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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Daily Prayer,

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Speaker 1: a podcast dedicated to helping you find the words you

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Speaker 1: need to connect with your Father in Heaven. No matter

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Speaker 1: what is going on in your life today, you can

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Speaker 1: trust that God wants to hear from you. Right after

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Speaker 1: the short word from our sponsor, you will pray through

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Speaker 1: today's prayer to be faithful and obedient with your finances.

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Speaker 1: Together a prayer to be faithful and obedient with your

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Speaker 1: Finances written by Alicia Searle, read by Carrie Iberger. And

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Speaker 1: My God will meet all your needs according to the

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Speaker 1: riches of His glory in Christ Jesus Philippians four, verse nineteen.

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Speaker 1: I must admit that with a girl in college and

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Speaker 1: the cost of everyday living continuing to climb, we have

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Speaker 1: had our fears share of not so fun conversations about

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Speaker 1: our finances. Sadly, it feels like no matter how hard

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Speaker 1: we both work and try to give back and save,

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Speaker 1: we are barely speaking by. After a few unexpected and

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Speaker 1: rather substantial expenses, we decided it was time to have

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Speaker 1: another sit down discussion to go over the budget. Yet

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Speaker 1: this time was different. I could tell by my husband's

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Speaker 1: demeanor and tone that the stress had taken a toll,

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Speaker 1: and he meant business. After taking a deeper dive into

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Speaker 1: the current trends and our everyday expenses, I understood his

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Speaker 1: seriousness and felt the heat wave of an anxiety wash

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Speaker 1: over me. My initial thought, which was honestly based on fear,

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Speaker 1: was how are we going to be able to recover

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Speaker 1: from this? We had become slaves to lenders and were

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Speaker 1: balancing several hefty payments. There was no feasible way we

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Speaker 1: could continue much longer. It made me cringd just the

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Speaker 1: numbers glared back at me on the budget charts and

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Speaker 1: expense grafts my husband meticulously laid out before me, and

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Speaker 1: quite frankly, it didn't make sense. We didn't spend a

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Speaker 1: bunch of money on elaborate vacations, entertainment or hobbies. We

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Speaker 1: gave wholeheartedly to the church and a few nonprofit organizations.

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Speaker 1: We saved to compensate for the unexpected. We tried not

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Speaker 1: to buy unnecessary items, and yet here we were swimming

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Speaker 1: in debt. Frustration kicked in as the outcome looked bleak. Thankfully,

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Speaker 1: the Bible doesn't gloss over this issue. In fact, it

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Speaker 1: mentions how we are to honor God with our money

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Speaker 1: multiple times throughout the word. Yes, that includes times when

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Speaker 1: uncertainty prevails and inflation erodes the funds before we can

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Speaker 1: even access them. Oh, friend, I know how disheartening and

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Speaker 1: alarming it can be. Ne're doing your best and trying

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Speaker 1: to be financially responsible, only to continually stumble into tough

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Speaker 1: times and barely make ends meet. But there is hope

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Speaker 1: in Philippians Paul's giving the church a message on how

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Speaker 1: to discover the richness of God's provision. It comes with

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Speaker 1: continuous generosity and gratefulness. Basically, we are never promised prosperity

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Speaker 1: or wealth, but we can rest assured that God will

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Speaker 1: take care of our needs when we do as He

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Speaker 1: commands us with his provisions. God commands us to trust Him,

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Speaker 1: be faithful with what we have, use money as a tool,

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Speaker 1: not a master, generously with joy and compassion, and to

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Speaker 1: have a gracious heart and give thanks for what we

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Speaker 1: do have as everything belongs to God. As believers, we

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Speaker 1: are called to use our money wisely, give with joy,

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Speaker 1: and let it bring glory and honor to God. When

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Speaker 1: we wade through seasons where money is tight and it

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Speaker 1: becomes difficult to provide. We must seek God with a

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Speaker 1: soft heart and ask for his wisdom and discernment as

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Speaker 1: we faithfully continue to trust Him and his provision. Let's pray,

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Speaker 1: faithful Father, we are so grateful for your provision and

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Speaker 1: loving care for us. We know that you call us

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Speaker 1: to trust you and be faithful as you graciously supply

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Speaker 1: all our needs. So we come before you with humble

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Speaker 1: hearts and seek your wisdom and discernment as we try

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Speaker 1: to manage our expenses in a way that honors you.

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Speaker 1: Please show us areas where we can improve and utilize

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Speaker 1: our resources and expenditures in a way that alleviates financial

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Speaker 1: stress and obstacles. Greet us ways to foster healthy habits

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Speaker 1: with our income, and hold gracious hearts as we give

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Speaker 1: seed and spend wisely. We ask all of this in

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Speaker 1: your precious name, Amen. Your Daily Prayer is a production

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Speaker 1: of Life Audio and Sale Media. If you haven't already,

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Speaker 1: be sure to follow the show in your favorite podcast

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Speaker 1: app so you never miss an episode. For more faithful

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Speaker 1: inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio dot com.