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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter six,

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Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Then

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Speaker 1: Solomon prayed, Oh Lord, you have said that you would

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Speaker 1: live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have

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Speaker 1: built a glorious temple for you, a place where you

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Speaker 1: can live forever. Then the King turned around to the

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Speaker 1: entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing.

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Speaker 1: Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept

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Speaker 1: the promise he made to my father David. For he

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Speaker 1: told my father, from the day I brought my people

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Speaker 1: out of the land of Egypt, I have never chosen

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Speaker 1: a city among any of the tribes of Israel as

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Speaker 1: the place where a temple should be built to honor

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Speaker 1: my name, nor have I chosen a king to lead

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Speaker 1: my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem as

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Speaker 1: the place for my name to be honored, and I

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Speaker 1: have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.

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Speaker 1: Then Solomon said, my father David wanted to build this

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Speaker 1: temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God

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Speaker 1: of Israel. But the Lord told him, you wanted to

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Speaker 1: build the temple to honor my name. Your intention is good,

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Speaker 1: but you are not the one to do it. One

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Speaker 1: of your own sons will build the temple to honor me.

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Speaker 1: And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made

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Speaker 1: for I have become king in my father's place, and

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Speaker 1: now I sit on the throne of Israel. Just as

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Speaker 1: the Lord promised, I have built this temple to honor

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Speaker 1: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. There

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Speaker 1: I have placed the ark, which contains the covenant that

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Speaker 1: the Lord made with the people of Israel. Then Solomon

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Speaker 1: stood before the altar of the Lord, in front of

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Speaker 1: the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands

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Speaker 1: in prayer. Now Solomon had made a bronze platform seven

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Speaker 1: and a half feet long, seven and a half feet

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Speaker 1: wide and four and a half feet high, and had

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Speaker 1: placed it at the center of the temple's outer courtyard.

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Speaker 1: He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in

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Speaker 1: front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his

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Speaker 1: hands toward Heaven. He prayed, O, Lord God of Israel,

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Speaker 1: there is no god like you in all of heaven

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Speaker 1: and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love

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Speaker 1: to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. You

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Speaker 1: have kept your promise to your servant, David my Father.

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Speaker 1: You made that promise with your own mouth and with

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Speaker 1: your own hands. You have fulfilled it today. And now,

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Speaker 1: O Lord God of Israel, carry out the additional promise

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Speaker 1: you made to your servant David my father. For you

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Speaker 1: said to him, if your descendants guard their behavior and

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Speaker 1: faithfully follow my law as you have done, one of

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Speaker 1: them will always sit on the throne of Israel. Now,

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Speaker 1: O Lord God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your

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Speaker 1: servant David. But will God really live on earth among people?

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Speaker 1: Why even the highest heavens cannot contain you? How much

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Speaker 1: less this temple I have built. Nevertheless, listen to my

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Speaker 1: prayer and my PLEA, O Lord my God, hear the

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Speaker 1: cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you.

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Speaker 1: May you watch over this temple day and night, this

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Speaker 1: place where you have said you would put your name.

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Speaker 1: May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place.

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Speaker 1: May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me

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Speaker 1: and your people Israel, when we pray toward this place, Yes,

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Speaker 1: hear us from heaven where you live. And when you

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Speaker 1: hear forgive. If someone wrongs another person and is required

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Speaker 1: to take an oath of innocence in front of your

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Speaker 1: altar at this temple, then hear from heaven and judge

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Speaker 1: between your servants, the accuser and the accused. Pay back

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Speaker 1: the guilty as they deserve, acquit the innocent because of

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Speaker 1: their innocence. If your people Israel are defeated by their

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Speaker 1: enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they

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Speaker 1: turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you

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Speaker 1: here in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive

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Speaker 1: the sin of your people Israel, and return them to

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Speaker 1: this land you gave to them and to their ancestors.

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Speaker 1: If the skies are shut up and there is no

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Speaker 1: rain because your people have sinned against you, and if

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Speaker 1: they pray toward this temple and acknowledge your name and

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Speaker 1: turn from their sins because you have punished them, then

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Speaker 1: hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants

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Speaker 1: your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path,

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Speaker 1: and send rain on your land that you have given

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Speaker 1: to your people as their special possession. If there is

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Speaker 1: a famine in the land, or a plague or crop disease,

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Speaker 1: or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people's

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Speaker 1: enemies are in the land besieging their towns, whatever disaster

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Speaker 1: or disease there is, and if your people Israel pray

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Speaker 1: about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this temple,

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Speaker 1: then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give

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Speaker 1: your people what their actions deserve. For you alone know

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Speaker 1: each human heart. Then they will fear you and walk

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Speaker 1: in your ways as long as they live in the

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Speaker 1: land you gave to our ancestors. In the future, foreigners

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Speaker 1: who do not belong to your people Israel will hear

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Speaker 1: of you. They will come from distant lands. When they

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Speaker 1: hear of your great name and your strong hand and

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Speaker 1: your powerful arm, and when they pray toward this temple,

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Speaker 1: then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what

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Speaker 1: they ask of you. In this way, all the people

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Speaker 1: of the earth will come to know and fear you,

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Speaker 1: just as your own people Israel do. They too will

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Speaker 1: know that this temple I have built honors your name.

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Speaker 1: If your people go out where you send them to

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Speaker 1: fight their enemies, and if they pray to you by

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Speaker 1: turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this

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Speaker 1: temple I have built to honor your name, then hear

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Speaker 1: their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. If they

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Speaker 1: sin against you, and who has never sinned, you might

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Speaker 1: become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them

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Speaker 1: and take them captive to a foreign land far away

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Speaker 1: or near. But in that land of exile, they might

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Speaker 1: turn to you in repentance and pray, we have sinned,

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Speaker 1: done evil, and acted wickedly. If they turn to you

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Speaker 1: with their whole heart and soul in the land of

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Speaker 1: their captivity, and pray toward the land you gave to

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Speaker 1: their ancestors, toward this city you have chosen, and toward

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Speaker 1: this temple I have built to honor your name, then

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Speaker 1: hear their prayers and their petitions from heaven where you live,

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Speaker 1: and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned

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Speaker 1: against you. Oh my God, may your eyes be open

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Speaker 1: and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to

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Speaker 1: you in this place. And now arise, o Lord God,

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Speaker 1: and enter your resting place, along with the ark, the

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Speaker 1: symbol of your power. May your priests, O, Lord God,

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Speaker 1: be clothed with salvation. May your loyal servants rejoice in

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Speaker 1: your goodness. Oh Lord God, do not reject the king

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Speaker 1: you have anointed. Remember your unfailing love for your servant, David.

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Speaker 1: Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to

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Speaker 1: look at it together today. And we thank you, Lord,

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Speaker 1: for your goodness and for all the things that you

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Speaker 1: do for your people. And Lord Solomon recognized that there

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Speaker 1: were many things that he and the people of Israel

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Speaker 1: needed to give you praise for. These were things that

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Speaker 1: you had been doing for their benefit and for their blessing,

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Speaker 1: and for their good and for your glory. And he

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Speaker 1: was acknowledging that you were the source of all the

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Speaker 1: good that came to them. He also acknowledged the need

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Speaker 1: of forgiveness that the people had, because, as he says here,

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Speaker 1: who has never sinned, we all have sinned. Lord. We

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Speaker 1: wrestle with this as well. Each of us have gone

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Speaker 1: our own way, We've done our own thing. We've at

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Speaker 1: times rejected your counsel and your leading, and by nature

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Speaker 1: we are sinful people. But Lord, you are gracious, and

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Speaker 1: you are merciful, and you are forgiving. And we're grateful

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Speaker 1: Lord that in the midst of all that we wrestle with,

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Speaker 1: in the midst of this, you offer the opportunity for

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Speaker 1: us to be forgiven, because your son, Jesus Christ came

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Speaker 1: to this earth and experienced our penalty, our punishment, when

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Speaker 1: he died on the cross, and he rose from the

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Speaker 1: grave as the victorious king of all creation, having defeated sin,

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Speaker 1: having defeated the power of Satan and the power of death.

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Speaker 1: And now through faith in your son, we can experience

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Speaker 1: complete and total forgiveness. And Lord, we need that, and

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Speaker 1: we pray that that would be something that you would

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Speaker 1: impress upon our heart as something we know we need

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Speaker 1: to possess as a gift from you through faith in

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Speaker 1: your son. So we request of you today, Lord, and

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Speaker 1: we pray that we would be faithful to you in

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Speaker 1: every context that you place us in. Today we pray

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Speaker 1: that our minds and our hearts would only be given

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Speaker 1: over to that which honors you, and we commit this

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Speaker 1: day to your care and thank you for your goodness

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Speaker 1: and your grace and your love. And we pray this

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Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen,