1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Romans twelve twenty one. Heavenly Father, you call us to 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: forgive as you have forgiven us. We ask that you 4 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: would give us your strength and wisdom as we strive 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: to overcome evil with good. As our enemy schemes against us, 6 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: help us to realize that the power of kindness is 7 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: far greater than any hatred or violence they may bring. 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: Help us to extend our hands in peace and friendship, 9 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: even when the world wants us to retaliate. As we 10 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: persevere through these times, May your love fill us with courage, 11 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,959 Speaker 1: enable us to move forward with the spirit of grace, forgiveness, 12 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: and understanding. May we be inspired by your example as 13 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: we seek to do good and show mercy instead of 14 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: returning evil for evil. In the name of Jesus Christ, 15 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: we pray Amen. Thank you for joining me in prayer. 16 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: Stay tuned for today's free podcast Meditative Prayers with Zach Clinton, 17 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: where you can draw close to God and find strength 18 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: in him. 19 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 2: My friends, welcome to your meditative prayer on deep Forgiveness. 20 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,479 Speaker 2: To get the most out of your spiritual journey, usepray 21 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 2: dot com every day and make prayer a priority in 22 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 2: your life. Again, our goal for today's meditative prayer is 23 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: all about deep forgiveness. So right now, just take a 24 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: minute to gather your thoughts and quiet your spirit. Maybe 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: accommodate yourself into a comfortable position, close your eyes and 26 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 2: breathe easy. Now fix your attention on God and turn 27 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 2: your heart towards what the Holy Spirit wants to impart 28 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 2: to you this day. Today we'll be meditating on Romans 29 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 2: chapter twelve, verse twenty one from the King James version. 30 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 31 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 2: My friends, take some time now just to adore God 32 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: for his goodness. God, I look to the cross and 33 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 2: praise you, for your love is so great. I praise 34 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 2: you for sending your son to sacrifice himself for me. 35 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: By your goodness and the strength of your power, you 36 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 2: have redeemed me. You do not hide yourself from me, 37 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 2: and you give your goodness without measure. I sing your 38 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 2: praises for you overcame evil and defeated the grave. I 39 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 2: worship you for your loving kindness has restored my soul. 40 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 2: Let evil win. Evil has many faces and wears many guises, 41 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 2: but none more prevalent than hurt and hate. Evil feeds 42 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 2: and thrives off of discord and anger, bitterness, and unwillingness 43 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 2: to forgive. Fighting against evil will be hard, but it 44 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 2: must be done. It is true that human nature predisposes 45 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 2: us to demand recompence for an offense, to pay back 46 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: hurt and the wrong done against us. In any it 47 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 2: is true that human nature predisposes us to demand recompence 48 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 2: for an offense, to pay back hurt and the wrong 49 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 2: done against us in an even greater measure. However, this 50 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 2: mentality is self destructive and utterly contradictive to what God teaches. 51 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 2: When someone wrongs you and you respond in kind, you 52 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 2: are not getting vengeance or getting even You are merely 53 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 2: giving into evil itself. For you cannot defeat evil with evil. 54 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 2: So do not let the evil that was done to 55 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 2: you control you into doing evil yourself. Instead, stand your 56 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 2: ground in the truth of God's goodness and fight the 57 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 2: real enemy. At times, this will seem impossible, as evil 58 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 2: can be tempting. You will war with yourself and struggle 59 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: with your flesh to submit to God's law. But you 60 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 2: must not give in. You must persevere in mercy and 61 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 2: in grace. The battle against evil, both internal and external 62 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 2: will be fierce and brutal, but you must stand your ground, 63 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 2: for victory is attainable. The secret to success is simple, 64 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 2: overcome evil with good. Do not allow the actions and 65 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 2: words of others to dictate your own to coerce you 66 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: into embracing evil. Do not let the monstrosity of others 67 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 2: turn into a monster yourself. This is your chance to 68 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 2: come before God and to confess your failures and your mistakes, 69 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 2: to tell the Holy Spirit of the areas that you 70 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 2: may be struggling with in your fight against evil. And 71 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 2: right now, as we make the transition, let's take a 72 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 2: moment to simply dwell on the goodness of God. Think 73 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 2: of how Jesus chose to oppose evil with goodness, how 74 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 2: he poured out unrelenting mercy, unconditional grace and forgiveness at 75 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 2: the cross. Thank him for his opposition toward evil demonstrated, 76 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 2: and his compassion for you, for sacrificing who he was 77 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 2: to restore you to whom you were called to be. 78 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 2: Thank Jesus for loving you unconditionally in the past, and 79 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 2: thank him that his love will never change. Give thanks 80 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 2: to God for his victory over evil that enables your 81 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 2: own my friend's God is present and he is listening 82 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 2: to you. Jesus is intimately acquainted with the war being 83 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,039 Speaker 2: waged against evil. He is aware of the struggle and 84 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 2: difficulty associated with fighting the good fight. However, he overcame 85 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 2: the world as Jesus overcame, you will too. You are 86 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 2: not alone. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Submit 87 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 2: your whole heart to obeying Christ. Ask him to empower 88 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 2: you with conviction and determination to live as Christ lived, 89 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 2: to love is Christ loved, and to forgive as He does, 90 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 2: to destroy evil with goodness as He did. Remember, you 91 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 2: have a choice in how you react to evil. Do 92 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 2: not let evil defeat you. Instead, defeat evil by doing good. 93 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 2: God has called you to a victorious life filled with 94 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 2: his love, his grace, and his goodness. Never forget the 95 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 2: intensity and the depth in which you are loved by 96 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 2: the Father. God's love is strength, and with it you 97 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 2: can overcome any manner of evil. So be encouraged by 98 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 2: this truth and choose this day to overcome all evil 99 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 2: before you with the goodness found in God's grace. So 100 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: be encouraged by this truth and choose this day to 101 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: overcome all evil before you with the goodness that can 102 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 2: only be found in God's grace. My friends, thank you 103 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 2: for completing today's meditative prayer on pray dot com. By 104 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 2: incorporating this healthy habit as a daily practice, you are 105 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: making prayer priority, but you're also strengthening your walk with God. 106 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 2: I'm Zach Clinton, vice president of the American Association of 107 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 2: Christian Counselors, and we love being a part of your life. Hey, 108 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 2: before you go, if you're looking for some additional help, hope, 109 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 2: information or inspiration, I would also encourage you to go 110 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 2: visit our website. It can be found at AACC dot net. Again, 111 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 2: that is AACC dot net.