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 00:00:17,230 --> 00:00:21,350 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 --> 00:00:34,650 Speaker 1: one prayer at a time. Well, hey there. Welcome to 6 00:00:34,710 --> 00:00:38,790 Speaker 1: the Untangling Prayer Podcast. I'm Rachel, and I'm so glad 7 00:00:38,850 --> 00:00:43,330 Speaker 1: that you are here. Hey, I have wondered, have you 8 00:00:43,370 --> 00:00:46,580 Speaker 1: ever looked at your life and you've thought, I must 9 00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: have messed up, messed up, missed it, whatever I was 10 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: supposed to have, that window closed a long time ago, 11 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,740 Speaker 1: and maybe it closed because of something you did or 12 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,940 Speaker 1: a decision you wish you could take back or change 13 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:04,170 Speaker 1: or Maybe it closed because of something that was done 14 00:01:04,290 --> 00:01:08,550 Speaker 1: to you or something that just happened and it was 15 00:01:08,660 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: nobody's fault and nobody asked your opinion. But you ended 16 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: up in a spot looking at life in a place 17 00:01:16,459 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: where it doesn't match the one that you had pictured. 18 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,420 Speaker 1: And you start to wonder, did God's best go to 19 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:25,790 Speaker 1: someone else? And so that's where we're headed today. We're 20 00:01:25,930 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: in Ephesians 1, verse 7, which is day 79 of 21 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: Praying Through Life's Battles. And the title of the day 22 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: is Your God Will Redeem. And before we get into it, 23 00:01:37,780 --> 00:01:39,459 Speaker 1: I wanted to give you a quick word about the 24 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: Bible Reading Challenge. You know, this month we're in part 25 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: three for the winning. And if you've been reading a 26 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:50,650 Speaker 1: long time, Keep going. If you haven't started yet, you 27 00:01:50,710 --> 00:01:54,630 Speaker 1: can jump in anytime. It's one passage a day. It's 28 00:01:54,670 --> 00:01:58,690 Speaker 1: a free Bible reading challenge. The whole plan is at rachelwojo.com, 29 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:02,090 Speaker 1: and I'll put the link in the show notes. Okay, 30 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: so our question in hard space this week is this one. 31 00:02:06,780 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: Have I missed my chance at the life that I wanted? 32 00:02:11,180 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: And I think two different kinds of people ask that. 33 00:02:13,740 --> 00:02:17,350 Speaker 1: The first person asks it because of her own choices. 34 00:02:17,430 --> 00:02:21,510 Speaker 1: She did what she did. She replayed that option more 35 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: times than she could count, the what-ifs. And then the 36 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,100 Speaker 1: second person is someone who didn't choose it. The diagnosis came. 37 00:02:29,620 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: The marriage split. Someone you love died. The pieces just 38 00:02:33,580 --> 00:02:36,620 Speaker 1: never got put back together. But the thing is, the 39 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: enemy says the same thing to both of these. He says, 40 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,750 Speaker 1: your past has disqualified you from God's best. So what 41 00:02:44,790 --> 00:02:48,510 Speaker 1: does Ephesians 1, 7 say? It says, we have redemption 42 00:02:48,570 --> 00:02:51,529 Speaker 1: through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with 43 00:02:51,550 --> 00:02:56,169 Speaker 1: the riches of God's grace. And then the sentence keeps 44 00:02:56,250 --> 00:03:00,809 Speaker 1: going kind of into verse 8, that he lavished on us. 45 00:03:01,410 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: That word redemption means so much to me. It means 46 00:03:04,220 --> 00:03:08,739 Speaker 1: buying back something valuable that has been lost. Someone paid 47 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,669 Speaker 1: a price to get it packed. And what Paul does 48 00:03:11,770 --> 00:03:13,810 Speaker 1: is he explains to us that it was the blood 49 00:03:13,850 --> 00:03:17,540 Speaker 1: of Jesus. The cost of that sacrifice shows us how 50 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,500 Speaker 1: deep God's grace goes. And if you want to know 51 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: how much grace there is for what you did, then 52 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: look at what was paid. But if you're the first 53 00:03:27,900 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: person today, the one asking because of your own mistakes, 54 00:03:32,430 --> 00:03:36,750 Speaker 1: then those mistakes were real. And Paul doesn't say those 55 00:03:36,810 --> 00:03:40,910 Speaker 1: didn't exist. He calls them sins. but he also says 56 00:03:41,190 --> 00:03:44,350 Speaker 1: they are forgiven. And he says the grace that forgave 57 00:03:44,430 --> 00:03:49,309 Speaker 1: them was lavished on us, meaning God poured it out 58 00:03:49,450 --> 00:03:53,900 Speaker 1: more than enough to cover what you did. If you're 59 00:03:53,940 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: the second person thinking, Rachel, that verse is about sin 60 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,890 Speaker 1: and what happened to me wasn't my fault, it wasn't 61 00:04:01,930 --> 00:04:04,670 Speaker 1: my sin, then I want you to Keep reading with 62 00:04:04,730 --> 00:04:08,890 Speaker 1: me because Paul doesn't stop there. In verses 9 and 10, 63 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:13,010 Speaker 1: he says, God made known his plan. And the plan 64 00:04:13,130 --> 00:04:15,770 Speaker 1: is to bring unity to all things in heaven and 65 00:04:16,050 --> 00:04:20,130 Speaker 1: on earth under Christ. All things, no matter what they are. 66 00:04:20,710 --> 00:04:24,490 Speaker 1: You know, sin fractured God's whole creation. And through Christ, 67 00:04:25,089 --> 00:04:29,270 Speaker 1: God is gathering those fragments and bringing it all back 68 00:04:29,330 --> 00:04:32,979 Speaker 1: together under his reign. So the redemption Paul is talking 69 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: about is bigger than my personal issues. It includes what 70 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: was broken in my life that I didn't break and 71 00:04:41,420 --> 00:04:46,410 Speaker 1: what was broken that someone else broke. We're going to 72 00:04:46,670 --> 00:04:48,970 Speaker 1: take a quick break, but when we come back, I 73 00:04:49,010 --> 00:04:51,870 Speaker 1: want to talk about what this does to the way 74 00:04:52,130 --> 00:04:56,150 Speaker 1: that we pray. Hey, thanks for tuning in. I am 75 00:04:56,450 --> 00:04:59,210 Speaker 1: on this idea now in the pray more, worry less 76 00:04:59,250 --> 00:05:03,190 Speaker 1: section of getting practical, our prayer principle of the week. 77 00:05:03,670 --> 00:05:07,859 Speaker 1: A lot of the prayers we pray are like restorative prayers. God, 78 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,450 Speaker 1: give me that year again. Give me the life I 79 00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:14,419 Speaker 1: had before the phone call. And I understand those kinds 80 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: of prayer. God can handle hearing those prayers. But in 81 00:05:18,860 --> 00:05:22,290 Speaker 1: day 79, I wrote about the fact that God doesn't 82 00:05:22,350 --> 00:05:27,370 Speaker 1: just restore us to our former condition. He takes our failures. 83 00:05:27,490 --> 00:05:32,170 Speaker 1: He takes those unexpected detours, those plans, and He creates 84 00:05:32,290 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: something completely new. And we can stop praying and asking 85 00:05:37,510 --> 00:05:40,419 Speaker 1: God to put our life back the way it was, 86 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,620 Speaker 1: and we can start asking Him, what are you making 87 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:46,780 Speaker 1: from these pieces? So maybe try it with just one 88 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: piece this week. Name whatever it is out loud to Him, Lord, 89 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: this is the thing that I think I ruined, or 90 00:05:53,260 --> 00:05:56,580 Speaker 1: this is the thing that someone else ruined, and tell 91 00:05:56,660 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: Him what you believe it disqualified you from. He already knows, 92 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: but when we pray to Him, we're making our communication known. 93 00:06:06,540 --> 00:06:09,330 Speaker 1: And you may not hear an answer this week. I know. 94 00:06:09,810 --> 00:06:14,130 Speaker 1: I believe that asking that question doesn't mean that the 95 00:06:14,190 --> 00:06:18,270 Speaker 1: broken thing was a good thing, right? But God doesn't 96 00:06:18,370 --> 00:06:22,390 Speaker 1: waste the brokenness. And I wanted to share with you 97 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: an answer prayer that I didn't really recognize as an 98 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: answer for a long time. Early in my professional career, 99 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: I trained as a paralegal and I worked at a 100 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: law firm preparing disability cases of all kinds. Most of 101 00:06:36,300 --> 00:06:39,980 Speaker 1: my days were spent preparing reading medical records. And if 102 00:06:40,020 --> 00:06:43,219 Speaker 1: you had asked me back then what that training was for, 103 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,190 Speaker 1: I would have said it's for a paycheck, pretty much. 104 00:06:47,890 --> 00:06:51,729 Speaker 1: But then Taylor's diagnosis came, my special needs daughter. And 105 00:06:51,770 --> 00:06:53,770 Speaker 1: if you've ever cared for a child with special needs, 106 00:06:53,850 --> 00:06:57,170 Speaker 1: then you know what comes with it. There are medical 107 00:06:57,210 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: forms and insurance claims and benefits needs and legal terms. 108 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,180 Speaker 1: And I remember praying, God, I don't know how to 109 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: care for a special needs child. Like, why did you 110 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,690 Speaker 1: give Taylor to me? But when those insurance denials came in, 111 00:07:13,110 --> 00:07:17,270 Speaker 1: and specifically, I remember that Taylor needed medical equipment and 112 00:07:17,310 --> 00:07:20,090 Speaker 1: the insurance said no, and I had to file the appeals. 113 00:07:20,710 --> 00:07:22,830 Speaker 1: And I realized when I sat down to fill out 114 00:07:22,870 --> 00:07:25,740 Speaker 1: the forms, I know how to read records. I know 115 00:07:25,750 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: how to build a case. I've done this for other 116 00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:30,820 Speaker 1: families and I did it for years. I just never 117 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: imagined I'd be doing it for my own daughter. God 118 00:07:34,180 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: had already equipped me. Years before Taylor's diagnosis, before I 119 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,300 Speaker 1: ever even prayed that prayer, God had me at a 120 00:07:43,340 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: desk learning how to read the kind of paper that 121 00:07:46,850 --> 00:07:50,090 Speaker 1: I'd be handed in the years to come. And so 122 00:07:50,450 --> 00:07:52,610 Speaker 1: back then it was a job for me, but I 123 00:07:52,650 --> 00:07:55,550 Speaker 1: had no idea God was using it to prepare me. 124 00:07:56,150 --> 00:08:00,630 Speaker 1: Isaiah 65, 24 says, Before they call, I will answer. 125 00:08:00,710 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: While they are yet speaking, I will hear. And that 126 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,300 Speaker 1: verse is in our Bible reading challenge this week. I 127 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,860 Speaker 1: lived it. That answer was sitting in my past the 128 00:08:11,900 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: whole time, a season that I would have told you 129 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,740 Speaker 1: had nothing to do with anything in my future. But 130 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:20,670 Speaker 1: let me tell you, when the enemy tells you your 131 00:08:20,730 --> 00:08:24,870 Speaker 1: past is the reason that you are unqualified, I want 132 00:08:24,910 --> 00:08:28,030 Speaker 1: you to look at what he's saying, because there's something 133 00:08:28,110 --> 00:08:30,950 Speaker 1: there that will tell you that God got you ready. 134 00:08:31,770 --> 00:08:34,770 Speaker 1: And there's another part of this story in the book 135 00:08:35,010 --> 00:08:37,890 Speaker 1: on day 79. I tell you about the night that 136 00:08:37,950 --> 00:08:40,410 Speaker 1: I sat with my finger hovering over a button on 137 00:08:40,450 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: a Christian dating website. I was a single mom with 138 00:08:44,650 --> 00:08:48,550 Speaker 1: a special needs child and pretty sure nobody would want 139 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,479 Speaker 1: my complicated life. And I won't tell you the rest 140 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:55,100 Speaker 1: on the podcast this week. You can read it on 141 00:08:55,140 --> 00:08:58,780 Speaker 1: page 174 of Praying Through Life's Battles. Hey, if there's 142 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,980 Speaker 1: been something loud in your head lately, that has just 143 00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:06,620 Speaker 1: been telling you, you are unworthy. Every day in praying 144 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,020 Speaker 1: through life's battles, there's a name for what the enemy 145 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:13,220 Speaker 1: is saying, and it's answered with the truth of God's word. 146 00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:16,260 Speaker 1: It then gives you a prayer to pray back. You'll 147 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: find the information at battleprayers.com. You can get a free 148 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,260 Speaker 1: guide there as well. Thank you for spending time with 149 00:09:23,300 --> 00:09:27,370 Speaker 1: me today. And until next time, remember, God sees you, 150 00:09:27,660 --> 00:09:33,260 Speaker 1: He hears you, and He knows your need. Keep seeking, 151 00:09:33,330 --> 00:09:34,569 Speaker 1: keep trusting, and keep praying.