Choosing Faith Over Familiar Pain

New mercies meet honest courage as we gather for morning prayer and fix our eyes on Philippians 3:13: forgetting what’s behind and reaching for what’s ahead. We don’t rush past the praise; we let it reshape our posture, naming God’s goodness in every season before asking Him to search our hearts, cleanse our motives, and renew our strength. From there, we lean into a practical, hope-filled pursuit: pressing forward with all we have and refusing the half-hearted offerings that keep us stuck.

We reflect on Cain and Abel as a hard but needed mirror, asking to serve from a pure place—even when disappointment and fatigue tempt us to hold back. Whether you’re seasoned in faith or just starting out, you’ll hear a steady invitation to step into new territory one God-led step at a time. We talk about real-life discipline and self-control across finances, food, relationships, words, and emotions, because freedom often hinges on choices made in small moments. The prayer expands into intercession for those who grieve, with compassion for the long arc of loss and a firm stand against depression’s foothold, then moves to requests for healing, provision, and protection.

Our devotional closes the loop: move beyond familiarity. Familiar pain can feel safer than unknown healing, but God calls us from predictable patterns into a life shaped by faith. If you’ve been choosing what you know over what is healthy, this time together will help you release the weight and regain momentum toward what God prepared. If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope today, and leave a rating so more people can find this space of prayer and courage.

Join us LIVE for Morning Prayer at 6 am EST Monday-Friday or Wednesday Night Prayer at 7 PM EST.  Prayer Warriors from the US dial 1 727-731-9243. International Prayer Warriors dial 1 267-807-9601 if prompted the access code is 252337. Send prayer requests to jbaymon@healing-word.org  or leave a message on the website www.healing-word.org

Join us Live for 6 AM EST prayer Monday-Friday and Wednesday Nights at 7 PM EST (727) 731-9243.  International number 1 267-807-9601 if prompted the access code is 252337. Send prayer requests to jbaymon@healing-word.org  or leave a message on our website www.healing-word.org

Transcript

Praise And Adoration

Repentance And Heart Search

Strength To Press And Lean In

A Lesson From Cain And Abel

Serving With A Pure Heart

Courage For New Territory

Forgetting The Past And Reaching Forward

Discipline And Self-Control

Intercession For Grief And Healing

Provision, Protection, And Joy

Devotional: Move Beyond Familiarity

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Good morning. Welcome to morning prayer. Today is November twenty-fifth, two thousand and twenty-five. I thank the Lord for a new day. Thank God for his mercies today. You know, this morning we have new mercies. We have mercies that didn't exist yesterday, but today God has given us new mercies. And so I thank the Lord for that. And we're going to prepare our hearts for a time of prayer. Uh the scripture for this morning, it is Philippians the third chapter and the thirteenth verse in the King James Version of the Bible. It reads, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before me. Amen. And our prayer this morning is that God will give us the strength to continue pressing forward. Amen. We're going to go into a time of prayer now. Let's begin by giving God all the praise that is due to Him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We praise the Lord. We praise our God. We praise He who was and is and is to come. We praise you, God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Regardless of whatever day or whatever time, whatever season we may be going through, God, you're still good. You're good, God. Hallelujah. All of our lives you've been good. Hallelujah. In every situation, you've shown your hand and you've shown that you're good. Hallelujah. Oh God, we thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We thank you that you're a God that takes what the enemy means for evil and turns it for our good. Oh God, we thank you. Hallelujah. We honor you. We bless you. We lift up your name, God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. There is no one as great as you. There is no one that can stand beside you, for you are God alone. For there is no one that could stand above you, for you are the most high God. Hallelujah. And Lord, you reign in victory. Hallelujah. Lord, you reign in victory. Oshayababa Sandarabosia. God, you reign in victory. Hallelujah. We thank you, God, for being our reigning King. We thank you for being the Lord of all things. Thank you for being the Lord of our lives. Thank you for being the Lord of our situations. Thank you for being the Lord of our salvation. Thank you for being the Lord of our health. Thank you for being, hallelujah, the Lord of our families. Thank you, God. Thank you for being the Lord of our churches. Lord, thank you. Thank you for being the Lord of our community, God. Lord, we thank you. Lord, we thank you for being the Lord of our lives. Oh God, hallelujah. We come to you this morning and we're thanking and we're praising you. We're exalting you. Hallelujah, because you deserve that and so much more. Oh God, hallelujah. Even as we're going into this time of prayer, God, I pray that you'll check the positions of our hearts, Lord. Search our hearts and search our minds, God. Oh God, we lift them up to you, Lord. Oh God, we lift all of ourselves up to you, God. And Lord, we say, search us. Search us, oh Lord. Hallelujah. You find anything that is not right in us, God. Take it out in the name of Jesus. Oh God, any self-destructive behavior. Oh God, anything that will keep us from you. Anything that'll hold us back. Oh God, we lift it up to you, God. And Lord, we ask that you'll take it, Father, in the name of Jesus. We surrender all to you this morning. Oh Lord, forgive us of our sins and of our iniquities. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you, Lord, for forgiving us, Lord, for falling short. Oh God, forgiving us, Lord, for thinking in ways that are unpleasing to you. Oh God, we pray, Lord, hallelujah, that you'll wash us. Wash us white as snow. Oh God, wash us clean, oh God. Clean our hearts, God. Oh God, clean our hearts. Ayabasha. Oh God, clean our hearts and our intentions. Oh God, clean our minds, God. In the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, we're looking to you, Father. Hallelujah. Oh God, we submit to you. But God, we understand that we cannot do these things all by ourselves. So God, we pray, oh God. We pray for the strength, oh God, to prevail, to prevail over sin and shame to prevail, oh God, over every iniquity to prevail, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, give us prevailing power this morning. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I ask, Lord, that you'll give us strength, oh God, for the path ahead of us. Oh God, give us strength, Lord, to push, oh God, and to press this morning. Oh God, we ask, Lord, that you'll give us to press, oh God. Press, oh God. Oh Lord, if we're pressing, that lets us know that we're leaning into something. Oh God, give us to lean into the future. Oh God, give us to lean into what you've said about our lives, to lean into our calling. Oh God, give us to lean into the work that you've given us to do. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, when we lean in on it, oh God, we're putting our weight on it, God. When we lean in, Father, oh God, we're not holding anything back, but we're giving it the best that we can give it. Oh God, give us to do our best for you, Lord. In the name of Jesus. Oh God. Oh God. I'm reminded, oh God. Hallelujah. I'm reminded of the two brothers in the Bible. Oh God, that both gave sacrifices. One was acceptable and one was not acceptable to you. Oh God, Cain and Abel. Oh God, I thank you, Lord, because you showed us there, God, that there is a way that we can behave. There is a sacrifice that we can give you. That is not a whole sacrifice, but a sacrifice where we're holding back, a sacrifice where we're not giving it our all. A sacrifice where it's not coming from a pure heart. Oh God, and you showed us that you don't desire that sacrifice. You won't accept that sacrifice. So, God, I pray this morning that you'll give us, Lord, to lean in, God, to lean into the work of the Lord. Oh God, help us, Lord. Help the mature saints that have been doing this thing for some time. Help them, Lord, to serve authentically, God. Help them to serve, oh God, from the bottom of their hearts, from the depths of their soul. Help them to serve, Lord. Oh God, though they've experienced some discouraging things. Oh God, though their eyes may have seen some things that have turned them off. Oh God, give them to serve, oh God, from a pure place. In the name of Jesus, help us with that today. Help us with that today, God. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you. We thank you, Lord. We want our sacrifice to ascend on high and to be pleasing to you, God, even as a sweet-smelling savor, to be pleasing unto you. Oh God, help us, Lord. Oh God, to continue to do our best. Oh God, to not do the least, but to do our best, Father. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, you gave us your best. You gave us your son. You gave us the best. Oh God. And so we give all to you. We give our best to you in the name of Jesus. Or touch those. Oh God, even the new saints, God. Oh God, even those that are newer on the scene. Oh God, give them the strength, oh God, to find the path that you are calling them to, Lord, and to lean into serving there. In the name of Jesus, to lean into it, Father. Oh God, it's new territory. Oh God, you do a new thing. Oh God. Oh Lord, it's new territory. So that means it's scary territory. It's something that we've never done before. It's a direction that we've never gone in before. It's a place that we've never been before. But God, I pray that you'll give them the courage to persevere. That you'll give them the courage to continue believing you. And believing you that as they take one step, oh God, that you'll give them direction for the next step. Oh God, give us to trust you. Give us to trust you in even the very steps that we take, Father, in the name of Jesus. You don't often give us the whole map, oh God. But Lord, you give us to go from point A to point B when the reality is that you want us somewhere in point D. So God, we thank you, Lord. We thank you for giving us every next step that we need to take to get from one point to the next. And God, those points being moving us forward. Oh God, moving us out of what is familiar. Oh God, I thank you. I thank you, God. Oh Lord, that we are new creatures. Oh God, that old things are passed away. And behold, all things have become new. Oh God, we're new today. We're new today. We thank you for newness today, God. Oh, yesterday may have not gone how we want it to go, but today's a new day, and we're a new creature in Christ. Oh God, we thank you, Lord. Oh God, for giving us even that mindset to continue to be resilient, oh God, to continue to press forward, God, in the things of God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, the word said, forgetting those things which are behind. Oh God, forgetting, Lord, the hurts. Oh God, forgetting the pain. Oh God, forgetting hallelujah, revenge. Oh God, forgetting those things. Oh God, forgetting, Lord, that life of sin. Oh God, forgetting those things which are behind us, God. Lord, we reach forth. We reach forth, God. We're reaching in prayer. We're reaching in prayer. Oh God, as we reach out, Lord, I pray that you'll reach for us, Lord, and pull us forward, Lord. Oh God, as we stretch out our hand, as we stretch out our will, oh God, I pray that you'll connect with our will and pull us forward. Pull us forth onto those things, oh God, which are before us, oh God. We thank you, Lord. Oh God, that the latter is greater than the former. We thank you, God, that there are yet better days ahead, yet better things, yet greater places that you're calling us to. Oh God, we thank you that our eyes have not seen the greatness of what you have for us. No one around us, oh God, can comprehend it, God. Only you know, God. Oh God, even the enemy, he understands that something great is ahead, and so he fights us. But the word of God says that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man. The things that God has prepared for us. You've got some things prepared for us. You've got some plans for us, God. You've got some blessings for us, God. You've got some things, Lord, that you're sitting in front of us and waiting for us to push into, God. Oh God, we push this morning. We push this morning. Oh God, even in the natural, oh God, there's been some things, Lord. Oh God, that we may have gotten lax in. Oh God, some bad habits, oh God. Oh God, that we continue, oh Lord, to go back to. Oh God, help us, Lord, to live our life with discipline. Help us to live our life, oh God, with the fruit of the spirit that's called self-control. Oh God, help us, Lord, to not let those things that weighed us down last week weigh us down this week. Give us the strength to prevail. Give us the strength to go forward. Aya Lamanda Hoshia. In the name of Jesus, strengthen us, God. Strengthen us, Lord, to let go of the things that the enemy has designed to keep us from moving forward, God. Oh Lord, give us discipline in our finances. Oh God, give us discipline in what we eat. Oh God, give us discipline, oh God, in our relationships. Give us discipline, God. Self-control, Lord. In the name of Jesus. Give us self-control with our mouths, God. In the name of Jesus. Give us self-control with our emotions, God. In the name of Jesus. Oh God. Oh God. We need you, God. We need your God to do it for us, Lord. We need you to give it to us, Father. Oh God, give us the strength, oh God. The strength, God, to go forward, to break everything off of us, Lord, that weighs us down. Oh God, to pull away from it, God, to pull away from it, God, to gain momentum from it, God. Oh God, give us to let go, to let go, to let go of the things, God, that are holding us and weighing us down, oh God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God. God, that we may know you, that we may know you in the power of your resurrection and the fellowship of your sufferings. Oh God. Oh God, that we may know you, God, that we may know you better, God, that we may see, oh God, what it is you have in store for us. Oh, yes, God. Oh Father, I pray this morning. I pray for the Bayman family, God. I pray, oh God. I pray, Lord, for those that are grieving, God. I pray that you'll touch, oh God, that you'll lighten the load, God, in the name of Jesus. Oh God, I thank you. I thank you, God, because you give us an appointed time, Lord, even to grieve. Oh God, you give us time, Lord, even for that. Oh God, I pray, Lord. I pray that you'll help, oh God, that you'll help us, Lord. Oh Lord, to even grieve as unto the Lord. Oh God, give the enemy no foothold. In the name of Jesus, give depression no foothold, God. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, we pray. We pray for strength for all families that are grieving. Oh God, we pray, oh God. We pray for all those that are grieving, Father. Grief has no expiration date. Oh God, even if we lose someone 10 years ago, oh God, we still have moments of missing them. Oh God, I pray. I pray, God, that you'll give us, Lord, to grieve, Lord, healthy. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, give us to grieve, even Lord, hallelujah, in your presence, Father. In the name of Jesus. God, give depression no foothold. Give depression no foothold, God. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray. I pray, Lord, for the strength of your people. I pray, God, for the health of your people. I pray, God, that your people will advance and move forward. I pray, God, that you'll bless them, Lord, today. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Lord, that you'll cover your people under the blood from the crown of their head to the soles of their feet. I pray, God, that you'll heal and deliver, God. Cancers and diabetes, oh God. Oh God, high blood pressure, Lord. Oh God, whatever it may be. I pray, God, that you'll heal in the name of Jesus. Oh God, we thank you for being, oh God, the Lord of all, Lord of our lives, Lord of our lives. Oh God, those that are struggling financially. Oh God, those that are struggling to put food on the table. I pray for abundance in their lives. In the name of Jesus. Oh God, I pray, Lord, that you'll strengthen your people and give us to make it through the hard points. Give us to make it through the hard points, oh God. Realizing that joy comes in the morning. Oh God, there's joy. There's joy. There's victory. Hallelujah. Even after these things. Oh God, I thank you. And Father, I give your name all of the praise and all of the glory in Jesus' name. Thank God and amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I thank God for this time of prayer. I thank God. Hallelujah. For how He has moved in our midst. Amen. And we are looking at moving beyond familiarity. That is our devotional today. Hallelujah. Move beyond familiarity. It says sometimes we stay stuck because we're familiar with brokenness. We know how sadness feels. We know how rejection feels. We know how disappointment feels. But God is calling you out of the predictable and into the supernatural. Hallelujah. And a question for us to reflect on is what have I been choosing because it's familiar rather than healthy? Are there things that we continue to go to because we're familiar, that are yet unhealthy to us, that are yet detrimental to us physically and spiritually? Hallelujah. That's the question that we ask ourselves today. And we say today the prayer here is Lord, give me the courage to walk into the unfamiliar with faith. Give us courage to walk into the unfamiliar with faith. And we thank God that our devotionals this week are based off of a message that was preached on Sunday evening. Pastor Mark Bayman Sr. was the uh guest speaker, and the message was called Step Out. Step Out. So we're learning how to step out what is of what is familiar and to walk by faith into the things that God is calling us into. Amen. And so I thank God for each one of you this morning. I thank God for each one of you. Thank God for Dr. Suttles. Thank God for Elder Suttles this morning. Just faithful, faithful to our prayer line. I thank God for them. And I thank God for their prayers for me and my family. Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our family. We have experienced a loss on this week, but we thank the Lord. We thank the Lord that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Amen. Hallelujah. We thank God that the individual that passed, we believe that he had his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We believe, we believe with all of our hearts that he is resting in the arms of the Lord. And so we thank God. We thank God for what he's done, even though it doesn't feel good. We thank God for it. Amen. And so at this time, uh preparing to go. I thank the Lord for Pastor Mark Bayman Jr., Pastor and Founder of Healing Word Ministries and the Healing Word Church family. Amen. We will be back tomorrow if the Lord is willing. We'll be back tomorrow morning for morning prayer. God bless you and have a beautiful day.