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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 to welcome Christ

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Speaker 1: into our hearts. A Prayer to Welcome Christ into Our

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Speaker 1: Hearts written by Alicia Searle, read by Lea Gerard. I

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Speaker 1: pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen

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Speaker 1: you with power through His spirit in your inner being,

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Speaker 1: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

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Speaker 1: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

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Speaker 1: may have power, together with all the Lord's Holy people,

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Speaker 1: to grasp how wide and long, and high and deep

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Speaker 1: is the love of Christ Ephesians three, sixteen to eighteen.

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Speaker 1: I absolutely love the feel good Christmas movies, you know,

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Speaker 1: the ones that hold a heartwarming storyline where the cutest

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Speaker 1: little couple meets back up in their small town and

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Speaker 1: in a span of a few weeks, they try to

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Speaker 1: save a Christmas tree farm, all while falling in love.

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Speaker 1: OH A similar storyline unfolded on a trip my husband

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Speaker 1: and I took when we were much younger. We enjoyed

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Speaker 1: traveling parts of the country together when it was just

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Speaker 1: the two of us and it was a bit easier

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Speaker 1: to just pack up and go. Nowadays, there are no

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Speaker 1: spontaneous trips, as we must plan well in advance due

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Speaker 1: to work in softball, schedule school events, and are untrained dog,

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Speaker 1: which isn't the best traveler, not to mention the financial

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Speaker 1: means to simply jump in the car or hop on

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Speaker 1: a plane and explore the country with a family of

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Speaker 1: five six if you count the dog, which can cause

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Speaker 1: quite a stream on the pocketbook. That said, this one

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Speaker 1: trip in particular made us both feel as if we

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Speaker 1: had stepped into the set of a holiday film. It

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Speaker 1: included a charming main street lined with quaint and festive shops,

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Speaker 1: a massive, well lit tree, an ice skating rink, and

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Speaker 1: the jolliest people who radiated the Christmas spirit. Adjacent to

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Speaker 1: the main street was a tiny white church with the

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Speaker 1: most beautiful stained glass windows. In front was a beautiful

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Speaker 1: mange and a sign that shared their upcoming Sunday message,

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Speaker 1: keep christ in your heart this Christmas. Oh how I

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Speaker 1: wish we'd been able to hear that sermon. Sadly, we

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Speaker 1: left on Sunday morning to return home and step back

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Speaker 1: into reality. That trip brings so many fond memories, but

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Speaker 1: it also causes me to pause and reflect on how

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Speaker 1: we can truly welcome Christ into our hearts and keep

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Speaker 1: him the focal point of this entire season. Paul reminds

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Speaker 1: us in Ephesians three sixteen through eighteen that Christ dwells

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Speaker 1: in our hearts through our faith and the power from

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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit within us. As we delve into this scripture,

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Speaker 1: I think of the Christmas tree that proudly stood at

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Speaker 1: the end of the main street in that small town.

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Speaker 1: The roots of that tree must have been wide and deep,

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Speaker 1: because it was honestly breathtaking and quite humbling to gaze upon.

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Speaker 1: Our faith is a lot like those roots. When we

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Speaker 1: are grounded in truth and our roots run deep in Christ,

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Speaker 1: it becomes difficult for us to be uprooted or swayed

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Speaker 1: by the temptations of this world. Our God, being the

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Speaker 1: ultimate creator and gardener, nourishes us by tending to the

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Speaker 1: root of our faith and our stability in Christ. He

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Speaker 1: allows us to stand firm and not be easily shaken.

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Speaker 1: This verse holds another powerful message and prayer. Paul wants

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Speaker 1: believers to understand the depth and gravity of God's incredible

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Speaker 1: love for us. As I reflect back on the charismatic

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Speaker 1: nature of the people in that quaint town, I'm reminded

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Speaker 1: that as a body of believers, we all yearn for

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Speaker 1: a deep sense of belonging. This is intention on the

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Speaker 1: part of our relational God. He created us for fellowship

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Speaker 1: and to grow together as we grasp the immeasurable love

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Speaker 1: of Christ. This Christmas, we can welcome Christ into our

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Speaker 1: hearts by standing firm in our faith, just like the

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Speaker 1: tall and sturdy tree, and reflect his love with other believers.

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Speaker 1: As we invite Christ into our conversations and radiate his

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Speaker 1: love and light. Our holidays may not unfold like a

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Speaker 1: heartwarming Christmas movie, but we can take actionable steps to

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Speaker 1: make room for Christ to become the center of this

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Speaker 1: season and allow him to dwell in our hearts as

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Speaker 1: we honor and celebrate his glorious birth. Let's pray God,

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Speaker 1: as we step into another beautiful holiday season, we invite

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Speaker 1: you in. We want to place you at the center

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Speaker 1: of our celebrations and festivities. Standing firm in our faith

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Speaker 1: while exuding your love with others, grant us the opportunities

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Speaker 1: to see all the wonders this season holds with a

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Speaker 1: fresh perspective and soft hearts, willing and ready to spread

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Speaker 1: the news of your glorious birth and what that means

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Speaker 1: for us as believers in Jesus's name. Amen. Your Daily

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Speaker 1: Prayer is a production of Life Audio and Salem Media.

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Speaker 1: If you haven't already, be sure to follow the show

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Speaker 1: in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.

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Speaker 1: audio dot com. Mm hmm