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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 your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening in

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Speaker 1: your life today, you can trust that God wants to

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Speaker 1: hear from you. Right after the short word from our sponsors,

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Speaker 1: will pray through today's prayer to Guard your Heart. A

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Speaker 1: prayer to Guard your Heart, written by Emily Rose Massey,

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Speaker 1: read by Leah Gerard. Above all else, guard your heart,

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Speaker 1: for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs for twenty three.

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Speaker 1: One of my nicknames in high school was Queenie, short

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Speaker 1: for drama queen. I understand not all women are this way,

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Speaker 1: but I guess I've always been an emotional person by nature.

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Speaker 1: Of course, there were many times when my emotions got

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Speaker 1: the best of me and I was pulled under and

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Speaker 1: tossed to and fro with anxiety, chaos, worry, and drama.

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Speaker 1: It took time, but I learned how to find rest

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Speaker 1: in the Lord, and the Holy Spirit helped me cultivate

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Speaker 1: the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians five twenty

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Speaker 1: two through twenty three. Although I knew to run to

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Speaker 1: Jesus when I was emotional, weary, anxious, if I was

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Speaker 1: around others, whether one on one family or coworkers who

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Speaker 1: were going through a dark time or just needed to vent,

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Speaker 1: I still found myself taking on their negativity and anxiety,

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Speaker 1: and I would inevitably feel weighed down by these emotions.

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Speaker 1: I've wanted to help them through their struggle. I've wanted

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Speaker 1: to bear their burdens, like the Bible says we're to

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Speaker 1: do in Galatians six to two. I've wanted to be

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Speaker 1: compassionate toward them, to put myself in their shoes. All

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Speaker 1: good things, right, sure, as long as you don't lace

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Speaker 1: up those shoes and run off with them. Ultimately, we

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Speaker 1: cannot control the sadness or destruction occurring in the world

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Speaker 1: or in others' lives around us, Nor can we control others'

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Speaker 1: behavior or actions. However, we can control how we react

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Speaker 1: to it all, and keep our own emotions in check

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Speaker 1: before we become involved in someone else's problem or emotional experience.

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Speaker 1: I believe the most important thing we must do is

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Speaker 1: guard our own hearts. Proverbs four to twenty three tells us,

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Speaker 1: above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do

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Speaker 1: flows from it. We don't want our hearts to become

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Speaker 1: someone else's dumpster. Considering that Luke eight point fifteen tells

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Speaker 1: us the heart is the soil in which we bear

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Speaker 1: good fruit, we must protect it from pessimism, worldliness, worry, bitterness,

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Speaker 1: and anxiety at all costs. We've all experienced loss and

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Speaker 1: pain in our lives, whether that's a loved one passing away, divorce, infidelity, miscarriage, infertility,

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Speaker 1: financial crisis, losing a job. Really, the list could go

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Speaker 1: on and on, and since no one is exempt from

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Speaker 1: encountering tragedy and difficult seasons as humans, we all have

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Speaker 1: this common bond. That's why when the news breaks about

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Speaker 1: a tragic or traumatic event in the world, like a

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Speaker 1: mass shooting, where the sudden death of a dear friend

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Speaker 1: a cut us deep in the heart. Often a part

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Speaker 1: of us hurts for those who are hurting. The best

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Speaker 1: thing we can do is simply stand with them in

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Speaker 1: their pain and point them to the only one who

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Speaker 1: can bring wholeness, peace and comfort. Encourage them with scripture.

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Speaker 1: It'll serve as an anchor of hope for them in

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Speaker 1: the storm. There are so many people around us who

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Speaker 1: are hurting and weighed down by the worries of this life.

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Speaker 1: Being a sympathetic and compassionate person is beautiful because God

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Speaker 1: made you that way, and He's the one who'll give

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Speaker 1: you the right words and the right actions when walking

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Speaker 1: with others through their valleys. But above all, guard your

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Speaker 1: heart and keep Jesus at the center of it. Let's pray,

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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, thank you for calling us to bear one

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Speaker 1: another's burdens and mourn with those who mourn, so that

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Speaker 1: those who are suffering know that they're not alone. Of course,

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Speaker 1: you are always with us when we're walking through the valley,

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Speaker 1: but as your children, we've been given the gift of

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Speaker 1: also walking alongside others and sharing your great love. Help

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Speaker 1: me see when others trials have overwhelmed me emotionally. Please

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Speaker 1: provide me with a biblical perspective so that I'm not

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Speaker 1: swept away by my emotions. I long to have a

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Speaker 1: compassionate heart for others, but I also long to stand

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Speaker 1: firm upon your word and not allow circumstances to lead me.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for your amazing grace that you show your

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Speaker 1: children and allow us to share it with others. In Jesus' name, Amen,

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Speaker 1: and your nightly prayer, you can be sure that your

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Speaker 1: day begins and ends centered on the Word of God

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