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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. Again. Our goal for today's meditative prayer

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Speaker 2: is all about enhancing and strengthening your spiritual fitness. So

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Speaker 2: right now, let's head to our quiet and tranquil spot.

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Speaker 2: Maybe close your eyes, and as you breathe in and out,

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Speaker 2: focus on quieting your spirit and relaxing your body, empty

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Speaker 2: yourself of all distractions, focus your thoughts on God, and

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Speaker 2: now invite God D's Holy Spirit to come have fellowship

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Speaker 2: with you, and to prepare your heart and open your

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Speaker 2: mind to receive from the Holy Scripture. Today we'll be

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Speaker 2: meditating on Galatians chapter five, verses sixteen to eighteen from

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Speaker 2: the King James version. But I say, walk by the spirit,

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Speaker 2: and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

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

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

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Speaker 2: For these are opposed to each other to keep you

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Speaker 2: from doing the things you want to do. But if

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Speaker 2: you are led by the spirit, you are not under

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Speaker 2: the law.

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Speaker 1: My friends.

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

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Speaker 2: adoration to God. God. I praise you for in your

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Speaker 2: presence there is fullness of joy. Jesus. I thank you

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Speaker 2: for your grace that enables me to have fellowship with

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Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit I worship You for

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Speaker 2: empowering me to live a godly life and to walk

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Speaker 2: in full victory over the enemy. Walk in the spirit

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Speaker 2: and not by the flesh. To experience spiritual well being,

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Speaker 2: you must be led by the Holy Spirit. As Christ said,

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Speaker 2: you must worship God in spirit and in truth. You

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Speaker 2: must live a life that is in constant submission to

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Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit and guided by him. Everything you do,

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Speaker 2: your thoughts, actions, and words should be guided by God.

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Speaker 2: King David asked God about many decisions he had to make,

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Speaker 2: and he would receive very specific instructions from God. He

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Speaker 2: asked whether to go into certain battles, whether to surrender

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Speaker 2: or to fight, whether to flee or to go into battle,

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Speaker 2: and God answered him. Religions based on rules function because

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Speaker 2: everyone knows what they are supposed to do. Christ calls

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Speaker 2: us into something much more difficult, a relationship with a

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Speaker 2: living God who does not act in predictable ways. Sometimes

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

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Speaker 2: we strengthen our spirit and we kill our flesh, which

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

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Speaker 2: we 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 str

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 2: Spirit to show you the way and to assist you

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Speaker 2: as well. My friends, thank you for completing today's meditative

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Speaker 2: prayer on pray dot com. By incorporating this healthy habit

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Speaker 2: as a daily practice, you are making prayer priority and

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Speaker 2: your strengthening your walk with God. As always, my name

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Speaker 2: is Zach Clinton, Vice President of the American Association of

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Speaker 2: Christian Counselors, and we love being a part of your life.