1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer, 2 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening 4 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after the short word from 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer for God's Comfort 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: when your family is broken. A Prayer for God's Comfort 8 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: when your family is broken, written by Whitney Hoppler, read 9 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: by Leah Gerard. Even if my father and mother abandon me, 10 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: the Lord will hold me close, Psalm twenty seventen. When 11 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: you hear the word family, what comes to mind? If 12 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: you are dealing with the pain of broken family relationships? 13 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: You're not alone. Many people in this fallen world have 14 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: been hurt by family members who are no longer part 15 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: of their lives. Parents walk away, siblings cut each other off, Spouses, divorce, 16 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: and other kinds of family relationships break down to whatever 17 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: situation you're dealing with, you'll feel the pain of seeing 18 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: relationships with family members that are supposed to be secure 19 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: fail you instead. When your family is broken, the world 20 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: feels unstable. Who can you trust if not the people 21 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: who share your name and your home. Psalm twenty seventy 22 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: ten doesn't sugarcoat the pain or pretend that family abandonment 23 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: doesn't happen. It describes the ultimate betrayal, being abandoned by parents. 24 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: God wants to give children a foundation of unconditional love 25 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: in this world, but when parents abandon this verse points 26 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: to God, the ultimate source of hope. When it says 27 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: the Lord will hold me close. God is telling you 28 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: in this verse that a relationship with Him will never 29 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: fail you. Even if every other human being in your 30 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: family cuts you off, God will be there for you. 31 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: Not only is God always present with you, but God's 32 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: love for you is so strong that he will always 33 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: hold you close. God is pure love, and he loves 34 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: you unconditionally. Even the closest human relationship you have can 35 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: only meet part of your needs. God's embrace is total. 36 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: When Psalm twenty seven to ten says God will hold 37 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: you close, it points to how you can count on 38 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: God covering you with love completely. God's love will cover 39 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: you in every way you need, anytime and anywhere you 40 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: connect with Him. So be honest with God about your 41 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: feelings of sadness and anger over your broken family relationships. 42 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: God gave you emotions, and He is big enough to 43 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: handle them all, even the most challenging feelings. Then let 44 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: God hold you close and give you the comfort you need. 45 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: Visualize God wrapping his arms around you, and repeat the 46 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: promise from God's Word, the Lord will hold me close. 47 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: Whenever you feel the emptiness or the stain of rejection 48 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: in your life, be open to the healing God wants 49 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: to give you. The brokenness of your family might have 50 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: caused you to believe lies about yourself, such as you're unlovable, 51 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: or too difficult, or not worth staying. God wants to 52 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: replace those lies with his truth. Open the deepest parts 53 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: of your heart to God so he can heal them 54 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: and you can know how valuable and beloved you really are. 55 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: God is the ultimate Father, and he will never give 56 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: up on you in this fallen world. Sometimes the hardest 57 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: challenges of life, like broken family relationships, become the situations 58 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: that help you find God. The empty spaces left by 59 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: your family member's love can be filled with God's perfect love, 60 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: which you can rely on forever. You may have been 61 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: abandoned by someone who was supposed to cherish you, but 62 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: you are not abandoned by the one who created you. 63 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: God is holding you close right now. Let's pray, Dear God, 64 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: the place where I was supposed to find unconditional lif 65 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: love in my family has become a source of pain 66 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: for me. Instead, I confess that I feel rejected, abandoned, 67 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: and hurt by the people who should have held me close. 68 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: The pain is hard to deal with sometimes, so I'm 69 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:20,119 Speaker 1: bringing you the anger, confusion, and overwhelming sense of loss 70 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: that comes with my broken family. Please help me grieve 71 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: what's lost and what will never be without letting bitterness 72 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: into my soul. Thank you for your powerful promise in 73 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: Psalm twenty seventy ten that even when my father and 74 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: mother abandoned me, you will hold me close. I believe this, 75 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: and I trust you to fulfill that promise in my 76 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: life today. Hold me close, Father, let me feel the 77 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: comfort of your presence. Hold me close, and replace the 78 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: lies of rejection with the truth of your wonderful love 79 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: for me. Please be the perfect parent that I need, 80 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: the one who is always present and kind and faithful. 81 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: I'm giving you the broken pieces of my family relationships 82 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: and relying on you to help me forgive and heal 83 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,480 Speaker 1: and find my ultimate security in my relationship with you. 84 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: Thank you God. Amen. Your Daily Prayer is a production 85 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: of Life Audio and Salem Media. If you liked what 86 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: you heard today, be sure to follow our sister show 87 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: your nightly prayer. You can find your nightly prayer at 88 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: lifeaudio dot com or in your favorite podcast app. By 89 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: following your daily prayer and your nightly prayer, you can 90 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:58,359 Speaker 1: be sure that your day begins and ends centered on 91 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: the Word of God and prayer. Mm hmm