1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hi, this is Jamie and I'm so glad 2 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: you decided to join us for our Wednesday Prayer through 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: the Psalms. If you're tired of being spiritually weary, you've 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,799 Speaker 1: come to the right place. Join us each Wednesday for 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: a time of prayer, reflection on scripture and meditation. Leave 6 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: the baggage of your day behind, and come away refreshed, renewed, 7 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: and reconnected to God as we explore the Psalms. Hey, Aron, 8 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: welcome to another Prayer through the Psalms episode of the 9 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: Praying Christian Women podcast. I'm Jamie Hampton and I'm excited 10 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: to talk about and pray through Psalm forty five with 11 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: you today. Before we do that, I just want to 12 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: acknowledge something. This episode is coming out a little bit 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: later than usual. Typically it's like right out on a Wednesday. 14 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: I'm behind in just about everything in my life for 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: various number of reasons. And I want to give you 16 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: permission during this last couple of weeks before Christmas to 17 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: a have some panic moments. It's okay to just realize 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: whoa Christmas is right around the corner. B. I want 19 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: to give you permission to go about your life pretty much, 20 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: both now during the Christmas season and just really anytime 21 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: at all imperfectly. Sometimes I get hung up on perfection, 22 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: and I look at my lateness in getting things done 23 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: or my inability to do things and exactly the way 24 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: I want to do them or accomplish them in exactly 25 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: the way I want to accomplish them as being failures. 26 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: But that's not failure. Sometimes imperfection is an opportunity for 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: God to be glorified in our weakness. And so today 28 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: I was listening to the Bible in a year, and 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 1: today's reading had to do with Paul's thorn, and he said, 30 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: you know, my God said, after Paul pleaded three times 31 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: or a number of times he says three, which can 32 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:22,119 Speaker 1: represent completion, he just ad nauseum like until he realized 33 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: in his spirit that he shouldn't be praying for this anymore. 34 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: He prayed for God to take away this thorn in 35 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: his flesh, and God said, nope, my grace is sufficient 36 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: for you, because guess what, not only are you going 37 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: to have trouble, are you not going to always be perfect? 38 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: Are you going to sometimes come across persecutions, hardships, difficulties, 39 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: But my power as God has made perfect in your weakness, 40 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: And so what the enemy intends for evil, the messenger 41 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: of Satan, the thorn in your flesh, whatever that is, 42 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: it could be a number of things. It could be physical, 43 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: it could be spiritual, it could be emotional, it could 44 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: be how you perceive God made you. In my case, 45 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: I just feel like I am a hot mess. A 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: lot of the time. I don't get the number of 47 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:09,359 Speaker 1: things done that I want to get done because I'm 48 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: not super organized, and I would love for God to 49 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: just take that away. But what God said to me 50 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: in that scripture was my powers made perfect in your weakness, 51 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: what Satan would love to tear you down with. And 52 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: I'm going to be honest, he won today. I had 53 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: a rough morning, just being attacked and just being tired 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: of biting the attacks, and so I gave into them. 55 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: I gave into the lies. And God told me through 56 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: this scripture, what the enemy intended for your evil, I 57 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: have redeemed for your good. I'm at work in it. 58 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: So what I'm claiming right now, this is just a 59 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: one tiny example of the hundreds and thousands and millions 60 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: of examples out there. This episode going out late, I 61 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: am claiming and standing on the fact that somehow it 62 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: is going to be used by God in a way 63 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: that wouldn't be possible if it had just gone out 64 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,679 Speaker 1: on time. Maybe it's me talking about it and giving 65 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: you permission to then be imperfect, or maybe it's the timing. 66 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 1: I don't know what it is, but I have a 67 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: God who is bigger than my imperfections, and so I'm 68 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: going to boast in my imperfections. I'm going to thank 69 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: God all day long that I'm not perfect, because He 70 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: meets me there. It is when I come to the 71 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,600 Speaker 1: end of myself that He can work most powerfully. And 72 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: I'm just going to let you know that's true for 73 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: you also. So whatever it is that you're dealing with 74 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: right now, during this holiday season or just at this 75 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: time in your life, embrace the imperfection because God is 76 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: able to work so powerfully through it. And even if, 77 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: like me, you have sinned in the attack by believing 78 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: the lies, by sinning in your anger or in your frustration, 79 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: or speaking negative things over yourself or other people, or 80 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: being short with your family members, I can check off 81 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: pretty much all those boxes. It's okay because God is 82 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: a redeemer. Let him redeem it, confess it, repent of it, 83 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: and move forward in confidence and anxious expectation that God 84 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: is at work, especially in our weakness. All right, I'm 85 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: excited about this psalm. It's a very unique psalm. It's 86 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: Psalm forty five, and it is a wedding psalm. It's 87 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: the only one in the whole book of Psalms that's 88 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: considered like a wedding psalm. And it can be taken 89 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: in a number of ways. It can be taken as 90 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,799 Speaker 1: a literal poem or song sung over or spoken at 91 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: a wedding for a king. Some people think it was 92 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: David's something, it was Solomon to a foreign queen, or 93 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: you could look at it as Some people see this 94 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: because the New Testament, I think it's Hebrews reference. Is 95 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: this in relationship to Jesus as king. Some people look 96 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: at it as more of a figurative like Christ and 97 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: the Church, and the Church being specifically the gentiles being 98 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: embraced into a relationship, and like grafted into the vine 99 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: of Christ, into God's family. However you want to read it, however, 100 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: God speaks to you. Let's pray and then jump right in. Lord, 101 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: we rejoice in our imperfections. We confess the sin that 102 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: we fall into sometimes as a result of some of 103 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: that imperfection. And we just take a moment now to 104 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: confess that we have sinned, that we have spoken angry 105 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:55,359 Speaker 1: words at others or ourselves through negative self talk. We 106 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: have bought into the lies of the enemy, hook line 107 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: and sinker. We've allowed ourselves to be paralyzed by those lies, 108 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: and by that sin, we've allowed the busyness and the 109 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: stress of the holiday season overshadow Jesus, we're guilty of 110 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: all of that, and yet we just acknowledge you as 111 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: a redeemer, and we lay it all before you, and 112 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: we pray that you would help us to move on, 113 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: to move forward, and to look an anxious expectation at 114 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: the ways you will take our imperfections and use them, 115 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: use what the enemy intended for evil, even for the 116 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: good of those who love you, who are called according 117 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: to your purpose. Bless the reading of your word. As 118 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: we read this psalm, we just pray it would speak 119 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: to our place of deepest need, that you would just 120 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: open our eyes through the teacher the Holy Spirit, that 121 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: we would be able to see clearly what you have 122 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: for us today through your word. Amen, all right? Like 123 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: I said, this is Psalm forty five from the Nasby 124 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five. Its title is a song celebrating the 125 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: king's marriage. The subtitle is for the choir director according 126 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: to the Shoshanam, which is the lilies. And I don't 127 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: know what that is. You might want to research that 128 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: a little bit more. A mass skill, which, as we've 129 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: talked about, is a like contemplative or skillful Psalm of 130 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: the Sons of Cora, a song of love. My heart 131 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: overflows with a good theme. I address my verses to 132 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 133 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: You are fairer than the sons of men. Grace is 134 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: poured upon your lips. Therefore God has blessed you forever. 135 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: Gird your sword on your thigh, O Mighty One, in 136 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: your splendor and your majesty, And in your majesty, ride 137 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: on victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness. 138 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: Let your right hand teach you awesome things. Your arrows 139 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: are sharp. The peoples fall under you. Your arrows are 140 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: in the heart of the King's enemies. Your throne O 141 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: God is forever and ever a scepter of uprightness is 142 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and 143 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with 144 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: the oil of joy. Above your fellows. All your garments 145 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: are fragrant with murr and aloes and cassia. Out of 146 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: ivory palaces, stringed instruments have made you glad. King's daughters 147 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: are among your noble ladies. At your right hand stands 148 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: the queen in gold. From over. Listen, o daughter, give 149 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: attention and incline your ear. Forget your people and your 150 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: father's house. Then the king will desire your beauty, because 151 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: he is your lord. Bow down to him. The daughter 152 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: of Tire will come with a gift. The rich among 153 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: the people will seek your favor. The king's daughter is 154 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: all glorious. Within her clothing is interwoven with gold. She 155 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: will be led to the king in embroidered work. The 156 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: virgins her companions who follow her will be brought to you. 157 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing. They 158 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: will enter into the King's palace in place of your father's. 159 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: Will be your sons. You shall make them princes in 160 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,680 Speaker 1: all the earth I will cause your name to be 161 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples will give you 162 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: thanks forever and ever. So this, like I said, you 163 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,839 Speaker 1: can read it as a song that could be sung 164 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: over an actual king, maybe King Solomon and his bride. 165 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: Or what I really saw what spoke to me as 166 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: I read through this is this part in particular, listen, 167 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: o daughter, meaning the queen who's being married in to 168 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: this kingdom. Give attention and incline your ear. Forget your 169 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: people and your father's house. So this image of kind 170 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: of the ruth image of let your people will be 171 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: my people, your God will be my God, rejecting the 172 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: former things and embracing the God of Abraham, Isaac and 173 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: Jacob as your own. It's a word to the gentiles 174 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,959 Speaker 1: of turn away, turn away from that stuff that doesn't matter, 175 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: that isn't true, that is futile, and be grafted in 176 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: to this kingdom where there are streams of living water 177 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: instead of broken cisterns that can't hold water, where there 178 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness 179 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: and all the fruit of the spirit. Because God is there. 180 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: God is our source, He is our vine that we're 181 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,839 Speaker 1: tapped into. And I see this as a third level 182 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: of just my own turning as a believer, turning from 183 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,319 Speaker 1: the old ways of thinking and believing, which we kind 184 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: of talked about earlier, the lies of the enemy, the 185 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,439 Speaker 1: old way of believing that what I perceive as bad 186 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: or what I perceive as weakness is actually never out 187 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: of reach for God. There's nothing beyond his redemptive, restorative work. 188 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: And it's beautiful because it's all like the loaves and 189 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,320 Speaker 1: the fish. If we take it the imperfections, the things 190 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: that we call bad, the mistakes, even the sin, and 191 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: we lay it at his feet, he multiplies it, he 192 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 1: changes it, he transforms it into kingdom good, and then 193 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: he gives it back and then we're just we're filled 194 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: to overflowing. So that's what I take out of this. 195 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: I want you to just meditate on this word that 196 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: it would just pray that it would fill you to 197 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: overflowing in whatever way you need it most today. And 198 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: I just pray that in the next couple of weeks 199 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: that God is with you, that He is silencing the 200 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: lives of the enemy, and that together we can just 201 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: remember that when we connect to the source, when we 202 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: make God and even just for fifteen or twenty minutes 203 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: that we can take to connect with Him, to meditate 204 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: on his word, to enter the throne room and be transformed. 205 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 1: That it is at that place where the victories are won, 206 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: even the little victories like checking off items off of 207 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: your Christmas to do list, Those things will fall into place. 208 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: When we put Christ and when we put God at 209 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: the center and we remember what it's all about, then 210 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: we kind of have room for God to order our 211 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:34,679 Speaker 1: thoughts and maybe even provide serendipitous things that allow us 212 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: to get our to do list done faster, or put 213 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: people in our lives with ways to be able to 214 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: accomplish the things that need accomplishing with more efficiency and effectiveness. 215 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 1: I don't know. I just know that God being at 216 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: the center makes everything else fall into place. Let's pray, 217 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: Lord God, we just thank you for your word. We 218 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: thank you for this Christmas season that welcomes the advent 219 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: of God with us Christ coming to earth as a 220 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: baby to be born, to live a sinless but difficult life, 221 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: sometimes lonely life, to die, to be buried, and then 222 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: to be raised again on the third day so that 223 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: we could have fellowship with You. That story, the whole 224 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: story of redemption is so beautiful. I just pray that 225 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be so familiar to us that we would 226 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: lose sight of it. Help us to experience the Christmas 227 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: story in a new way, help us to take it 228 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: in to meditate on it. And I just pray that 229 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: you would help us to come out of this set 230 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: apart sacred time where we're going to face the same stressers, 231 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: the same perceived failures and inadequacies, the same problems, the 232 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: same anxieties, but that we would be able to face 233 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 1: it with a new perspective, that we would be able 234 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: to go back into the world old with the knowledge 235 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: that You are with us, We are not alone in this, 236 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: and that there is nothing that is beyond your redemptive reach. 237 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: So we just offer it all up to you, God, everything, 238 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: and we just pray that your power would be made 239 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:23,680 Speaker 1: perfect in our weakness. In Jesus' name. Amen. Do you 240 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: love true crime but feel like it's a guilty pleasure 241 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: because of the swearing and explicit content. If so, I 242 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: can't wait to tell you the good news. Alana and 243 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: I just launched our brand new podcast, Christian True Crime Junkies, 244 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: a squeaky clean crime show for believers. Each week we 245 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, and 246 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: tales of redemption. And yes, sometimes plain old murder, always clean, 247 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: always from a Christian perspective. Listen to Christian true crime 248 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: Junkies today wherever you listen to podcasts, and don't forget 249 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: to follow us. New episodes come out every week and 250 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: you don't want to miss out. We'd like to take 251 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: just a quick second to thank the team at Life 252 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. If 253 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: you go to lifeaudio dot com, you will find dozens 254 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got 255 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and so much more. 256 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: That's lifeaudio dot com.