Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,
Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to
Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening
Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants
Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after this short word from
Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer for growth in
Speaker 1: your relationship with God. A prayer for Growth in your
Speaker 1: Relationship with God, written by Christine F. Perry read by
Speaker 1: Lea Gerard. I pray that out of His glorious which
Speaker 1: is He may strengthen you with power through His spirit
Speaker 1: and your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in
Speaker 1: your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being
Speaker 1: rooted and established in love, may have power, together with
Speaker 1: all the Lord's Holy people, to grasp how wide and long,
Speaker 1: and high and deep is the love of Christ, and
Speaker 1: to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may
Speaker 1: be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Speaker 1: Ephesians III. Sixteen through nineteen. I was recently given Behold
Speaker 1: Your God, Rethinking God biblically by John Snyder in week two.
Speaker 1: It shared the two reasons we don't grow in our
Speaker 1: understanding of God. The first reason is pride. The second
Speaker 1: reason is deceit. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I
Speaker 1: immediately thought, no, I don't think that's true of me.
Speaker 1: As soon as I thought that, I realized my pride
Speaker 1: and deception and rose to the surface. I wish my
Speaker 1: heart weren't so ugly. I wish my mind weren't riddled
Speaker 1: with pride. I wish my will wasn't so set on
Speaker 1: everything that opposes God. I want to cower away, but
Speaker 1: I have to remind myself that God does not condemn me.
Speaker 1: He provided away despite my sin. The Lord brought to
Speaker 1: mine something that happened. I was a teenager, and I
Speaker 1: had to admit to my dad that I'd been deceptive
Speaker 1: and that I'd been encouraging a pursuit from a man
Speaker 1: who was several years older than me. I was ashamed
Speaker 1: to admit it, but this young man's character or lack thereof,
Speaker 1: was being revealed. I thought my dad would be upset
Speaker 1: or disappointed. Instead, he listened attentively and patiently. He asked
Speaker 1: me questions to get the whole story, and that was
Speaker 1: all he just wanted to hear from me. I was informed,
Speaker 1: but I would not be seeing or hearing from this
Speaker 1: young man again. At that point, however, I had already
Speaker 1: distanced myself. I pray I never forget how tender and
Speaker 1: protective my dad was of me. He didn't just leave
Speaker 1: it at that either. My dad met with that young
Speaker 1: man face to face to hear his side of the story.
Speaker 1: He then told him he needed to stay away from me.
Speaker 1: When we go through trials, mistakes, and extended periods of waiting,
Speaker 1: we often get to know God better. It's similar to
Speaker 1: when you have a conflict with someone. If you work
Speaker 1: it out peaceably, you can actually learn more about that
Speaker 1: person by working through the problem. C. S. Lewis said,
Speaker 1: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in her conscience,
Speaker 1: but shouts in our pains. No matter how far away
Speaker 1: you may feel from God, you can draw near. Jeremiah
Speaker 1: thirty one three assures you he loves you with an
Speaker 1: everlast love. And if you've known the Lord for a
Speaker 1: long time, there's always more to know and more to learn.
Speaker 1: We will fail, we will fall short, we will make mistakes.
Speaker 1: But God is with us every step of the way,
Speaker 1: and he's not going anywhere. Let's pray that we will
Speaker 1: grow in our relationship and in our understanding of him.
Speaker 1: Dear heavenly Father, please forgive us for our pride and
Speaker 1: our deceit. I pray that you would help us to
Speaker 1: have humble hearts so that we can get to know
Speaker 1: you better. I pray that as we draw near to you,
Speaker 1: you would show us where we've been wrong, so we
Speaker 1: can keep short accounts with you. Lord, you say and
Speaker 1: James four six that you oppose the proud, but give
Speaker 1: grace to the humble Father. We need your help. We
Speaker 1: want to know you better, but we often let too
Speaker 1: many things come before you. Please help us to week
Speaker 1: you first so we can grow closer to you. Please
Speaker 1: help us make much of you, not ourselves. We need you,
Speaker 1: We love you. Help us to grow in our walks
Speaker 1: with you. Amen. Your Daily Prayer is a production of
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Speaker 1: heard today, be sure to follow our sister show your
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Speaker 1: your daily prayer and your nightly prayer, you can be
Speaker 1: sure that your day begins and ends centered on the
Speaker 1: Word of God and prayer.