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Speaker 1: Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved

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Speaker 1: him as his own soul First Samuel eighteen three. Our

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Speaker 1: heavenly Father, we thank you for your infinite goodness in

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Speaker 1: providing us with the gift of brotherhood and friendship. Through

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Speaker 1: this bond, we can find comfort and support in our lives,

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Speaker 1: no matter how challenging life gets. Help us to cherish

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Speaker 1: and nurture these relationships as a blessing from you. Strengthen

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Speaker 1: our community by drawing us closer together in our mutual

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Speaker 1: love and respect. Help us to be a source of

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Speaker 1: encouragement for each other, just as you have been for us.

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Speaker 2: All.

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Speaker 1: May we celebrate our special connections as brothers and sisters

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Speaker 1: with joy in our hearts. Thankful for the gift that

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Speaker 1: you have given us. In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you

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Speaker 1: for joining me in prayer. Stay tuned for today's free podcast,

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Speaker 1: Meditative Prayers with Zach Clinton, where you can draw close

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Speaker 1: to God and find strength in him.

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Speaker 2: My friends, welcome to your meditative prayer on New Friendships.

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Speaker 2: To get the most out of your spiritual journey, usepray

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Speaker 2: dot com every day and make prayer a priority in

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Speaker 2: your life. Again. Our goal for today's meditative prayer is

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Speaker 2: all about new friendships. Making new friends can sometimes feel overwhelming,

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Speaker 2: So right now, let's just take a moment to find

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Speaker 2: a comfortable place where you can relax. Maybe close your

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Speaker 2: eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. As you

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Speaker 2: open your heart and prepare to receive God's word, go

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Speaker 2: ahead and invite His Holy Spirit to come and minister

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Speaker 2: to you again. Today will be meditating on First Samuel

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Speaker 2: chapter eighteen, verse three. From the King James version, it says,

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Speaker 2: then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved

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Speaker 2: him as his own soul. Now take a moment just

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Speaker 2: to pour out your adoration to God for the gift

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Speaker 2: of fellowship. God, I worship you for your abundant blessings

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Speaker 2: upon my life. I praise you for creating me with

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Speaker 2: the capacity and the ability to experience friendship. Holy Spirit,

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Speaker 2: I thank you for enabling and empowering me to love

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Speaker 2: others as I love myself. Remember this friendship is a covenant.

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Speaker 2: Covenants are an import and continuous theme throughout the Bible.

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Speaker 2: A covenant is a pact and agreement between two parties

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Speaker 2: with the understanding that neither side shall break whatever is

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Speaker 2: agreed upon. To establish a friendship is to enter into

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Speaker 2: a covenant with another person. When you pledge to be

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Speaker 2: a friend to someone, you are promising to love that

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Speaker 2: person as you love yourself. One of the most beautiful

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Speaker 2: and inspirational examples of lasting friendship in the Bible is

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Speaker 2: that of Jonathan and King David. David had been chosen

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Speaker 2: by God to replace Saul as king over Israel and

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Speaker 2: as Saul's son. Jonathan should have hated David, but Jonathan

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Speaker 2: recognized God's calling upon David's life and chose to be

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Speaker 2: his friend. Jonathan and David's relationship proved that friendship does

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Speaker 2: not require conducive conditions, only a desire and determination to love.

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Speaker 2: For although they had every reason to act with animosity,

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Speaker 2: they chose friendship instead. Jonathan and King David's friendship transcended kingdoms, customs, culture,

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Speaker 2: and time. They demonstrated that friendship is a covenant to

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Speaker 2: be honored out of love and not measured by convenience.

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Speaker 2: Jonathan and King David followed God's law and loved each

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Speaker 2: other as they loved their own selves. You must never

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Speaker 2: forget that friendship is not a burden, It is a blessing.

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Speaker 2: Given by God. For a God given friendship is an

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Speaker 2: opportunity to bless others and to be blessed yourself. Perhaps,

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Speaker 2: my friend, you've been struggling in your friendships. Perhaps you

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Speaker 2: currently find yourself without any God given friends. Right now,

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Speaker 2: this is your chance to present yourself before the Lord.

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Speaker 2: Take this opportunity to confess your sins to him and

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Speaker 2: share with him what is hindering you from experiencing the

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Speaker 2: blessing of God given friendships. And right now, as we transition,

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Speaker 2: let's just take a moment to dwell on God's blessing

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Speaker 2: of fellowship over you. Thank Him for the blessing of

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Speaker 2: godly friends who enrich your life. Thank Him for the

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Speaker 2: blessing of relationships that support you in times of need.

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Speaker 2: Thank Him for the blessing of friends who encourage you

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Speaker 2: to grow in your relationship with God and to persevere

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Speaker 2: in your walk with the Lord. Thank God for the

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Speaker 2: people in your life who, through faith, minister God's love

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Speaker 2: over you and provide you with the opportunity to do

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Speaker 2: the same for them. My friend, do not forget God

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Speaker 2: is present and he is listening to you. Reach out

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Speaker 2: to the Lord in prayer and ask him to minister

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Speaker 2: over you. Ask God for discernment over whom you should

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Speaker 2: enter into covenant with. Ask Him to place the right

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Speaker 2: people in your life. Ask God to bless you with

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Speaker 2: the gift of friendship, and ask him to experience a

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Speaker 2: friendship like that of Jonathan and King David. Remember, friendship

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Speaker 2: is a covenant. Jonathan made a covenant with David because

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Speaker 2: he loved David as much as himself. God created you

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Speaker 2: with the capacity for friendship, to experience the joy that

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Speaker 2: comes from having fellowship with others. So right now, my friends,

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Speaker 2: make a commitment to cherish and to honor the friendships

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Speaker 2: that God has given you. Choose to love others as

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Speaker 2: you love yourself, and for this day and all the

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Speaker 2: days to come, choose to be a blessing unto others,

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Speaker 2: and in doing so, be blessed yourself. My friends, thank

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Speaker 2: you for completing today's meditative prayer on pray dot com.

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Speaker 2: By incorporating this healthy habit as a daily practice, I

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Speaker 2: believe you're not only making prayer a priority, but you're

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Speaker 2: also strengthening your walk with God. I'm Zach Clinton, Vice

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Speaker 2: President of the American Association of Christian Counselors, and we

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Speaker 2: love being a part of your life. Hey for more information, inspiration, help,

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Speaker 2: our website at AACC dot net. Again, that's AACC dot net.

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