1 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Untangling Prayer Podcast. I'm Rachel Wojo, and 2 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:17,180 Speaker 1: each week we unravel life's knots through prayer. Here you'll 3 00:00:17,270 --> 00:00:21,349 Speaker 1: find practical wisdom and prayer encouragement to guide you through 4 00:00:21,410 --> 00:00:26,430 Speaker 1: life's hardest seasons. Join me as we untangle life's messes together, 5 00:00:27,230 --> 00:00:37,270 Speaker 1: one prayer at a time. Welcome to the Untangling Prayer Podcast. 6 00:00:37,550 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: I'm Rachel, and I'm so glad that you are joining 7 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,940 Speaker 1: me today. Hey, have you ever been hurting so deeply 8 00:00:45,620 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: that the people around you didn't even know what to 9 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:52,850 Speaker 1: do with you? They love you, and they send the texts, 10 00:00:52,950 --> 00:00:56,530 Speaker 1: and maybe they drop off a meal, and they say, hey, 11 00:00:56,590 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: let me know if you need anything, but you go 12 00:00:59,980 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: home feeling like no one really understands what this is like. 13 00:01:04,459 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: And if that's you, this episode is for you. We're 14 00:01:07,780 --> 00:01:11,020 Speaker 1: in the For the Warring section of my book, Praying 15 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,179 Speaker 1: Through Life's Battles, and today's devotional that we're focused on 16 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: is Day 37, The Way He Comforts You. The enemy 17 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,740 Speaker 1: loves to use grief to isolate us. He likes to 18 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: convince us that we're alone in our pain and nobody 19 00:01:26,459 --> 00:01:29,740 Speaker 1: understands what we're going through. And today I wanted to 20 00:01:29,780 --> 00:01:33,090 Speaker 1: talk about how to pray when that lie feels true 21 00:01:33,110 --> 00:01:36,830 Speaker 1: and what happens when we start praising God as the 22 00:01:36,910 --> 00:01:41,300 Speaker 1: God of all comfort. Before we dive in, part three 23 00:01:41,530 --> 00:01:45,890 Speaker 1: of the Praying Through Life's Battles. Bible Reading Challenge is 24 00:01:46,050 --> 00:01:48,930 Speaker 1: coming up. It's the For the Winning section, and it 25 00:01:49,010 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: starts November 1st, which is Sunday. I would love to 26 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,260 Speaker 1: have you join in. You can get the information at rachelbojo.com. 27 00:01:57,300 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: Of course, I'll leave the link in the show notes. 28 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: And now for this week's segment of questions in hard spaces. 29 00:02:04,330 --> 00:02:06,670 Speaker 1: How can I pray when I'm hurting and the people 30 00:02:06,730 --> 00:02:11,090 Speaker 1: around me don't know how to comfort me? And I 31 00:02:11,110 --> 00:02:12,910 Speaker 1: just want to say, if the people in your life 32 00:02:13,470 --> 00:02:16,690 Speaker 1: have said the wrong thing, or nothing at all, it 33 00:02:16,730 --> 00:02:20,510 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that they don't care. Most people want to help. 34 00:02:20,950 --> 00:02:24,990 Speaker 1: They just can't reach the point where your hurt lives. 35 00:02:25,090 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: Some losses are very private, some complicated, and people have 36 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,220 Speaker 1: a hard time understanding them, and that's often where the 37 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: enemy gets a foothold. He takes the gap between what 38 00:02:35,540 --> 00:02:39,859 Speaker 1: you feel and what other people can see, and he says, hey, 39 00:02:39,900 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: you're alone in this. Paul knew that feeling. He opens 40 00:02:44,020 --> 00:02:47,740 Speaker 1: up his second letter to the Corinthians with the verse, 41 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:50,419 Speaker 1: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord 42 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of 43 00:02:54,740 --> 00:02:59,299 Speaker 1: all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. And 44 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: a few verses later, he tells the Corinthians what he'd 45 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:07,060 Speaker 1: been through. He explains, hey, we were under great distress, 46 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,100 Speaker 1: far beyond anything that we had the ability to endure. 47 00:03:10,590 --> 00:03:14,790 Speaker 1: we despaired of life itself even. And Paul calls God 48 00:03:14,810 --> 00:03:18,950 Speaker 1: the God of comfort. He's writing this from the other 49 00:03:19,010 --> 00:03:22,750 Speaker 1: side of a very brutal season. He had been there. 50 00:03:22,970 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: The word comfort that Paul uses carries this idea of 51 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: coming alongside someone. God moves in your pain, and Paul 52 00:03:32,340 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: calls him the God of all comforts. That covers every 53 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,410 Speaker 1: kind of loss, even the one that Nobody even knows 54 00:03:40,510 --> 00:03:43,290 Speaker 1: how to label it or talk about it. So how 55 00:03:43,310 --> 00:03:46,710 Speaker 1: do you pray when the people around you can't comfort 56 00:03:46,770 --> 00:03:50,830 Speaker 1: you or don't comfort you? Start with where Paul did. 57 00:03:51,410 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: Before he says anything about his troubles, he says, Praise 58 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:57,780 Speaker 1: be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 59 00:03:58,220 --> 00:04:01,420 Speaker 1: He names who God is first. And you can do 60 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,260 Speaker 1: that even in one sentence. God, you are the Father 61 00:04:05,820 --> 00:04:09,470 Speaker 1: of compassion. You are the God of all comfort. I 62 00:04:09,590 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: need you to be that for me right now. You 63 00:04:12,700 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: don't have to feel it for it to be true. 64 00:04:15,500 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: You're telling your heart where to look. And it's okay 65 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: to tell God that people have let you down. He 66 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:26,460 Speaker 1: can handle that too. Bring Him the hurt and the 67 00:04:26,540 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: loneliness that came with it. Hey, thanks for tuning in 68 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: to this question in hard spaces. We'll be right back 69 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,180 Speaker 1: after this brief word from our sponsors. Thank you for 70 00:04:38,260 --> 00:04:41,620 Speaker 1: tuning in to that word from our sponsors. And now 71 00:04:41,740 --> 00:04:45,530 Speaker 1: for this week's segment of Pray More, Worry Less Encouragement. 72 00:04:45,730 --> 00:04:50,670 Speaker 1: That is where I tackle just one prayer principle. And 73 00:04:50,730 --> 00:04:55,490 Speaker 1: this week's prayer principle is God's comfort is already at 74 00:04:55,570 --> 00:04:59,410 Speaker 1: work in the trouble you're going through today. Paul wrote 75 00:04:59,450 --> 00:05:03,050 Speaker 1: about it in the present tense. God comforts us in 76 00:05:03,210 --> 00:05:06,470 Speaker 1: all our troubles. He isn't waiting for your trouble to 77 00:05:06,529 --> 00:05:10,830 Speaker 1: be over before he shows up with his comfort. And 78 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: I learned this kind of the hard way. The phone 79 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: rang on just a regular morning while I was folding laundry, 80 00:05:17,100 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: and it was my mom. We need to talk, she said, 81 00:05:20,260 --> 00:05:24,770 Speaker 1: and her voice sounded strained. The test results came back. 82 00:05:25,550 --> 00:05:29,010 Speaker 1: I set down the towel that I was trying to fold. 83 00:05:29,529 --> 00:05:33,460 Speaker 1: My heart already knew before she said anything. They are 84 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: no longer calling this anemia. It's now leukemia. My vibrant 85 00:05:39,020 --> 00:05:41,780 Speaker 1: mother was facing a battle that she would not win. 86 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,700 Speaker 1: And after we hung up, I sat in a pile 87 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,850 Speaker 1: of unfolded laundry and cried. I was only 27 years old. 88 00:05:49,510 --> 00:05:54,289 Speaker 1: That's when the enemy really started to whisper those lies. 89 00:05:54,790 --> 00:05:58,309 Speaker 1: No one understands the pain. You are alone in this. 90 00:05:58,330 --> 00:06:01,050 Speaker 1: I mean, I have five sisters and three brothers, but 91 00:06:01,130 --> 00:06:04,470 Speaker 1: God felt very far away. when I needed Him. And 92 00:06:04,550 --> 00:06:07,339 Speaker 1: I wish I had understood how to hold on to 93 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,260 Speaker 1: what Paul is telling us to do in this passage. 94 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,900 Speaker 1: Praise in the middle of devastating news? But over the years, 95 00:06:15,180 --> 00:06:18,740 Speaker 1: I've learned that the power to keep going is in 96 00:06:18,820 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: declaring who God is, even when my circumstances are shouting 97 00:06:23,660 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: something else. Mom's journey with leukemia lasted just six short months. 98 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,380 Speaker 1: It was a rollercoaster. But somewhere in those months, I 99 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:38,670 Speaker 1: began to understand that praising God as my comforter would 100 00:06:38,710 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: be the lifeline to His presence. And so on day 101 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:45,900 Speaker 1: 37 of the book, it says, When you praise me 102 00:06:45,980 --> 00:06:49,820 Speaker 1: as your comforter, you open your heart to receive the 103 00:06:49,860 --> 00:06:53,770 Speaker 1: comfort I'm already offering. You see, that's the strategy. The 104 00:06:53,830 --> 00:06:57,990 Speaker 1: comfort is already there from God, but praise is how 105 00:06:58,029 --> 00:07:01,029 Speaker 1: we open our hearts to it. And when we declare 106 00:07:01,070 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: God as our comforter, we're not pretending that everything is 107 00:07:04,390 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: just okay and it's all fine. We're saying that in 108 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: the darkest of moments, he is still the source of 109 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: comfort that we need. So what does that look like 110 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: on a hard day? Might be saying out loud in 111 00:07:16,380 --> 00:07:19,180 Speaker 1: the car before you walk into the house, Lord, you 112 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,070 Speaker 1: are the father of compassion. It might be writing out 113 00:07:23,270 --> 00:07:26,270 Speaker 1: God of all comfort on a sticky note and putting 114 00:07:26,310 --> 00:07:30,230 Speaker 1: it on your bathroom mirror. Start small. Start with who 115 00:07:30,290 --> 00:07:34,510 Speaker 1: He is. Let me pray the prayer from day 37 116 00:07:34,510 --> 00:07:38,900 Speaker 1: over you today, Heavenly Father. I praise You as the 117 00:07:38,940 --> 00:07:42,460 Speaker 1: God of all comfort. Even in this pain, You remain 118 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: my source of strength and peace. Thank You that You 119 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,850 Speaker 1: don't stand far off, but You come close to the brokenhearted. 120 00:07:51,380 --> 00:07:55,940 Speaker 1: You are near when grief overwhelms and shock numbs my heart. 121 00:07:56,020 --> 00:08:00,780 Speaker 1: Help me praise you as my comforter. Let my declarations 122 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: of your compassion open my heart to receive the comfort 123 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,420 Speaker 1: you're already offering. I trust you to meet me in 124 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: this pain and carry me through it. In Jesus' name, amen. 125 00:08:14,020 --> 00:08:16,180 Speaker 1: There's a battle cry at the end of the devotion. 126 00:08:16,620 --> 00:08:19,460 Speaker 1: I praise God as my comforter and his presence break 127 00:08:19,490 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: through every wall. That grief tries to build around my heart. 128 00:08:24,060 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: For this week's answer prayer story, I wanted to tell 129 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: you about my friend Molly Huffman. Molly is open about 130 00:08:31,620 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: her story. She shares it, and it mirrors a lot 131 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:39,290 Speaker 1: of mine. She lost her first marriage, a baby to miscarriage, 132 00:08:39,630 --> 00:08:43,010 Speaker 1: and her mother. And any one of those losses would 133 00:08:43,050 --> 00:08:46,110 Speaker 1: be enough to just put you on your knees, but 134 00:08:46,710 --> 00:08:49,090 Speaker 1: some of them are the kind of losses that people 135 00:08:49,150 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: don't really know how to talk about. A marriage ending 136 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: can leave even your close friends unsure what to say 137 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: or what to do. And a miscarriage is a loss 138 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:03,860 Speaker 1: that some people may not have even known about. Really 139 00:09:04,540 --> 00:09:09,350 Speaker 1: challenging losses. There's a part of Molly's story that just 140 00:09:09,770 --> 00:09:13,290 Speaker 1: breaks my heart. But through all of it, Molly turned 141 00:09:13,309 --> 00:09:16,390 Speaker 1: to God as her comforter. And she kept going back 142 00:09:16,429 --> 00:09:19,290 Speaker 1: to him loss after loss. And he met her there. 143 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,309 Speaker 1: That's why I count her story as answer prayer. She 144 00:09:23,490 --> 00:09:26,809 Speaker 1: asked God to be her comfort and he has been. 145 00:09:27,490 --> 00:09:31,250 Speaker 1: When I hear Molly's story, I hear my own because 146 00:09:31,330 --> 00:09:34,290 Speaker 1: I lost my mom too. And I know that whisper 147 00:09:34,330 --> 00:09:37,510 Speaker 1: that says nobody understands even when you have siblings and 148 00:09:37,990 --> 00:09:42,140 Speaker 1: your other family. But Molly and I both found places 149 00:09:43,260 --> 00:09:46,060 Speaker 1: with God. And if you're sitting in your own pile 150 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: of laundry today in the car or in a quiet 151 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,420 Speaker 1: house that used to be full, I hope that Molly's 152 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,069 Speaker 1: story reminds you that you're not carrying this alone. Neither 153 00:09:56,130 --> 00:09:59,570 Speaker 1: was I. And if this episode puts words to something 154 00:09:59,610 --> 00:10:03,340 Speaker 1: that you're carrying, day 37 is waiting for you and 155 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,300 Speaker 1: praying through life's battles. Comfort from the God of all comfort. 156 00:10:09,580 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: And those prayers for the battles that you're facing are 157 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,220 Speaker 1: in the book. When you don't have words, this gives 158 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,380 Speaker 1: you a place to start. You can order your copy 159 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:22,870 Speaker 1: at battleprayers.com. or wherever you buy books. Hey, thanks for 160 00:10:22,910 --> 00:10:26,860 Speaker 1: joining me on Untangling Prayer. I'm Rachel Wojo, and until 161 00:10:26,900 --> 00:10:30,540 Speaker 1: next time, remember, God sees you, He hears you, and 162 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,620 Speaker 1: He knows your needs. Thanks for joining me on the 163 00:10:35,780 --> 00:10:40,829 Speaker 1: Untangling Prayer podcast. If this episode resonated with you, share 164 00:10:40,850 --> 00:10:43,570 Speaker 1: it with someone who could use a little hope, and 165 00:10:43,650 --> 00:10:48,250 Speaker 1: be sure to subscribe for more. Until next time, keep seeking, 166 00:10:48,590 --> 00:10:51,460 Speaker 1: keep trusting, And keep praying.