WEBVTT - A Prayer for Perseverance through Pain

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<v Speaker 1>Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,

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<v Speaker 1>where we help you find the words you need to

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<v Speaker 1>connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening

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<v Speaker 1>in your life today, you can trust that God wants

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<v Speaker 1>to hear from you. Right after this short word from

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<v Speaker 1>our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer for perseverance through Pain.

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<v Speaker 1>A Prayer for Perseverance through Pain written and read by

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<v Speaker 1>Leah Gerard. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters.

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<v Speaker 1>Whenever you trials of many kinds, because you know that

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<v Speaker 1>the testing of your faith produces perseverance, Let perseverance finish

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<v Speaker 1>its work so that you may be mature and complete,

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<v Speaker 1>not lacking anything. James one two through four. In the

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<v Speaker 1>first chapter of the five chapter Book of James, James

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<v Speaker 1>opens with hearty encouragement to the twelve scattered tribes of Jerusalem.

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<v Speaker 1>To these first Christians in the thick of persecution, James

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<v Speaker 1>offers a bold perspective on their trials. He asks them

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<v Speaker 1>to consider them pure joy. When James, half brother of Jesus,

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<v Speaker 1>wrote this epistle, which is one of the earliest New

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<v Speaker 1>Testament letters, Christians were being driven into poverty and hunger

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<v Speaker 1>while they're grappling to survive, James adjusts their focus to

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<v Speaker 1>what faith can produce. He knew that going through pain

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<v Speaker 1>or hardha can forge compassion for others, humility, and the

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<v Speaker 1>realization that earthly experiences are temporary. The Book of James

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<v Speaker 1>is relatively short, but it's also a very practical guide,

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<v Speaker 1>full of memorable commands for real daily struggles. I've tucked

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<v Speaker 1>this bit of scripture away in my heart and found

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<v Speaker 1>it useful recently while recovering from knee surgeries. Believe me,

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<v Speaker 1>it helps to think positively while surgery isn't healing like

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<v Speaker 1>I thought it would. I walk differently now, and my

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<v Speaker 1>body aches pretty much all of the time. Yet in

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<v Speaker 1>the grand scheme of trials, a post injury arthritic knee

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<v Speaker 1>is nothing. However, the pain has persisted for years, and

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<v Speaker 1>the frustration is real. Chronic pain is just one of

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<v Speaker 1>many trials that could test our faith. We wonder when

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<v Speaker 1>there's pain of any kind, is God really our savior, healer,

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<v Speaker 1>our strength? Which is why the trial at hand is

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately for our good. It builds in us a tenacity

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<v Speaker 1>to keep pursuing God's plan for us, to stay in

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<v Speaker 1>prayer with him about the direction of our lives and

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<v Speaker 1>to essentially see what we're made of. There's a kind

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<v Speaker 1>of wise maturity that develops over time through trials. When

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<v Speaker 1>you start to learn you're not indestructible. You can choose

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<v Speaker 1>to believe that despite your current condition, you're still within

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<v Speaker 1>God's plan, So you persist in finding treatment, therapy, guidance,

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever will carry you through your current trial as

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<v Speaker 1>you hold fast to your faith that God works all

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<v Speaker 1>things for good, and pain tends to push us toward

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<v Speaker 1>rather than away from, God, heightening our awareness that we

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<v Speaker 1>need a higher power. Always surrendering whatever life throws you

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<v Speaker 1>in prayer and petition to God can relieve you from

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<v Speaker 1>having to have it all figured out. And that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of faith that encourages hope through pain is truly a

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<v Speaker 1>remarkable joy. It's not a fleeting happiness, but a deep

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<v Speaker 1>seated comfort that comes from realizing it's not all up

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<v Speaker 1>to you. That Christ did indeed promise trouble in this world,

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<v Speaker 1>but as you persevere, you invite God to complete you. Recently,

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<v Speaker 1>I listened to a podcast interview with a man who

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't find pain relief for years after a traumatic surfing incident,

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<v Speaker 1>so he decided to become a neurological doctor to find

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<v Speaker 1>his own cure. A large part of his discovery was

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<v Speaker 1>that our brains have an awesome capacity to make decisions

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<v Speaker 1>about pain and healing. He noticed that when his son

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<v Speaker 1>made him a laugh during his grueling physical therapy exercises,

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<v Speaker 1>he felt no pain. This showed him that where we

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<v Speaker 1>put our focus matters greatly when we're in pain. For Christians,

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<v Speaker 1>this means we can set our minds on a joy

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<v Speaker 1>that eclipses our trials, and in the process we gain

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<v Speaker 1>wisdom about ourselves as we grow in maturity. In time,

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that the promises you keep as a Christian

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<v Speaker 1>are always more powerful than any pain. Let's pray. Dear God,

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<v Speaker 1>you see the trial I'm in. Help me shift my

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<v Speaker 1>focus from the pain to the joy I have in

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<v Speaker 1>knowing who you are. Show me how to take care

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<v Speaker 1>of myself during this trial, and grow in me the

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<v Speaker 1>qualities I need to proture in my faith. Fill me

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<v Speaker 1>with your peace so that I can freely trust that

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<v Speaker 1>you know the outcome and that I am always in

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<v Speaker 1>your loving hands. Thank you Lord, Amen. Your daily prayer

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