see us here. The

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Speaker 1: Book of Nehemiah tells of another group who had every

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Speaker 1: reason to struggle with gratitude. They were rebuilding Jerusalem's walls

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Speaker 1: while surrounded by enemies, working with one hand while holding

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Speaker 1: a weapon in the other. Their circumstances were far from ideal,

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Speaker 1: yet right in the middle of their struggle, they stopped

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Speaker 1: to celebrate with such joy that the sound of rejoicing

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Speaker 1: in Jerusalem could be heard far away. They didn't wait

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Speaker 1: for perfect conditions to give thanks. They thanked God even

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Speaker 1: though the work was still hard and much remained broken.

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Speaker 1: And tucked into their story is the breath taking parenthetical

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Speaker 1: statement that changes everything. Our God, however, turned the curse

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Speaker 1: into a blessing. However, That's God's specialty. We see the curse,

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Speaker 1: he sees potential blessing. We see endings, he sees new beginnings.

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Speaker 1: We see sunshine we can't read. He sends it streaming

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Speaker 1: through our windows. I know how hard it can be

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Speaker 1: to see it. But there is always always something to

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Speaker 1: be thankful for. Not because life isn't devastating, sometimes it

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Speaker 1: absolutely is. Not because we shouldn't minimize our pain or

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Speaker 1: pretend everything's fine, but because even in our darkest rooms,

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Speaker 1: God is still sending light through windows we didn't know

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Speaker 1: we're there. Maybe your gratitude feels weak and trembling this year,

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Speaker 1: it's easy to stare at all you've lost. We want

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Speaker 1: to unsee all that's broken, all we can't change. Gratitude

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Speaker 1: isn't about the strength of our thanksgiving, and I'm so glad.

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Speaker 1: It's about the faithfulness of the God we're thinking and

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Speaker 1: he is faithful. Let's pray, Heavenly Father, thank you that

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Speaker 1: you don't require perfect circumstances or perfect faith for us

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Speaker 1: to come to you with gratitude. Right now, I'm bringing

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Speaker 1: you my struggle to be thankful when so much feels hard. Lord,

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Speaker 1: I confess that I often focus so intently on what

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Speaker 1: I've lost or can't have, that I miss the gifts

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Speaker 1: you're still giving, Like sunshine through windows when I can't

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Speaker 1: go outside, Like your presence in my weakest moments, Like

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Speaker 1: the way you're turning curses into blessings even when I

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Speaker 1: can't see it yet. Open my eyes to see where

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Speaker 1: you're at work when thanksgiving feels impossible. Help me to

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Speaker 1: rest in who you are, rather than straining for feelings

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Speaker 1: I can't produce. Today, Lord, I choose to thank you

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Speaker 1: not because everything is okay, but because you are with

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Speaker 1: me not because I understand your plan, but because I

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Speaker 1: trust your heart. Turn my whispered complaints into weak but

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Speaker 1: willing praise, turn my curse into a blessing. As only

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Speaker 1: you can help me to give thanks with such oftenicity

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Speaker 1: that others hear it and know God is still good

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Speaker 1: even here in Jesus' name. Amen, God's faithfulness is ever available.

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Speaker 1: If you're looking for more guidance on anchoring your heart

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Speaker 1: in God's promises, I invite you to check out my

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Speaker 1: new prayer journal, Praying the Promises of God fifty two

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Speaker 1: week guided journal at Promises Prayer Journal dot com. In

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Speaker 1: this journal, you'll find space to meditate on the promises

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Speaker 1: that remind you of your incredible worth to God and

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Speaker 1: help you experience His intimate love in tangible ways. Until

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Speaker 1: next time, Remember, God sees you, hears you, and he

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Speaker 1: knows your needs. Your daily prayer is a production of

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Speaker 1: Life Audio and Salem Media. If you liked what you

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Speaker 1: heard today, be sure to follow our sister show your

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Speaker 1: nightly prayer. You can find your nightly prayer at Lifeaudio

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Speaker 1: dot com or in your favorite podcast app. By following

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Speaker 1: your daily prayer and your nightly prayer, you can Be

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Speaker 1: sure that your day begins and ends centered on the

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Speaker 1: Word of God and prayer.