WEBVTT - A Prayer for Encouragement When You Are Misunderstood

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<v Speaker 1>Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,

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<v Speaker 1>where we help you find the words you need to

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<v Speaker 1>connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening

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<v Speaker 1>in your life today, you can trust that God wants

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<v Speaker 1>to hear from you. Right after this short word from

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<v Speaker 1>our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer for encouragement when

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<v Speaker 1>You're Misunderstood. A Prayer for Encouragement when you are Misunderstood,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Sophia Bricker, read by Leah Gerard. He was

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<v Speaker 1>despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

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<v Speaker 1>We turned our backs on him and looked away. He

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<v Speaker 1>was despised and we did not care. Yet it was

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<v Speaker 1>our weakness he carried. It was our sorrows that weighed

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<v Speaker 1>him down, and we thought his troubles were a punishment

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<v Speaker 1>from God, a punishment for his own sins Isaiah fifty

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<v Speaker 1>three three through four. Quietness is often mistaken for indifference,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes even anger or insubordination. That was what a fourth

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<v Speaker 1>grade substitute teacher assumed when she taught me. As always,

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<v Speaker 1>I sat quietly at my desk, hands folded, and my

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<v Speaker 1>attention focused on the teacher Unlike others in the class,

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<v Speaker 1>I did not yell out, answers or talk during the lesson.

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<v Speaker 1>My mother had taught me to remain quiet at school,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was naturally shy. Even my closest friends knew

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<v Speaker 1>I was not prone to talkativeness. But then the substitute

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<v Speaker 1>teacher paused after a lesson question, anyone have a guest?

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<v Speaker 1>She pointed at me, how about you? Are you too

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<v Speaker 1>good to answer? A little snob Perhaps she was having

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<v Speaker 1>a difficult day or had a bad encounter with a

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<v Speaker 1>class in the past. However, the remark cut deep, and

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<v Speaker 1>not just because of the insult. To be misunderstood having

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<v Speaker 1>quiet attentiveness taken for pride full of judgment was painful.

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<v Speaker 1>Tears stung my eyes, but didn't spill until I told

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<v Speaker 1>my mother about the incident on the way home from school.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of us have experienced times when others misunderstood our

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<v Speaker 1>words and actions or intentions. A student's silence mistaken for snobbery,

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<v Speaker 1>a mother's wise rule for a child is taken as

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<v Speaker 1>an uncaring mandate, or a conversation between friends is misconstrued

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<v Speaker 1>because of hearsay. Regardless of our situation, we can find

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<v Speaker 1>comfort knowing that we're not alone. Our savior knows what

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<v Speaker 1>it's like to be wrongly judged, for he is the

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<v Speaker 1>perfect son of God. Yet Isaiah fifty three three through

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<v Speaker 1>nine shows us that the religious and governmental leaders had

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<v Speaker 1>him crucified as a criminal. They hurled insults at him,

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<v Speaker 1>as if he were a wicked sinner. How wrong they were.

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<v Speaker 1>But still Jesus endured the pain of being misunderstood and

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<v Speaker 1>being called a sinner, though he, the sinless lamb of God,

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<v Speaker 1>hung on the cross to die for the sins of us, all,

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<v Speaker 1>as two Corinthians five twenty one says, for ours. He

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<v Speaker 1>made him to be sin who knew no sin, so

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<v Speaker 1>that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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<v Speaker 1>Though our experience does not match the lords, we can

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<v Speaker 1>be comforted knowing that he empathizes with our pain, and

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<v Speaker 1>like him, we can entrust our case to the Father,

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<v Speaker 1>who knows the situation perfectly, as others are incapable of doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Just see one Peter two twenty three. We can take

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<v Speaker 1>the tears of being misunderstood and give them to the Lord.

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<v Speaker 1>He sees the truth clearly. May we also learn from

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<v Speaker 1>the hurt of others falsely judging us, so that we

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<v Speaker 1>become more apt to listen and less likely to jump

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<v Speaker 1>to conclusions. Or, in the words attributed to Saint Francis

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<v Speaker 1>of ASSISI grant that we may not so much seek

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<v Speaker 1>to be consoled as to console, to be understood as

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<v Speaker 1>to understand, to be loved as to love. Let's pray,

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<v Speaker 1>precious Savior came to that which was your own, yet

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<v Speaker 1>was rejected and despised. Teach me to respond to mistaken

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<v Speaker 1>judgments with grace and humility as you did, for you

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<v Speaker 1>know the stab of pain that comes when others misunderstand

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<v Speaker 1>and slander the good that was done you, the spotless

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<v Speaker 1>Lamb of God, were falsely accused and sentenced to death

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<v Speaker 1>as a criminal. As I take comfort in your empathy

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<v Speaker 1>knowing that you understand the hurt I feel when I'm misunderstood,

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<v Speaker 1>Help me learn from this experience to remember the sorrow

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<v Speaker 1>of incorrect judgment, so that I may grow in my

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<v Speaker 1>ability to understand and listen to others, to be more

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<v Speaker 1>willing to understand rather than be understood. I don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to hastily come to conclusions about others, just as I

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<v Speaker 1>don't want them to impulsively judge me instead, let your

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<v Speaker 1>grace guide me so that I spend more time listening

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<v Speaker 1>and observing, rather than quickly voicing my opinions. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>others do not come to recognize the truth. I trust

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<v Speaker 1>my pain to you, since you know all things. You

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<v Speaker 1>are the righteous judge who was willing to take my sin,

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<v Speaker 1>dying the death I deserve, so I may have everlasting life.

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<v Speaker 1>In your name, Christ, I pray Amen. Your Daily Prayer

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. If

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