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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 see and

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Speaker 1: show what's on the inside. A Prayer to See and

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Speaker 1: Show What's on the inside, written and read by Lea Gerard.

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Speaker 1: The Lord does not look at the things people look at.

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Speaker 1: People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks

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Speaker 1: at the heart first Samuel, sixteen seven. Recently I listened

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Speaker 1: to a lovely podcast by a poet I follow. It

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Speaker 1: was a very thoughtful essay, full of raw awareness. It

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Speaker 1: felt brave to me because I wondered if anyone else

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Speaker 1: listening might wonder why she cared what a bird was

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Speaker 1: thinking on the inside. I, however, hung on every word.

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Speaker 1: This poet described a bird that landed daily on the

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Speaker 1: wire outside her window, but fled when other birds arrived.

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Speaker 1: Studying this bird's behavior allowed her to wonder about its skittishness.

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Speaker 1: It seemed that he felt intimidated, like he didn't belong.

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Speaker 1: Yet little did this bird know someone was caring deeply

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Speaker 1: for him. As humans were given the gift of vocal interaction,

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Speaker 1: compassionate touch, and eyes to see what's happening all around us,

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Speaker 1: I also believe we're given the ability to see what's

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Speaker 1: happening on the inside, even if we ignore it. We

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Speaker 1: often take great measures to hide these things because we

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Speaker 1: live in a world that worships success, confidence, and outward appearances.

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Speaker 1: And although First Samuel sixteen seven says the Lord looks

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Speaker 1: at the heart, I believe we can too. Everyone wears

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Speaker 1: a surface persona but lives with their inner person And

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Speaker 1: no matter how together that people around you may look,

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Speaker 1: we all know there's more than enough turmoil for all

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Speaker 1: of us. There must be a good reason. James five

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Speaker 1: sixteen encourages us to confess our sins to each other

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Speaker 1: and pray for each other so that we can be healed.

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Speaker 1: Each of us is carrying something that would be lighter

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Speaker 1: if shared with a caring soul. It doesn't even have

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Speaker 1: to be your spouse, your family, or your best friend.

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Speaker 1: It can even be that out of the blue stranger

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Speaker 1: who's patient enough to allow what's trapped inside to surface,

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Speaker 1: or you may be that stranger for someone else. The

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Speaker 1: daily news reminds us we live in a harsh world,

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Speaker 1: so I know it's natural to draw quick conclusions about

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Speaker 1: people based on outward demeanor, But why not first ask

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Speaker 1: yourself if you're hiding anything that hurts, and then look

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Speaker 1: at others again with new awareness. We're all struggling to

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Speaker 1: be vulnerable for fear of being rejected, unfollowed, criticized, or abandoned.

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Speaker 1: But God promises us we are never ever alone. He

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Speaker 1: also tells us in two Corinthians four eighteen that everything

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Speaker 1: that is seen is temporary. It's the unseen things that

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Speaker 1: are eternal. Things like the grief we share, the love

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Speaker 1: we feel, the presence and care we offer without expectation, honesty, tears,

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Speaker 1: passionate devotion. These can all feel frightening. So we can

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Speaker 1: take these feelings to God, who sees our insides. But

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Speaker 1: He's also placed others in this world to hold these

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Speaker 1: feelings with you. Maybe, if you're willing to reveal the

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Speaker 1: less than perfect or messy inside story, your courage can

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Speaker 1: create space for someone else to do the same. We're

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Speaker 1: all broken vessels, but our souls and hearts are treasures

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Speaker 1: that endure. I want to bear this in mind the

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Speaker 1: next time I'm in line at the grocery store, or

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Speaker 1: I'm waiting at the doctor's office, or just moving through

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Speaker 1: the sea of life filled with people who need each other.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk less about outer appearances and listen

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Speaker 1: more to inner truths. I'm not encouraging tapping everyone on

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Speaker 1: the shoulder and asking them to bear their souls, just

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Speaker 1: to maybe consider that the person you're interacting with may

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Speaker 1: also have a measure of hidden pain similar to yours,

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Speaker 1: and you may be in their life to help them through,

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Speaker 1: even if just in the moment. If we don't hide

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Speaker 1: our struggles and don't hurt anyone, betray anyone's confidence or

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Speaker 1: gossip by sharing them, then maybe others can feel safe

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Speaker 1: with us, and maybe we can help each other orient

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Speaker 1: our hearts to God, for when we are weak, then

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Speaker 1: He is strong. Let's pray, Lord, help me to see

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Speaker 1: others with your eyes, to understand that every heart holds

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Speaker 1: a story and needs understanding. I can hardly bring my

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Speaker 1: own troubles to you, so I'm asking you to show

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Speaker 1: me how to share what's inside me with others in

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Speaker 1: a way that helps them feel seen too. Because when

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Speaker 1: we admit our pain and weakness, we allow your or

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Speaker 1: grace to heal. Even you showed us in Gssemine that

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Speaker 1: being vulnerable with your friends was strong, not weak. Help

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Speaker 1: me to see beyond outer appearances everywhere I go today

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Speaker 1: and be ready to truly care about the insides of

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Speaker 1: everyone I see. Thank you and Amen. Your Daily prayer

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

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Speaker 1: you liked what you heard today, be sure to follow

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Speaker 1: our sister show your nightly prayer. You can find your

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Speaker 1: nightly prayer at lifeaudio dot com or in your favorite

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Speaker 1: podcast app. By following your daily prayer and your nightly prayer,

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Speaker 1: you can be sure that your day begins and ends

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Speaker 1: centered on the Word of God and prayer