A LAMP TO MY FEET. A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Those who love me will keep my word,

and my Father will love them,

and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

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– John 14:23 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Keeping Jesus’ word means

being good and faithful in putting His word into practice;

it means

never giving up in seeking to live it sincerely and unstintingly,

as you fulfill its every consequence

in the hidden and silent sacrifice of each day.

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Our basic attitude towards the Lord must be faithfulness.

In being faithful, we gladly accept His plan for us,

even though we will never completely understand how it will unfold.

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Faithfulness, for the Christian,

should mean consistency to live in accordance with what one believes;

and to adapt one’s own life accordingly,

embracing, practicing, following the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Duration is the most exacting test of faithfulness,

and duration comes from loyalty.

Loyalty for a day or two is easy,

but we are called to be persistently loyal.

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Am I consistent in my faithfulness to the Lord’s teachings?

Am I truly loyal to God?

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I need to persevere;

I must not give up;

I must keep check on my tendency to be self-centered

I must keep on asking the Lord to heal me, change me, and renew me.

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QUOTE…and PRAYER…

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"Late have I loved You,

O Beauty so ancient and so new,

late have I loved You!

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You were within me,

and I was in the world outside myself.

I searched for You

in the world outside myself…

You were with me,

but I was not with You.

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The beautiful things of this world

kept me far from You

and yet, if they had not been in You,

they would have no being at all.

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You called me;

You cried aloud to me;

You broke my barrier of deafness;

You shone upon me;

Your radiance enveloped me;

You cured my blindness."

– St. Augustine

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, I love You and I want keep Your word.

Cure me, Lord, and help me with my determination to overcome my selfishness.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

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– Psalm 136:1 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

But these can be meaningless words,

unless we know the Lord

and make the time and effort to get to know Him.

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Jesus – God incarnate –

comes to life in the New Testament.

It is only if I spend time to learn about Him,

to listen out for His voice as He speaks to my heart

and teaches me His truth,

that I will be able to sincerely exclaim,

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.”.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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How good You are, Lord.

How great You are.

Oh how I love You, Lord!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.

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– Habakkuk 3:18-19 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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When we get to know the Lord

through spending quality time with Him,

we will truly acknowledge Him as our Lord,

and our heart will exult

with that indescribable joy

which is beyond our understanding!

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Whatever the situation we are in,

our heart knows the Truth

when it finds “Him”.

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When I truly believe,

I will never lose hope,

I will trust fully in the Lord my God

and I press on joyfully to the “heights” of His glorious mountain.

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QUOTE…

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“This certainty, which the faith gives,

enables us to look at everything

in a new light.

And everything,

while remaining exactly the same,

becomes different,

because it is an expression of God’s love.

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Our life is turned into a continuous prayer,

we find ourselves with good humour

and a peace which never ends,

and everything we do

is an act of thanksgiving

running through all our day.”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord, my God, You are my strength.

Lead me along Your path to salvation!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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We ask God

to fill you with the knowledge of His will,

with all the wisdom and understanding that His Spirit gives.

Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants

and will always do what pleases Him.

Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds,

and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

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May you be made strong

with all the strength which comes from His glorious power,

so that you may be able to endure everything with patience.

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And with joy give thanks to the Father,

who has made you fit to have your share

of what God has reserved for His people

in the kingdom of light.

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He rescued us from the power of darkness

and brought us safe into the kingdom of His dear Son,

by whom we are set free,

that is, our sins are forgiven.

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– Colossians 1:9-14 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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St Thomas comments,

"it is not enough to have knowledge,

for he who knows what is the right thing to do and fails to do it

commits sin;

therefore, one must need to perform virtuous actions."

Christians therefore should always rely on God

to strengthen them to do good;

if they do so, they will always be happy.

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To live as the Lord wants

means keeping His commandments,

acting in a way that reflects the dignity of God

who created us and made us His children through grace,

and who watches all our doings with fatherly affection;

it means being very faithful to our Christian calling,

which leaves us in our place

but requires us produce all kinds of good deeds.

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As Christians,

we should always be grateful to God for His great mercy

in deigning to free us from the power of the devil,

forgiving our sins

and making us worthy

to share of what God has reserved for His people

in the kingdom of light.

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QUOTE…

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“You must realise

that it is God who has brought you out of darkness

into His wonderful light […].

And what caused Him to do so

was not your past merits

or any service you have rendered Him,

but His kindness alone

and the merits of our only mediator, Jesus Christ our Lord."

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– St. John of Avila

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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So much to be thankful for, O Lord, my God.

Your love and generosity know no bounds.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When daylight came, Jesus left the house

and made His way to a lonely place.

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– Luke 4:42 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus was a busy man

carrying out a Divine Mission.

but He too made the time

to reflect quietly,

to pray privately,

to speak to the Father

away from interruptions, noise and distractions.

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As in everything else,

here too, He sets an example.

We all need to find the time

and that quiet place, inside or outside our home,

where we can pray and reflect.

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When Jesus reflected,

He was not on His own

– He was with God;

He did not speak to Himself

– He turned His mind and heart to God.

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When we go to that quiet place to reflect and pray like Jesus did,

we too will not be alone

because the Lord will be with us

and we must always be conscious of that honour.

Otherwise, we run the risk

of praying for the wrong reason,

harbouring the wrong thoughts

and of reaching the wrong conclusions

– those which we think will satisfy and suit us best.

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On the other hand,

when we acknowledge His presence,

we will find peace

and consolation

and truth

and that incomparable joy in the Lord!

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QUOTE…

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“You ask:

‘To pray is to talk with God.

But about what?’

..

About what? About Him, about yourself:

joys, sorrows, successes and failures,

noble ambitions, daily worries,

weaknesses!

And acts of thanksgiving and petitions:

and love and reparation…”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, come with me to that quiet place

– everyday.

Teach me Your truth, Lord, and fill me with Your peace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord is my light and my salvation;
I will fear no one.
The Lord protects me from all danger;
I will never be afraid.

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I have asked the Lord for one thing;
one thing only do I want:
to live in the Lord’s house all my life,
to marvel there at His goodness,
and to ask for His guidance.

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I know that I will live to see
the Lord’s goodness in this present life.
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Trust in the Lord.
Have faith, do not despair.
Trust in the Lord.

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– Psalm 27:1,4,13-14 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The guiding thread of our prayer

should be trust in God,

who fills us with a deep tranquillity

on days of rejoicing

as well as in times of sorrow and pain.

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Trust in the Lord.
Have faith,

do not despair.
Trust in the Lord.

Open your heart to the Lord

and make it His house, His sanctuary,

where He will reveal Himself

with His presence and His words of life.

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Welcome the Lord into your heart

and, as you worship and praise Him

and have recourse to Him in prayer,

He will pour upon you

the gifts of inner calm, strength of soul and peace.

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When we pray and entrust ourselves to God’s embrace,

we will be able to marvel at His goodness

as we contemplate and admire the divine mystery

and sing praises to the One who truly sets us free.

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Trust in the Lord.
Have faith,

do not despair.
Trust in the Lord

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[*]

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QUOTE…

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“The Lord creates around His faithful

a horizon of peace that blocks out the clamour of evil.

Communion with God is a source of serenity, joy and tranquillity;

it is like reaching an oasis of light and love.”

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– St. Pope John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, I trust in You.

Come live in me, Lord!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for You created all things,
and by Your will

they existed and were created.’

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– Revelations 4:11 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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As believers,

we praise and honour and worship God

as our Creator.

Or do we?

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Unfortunately, the world today

does not appear

to enthusiastically honour the Lord God.

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Though mankind benefits from His goodness

and lives in a universe of His creation,

we Christians, of the so-called Western World,

seem to have a regrettable tendency

to neglect the worship of God.

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Am I that sort of “Christian”?

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Do I praise and worship the Lord my God

by devoting time to Him;

by wholeheartedly honouring Sunday;

by reading and listening to His Word…and living it?

Or don’t I?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord and my God, You are worthy

and I shall praise You

and strive to always lift Your Name on high.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“For from within, out of a person’s heart,

come evil thoughts,

sexual immorality,

theft,

murder,

adultery,

greed,

wickedness,

deceit,

lustful desires,

envy,

slander,

pride,

and foolishness.

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All these vile things come from within;

they are what defile you.”

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– Mark 7:21-23 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is presenting us with a list

of what can distance us from Him

and make us badly lose the way.

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If I love the Lord,

then I need to stop the rot.

I must refer to this list regularly,

to identify my weaknesses

and to go to the Lord with a humble and contrite heart

seeking His forgiveness

and asking Him to heal me and renew me.

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QUOTE…

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"Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life.”

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– Proverbs 4:23

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Forgive me, Lord, and change my heart.

Renew it, Lord, and fill it with Your love!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When I make my plans,

do I make them from selfish motives,

ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

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For Jesus Christ, the Son of God…is not one who is Yes and No.

On the contrary, He is God’s Yes;

for it is He who is the Yes to all of God’s promises.

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This is why through Jesus Christ

our “Amen” is said to the glory of God.

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– 2 Corinthians 1:17-20 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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If we claim to follow Christ,

who is absolutely faithful and truthful

and who demands sincerity in thought, word and in deed,

then our plans and whatever we do,

should be in conformity with His teachings.

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The faithfulness of Christ

– in whom it is always YES –

is the model for all Christians

who, relying on Christ’s faithfulness

and trusting fully in His promise.

should gladly say “Amen” (So be it)

to Him who is strong, dependable and unchangeable,

and to docilely adhere fully to His teachings.

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Have I said “YES” to all of God’s YES to me?

Is there any of God’s YES to me to which I am saying NO

or MAYBE

or NOT JUST YET?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Yes, Lord Jesus, yes and Amen!

Help me, Lord, keep my promise like You keep Yours.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.

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This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the One He has sent.”

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– John 6:27b;29 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus wants us to have faith in Him,

for He is the Son of Man,

the giver of the food that does not perish.

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Without faith in Him whom the Father has sent,

it is not possible to recognise and accept

this glorious ‘gift’ which does not pass away.

Not to believe in Jesus is, consequently,

the gravest error we can make.

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Many, also within the Church itself,

already live a superficial and pagan life,

being active in different ways

but not really believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

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And so we are all invited to a profound conversion,

to a deep union with the Sacred Heart

and to a personal faith in Jesus Christ,

that we will experience the richness of His merciful and just love.

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Belief in Jesus Christ is the way to arrive definitively at salvation,

and we who believe

are being called to be burning flames of Christian love,

to give witness to the world

so that many more may truly believe in the One whom God has sent

and rush into Jesus’ waiting arms!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, I believe. Forgive my unbelief and fill me with love and hope!

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