The Bible's Most Powerful Prayers that Have Shaped the World

Welcome to Season #4 of Life Out Loud! After a brief hiatus (#life, am I right!?), I'm back and thrilled to reconnect with you – my wonderful listeners. This season marks a significant shift in our journey together as we explore the prayers and scriptures that have shaped not just history, but continue to transform lives today.

Scripture often gets dismissed as outdated or confusing, but nothing could be further from truth. The Bible holds living power that cuts straight to the heart of our modern challenges. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, "For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword." While previous seasons used biblical references as supporting content, I'm now making Scripture the central focus because knowing it is truly life-changing.

In this episode, we explore Jesus's profound question from John 5: "Do you want to get well?" This seemingly simple query reveals a deeper truth—not everyone truly wants healing because wellness demands work, changed patterns, and renewed hope. When Jesus looks at us and asks if we want to get well, everything hinges on our answer. Are you ready to soak up the healing waters of scripture? Whether you're new to faith or have been walking with Jesus for years, these ancient words hold transformative power for your life today.

Join me as we dive into prayers that have shaped the world. Send a message with your thoughts, share with friends, or visit https://buymeacoffee.com/lifeoutloud to become a supporter.

Remember friends, no matter the circumstances... there is always something to be grateful for!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Season Four
• 2:25 Scripture: The Living Power
• 4:34 The Sword of the Spirit
• 6:20 Healing at the Pool
• 8:35 Do You Want to Get Well?
• 10:12 Blessing and Episode Closing

Transcript

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 0:06

Ciao and welcome to Life Out Loud. I am your host, Desiree Melfi Bozzo. We are going to use this space to share experiences and help you find lasting, unshakable, unwavering, unmessable-w ith joy and gratitude. We're going to be throwing around encouragement a little bit like confetti, and giving you support to live your very best life.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 0:29

Ciao, ! . Welcome to season four of the Life Out Loud podcast. I am the creator of this podcast and your Desiree Melfi Bozzo host , so if you're new to this little space on the airwaves, welcome, I am so glad you're here For my longtime listeners. Hey, it has been a minute because, let's be honest, hashtag life All good and fruitful things for sure. Just things that have pulled me away from this little microphone, in this little closet with you. I have truly missed you dearly in the time away. You're my audience, you're my people. You show up, maybe a little curious, but hopefully maybe a little open-hearted, to hear this message that the Holy Spirit has kept putting on my heart to share with you and put out into the airwaves. So wherever this finds you listening from, put it in the comments. I know, I know I can scour the analytics and trust me, the data makes me giddy and I do, but there's nothing better than actually hearing from the people, hearing this. I love hearing from you. I love knowing what you think and what you liked, what was terrible, all the things, the good, the bad and the ugly right. I truly believe in my heart that it's not an accident or a coincidence that you tuned in here. I really truly believe in divine providence and I am totally here for it. I hope that this fills your soul and, more importantly, I hope that it encourages you.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 2:16

Season four is going to focus on the prayers and the scriptures and the stories that have shaped the world. The ancient words from scripture penned so long ago have real and lasting impact on our lives today. Scripture can seem at first glance, to be this like outdated book, maybe even confusing or enigmatic, but when you dive in it is anything but that. Scripture is this God-breathed word and it holds this living power. And it's power and it's wisdom that we can infuse in our lives today. Hebrews 4, verse 12, tells us. For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and the attitude of the heart. The Bible is a transformative book and it's one that changes things. It changes the game and it draws us into living closer with God and lockstep with the Holy Spirit. It's a book that's worthy of our time and attention, and I say that in a world where many, many things pull us and pull our time and our attention. Companies spend a lot of money going after our time and attention. This season we're going to take the Bible's most powerful prayers and most powerful stories and we're going to spend time unpacking them. I firmly believe that when we understand them deeper, that we can live in a deeper intimacy with God, like level unlocked right In seasons past, scripture was the supporting content to stories and ideas.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 4:23

I, very low-key, pointed to stories in the Bible to illustrate my points or highlight different pieces of stories that I told. This season I'm doing something a little bit different. I'm making Scripture the point. Knowing Scripture on this side of heaven is of the most important right, upmost importance. Life and death hinges on it. And you're like probably sitting there like, oh my gosh, that's really dramatic. But it's not meant to be. It's actually scripture and biblical right.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 4:56

In Ephesians 6, scripture is called the sword of the spirit. My loves, we must know how to wield the sword right. Everything hinges on our ability to know how to wield the sword of the spirit. Friends, I'm so passionate about this because these biblical truths and these firm foundations have gotten me through so much of life. I truly believe that when we go through hard seasons and we come out the other side of those, god then gives us the absolute privilege to wrap our arms around the brothers and sisters next to us, going through the hard times and pulling them forward. I'm sharing these scriptures this season because by the grace of God and I can promise you only the grace of God I'm able to sit here and do it.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 5:55

Trying to live without knowing scripture is like trying to drive a boat without a rudder. How can you possibly steer in the water without it? Short answer you can't right, at least not very effectively. Okay, so I want to share with you John, chapter 5, verses 2 to 8, the healing at the pool in Jerusalem. Verse 3 tells us that near the pool, and I quote, a great number of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame and the paralyzed. There was this man who had been there like 38 years. In verse 6, it says when Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him do you want to get well? We might look at this question and think, of course he does. Right. Why is Jesus even asking this? Friends, jesus knew something that we rarely think about.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 7:02

Not every person wants to be made well. See, being made well takes work. Being made well takes a shift in beliefs, in thinking, in patterns, in habits. Being made well takes the courage to sometimes hope again, which can be honest. Can we be honest here? That can be really really hard when you've been disappointed time after time after time. That can be really really hard when you've been disappointed time after time after time. So, friends, I want to bring Jesus's words to you as we kick off this season.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 7:42

I imagine Jesus in all of his glory looking at this man in the eye, seeing him like really seeing him, maybe for the first time time this man has been seen in a long time. I imagine people must have passed him every day never really seeing or looking at him. And I imagine Jesus, the King of Kings, creator of the universe, looking at you and looking at me. I imagine him taking us by the hand, like he did this man so lovingly asking my dear sweet daughter, my dear sweet son, do you want to get well? Do you want to let go of the thing that you've been carrying? Do you want to live different? Do you want to be, to get well? Everything hinges on how you answer that question. If you're ready to soak up the healing waters of scripture, then leave me a hearty. Let's go in the comments.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 9:02

Friends, come hang out with me in the airwaves this season as we dive into the prayers that have shaped the world. And maybe, just maybe, the prayers that have shaped the world, and maybe, just maybe, if you're new to this whole Jesus conversation, you might hear something that changes the game for you. If you've been around the Jesus conversation. Maybe it will affirm what you already believe. Either way, come back for episode two.

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 9:31

Before we go, I want to actually offer a blessing. There's a scripture in number six, verses 24 to 26. I want to pray this blessing over you because I pray this blessing every morning over the people that I love and I hold dear in my heart heart. So may the Lord bless you and protect you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor on you and may he give you peace. My loves, I hope you enjoyed this episode, the first one of season four. Send me a message. I always love hearing your thoughts. Come back next time. We're going to throw more encouragement and more scripture around like confetti, as always. Be careful If you get too close, you just might get some on you and remember per huge, there is always something to be grateful for. Ciao!

Desireé Melfi Bozzo: 10:35

Thank you for joining me, Desiree Melfi Bozzo, for this episode of Life Out Loud. I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment, tell me what topics you want to talk about and how you take your coffee. If you enjoyed what you heard, text a friend the link, share it on social media. Or if you're interested in becoming a supporter, beep bop up over to my webpage, lifeoutloud. me lifeoutloudme and sponsor a cup of coffee that keeps this podcast fueled Until next time, sweet listeners.