Hearing Jesus: Daily Bible Study, Daily Devotional, Prayer, Hearing God & Christian Affirmations

Holy Audacity: Stepping Into the Water Before It Parts | Joshua 3 and 4

Sometimes God clears the path before you take a step. And sometimes He asks you to walk into the water while it's still standing there. If you're in a season where obedience feels reckless, where you keep asking who you think you are to be doing this, this conversation is for you. Rachael sits down with her friend Silvia, who she met on the Bible Study Live trip to Italy, to talk about what God did on their recent trip to Maui. Silvia opens up about the insecurity that hit right as she was preparing to launch something God had clearly called her to, the moment another woman spoke truth over her, and how God fought that battle in the space of a few hours.

Then Rachael teaches through Joshua 3 and 4, the crossing of the Jordan, and the twelve stones that were meant to mark what God had done.

Join me on an immersive Bible Study Experience. We're returning to Maui in 2027. Learn more at⁠ BibleStudyLive.org⁠

Listen to Sylvia's new podcast, Echoes of Eden, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

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What is holy audacity?

It's the phrase that came out of a moment on the Maui trip when Rachael found herself asking how she had the audacity to think she should be doing this at all, and the Lord answered that He was the one who told her to do it. Holy audacity is the nerve to obey something bigger than you, not because you feel qualified, but because God said so. It's a prayer worth praying: Lord, give me some holy audacity moments. Challenge me with big obedience so I can see You show up in a big way.

Why does the enemy attack right before you step out?

Because the initial obedience usually isn't where we get stuck. Most of us say yes. It's the middle of the road where self-doubt, comparison, and insecurity start talking. As Rachael puts it, the enemy attacks in infancy what he fears in maturity. Silvia was being called Lady Wisdom by the other women on the trip at the very moment she was internally convinced she had no business doing what God had asked of her. Both things were happening in the same room on the same day.

What's the difference between the Red Sea and the Jordan River?

This is the heart of the teaching. In Exodus 14, God parted the sea first and the people of Israel walked across on dry ground. A generation later in Joshua 3, they face another body of water, and this time the instruction is different. The priests carrying the ark are told to step into the Jordan while the water is still flowing. The waters don't part until their feet are already wet.It's one thing to trust that God will hold back the water while you're standing on dry ground. It's another thing entirely to step in while the water is still there. The miracle still came and the result was the same, but the method changed, and that change required a different kind of obedience.

Why would God change His method?

Because we have a tendency to chase the miracle instead of the miracle worker. When we've seen God move a certain way before, we start expecting the pattern instead of the Person. Changing the method reorients our hearts back toward Him. Notice too what went first into the Jordan: the ark, the presence of God. His presence goes ahead and makes the way, and then the rest of the people cross.What do the twelve stones in Joshua 4 mean?After the crossing, God tells Joshua to have twelve men take twelve stones from the very place where the priests' feet had stood, and set them down where they camped that night. They were markers, so that when future generations asked what these stones meant, the story would get told again.That's what a marker moment is. A place you can look back to and say, if He did it then, He can do it now. When you're standing at the edge of water that hasn't parted yet, your stones are what you have. It made no sense then either, and He was still faithful. So the question worth sitting with: where are your river stones?

Featured quote:

"It's one thing to trust that He's going to hold back the water when I'm standing on dry ground. It is another thing to step in when there's still water."

Scripture referenced:

Exodus 14:21-22

Joshua 3:8-13

Joshua 4:1-9

Joshua 4:20-24

Psalm 66:16

Chapters:

Frequently asked questions

Why did God part the Red Sea before they crossed, but not the Jordan?

The outcome was the same, but the method changed. At the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark had to step into the water before it was cut off. That shift required trust in God Himself rather than in a repeated pattern.

What did the twelve stones represent?

They were a memorial. Each tribe carried one stone from the riverbed so future generations would ask what they meant and hear the story of what God had done.

Who is Silvia and what is Echoes of Eden?

Silvia is a friend Rachael met on the Bible Study Live trip to Italy. Her new interview podcast, Echoes of Eden, gives women space to tell their stories and share where God met them. It's anchored in Psalm 66:16.

When is the next Maui trip?

We're going back in 2027. Details are at BibleStudyLive.org.

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Before we open the Gospel of Luke, there's a question worth answering: what exactly is a gospel? Most of us have read these four books without ever stopping to ask what kind of writing they are, and that one gap changes everything about how we read them. Gospel is a genre. These are ancient biographies of Jesus, written by four different men to four different audiences, and they were never meant to be read the way we read a modern news report. This episode covers why there are four, why they don't always line up, why we can trust them, and how to actually read them well.

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What does the word gospel actually mean?

Gospel is a genre, and genre simply means the kind of writing a work is. The Bible contains poetry, letters, prophecy, law, and historical narrative, and each one asks to be read differently. The four gospels sit together at the front of the New Testament, and they are essentially biographies of the life of Jesus. Knowing that changes your expectations before you read a single verse.

Why are there four gospels instead of one?

Think about walking into a library and looking for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. A search on Amazon turns up more than ten thousand books about him. Some cover his presidency, some his politics, some his character, some only his childhood, some his views on the Bible, some his war years. Every one of those historians chose what to emphasize. Ancient historians worked the same way. They wrote with clear moral, political, and theological purposes, and readers were expected to draw lessons from the work. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each had a lens, and a different audience in mind.

Can we trust the gospels?

Yes, and the reasons are worth knowing. These books were written while eyewitnesses were still alive and still holding positions of authority in the church, which means the oral tradition could be checked by people who had been there. They were written within the first two generations, while the teachings of Jesus were still fresh. And the culture itself was built for careful preservation. Students learned their teachers' sayings rigorously, taking notes and memorizing, with some repeating the previous day's lecture before getting out of bed. The disciples of Jesus treated His words that way, and many of them became the teachers passing those words on.

Why don't the gospels always match up?

This is where a lot of readers get stuck, and it usually comes from applying modern expectations to ancient writing. Three things help. First, no one in that culture expected teachings to appear in chronological sequence. Teaching was situational, the way a grandmother's saying comes back to you in the moment it fits rather than in the order she said it. Second, word-for-word repetition was not the standard. Most people could not read, so teaching passed down orally, and paraphrasing was a normal and accepted practice. On top of that, Jesus often spoke Aramaic while the gospels were written in Greek, so His words were being translated. Third, ancient biographers had genuine freedom to arrange their material. When critics point to an event appearing earlier in Matthew and later in Luke, they are holding the text to a standard nobody in the first century used. The heart of the message is what carries.

Why only these four, and not the other gospels people mention?

By the time Luke wrote, other accounts of Jesus were already circulating, and Luke tells us so. Mark was already in use, and many scholars believe Matthew, Luke, and possibly Mark drew on a common written source. The four that the church preserved were kept for reliability, access to eyewitnesses, and accuracy. The apocryphal gospels came much later and read more like novels, drawing from oral tradition that had drifted over generations. The Gnostic collections attributed sayings to Jesus, but the earliest of them date to roughly 120 years after His public ministry, far too late to verify. The early church knew what it was doing.

What is the best way to read a gospel?

Read one all the way through before moving to another. There is a method called a harmony of the gospels that weaves all four together story by story, and it has its place, but it is hard to follow and it is not how these books were meant to be read. Each gospel was written separately, to different readers, with its own flow of thought. Reading one at a time lets you catch what makes that writer distinct. Luke was a doctor, so when you stay inside his gospel you start noticing what he noticed: the women, the healings, the people on the margins. Those details are easy to miss when you are jumping between books.

What should I be looking for as I read?

A few things to carry into the series. Ancient biographies had morals to their stories, setting characters up as positive or negative examples, so ask what the story is showing you about the character and nature of God. Learn to tell the difference between what Scripture describes and what it prescribes, because someone's story appearing in the Bible does not mean we are meant to copy them. And remember this one: Scripture was written for us, but it was not originally written to us. It went first to an ancient audience in a particular culture. Most of them heard it read aloud rather than reading it themselves, which is why it helps to think of them as an audience instead of readers. Before we can understand how the teachings of Jesus apply to our lives, we have to understand what they meant to the people who heard them first.

Featured quote

"Scripture was written for us, but it was not originally written to us. It was written to an original audience that lived a long time ago."

Terms explained in this episode

Genre, synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke overlap significantly, while John is distinct), harmony of the gospels, descriptive versus prescriptive, apocryphal and Gnostic gospels.

Timestamps (approximate)

00:00 What is a gospel, and why start here

01:00 Gospel as a genre, and what that changes

02:00 Why the gospels are not chronological

03:20 The Abraham Lincoln analogy: ten thousand biographies, ten thousand angles

04:50 Who were these writers, and why trust them

06:40 How sayings were preserved in an oral culture

09:00 Why sequence was never the point

11:00 Word for word, Aramaic, and Greek

15:00 The freedom ancient biographers had with their material

17:30 Why only four gospels survived

19:50 How to read a gospel, and why not to jump around

21:20 Descriptive versus prescriptive

22:30 Reading versus hearing, and the original audience

25:00 Synoptic gospels explained

26:20 We learn by teaching

Frequently asked questions

What does the word gospel mean? It refers both to the good news about Jesus and to a genre of ancient writing. In this episode we're focused on the genre, meaning the kind of literature Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John belong to.

What are the synoptic gospels? Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which overlap heavily in content and often tell the same events. John stands apart with a different structure and emphasis.

Should I read the gospels in chronological order? Not for this study. We'll read Luke straight through so we can follow his particular flow of thought and notice the details that are uniquely his.

When does the Luke study begin? Right after this episode. We'll start with an introduction to who Luke was and why his account matters, then move through the text at a spirit-led pace, with Luke and Acts studied together as one work.

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Tuesday Daily Affirmations: Strength for Today | Courage When You Feel

Step into your week with boldness, peace, and purpose. These

I'll read each phrase, you repeat it, and then I'll tell you the Scripture it comes from.

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Before we begin

Today's affirmations are for strength and confidence for the week ahead.

Tuesday affirmations and Scripture

I am strong and courageous in Christ.

I do not fear because God is with me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I am victorious through Jesus.

I have the power of God working within me.

I will not be shaken because God is my refuge.

I walk by faith, not by sight.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

God fights my battles and I need only to be still.

I am not afraid because God has overcome the world.

I have authority in Christ over every attack of the enemy.

I am rooted and established in God's love.

I have divine wisdom and strength for today.

I am resilient and I will persevere through trials.

I am filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will not grow weary in doing good.

God's grace is sufficient for me.

I have peace that surpasses understanding.

I am never alone. God is always near.

I am protected under the shadow of the Almighty.

God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

I stand firm in faith and do not waver.

I am free from fear because God's perfect love casts it out.

I have a spirit of power, love, and sound mind.

God is working all things for my good today.

Closing prayer

Lord, I surrender my fear to You. Fill me with boldness, courage, and

Listen daily and start your morning with God's truth so you can walk in

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The Silent Years: What God Was Doing in the 400 Years Between the Old and New Testaments

There are about 400 years between the last page of the Old Testament and the first page of the New. Most of us turn that page without ever noticing. Scholars call it the intertestamental period, but most people know it as the silent years, because there was no prophet speaking in Israel and no Scripture being written. And yet when you look at what was actually happening in that stretch of history, you find something that will change how you think about the silent seasons of your own life. God was not absent. He was setting a stage.

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Why do they call it the silent years?

The name comes from what was missing. There were no prophets in Israel during this period, and no books of the Bible were being written. After Malachi, the prophetic voice that had guided Israel for centuries goes quiet. But silence is not the same thing as absence. Some of the most important groundwork in redemptive history was laid in exactly this window, which is why the episode lands where it does: sometimes when God is silent, He is doing some of His best work.

If no Scripture was written, how do we know what happened?

We know a great deal, because plenty was being written even though none of it entered the canon of the evangelical Bible. The books of the Apocrypha, including Maccabees, Tobit, and 1 Esdras, are read in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions and give us a real window into the period. The historian Josephus records much of it. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered rolled in jars in caves along the Dead Sea and first found by a young shepherd boy, were largely written during this time. And the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, was produced in this era.

How did God prepare the world for Jesus during the silence?

This is where it gets remarkable. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and spread Greek language and Hellenistic culture across the known world, which meant that by the time Jesus came, a common language existed for the gospel to travel in. Meanwhile, rabbis rose to prominence as teachers alongside the priests, and local synagogues became places of worship, prayer, and hearing the Torah. Scripture that had once been accessible only to the elite was now within reach of ordinary people. Luke tells us Jesus went to the synagogue regularly, an institution that did not exist in the Old Testament. None of that was accidental.

What was the Maccabean revolt, and where does Hanukkah come from?

After Alexander died in 323 BC, his empire was divided among his generals. Under Antiochus, the Jews suffered badly. He banned core Jewish practices, seized the temple, and ordered pigs sacrificed on the altar. An elderly priest and his sons refused to comply, and their zeal sparked the Maccabean revolt beginning in 167 BC. By 164 BC the Maccabees had retaken and cleansed the temple. The eight-day celebration that followed became Hanukkah, and the Gospel of John records Jesus Himself in Jerusalem for that festival.

What happened after the Maccabees won?

Here is the sobering turn. The Maccabean family formed the Hasmonean dynasty, and over time the very Hellenistic influence they had been repulsed by became something they embraced. That drift sparked opposition groups like the Pharisees and the Essenes, all wrestling with the same question of how to be faithful in a Greek world. Rome eventually ended the dynasty when Pompey took Jerusalem in 63 BC. Herod the Great was named king of the Jews, ruled cruelly, and rebuilt the temple complex into the largest temple to a single deity in the world. He died in 4 BC, and scholars believe Jesus was born not far from Herod's own burial grounds. The Zealots later revolted, and the temple was destroyed in AD 70.

What does this mean for my own silent season?

These years were anything but silent. The political, cultural, and spiritual climate all had to be primed before Jesus walked onto the scene, and God was doing that work the entire time no one could hear Him. The question to sit with is this one: where in your own life has God been working in ways you could not see or hear? He may not have been silent at all. He may have been setting the stage.

Featured quote

"Sometimes when God is silent, He's doing some of His best work. Just because God is silent doesn't mean He isn't moving and acting."

Scripture and sources referenced

John 10:22-23 (Jesus at the Feast of Dedication), Luke 4:16 (Jesus in the synagogue), Malachi as the close of the Old Testament. Extra-biblical sources discussed include 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, 1 Esdras, Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint.

Timestamps (approximate)

00:00 Welcome and what's ahead in the fall Luke series

01:24 Why we're covering the gospel genre before opening the text

01:51 How the study will run, and why Luke and Acts belong together

03:05 The teaching begins: the 400 years between the testaments

04:30 Why they're called the silent years

05:00 Where our information comes from: Maccabees, Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls

06:20 The Septuagint and the rise of Greek

07:15 Rabbis, synagogues, and Scripture made accessible

08:30 Alexander the Great and Hellenization

09:45 Antiochus, the desecrated temple, and the Maccabean revolt

11:00 The origin of Hanukkah

12:15 The Hasmonean drift back toward Greek culture

13:30 Rome, Pompey, and Herod the Great

15:00 The Zealots and the destruction of the temple in AD 70

16:00 These years were anything but silent 1

7:20 Where has God been working in your silence?

Frequently asked questions

What is the intertestamental period? It's the roughly 400-year span between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, commonly dated 400 BC to 1 BC. You may also hear it called the Second Temple period in academic settings.

Are the books of the Apocrypha part of the Bible? They're included in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles but not in the evangelical Protestant canon. They aren't treated as Scripture here, but they are useful historical sources for understanding the period.

When does the Luke series start? Right after this week's two review episodes. We'll begin with an introduction to who Luke was, then work through the text at a spirit-led pace, with Luke and Acts studied together as one work. Expect the series to run through the end of the year.

How do I ask a question about the series? There's a SpeakPipe link in the show notes where you can leave a voicemail, or you can always reach out by email.

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Monday Daily Affirmations: God Is Always With Me

Start your Monday with confidence, peace, and purpose. These daily Christian affirmations are a short but powerful way to realign your heart and mind with biblical truth before the week begins. Today's affirmations are all about identity: who God says you are, and what changes when you believe it. Speak life over your day, renew your faith, and step into God's promises with Scripture straight from His Word.

I'll read each phrase, you repeat it, and then I'll tell you the Scripture

Links

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Before we begin

Take a deep breath. This is a new day filled with God's grace and purpose.

Monday affirmations and Scripture

I am a child of God, chosen and loved.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I am fully known and loved fully by God.

I have been chosen before the foundation of the world.

I am created in the image of God.

I am redeemed and made new in Christ.

I am set apart for God's purpose.

I am God's masterpiece, created for good works.

I am loved with an everlasting love.

I am called by name and belong to God.

I am not my past. I am a new creation.

I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

I'm seated in heavenly places with Christ.

I am co-heir with Christ.

I am not rejected. I am accepted in Christ.

I am never alone. God is always with me.

I am valuable and precious in God's sight.

I have been set free by the truth of Jesus.

I am more than a conqueror through Christ.

I am a light in this world, shining for Christ.

I am God's dwelling place. His Spirit lives within me.

I am forgiven and free from condemnation.

I have a divine purpose and calling from God.

I am dearly loved and nothing can separate me from God's love.

Closing prayer

Father, thank You for reminding me who I am in You. Help me to walk in

I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you want to go

Listen daily and start your morning with God's truth so you can walk in

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Sunday Affirmations: God's Presence With Us:  Daily Affirmations,

Today is about looking ahead with God. Before the week begins, we

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Repeat after me, then listen to the Bible verse.

I place this coming week in God’s hands.

Psalm 31:15 – “My times are in Your hands.”

I trust God to guide my steps.

Psalm 37:23 –

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him.”

I enter this week with expectancy, not fear.

Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in

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Proverbs

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Matthew

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James

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Psalm

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Isaiah

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Habakkuk

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Micah

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Proverbs

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John

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Exodus 33:14 – “My

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Zechariah

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John

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Philippians

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Romans

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Hebrews

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Psalm

Closing Prayer:

God, as I step into this new week, I place everything ahead of me

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Saturday Affirmations: Thankfulness to the Lord Daily Affirmations, Christian Affirmations, Biblical Affirmations, Affirmations

As we slow down today, this is a chance to look back over the week

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Repeat after me, then listen to the Bible verse.

I thank God for walking with me through this week.

Psalm 143:10 – “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

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Psalm

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Psalm

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Ecclesiastes

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Psalm

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Micah

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Philippians

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Isaiah

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Romans

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Lamentations

Closing Prayer:

God, thank You for walking with me through this week. Help me to

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Bible Study 101: What Is Biblical Meditation? Hearing Jesus, Devotional

This episode is a replay from Rachael's biblical meditation series, and

The first half is teaching. What the Hebrew word hagah actually means,

There's no closing prayer on this one, on purpose. Rachael reads the

Links

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Chapters

2:17 What this episode is, and why it's structured backward

2:43 Hagah, the second Hebrew word for meditation

3:13 Omnipresence, and what meditation actually creates

3:42 How you come to recognize a voice

4:39 When the enemy sounds a lot like God

5:18 The night her grandmother fell

7:14 I'm not over there, I'm right here

8:38 Meditation is the posture. The interaction is what changes you.

9:05 Why we want someone else to talk to God for us

11:18 How do I know if I'm hearing from God?

11:44 Tip one, pick a Scripture

13:06 Tip two, pick a time

13:58 Tip three, pick a place

14:24 Tip four, your posture

15:23 Tip five, don't give up

15:51 The guided meditation begins

16:21 Using your senses inside the scene

17:36 When Jesus sits down next to you

18:37 Then you ask Him the same question

21:04 Reading John 6:1-15

What is biblical meditation?

It's filling your mind with God's word on purpose and staying there long

Meditation is mentioned 58 times in Scripture, and there are two Hebrew

What does hagah mean?

Hagah is the idea of pondering, imagining, thinking. It's turning

That's the version of meditation this episode practices. Not emptying

Why does meditation help you hear God?

Because there's a big Bible word, omnipresence, which means God is always

Meditation creates the emotional and spiritual space where you can hear

How do you learn to recognize God's voice?

The same way you recognize any voice. Time.

Rachael has three daughters, and when one of them calls from another room

This matters because the enemy often works through your own insecurity or

The story that shows why this matters

Rachael's grandparents largely raised her. Her grandmother fell down a

She says it was one of the most intense moments of grief she's ever

And she heard Him, as clear as anything. I'm not over there. I'm right

He interrupted her chaos with His words, and she recognized His voice

Meditation is the posture that puts you where you can hear from Him. The

Why do we want someone else to talk to God for us?

Because the enemy has convinced us we don't have equal access.

People ask Rachael to pray about their decisions all the time, and when

He will meet you where you are, in the desperation and the grief and the

What are the five practical tips?

Pick a Scripture. Your mind will wander, so start with the word. Choose something that speaks to a need you actually have right now. This isn't the time for word studies or breaking down Greek. That belongs to the discipline of study. Right now you're letting the Holy Spirit speak through the text and internalize it. You may need to stay on one passage for a while until it becomes part of you.

Pick a time. Rachael often does this before bed, but if you're building the habit, choose a time when you aren't sleepy. Our lives are fragmented, and if you don't plan for it the day gets away from you. Treat it like an appointment. You wouldn't squeeze in a date with your husband, you'd plan for it, because the relationship matters.

Pick a place. Quiet, free from interruption. Put your phone and your computer in another room. Getting outside helps if you can.

Watch your posture. The posture of your body matters less than the posture of your heart, but they're not always easy to separate. Be comfortable without being so comfortable you fall asleep, and don't pick a position that will have you thinking about your knees instead of His voice.

Don't give up. These are called spiritual disciplines because they take time and intention. You wouldn't gain muscle after three days in the gym. Some days you won't feel like it, and doing it anyway is the thing that builds the

How does the guided meditation work?

You'll go into John 6:1-15, the feeding of the crowd, as the boy who

As Rachael reads, use your senses. What does the grass feel like. What

Then go further into the scene. Are you hesitant to offer your lunch? Are

You may need to read it through more than once. That's part of it.

Then imagine the end of it. The crowd leaves. Jesus leaves. You're sitting alone on a rock overlooking the water, quiet, thinking about what just happened. And then Jesus comes back and sits down next to you. You're silent together for a while, just enjoying each other.

After a bit, He turns and asks you, what can I do for you?

Tell Him. Your needs, your fears, your heartache, your hopes, your grief.

When you've finished and your spirit is quiet, then you ask Him the same

Then listen. Nothing may come, and that's fine. Sometimes it's

FAQ

Is this a new episode? No. It's a replay from Rachael's biblical meditation series, running here as the close of Bible Study 101.

Is this the same as Eastern meditation? No, and the difference is the direction. Eastern practice generally moves toward emptying the mind. Hagah is the opposite. You're filling your mind with a specific passage of Scripture and staying with it. And placing yourself inside a scene from the Gospels is an old Christian practice, not a borrowed one. You're not clearing your thoughts, you're occupying them with the word.

What passage is used? John 6:1-15, the feeding of the crowd, read from the perspective of the boy with the loaves and fish.

Why is there no closing prayer? On purpose. Rachael reads the passage and then hands the time to you, so turn the episode off and stay in it.

What if nothing comes? That's normal and it doesn't mean you did it wrong. Sometimes the point is simply being in His presence.

How long should this take? Don't rush it. The reading is short, and the time after it is yours.

Do I need to have heard the earlier episodes? No. The full biblical meditation series is in the archive if you want the rest of it, including the other Hebrew word and a list of passages to start with.

Where can I go deeper? She Hears, Rachael's Bible study, teaches the color method and stays in one passage for a week at a time, which is meditation built into the structure.

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 Friday Affirmations: God is With Me: Daily Affirmations, Christian

End your week anchored in peace and presence. This episode invites

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Affirmations for rest, renewal, and surrender:

The week is ending, and as we step into the weekend, let’s take a

Repeat after me, then listen to the Bible verse.

I release my worries and trust God to handle what I cannot.

1 Peter 5:7

God’s peace fills my heart and I rest in His presence.

Matthew 11:28

I am not defined by my mistakes. God’s grace is greater than my

Lamentations 3:22–23

I let go of the need to control everything and surrender to God’s

Proverbs 3:5–6

I am deeply loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love.

Romans 8:38–39

God refreshes my soul and renews my strength.

Isaiah 40:31

I will be fully present today, trusting that God holds tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34

My body, mind, and spirit find rest in God alone.

Psalm 62:1

I let go of striving and choose to rest in God’s love.

Zephaniah 3:17

I step into the weekend with joy, knowing that God is in control.

Psalm 118:24

God’s presence is my safe place.

Psalm 91:1

I am fully known and fully loved by God.

Psalm 139:1–2

I will not let stress steal my peace today.

Philippians 4:6–7

God is my refuge and I am safe in His hands.

Psalm 46:1

I do not need to have all the answers. I trust God.

Romans 11:33

God is fighting my battles and I can rest in His victory.

Exodus 14:14

I will not fear because God is with me.

Isaiah 41:13

I am held together by God’s love even when life feels overwhelming.

Colossians 1:17

God’s goodness and mercy follow me every day.

Psalm 23:6

I will not carry burdens that God has already taken from me.

Matthew 11:29–30

I am at peace because God is in control.

Isaiah 26:3

I trust in God’s timing even when I don’t understand.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

I will lay down my burdens and take on God’s.

Psalm 4:8

I am never alone for God is always with me.

Deuteronomy 31:6

No matter what happens today, God is still good.

Nahum 1:7

Closing Prayer:

Father, as this week comes to an end, I lay my burdens at Your

I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you want to

#ChristianPodcast #DailyAffirmations

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Bible Study 101: What Did Jesus Mean by I Am the Bread of Life? Hearing

This episode is a replay of Rachael's original teaching on John 6 from

For the last week and a half, the Bible Study 101 series has been walking

So listen to it the way you'd listen to someone show their work, not as a

The teaching itself covers the feeding of the crowd, Jesus walking on the

Links

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Chapters

0:00 Doing all the right things and still feeling stuck

0:31 Where we are in John 6

1:11 Reading John 6:1-35

5:20 A crowd following the signs, not the teaching

6:16 The mountain and the Passover

7:13 Philip runs the numbers

8:23 Andrew, the boy, and barley bread

9:01 God's provision starts with what you offer Him

9:25 The meal, and how generous it was

10:07 Twelve baskets, one for each disciple

10:52 Why they wanted to crown Him

11:49 Provider and protector

12:41 You're looking for Me because you ate the loaves

13:40 The work of God is to believe

14:39 It was not Moses who gave you the bread

15:11 I am the bread of life

16:06 What twelve would have meant to them

17:03 It was not five thousand people

17:46 There is always more of Him

18:41 The miracle, or the miracle worker

19:41 God math

20:12 Prayer

What did Jesus mean by "I am the bread of life"?

He meant that He Himself is what satisfies, not what He hands out.

The crowd had just been fed. They chased Him across the lake the next

Then He points past the bread. Physical bread satisfies for a few hours

The bread in the wilderness was pointing at something the whole time, and

Why does John mention the mountain and the Passover?

Because both are setting the frame.

Mountains in Scripture are often where God teaches and reveals Himself.

So John is quietly connecting this miracle to a much larger story about

Why did Philip's answer matter?

Because Jesus already knew what He was going to do. He asked anyway.

Philip immediately starts calculating. Two hundred denarii wouldn't cover

What was the boy's lunch actually like?

Small, and poor. Barley was the bread of the poor. The fish were likely

God's provision often starts with whatever we're able to offer Him, even when it's very little. It isn't the size of the gift. It's the faith behind it.

What do the twelve baskets mean?

Twelve baskets, and twelve disciples. One each.

That detail suggests the lesson was personal for them. Scholars connect

Twelve also carried a meaning they wouldn't have needed explained. Twelve

How many people were actually fed?

More than the number you've heard. The text says about five thousand men,

Why did Jesus withdraw when they wanted to make Him king?

Because they were seeing Him through the wrong lens.

They had just watched Him do something extraordinary and their conclusion

His kingdom doesn't operate by human standards, and His mission was

Provider and protector

The scene continues with Jesus walking on the water during a storm. The

There's a pattern in that. The one who multiplies your resources is also

What did Jesus mean that "the work of God is to believe"?

The crowd asked what they should do to accomplish the works of God, which is a reasonable question after watching a miracle. His answer surprised them.

The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

Work isn't a substitute for belief. The work of God starts in the heart,

Are you following the miracle or the miracle worker?

This is the question the passage keeps pressing.

It's possible to be so captivated by what God does that you lose track of

So it's worth examining honestly. Are you following Jesus for what He can

God math

God works through ordinary people. When you bring Him your time and your

There is no offering too small when it's surrendered to Him.

FAQ

Is this a new episode? No. This is a replay of Rachael's original teaching on John 6 from last year's Gospel of John series.

Why is it running now? It's the last piece of the Bible Study 101 series. After a week and a half of studying John 6:1-15 with the color method, this is what Rachael found in the same passage, offered as an example rather than a standard.

Should I compare what I found to what she found? No. She's been teaching this for years, has a seminary degree, and has spent extensive time in John and in the original languages. This isn't a competition. The point is that she starts with the color method too, before any resource.

What passage does this cover? John 6:1-35, which is broader than the fifteen verses the series worked through. It includes the feeding, the walking on water, and the beginning of the bread of life conversation.

Where can I hear the full John series? It's in the archive from last year, and it goes into the walking on water account in much more detail than this episode does.

What's next? A Q&A episode, then the fall Bible study begins in the Gospel of Luke and continues into Acts. The Hearing Jesus for Kids podcast returns at the same time.

Where can I learn more about recognizing God's voice? Rachael's book Knowing God's Voice covers hearing Him in everyday life, understanding His timing, and how to respond in faith.

Validation note: "Biblical meditation vs Eastern meditation" is a live query

One thing worth knowing before this posts. Some of the content ranking

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