WEBVTT - 3 Signs God Is Trying to Get Your Attention

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<v Speaker 1>Before you speak to anyone, you want to ensure that

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<v Speaker 1>you have their attention so that they can actually hear

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<v Speaker 1>what you have to say. In the same way, God

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<v Speaker 1>sends signs to get our attention so that we can

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<v Speaker 1>hear from Him. In today's episode, learn different signs that

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<v Speaker 1>God is trying to get your attention so that you

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<v Speaker 1>don't miss out on his voice. Welcome back, friend. You

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<v Speaker 1>are listening to the Teacher Us to Pray podcast, where

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<v Speaker 1>we teach believers practical and real life tips on how

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<v Speaker 1>to grow your faith and relationship with God through the

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<v Speaker 1>power of prayer. I'm Christina Patterson hopes that they Teach

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<v Speaker 1>Us to Pray podcast and founder of Beloved Women, where

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<v Speaker 1>I encourage, equip and empower women in the love of

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus Christ and the truth of God's Word. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>ever been somewhere like in church or a conference, meeting

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<v Speaker 1>or class and you desire to get your friend's attention. However,

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<v Speaker 1>they were looking straight ahead. They were not paying you

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<v Speaker 1>any attention, and so either you tap them on the shoulder,

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<v Speaker 1>you waved your hands, or you just intently stared at them,

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<v Speaker 1>hoping that they could feel your stare and turn their

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<v Speaker 1>heads so that you could finally get their attention. We

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<v Speaker 1>go through all of this to get someone's attention because

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<v Speaker 1>we want them to hear us. And as we've said

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<v Speaker 1>over and over again on this podcast, prayer isn't just

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<v Speaker 1>about us asking God for things. It's Him speaking to us.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is so power powerful because what God has

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<v Speaker 1>to say his word over our lives, well it's life changing.

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<v Speaker 1>So if God is trying to get our attention, we

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<v Speaker 1>certainly want to be aware of it and we want

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<v Speaker 1>to be able to respond. But we can't hear him

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<v Speaker 1>and respond to him when he's trying to get our

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<v Speaker 1>attention if we don't know that he's trying to get

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<v Speaker 1>our attention in the first place, often we are distracted.

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<v Speaker 1>We have so many things like social media, Netflix, and

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<v Speaker 1>more competing for our attention, and usually these things spend

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time and billions of dollars to get

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<v Speaker 1>our attention. Because your attention is valuable, so we need

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<v Speaker 1>to ensure that we are giving our attention to God.

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<v Speaker 1>So today I want to share with you a few

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<v Speaker 1>ways to know that God is trying to get your attention.

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<v Speaker 1>The first way is through what I call coincidence. The

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<v Speaker 1>Cambridge University definition defines coincidence as an occasion when two

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<v Speaker 1>or more similar things happen at the same time, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in a way that is unlikely and surprising to you.

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<v Speaker 1>So for example, let's say you and your friend both

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<v Speaker 1>wear the exact same dress to a party. You might

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<v Speaker 1>say that is a coincidence. Or you and your husband

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<v Speaker 1>both bring the same type of dinner home that night

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<v Speaker 1>because you both had the similar craving. That would be

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<v Speaker 1>a coincidence. Now, we may see a coincidence as just happenstance,

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<v Speaker 1>But because of God's sovereignty and supreme rule over everything,

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<v Speaker 1>God has the ability to cause a co incidents to

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<v Speaker 1>get our attention. Often coincidences surprise us, delight us, and

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<v Speaker 1>even shock us. Sometimes and sometimes God will use this

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<v Speaker 1>to get our attention. So, for example, this month, I

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<v Speaker 1>have been memorizing Philippians Chapter four, verses six and seven,

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<v Speaker 1>just in a heart to overcome just some anxiety in

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<v Speaker 1>my life. The verse reads, do not be anxious about anything,

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<v Speaker 1>but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let

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<v Speaker 1>your request be made known to God. And the peace

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<v Speaker 1>of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts

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<v Speaker 1>and your minds in Christ Jesus. So clearly you can

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<v Speaker 1>see here how this verse is really speaking to me

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<v Speaker 1>about overcoming anxiety and choosing prayer and thanksgiving as opposed

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<v Speaker 1>to worry and stress and anxious thoughts. So it's been

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<v Speaker 1>really helpful for me. At the same time, as I've

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<v Speaker 1>decided to memorize this scripture this month, I've been seeing

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<v Speaker 1>it a lot of other places. I'll open up a

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<v Speaker 1>devotional that I'm reading and see the verse right there,

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<v Speaker 1>or I'll be looking online for something else or a

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<v Speaker 1>past Bible study video that I created, and I'll stumble

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<v Speaker 1>across the verse again. So while some people might view

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<v Speaker 1>this as a coincidence, I see it as a sign

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<v Speaker 1>that God is trying to get my attention. He is

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<v Speaker 1>encouraging me to really lean into this verse and see

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<v Speaker 1>what it has to say. The next sign that you

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<v Speaker 1>can look for that God is trying to get your

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<v Speaker 1>attention is when you're having dreams. Okay, that is right.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes God will use dreams to get our attention, not

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<v Speaker 1>just speak to us now. Not every dream that we

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<v Speaker 1>have is God speaking to us and needs to be interpreted.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes we just ate too many tacos the night before.

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<v Speaker 1>But even if that's the case, oftentimes dreams, especially ones

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<v Speaker 1>that we remember when we wake up, they get our attention.

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<v Speaker 1>They get our mind wondering, well, why did I have

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<v Speaker 1>that dream? The Bible tells us that it is the

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<v Speaker 1>character of God to conceal a matter, but it's the

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<v Speaker 1>privilege of kings to uncover it. So God likes to

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes allow us to experience things that we're not really

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<v Speaker 1>sure what they mean, so that we will then seek Him.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole purpose is to get our attention, so that

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<v Speaker 1>will lean in, will listen a little bit more intently,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll pray a little bit harder to gain understanding from God.

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<v Speaker 1>Whether your dream is a message from God or not,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't tell you that. But oftentimes if it's something

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<v Speaker 1>that shook you either or just made you a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more interested about what that was about. But it

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<v Speaker 1>turns your heart and your mind towards God, that can

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<v Speaker 1>be God trying to get your attention. The end goal

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<v Speaker 1>is to hear from Him, not necessarily to interpret the

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<v Speaker 1>dream moment by moment, but to lean in to say, God,

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on in my life that will cause me

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<v Speaker 1>to have this particular dream. Now it could be Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I just ate a little bit too much the night before,

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<v Speaker 1>or as the Bible tells us that when you have

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<v Speaker 1>many cares on your heart, you start to dream. And

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<v Speaker 1>the Bible tells us that we should be casting our

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<v Speaker 1>cares on God. And so that dream might just be

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<v Speaker 1>a sign from God getting your attention that, Hey, you

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<v Speaker 1>got a lot weighing on your heart right now, why

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<v Speaker 1>don't you cast that and put it at my feet

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<v Speaker 1>and let me take care of it. The final sign

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<v Speaker 1>that I want to share with you that God might

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<v Speaker 1>be trying to get your attention is confirmation. And this

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<v Speaker 1>is when God gives you a message or he shares

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<v Speaker 1>something with you, but then you hear it from someone else,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is just confirming what He's already said to you,

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<v Speaker 1>and He's trying to get your attention so that you

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<v Speaker 1>really take what he's communicating to you seriously. It's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like adding an exclamation mark at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>a sentence or bolding a paragraph to highlight that, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>this point right here is super important and God is

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<v Speaker 1>trying to get your attention. There was something specific that

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<v Speaker 1>God was leading me to do, and I had a

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<v Speaker 1>friend confirm it. She said, Christina, I think you should

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<v Speaker 1>do this. And God had already been speaking to me

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<v Speaker 1>about it. So that was one friend. So that just

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<v Speaker 1>affirms to me, Okay, God's really trying to get my

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<v Speaker 1>attention to go in this direction. But then I briefly

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<v Speaker 1>shared with some friends my thoughts about heading in this

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<v Speaker 1>direction that the Lord was leading me in, and I

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<v Speaker 1>had a friend text me and say, hey, can you

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<v Speaker 1>call me really quick? And I said okay, So I

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<v Speaker 1>called her and she just confirmed, without me even giving

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<v Speaker 1>her all the details everything that God had already been

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<v Speaker 1>speaking to me and she was just saying it. She

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<v Speaker 1>was like, as a matter of fact, God gave me

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<v Speaker 1>this in my morning devotion this morning, and it might

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<v Speaker 1>be for you, and let me tell you it was.

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<v Speaker 1>It was so impactful and it really got my attention

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<v Speaker 1>because it just echoed, well, God had already been placing

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<v Speaker 1>on my heart and so now I'm sitting up a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit straight, more straight, my ears are perked up,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm like, okay, God, I see that you're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to get my attention. You're making this clear. Let me listen,

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<v Speaker 1>let me follow, let me hear what you have to say.

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<v Speaker 1>It is my hope that today's episode has provided you

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<v Speaker 1>with insightful and helpful tips on how you can pray

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<v Speaker 1>give to you. Be sure to download my free five

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<v Speaker 1>day prayer guide and take my prayer personality quiz at

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<v Speaker 1>prayquiz dot com to learn how you best hear from

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<v Speaker 1>God and connect with Him in prayer. You may find

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<v Speaker 1>all links in today's show notes. We have so much

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<v Speaker 1>more to talk about when it comes to prayer, so

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<v Speaker 1>I hope that if you are encouraged by today's episode,

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<v Speaker 1>you will share it with a friend and subscribe so

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<v Speaker 1>that you don't miss any future episodes of the Teach

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<v Speaker 1>Us to Pray Podcast, where we will continue to learn how,

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<v Speaker 1>just like breathing, prayer can become a natural, consistent, and

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<v Speaker 1>life giving part of our everyday lives. Until then, be

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<v Speaker 1>sure to connect with me at Belovedwomen dot org and

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<v Speaker 1>you so much for taking time to listen today. God

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<v Speaker 1>bless you, and I'll talk to you in the next episode.

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