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Speaker 1: But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will

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Speaker 1: not gratify the desires of the flesh Galatians five sixteen.

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Speaker 1: Dear Lord, despite my noble desires to follow you faithfully,

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Speaker 1: sometimes my flesh leads me to make the wrong decision.

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Speaker 1: But you, o Lord, are faithful to correct and comfort me.

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Speaker 1: When I am led astray. You offer me your spirit

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Speaker 1: to guide and convict me. I pray that I would

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Speaker 1: walk by the spirit and starve the flesh of gratification.

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Speaker 1: I pray that you would replenish my selfish desires with

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Speaker 1: holy ones, desires of love, patience, and service to others.

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Speaker 1: I pray for your continual grace when I stumble, and

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Speaker 1: strength when I am weak. In Jesus' name. Amen, thank

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Speaker 1: you for joining me in prayer. Stay tuned for today's

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Speaker 1: free podcast Meditative Prayers with Zach Clinton, where you can

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Speaker 1: draw close to God and find strength in him.

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Speaker 2: My friends, welcome to your meditative prayer on spiritual fitness.

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

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

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Speaker 2: in your life.

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Speaker 1: Again.

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Speaker 2: Our goal for today's meditative prayer is all about enhancing

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Speaker 2: and strengthening your spiritual fitness. So right now, let's head

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Speaker 2: to our quiet and tranquil spot. Maybe close your eyes,

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Speaker 2: and as you breathe in and out, focus on quieting

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Speaker 2: your spirit and relaxing your body, empty yourself of all distractions,

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Speaker 2: focus your thoughts on God, and now invite God's Holy

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Speaker 2: Spirit to come have fellowship with you, and to prepare

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Speaker 2: your heart and open your mind to receive from the

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Speaker 2: Holy Scripture. Today we'll be meditating on Galatians chapter five,

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Speaker 2: verses sixteen to eighteen from the King James version. But

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Speaker 2: I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not

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Speaker 2: gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of

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Speaker 2: the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of

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Speaker 2: the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed

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Speaker 2: to each other to keep you from doing the things

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Speaker 2: you want to do. But if you are led by

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Speaker 2: the spirit, you are not under the law. My friends. Now,

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Speaker 2: let's just take a moment to pour out our adoration

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Speaker 2: to God.

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Speaker 1: God.

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Speaker 2: I praise you for in your presence there is fullness

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Speaker 2: of joy. Jesus. I thank you for your grace that

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Speaker 2: enables me to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And

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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit I worship You for empowering me to live

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Speaker 2: a godly life and to walk in full victory over

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Speaker 2: the enemy. Walk in the spirit and not by the flesh.

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Speaker 2: To experience spiritual well being, you must be led by

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Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. As Christ said, you must worship God

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Speaker 2: in spirit and in truth. You must live a life

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Speaker 2: that is in constant submission to the Holy Spirit and

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Speaker 2: guided by him. Everything you do, your thoughts, actions, and

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Speaker 2: words should be guided by God. King David asked God

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Speaker 2: about many decisions he had to make, and he would

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Speaker 2: receive very specific instructions from God. He asked whether to

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Speaker 2: go into certain battles, whether to surrender or to fight,

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Speaker 2: whether to flee or to go into battle, and God

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Speaker 2: answered him. Religions based on rules function because everyone knows

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Speaker 2: what they are supposed to do. Christ calls us into

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Speaker 2: something much more difficult, a relationship with a living God

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Speaker 2: who does not act in predictable ways. Sometimes his instruction

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Speaker 2: confounds us, but in submitting to his instruction, we strengthen

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Speaker 2: our spirit and we kill our flesh, which leads to

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Speaker 2: death when we fall. Oh the Holy Spirit's leading, we

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Speaker 2: will always be sure of our way no matter what.

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Speaker 2: If you struggle with knowing where to go and what

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Speaker 2: to do. My friends, submit yourself to Christ, take up

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Speaker 2: his burden which is light, and lay down your sin.

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Speaker 2: And right now, in this moment, confess your trespasses to

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Speaker 2: Him and receive his forgiveness. And now let's consider the

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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit's leading and thank God for it. Thank God

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Speaker 2: for the gift of his Holy Word, for sharing of

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Speaker 2: himself and his intelligence through scripture. Thank Him that obedience

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Speaker 2: to his word produces good outcomes in your life. Thank

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Speaker 2: Jesus for making a way for the Holy Spirit to

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Speaker 2: enter the world and instruct us. And thank God for

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Speaker 2: providing a gentle counselor to guide us in the practice

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Speaker 2: of righteousness. You see, God is present and he is

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Speaker 2: listening to you. The Holy Spirit desires to help you

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Speaker 2: follow the law of the Lord. So ask for help

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Speaker 2: in submitting your spirit to his. For God to stress

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Speaker 2: your spirit that you might deny your flesh, and ask

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Speaker 2: for him to give you the ability to follow the

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Speaker 2: will of God. Remember, live by following the Spirit. Then

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Speaker 2: you will not do what your sinful selves want. What

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Speaker 2: your flesh wants is against the spirit. But when you

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Speaker 2: allow the Spirit to lead you, you will follow the

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Speaker 2: will of God. It may be difficult at first, but

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Speaker 2: over time you will become more disciplined. So be encouraged

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Speaker 2: because you can do this. You have God's Holy Spirit

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Speaker 2: to show you the way and to assist you as well.

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Speaker 2: My friends, thank you for completing today's meditative prayer on

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Speaker 2: pray dot com. By incorporating this healthy habit as a

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Speaker 2: daily practice, you are making prayer priority and your strengthening

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Speaker 2: your walk with God. As always, my name is Zach Clinton,

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

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Speaker 2: we love being a part of your life.