- Welcome to
"Thinking about home. "
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I'm Kathy Matthews and
I'm glad you've joined us.
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And I guess I could put
out a little question to you
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at the beginning:
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"If God already knows
what we're gonna pray about
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why do we pray?"
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And I think we're going
to be talking about that,
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answering some of
those questions that will
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get involved with that question.
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And our guest
today is Richard O'Ffill
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from the Florida conference
of Seventh Day Adventists
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and Hall Gates from
the Washington conference
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of Seventh Day Adventists.
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And we kind of get into
this discussion, don't we?
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- I think it's kind
of spicy, as you said.
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- I wish that people could
see the discussions we get into
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when the program is not on.
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- Well, we can reproduce it,
I suppose that would be alright.
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- It's wonderful,
the fellowship together.
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A number of years ago
I wrote a book entitled
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"Transforming Prayer"
and prayer is transforming,
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that's what it's about.
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- And really
that's what this is about.
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- This is what it's about.
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You know a lot of
times we pray to get,
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and they asked me the question
"what's a little different
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about the slang that you give
when y you teach about prayer?"
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I said "I don't think prayer is
so much to get as it is to be. "
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And so I began a
study prayer again
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and it' been a
real thrill to me.
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Not that we can always
answer all the questions
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that might pop up or we make
it so complicated or so heavy.
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I like what I read some
place that the truth in Jesus
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is so simple that a
child can wade through it.
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But it's so deep that it
takes a full ocean to swim
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just to keep his
head above water.
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Anyway, prayer is
simple to some people,
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it's kind of
complicated to other people,
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because they're even telling
us we should use certain words
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when you pray or
pray at certain times.
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And so we wanna
learn more about prayer,
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we want our misconceptions
of prayer to be stripped of
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so that we can
truly be childlike.
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- When I hear my
youngest daughter pray
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or when I used to hear my
twins pray when they still
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had that kind of baby talk.
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You know, didn't
pronounce the words just right.
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And to hear them pray
just touched my heart.
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And I could just imagine
God hearing these prayers
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and can He resist an
answer? How ca he resist?
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- You're a father who
likes to hear his children pray?
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- Oh, I love it. I love it.
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And I tell them "pray for me"
and the night before last night
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talked to my youngest daughter
and I said "what are you doing?"
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and she went "well,
I've been praying for you".
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And that's exciting to me
and my mother prayed for me
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and in my own life I've lifted
up my kids in prayer every day
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of their life and
just lifted them up to God.
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And as much as I can try
to intervene in their behalf.
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- I have a little story like
that of a father listening to
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a little girl's voice and
it seems to be especially nice
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and I'm not saying
anything about little boys
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but I guess Tom is
just so close to his girls.
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I remember when Sarah,
our oldest was two and a half
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but she could talk quite
clearly and he was colporteuring
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at that time, he
was going to homes
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offering religious
material and he would call home
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'cause he'd be away sometimes
three and four days at a time
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and he would call home and he's
pray with Sarah and talk to her
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over the phone and of course
he wasn't doing the same thing
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away from home when
Rachel was that young
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but those were memorable
times when that little voice
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came across the phone
and was praying for daddy
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it tears your heart,
doesn't it? It's marvelous.
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- You know children
pray about anything.
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I'll never forget we
were traveling one time
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my wife Betty and I and Andrea,
our little grand-daughter
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was with us and
we come to a motel,
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it was time to
close down for the evening
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and as we walked into the room
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this motel had a
tiny refrigerator
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and we hadn't had supper yet
and so Andrea walks in the room
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she sees the little refrigerator
and says "dear Jesus,
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help there to be
food in the refrigerator".
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- That could only
come from an O'Ffil child.
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- Of cause there wasn't,
but you see it didn't shake
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their faith, you see children
are so innocent that they
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can ask God and it's later that
we get complicated in our lives.
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But of course
as you've announced
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the topic of our program
today is if God already knows
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why go to the trouble of asking.
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And I know some people
ask that question sometimes.
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And of course especially
when you read scripture,
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scripture says He's our loving
Father and that he gives good
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gifts to His children, well
if He's gonna do this already
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then why should
we go to the trouble?
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But with your permission and
the permission of our viewers
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let's spin off on this:
as our loving Father he gives
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good gifts. Shall we
discuss for five minutes or so,
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we as parents give
gifts to our children,
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are they always good gifts?
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Because you see our
children and our grand-children
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are saying "grandpa get
me this, grandpa get me this,
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daddy get me this" and
maybe in a way that their
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desires are being
set by the environment.
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And talking about toys, have
you seen some of the weird toys
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that are out there?
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- Well, I have to
admit Dick that I haven't.
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I don't go around
looking at them too much,
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so you're gonna have to
share, maybe you go around
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looking at toys.
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She's saying how it
is: toys are not her.
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Toys may be us, she says toys
is you, but toys are not me.
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You know what they've
done. They got these TV programs
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where they have these
grotesque little things
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and so they convert
these to toys and so forth.
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Now I know my grandsons
are into these Lego toys.
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And it used to be that
they would get a set of legos
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and you could
build whatever you want.
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But now they'll have a
set of these little toys
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and when you end up
it's a space monster.
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In other words that's
all that little thing makes.
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And so my grandson
would come and say:
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"look grandpa what I made,
this was 100 and some pieces",
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and it's some far
out little space ship.
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- How about the video
games that we raise our kids on?
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Some of them are just
right out of Satanism.
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And I see dear, well-meaning
grandparents who say:
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"well, what are we
gonna get?" and the kid says:
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"I want Doom for my birthday".
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And so they go out and buy
"Doom" and I'm telling my wife
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about this and we go into
this big store in Washington
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and I said: "you gotta
see this" and so we went in
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and opened it up and we
open up the cover and in here
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there's some pictures of what's
going on in this video game
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and down here in the bottom is:
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"you have your own
private torture chamber. "
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Absolutely. - No!
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- I'll take you. - Don't! Don't!
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- And it's just awesome
and people innocently give
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what they think is
what the child wants.
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But it's not
what the child needs.
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- You'd think that
we would know better.
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We're older, we're
supposed to be wiser
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it's very important
for us to learn to discern.
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I've been reading a book
called "Learn to discern".
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It's not like it's new
to me but I liked the title.
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We need to learn to discern.
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What is good?
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- As grandparents and parents
sometimes we get on a guilt trip
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in other words I want my
child [Kathy]... to love me
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[Hall]... and
have more than I had...
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and so in a way the raising
of the child is at the agenda
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of the child, in other
words the child is saying
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"this is the way I wanna be
raised" and maybe the parent
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is sort of on this guilt trip
and whatever it wants it gets
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and of course this
has a bearing on prayer
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because the question is:
"are we gonna allow our prayers
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to be guided by our agenda
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or God's agenda?"
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- The scripture bring up a child
in the way they should go on
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when they're old
you're not free from it.
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And what happens is that's
true negative and positive.
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Bring up a child in a negative
way and when they're old
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they'll do the negative things.
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And so I think a lot of times
what happens is that we think:
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"well I'm not quite in tune
with what's going on in today's
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society so I'll go
ahead and do this".
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I think of things like a Harry
Potter thing that we've had
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in the past and some of those
kinds of things that are just
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teaching children in an almost
innocent way the exact opposite
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of what prayer is
all about. - Exactly.
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- And so prayer has sometimes
become I think old-fashioned.
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- We would rather
have incantations?
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- Sure, oh boy!
Incantations, rather worship
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the other altars.
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And so I think that
our role modeling should be
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that prayer is something
where we really go to a
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loving father and the loving
father gives us goof gifts.
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And I've had to teach my
children and I've had to learn
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this myself that God isn't
always gonna give me what I want
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but he will always
give me what I need.
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It says "your needs will be
provided by His riches and glory
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through Christ Jesus".
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- But your touching on something
I think that is extremely
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important because if we're not
on the same wavelength with Him
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and so He's actually
giving us what's good for us
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and steering us in
the way we ought to go
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but we have, and I use this
word this "separate agenda",
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then we're frustrated.
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"Well He's not hearing
my prayers or maybe I'm not
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praying right or maybe I
gotta use different words".
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- But isn't that
because we don't understand
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what's good for us?
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Don't we have to come to a point
where we understand what is
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good? - Remember before the
program started you and I were
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talking about that text
of scripture that says that
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"foolishness is bound up
in the heart of the child".
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You know there's a
text for that - Sure.
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- And you could put that into
plain language: "kids are crazy"
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and so you would expect that
crazy little people would ask
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for crazy things.
00:11:09.49\00:11:10.71
And so a child can
ask you for something
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and of course if we're thinking
clearly we'll just say no
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to the child.
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And do what's
best for the child.
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But on the other hand we
don't have the same sensitivity
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this discernment that you're
talking about when we go to God
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and I wonder how if sometimes
in our prayers if we're not
00:11:27.21\00:11:31.37
asking Him for crazy things.
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- Well, in my life and I
try to govern as much of my life
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as possible in prayer, that
is the governing factor because
00:11:40.65\00:11:44.50
in my life I've screwed things
up so bad, so often by doing
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my own will always and so I've
had to come to the place where
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"Lord, I haven't done a
very good job with this,
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so now I'm gonna have to depend
upon You and so You lead me
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the way You want me, You open
the door and the You give me the
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strength go to through
the door, You close the door
00:12:00.50\00:12:02.77
and I won't even
rattle a handle. "
00:12:02.96\00:12:05.03
But what I used to do is
I used to pray for things
00:12:06.97\00:12:12.26
and once in a while
God would give me something
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that I did not need
and He would show me why.
00:12:14.87\00:12:18.92
- And you
learned a lesson from it.
00:12:19.57\00:12:20.95
- I prayed for an engine and
I got the engine, exactly what I
00:12:21.10\00:12:24.12
prayed for and a thing
that's absolutely worthless
00:12:24.28\00:12:26.72
and it wouldn't do
what it was supposed to do.
00:12:27.07\00:12:29.47
And I had to say "Ok Lord,
from here on You guide me to
00:12:29.67\00:12:34.31
whatever it is
You want me to have.
00:12:34.46\00:12:35.80
- Well it's nice that you were
connected enough with the Lord
00:12:35.96\00:12:37.58
to say "Ok Lord, I've
learned the lesson" or
00:12:37.75\00:12:40.24
"I see what You wanted".
00:12:40.39\00:12:41.65
- Sometimes I'm pretty stuburn
and it takes two or three times,
00:12:41.82\00:12:46.63
and God is very persistent, in
my life I've experienced that.
00:12:46.94\00:12:53.19
- Could we save ourselves a
lot of trouble in our prayers,
00:12:55.16\00:12:58.87
because you're saying "I asked
God this and I learned that",
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isn't this a little mystical?
Before you answer that.
00:13:02.08\00:13:05.92
See I'm thinking we could
save ourselves a lot of trouble
00:13:06.11\00:13:09.07
in prayer if we
would go to the word.
00:13:09.20\00:13:10.97
The word is the
written will of God.
00:13:11.13\00:13:14.10
I can say "whatever your will
is Lord, that's what I wanna do"
00:13:14.25\00:13:18.16
and He's saying "there it is,
go it, find out what it's about"
00:13:18.32\00:13:23.34
and I'm sure that I have prayed
for things in my life that are
00:13:23.49\00:13:29.98
clearly contrary
to the will of God,
00:13:30.13\00:13:32.45
because I haven't taken the time
to go find out what His will is.
00:13:32.61\00:13:36.46
And we could probably
save ourselves a huge amount
00:13:36.62\00:13:39.40
of trouble if before we pray
we find out, at least in wide
00:13:39.51\00:13:43.81
perimeters, now you'd say
"I wanna know whether I should
00:13:43.93\00:13:46.46
change jobs", I don't
know if there's a text for that
00:13:46.58\00:13:49.78
as to where I should work.
00:13:49.93\00:13:51.13
- There is one. It says in
Philippians 4:4 "don't worry
00:13:52.26\00:14:00.10
about anything, but
in everything by prayer
00:14:00.26\00:14:03.66
and petition and thanksgiving,
let your request be made known
00:14:03.81\00:14:07.35
under God and the peace of God
that passes all understanding
00:14:07.51\00:14:11.12
shall" and it isn't a kind
of, maybe, sort of, some day
00:14:11.24\00:14:14.31
it's a "shall keep your heart
and mind through Christ Jesus".
00:14:14.45\00:14:17.80
- So your looking for a specific
he gives you a general answer
00:14:17.94\00:14:20.63
in scripture, a principle.
00:14:20.79\00:14:22.08
- As he was saying Kathy,
it occurred to me when he says
00:14:22.19\00:14:25.91
"don't worry", some people have
said once you present your need
00:14:26.03\00:14:29.79
to God, don't
mention it any more.
00:14:29.96\00:14:31.30
Now how do you feel about that?
00:14:31.46\00:14:33.12
- I mention over and over
to God because I feel that God
00:14:34.16\00:14:37.87
is not gonna get tired of my
repetition, but I need to have
00:14:38.03\00:14:40.77
that imprinted in my mind that
that's the direction I wanna go.
00:14:40.94\00:14:46.78
- So it's not so much so for
the fear that God will forget.
00:14:46.94\00:14:50.60
- God is not def like I am.
00:14:50.76\00:14:52.68
He's not hard to hear, you
have to repeat things to me just
00:14:52.83\00:14:55.50
to get it across, but
with God I think he understands
00:14:55.63\00:14:58.92
from the very first one,
but I think that the repetition,
00:14:59.04\00:15:02.95
and it isn't lack of faith,
I know God has heard my prayer,
00:15:03.06\00:15:05.82
but I just wanna centre that in
my mind because I have the kind
00:15:05.97\00:15:09.18
of mind that can't keep
focus and so it focuses me,
00:15:09.34\00:15:16.53
and that repetition in
that focus is for my benefit,
00:15:16.65\00:15:21.28
not for God's benefit.
00:15:21.41\00:15:22.59
- Ok, repetition and focus,
but it's developing a character,
00:15:22.71\00:15:26.19
it developing
something in me that says:
00:15:26.54\00:15:28.31
"I will be long-suffering,
I will be persistent as God
00:15:28.43\00:15:31.43
is persistent toward me, He
pursues me, I will pursue Him",
00:15:31.54\00:15:35.31
you know all these
things happen in us.
00:15:35.48\00:15:37.52
- And that in itself
is an answer to prayer.
00:15:37.67\00:15:38.99
- It is, yes it is.
00:15:39.02\00:15:40.83
Even if what you
prayed for you didn't get.
00:15:40.87\00:15:45.08
- Praise the Lord that He
is so long-suffering with us
00:15:45.24\00:15:49.90
and yet He patiently teaches us
if we're just willing to learn.
00:15:50.06\00:15:54.71
And I think that's what humily
is, it's just teachability.
00:15:54.88\00:15:58.80
Going before God and just
saying "God, you teach me"
00:15:58.99\00:16:02.25
and I've had to do that at
age 43 I was a self made man,
00:16:02.41\00:16:06.70
attorney, land developer
and construction company owner
00:16:06.86\00:16:11.97
and my life was a total
chaotic mess, total chaos.
00:16:12.36\00:16:18.84
Alcohol, drugs, perversions
of all kind, all of this stuff.
00:16:19.00\00:16:23.02
- And the Lord had
helped you sort through that.
00:16:23.98\00:16:25.84
- From the time he picked
me up from the pit of hell
00:16:25.88\00:16:28.27
and put me on the rock with
Jesus Christ, from that point on
00:16:28.43\00:16:32.25
I'm afraid to go back to my
own choices and my own will,
00:16:32.42\00:16:39.33
because I know what I did,
I know what I'd probably do.
00:16:39.47\00:16:43.08
- I'd like to go on in the time
that we have remaining in this
00:16:43.24\00:16:46.03
program to kind of
focus on a dilemma.
00:16:46.16\00:16:49.90
I was reading in a book I
think it was by Sinclair Lewis
00:16:51.33\00:16:54.07
he has a chapter and he throws
out this dilemma and he never
00:16:54.19\00:16:57.19
answers it, because he says
and he refers to what we'll call
00:16:57.36\00:17:02.10
"prayer A".
00:17:02.25\00:17:03.22
Prayer A is the prayer of Jesus:
00:17:03.32\00:17:06.01
"Father not my will
but thine be done. "
00:17:06.16\00:17:08.83
Prayer A is from the
Lord's prayer "thy kingdom come,
00:17:08.98\00:17:13.76
thy will be done. "
00:17:13.92\00:17:15.13
See, that is A.
00:17:15.29\00:17:16.30
If that's all the scripture
had to say about prayer,
00:17:16.46\00:17:20.20
it would look like that the
answer to out prayer will always
00:17:20.35\00:17:24.19
be not what we want God to do,
but what God wills to do for us.
00:17:24.34\00:17:29.02
Set that down.
00:17:29.18\00:17:30.15
Then he has another dilemma
that he puts up and you got
00:17:30.21\00:17:32.84
a scripture for this.
00:17:33.04\00:17:34.21
Turn to Mathew
9, verse 22 there.
00:17:34.41\00:17:38.88
-9:22? -9:22.
00:17:39.20\00:17:41.00
Because pattern B doesn't talk
about the will of God anymore,
00:17:41.15\00:17:45.65
it talks about faith.
00:17:45.81\00:17:47.17
How does that go?
00:17:47.71\00:17:48.68
- It says "but Jesus turned him
about and when he saw her said:
00:17:48.70\00:17:54.50
daughter, be of good comfort,
thy faith have made thee whole
00:17:54.70\00:17:59.50
and the woman was
whole from that hour.
00:17:59.77\00:18:03.02
- Now listen to this one.
This is Mathew 21, verse 21.
00:18:03.18\00:18:08.65
"Jesus answered and said onto
them: verily I say onto you,
00:18:08.85\00:18:13.26
if you have faith and doubt not,
you shall not only do this which
00:18:13.46\00:18:18.57
has done the fig tree, but
also if you shall say onto this
00:18:18.73\00:18:22.79
mountain <be thou removed
and cast thou into the sea>,
00:18:22.98\00:18:27.92
it shall be done. "
00:18:28.08\00:18:29.19
Now suddenly this seems
to be saying that faith,
00:18:29.38\00:18:34.64
that there's
something called faith.
00:18:34.78\00:18:36.61
And that this is powerful.
00:18:36.81\00:18:38.66
And that if you wanna
have answers to prayer,
00:18:39.27\00:18:41.22
you gotta have that, see?
00:18:41.37\00:18:42.89
- And if I don't
have answers to prayer?
00:18:43.09\00:18:45.18
- I don't have enough faith.
00:18:45.41\00:18:47.01
And so here we
have kind of a dilemma.
00:18:47.17\00:18:49.56
- But the answers to
faith is what builds prayer.
00:18:49.99\00:18:52.82
I mean answers to
prayer is what builds faith.
00:18:54.20\00:18:56.97
- But you know there are
some of these big faith healers
00:18:57.55\00:19:01.20
in this country who
really come on with this stuff,
00:19:01.37\00:19:05.03
about having faith and
then when you're not healed,
00:19:05.39\00:19:09.04
they don't mention the will
of God, in fact I've even heard
00:19:09.32\00:19:12.28
some of them say "don't even say
when you pray that you're will,
00:19:12.43\00:19:14.98
don't even say it, don't
go there, you just tell God
00:19:15.18\00:19:19.02
what you want Him to do and if
you got the faith, it'll happen.
00:19:19.19\00:19:23.80
In other words faith has taken
on a kind of a life of its own.
00:19:23.96\00:19:28.37
Now, what are we
gonna do about that?
00:19:28.49\00:19:30.05
On one hand it's saying
"not my will but thine be done",
00:19:30.25\00:19:33.59
even Jesus prays that prayer.
00:19:33.74\00:19:34.77
And then Jesus comes
along another time and He says:
00:19:35.04\00:19:37.22
"if you got faith,
you can move mountains. "
00:19:37.37\00:19:40.04
Now, what are we
gonna do about that?
00:19:40.20\00:19:41.23
- Don't pitch that
out to me right now.
00:19:42.00\00:19:44.73
- To me it's the same thing
00:19:45.08\00:19:46.40
and the bottom line is that
it's very hard for us as humans
00:19:46.59\00:19:51.72
to understand the mind of God.
00:19:51.90\00:19:54.43
And the mind of God says
that your faith will save you.
00:19:54.58\00:19:58.66
And that doesn't mean that it's
my faith in me that it's gonna
00:19:59.05\00:20:02.95
save me, it's my
faith in knowing that God
00:20:03.10\00:20:05.95
has done the work of sending
Jesus Christ and my belief,
00:20:06.10\00:20:11.86
my faith that God is
really God and creator.
00:20:12.02\00:20:15.17
And so with that faith, I
say: "your will be done God".
00:20:15.53\00:20:21.55
- So is it faith
or through faith?
00:20:25.64\00:20:27.35
- There you go. There you go.
00:20:27.38\00:20:29.51
- That's probably the question.
00:20:30.78\00:20:34.65
- It's not by
faith, it's through faith.
00:20:34.80\00:20:37.64
- Faith is only the vehicle.
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.45
- It's the connecter.
00:20:41.88\00:20:43.32
Because this is where I couldn't
see why this guy Sinclair Lewis
00:20:43.47\00:20:47.00
who is so respected,
that he couldn't resolve this,
00:20:47.04\00:20:50.15
because faith is faith in God.
00:20:50.35\00:20:54.01
It's not faith in faith.
00:20:54.33\00:20:56.37
It's not saying "if I got enough
faith in faith, it'll come off."
00:20:56.52\00:21:00.33
Because faith has
to be hooked with God.
00:21:01.03\00:21:03.10
The one that can move mountains
is not faith, it's God.
00:21:03.41\00:21:09.24
- Bring me back
to asking God then.
00:21:09.95\00:21:11.68
We're talking about prayer here,
now we're talking about faith.
00:21:11.83\00:21:14.38
Connect it for me a
little bit, I'm lost.
00:21:14.58\00:21:16.47
- The connection in
my life is that I believe
00:21:18.06\00:21:23.99
that God is creator, I
believe that God is God,
00:21:24.49\00:21:28.74
I believe that Jesus is the
manifestation of God on earth
00:21:28.93\00:21:33.01
and I believe that the
Holy Spirit is the spiritual
00:21:33.14\00:21:35.71
manifestation of God in
us, so my prayer is a prayer
00:21:35.87\00:21:40.31
not to just some
idle thing that happened,
00:21:40.46\00:21:44.17
my prayer is
"God, I need help. "
00:21:44.32\00:21:46.62
I can't do this on my own.
00:21:47.12\00:21:49.03
And see, for a
self made ego maniac...
00:21:49.58\00:21:52.72
- And God already knows that
but I have to keep praying that.
00:21:53.41\00:21:56.49
- I've had to just say
"hey, get me out of there"
00:21:56.66\00:22:00.40
and I know that God can do
what I can never hope do to.
00:22:00.99\00:22:04.82
- I think he's
bringing out a point:
00:22:04.99\00:22:06.30
that God is our heavenly father
and if we're gonna go to our
00:22:06.49\00:22:09.90
heavenly father and ask him for
something, then we gotta know
00:22:10.05\00:22:13.36
who that is, who that is.
00:22:13.56\00:22:15.05
In other words,
He's not Toys'R Us.
00:22:15.19\00:22:17.55
- You have to believe that I am.
00:22:17.68\00:22:18.85
- You must believe that I am and
when it says believe that I am,
00:22:19.00\00:22:21.89
there's lots involved.
00:22:22.20\00:22:23.58
Now He may answer what we
call a trite little prayer.
00:22:24.04\00:22:28.58
What was that you were
telling us when we were talking
00:22:28.74\00:22:31.45
another time off program about
some miracles in Russia where
00:22:31.65\00:22:36.45
it seemed like these people
who had never prayed before,
00:22:36.65\00:22:40.26
He was just answering
just little tiny prayers.
00:22:40.42\00:22:43.91
In other words it wasn't
saying there's power in prayers.
00:22:48.13\00:22:52.77
Let me bounce this off you.
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.66
There's not power in
prayer, there's power in God.
00:22:54.87\00:22:58.08
And prayer is
the way we reach God.
00:22:58.38\00:23:00.86
- It's our community with
God, our communication with God.
00:23:01.38\00:23:04.72
- Faith is not
powerful, God is powerful
00:23:04.88\00:23:07.25
and our faith is
what connects us with God.
00:23:07.44\00:23:11.19
And so I can see why
God would on occasion answer
00:23:11.58\00:23:17.26
some little prayer for somebody
that he wouldn't answer for me.
00:23:17.42\00:23:21.60
Because what he's trying to do
is to develop that connection.
00:23:22.10\00:23:27.15
I heard a story of a
fellow that was over in
00:23:28.91\00:23:33.41
New Guinea or
something and this is a big one.
00:23:33.68\00:23:36.48
He said one night they
were called to this big hut
00:23:36.62\00:23:39.51
and there were several
hundred of these people there
00:23:39.68\00:23:41.26
and a baby had died.
00:23:41.42\00:23:42.82
A baby had died.
00:23:43.47\00:23:46.67
- I know that story.
00:23:47.48\00:23:48.53
That's the first
mission stories I ever heard.
00:23:48.69\00:23:50.83
Those were wonderful.
00:23:50.98\00:23:52.08
- And how one of those
native teachers takes this baby
00:23:52.24\00:23:56.79
and says: "daddy, daddy
show these people who you are".
00:23:56.94\00:24:02.65
And how that life
flow back into that child.
00:24:03.50\00:24:06.16
- I know the missionary
that was there, that did that.
00:24:06.73\00:24:08.74
That was Bill
Liversace. It was marvelous.
00:24:08.92\00:24:10.77
I was moved by that.
00:24:10.94\00:24:12.08
- But if we were to
call somebody from the dead
00:24:12.24\00:24:17.65
it wouldn't happen, let's
say it just wouldn't happen,
00:24:17.85\00:24:20.46
but it happened that night.
00:24:20.62\00:24:21.59
- Well, and he was
concerned about his faith,
00:24:21.60\00:24:24.21
he was concerned about
his prayers, his faith and his
00:24:24.46\00:24:26.69
asking of God and
this person that was there,
00:24:26.86\00:24:32.29
I mean the Lord
answered his faith, his prayer.
00:24:32.70\00:24:35.54
- It's what they needed and
so in a way what God does for us
00:24:35.70\00:24:39.41
is answer to
prayer by what we need.
00:24:39.61\00:24:41.17
- Absolutely.
00:24:41.32\00:24:42.29
My dear old gray-haired mother
prayed for me for 27 years and
00:24:42.30\00:24:48.69
one time the last time I'd seen
her she was in a wheelchair,
00:24:48.89\00:24:53.71
she had her knees operated
on, had new knees put in,
00:24:54.01\00:24:57.96
so I went down to Sacramento
I was in those days riding
00:24:58.12\00:25:01.55
a motorcycle and had hair
down the middle of my back
00:25:01.75\00:25:04.42
and I was a pretty cool dude
00:25:04.58\00:25:05.81
and so I go up the elevator,
get to my mother's apartment,
00:25:05.96\00:25:09.71
I ring the bell, I hear
this shuffle, so she comes
00:25:09.86\00:25:13.51
to the door and there
she is standing up walking
00:25:13.66\00:25:16.12
and so I threw my arms around
her, we just kind of danced
00:25:16.27\00:25:18.62
around and I said: "mom, it's
so good to see you", she says:
00:25:18.78\00:25:20.63
"you know son, I wore my
knees out praying for you".
00:25:20.79\00:25:24.57
And here I am, long haired hippy
freak, attorney, dope addict,
00:25:24.88\00:25:30.83
alcoholic whatever and
it touched my heart to know
00:25:30.99\00:25:36.66
that my mother had been
praying for me for 27 years,
00:25:36.81\00:25:40.03
same prayer "Lord
save that boys soul".
00:25:40.22\00:25:43.94
And I'm here today I believe
in answer to my mother's prayer.
00:25:46.14\00:25:50.72
And I just see the value and
He's done that in my own life
00:25:51.10\00:25:54.61
with my oldest daughter and
so the prayer to God is just
00:25:54.78\00:26:00.55
opening up and saying: "God,
I don't have any control over
00:26:00.72\00:26:03.25
this situation, you know
all things, you do whatever you
00:26:03.40\00:26:08.10
can do". - So why do we pray?
00:26:08.25\00:26:10.74
I don't think we're telling
God anything in our prayers that
00:26:11.66\00:26:13.66
He doesn't know.
00:26:13.83\00:26:14.80
I don't think that
we're having to persuade
00:26:14.81\00:26:17.26
the beneficent God to
be kind or to be loving.
00:26:17.54\00:26:20.45
Because He's that way.
00:26:20.64\00:26:21.94
Prayer, through that
process, we get to know Him.
00:26:22.10\00:26:29.84
I read somewhere that prayer
doesn't bring God to our level
00:26:30.92\00:26:36.00
as it does to bring
us up to where He is
00:26:36.15\00:26:38.56
- We were talking about
Sinclair Lewis a moment ago
00:26:38.72\00:26:41.02
and I would just like
to stick this in here.
00:26:41.19\00:26:42.59
In some of the readings
that I've had, there was this
00:26:42.79\00:26:45.67
little statement that "we must
die a thousand little deaths".
00:26:45.83\00:26:49.02
And in those prayers there's
a thousand little selfish deaths
00:26:49.17\00:26:53.99
that we need to die so that
we can be brought up to where He
00:26:54.18\00:26:57.85
wants us to be.
00:26:57.97\00:26:58.94
- He gives good gifts.
00:26:58.95\00:27:00.13
The goal of prayer is to
understand the goodness of God
00:27:00.28\00:27:04.19
and to open our hearts
to receive those good gifts.
00:27:04.37\00:27:06.58
- So what else can we do
except go out with prayer?
00:27:06.74\00:27:09.32
Just constant prayer.
00:27:09.68\00:27:11.21
Join us in our prayer and join
us again on Thinking about Home
00:27:11.51\00:27:14.99
or call 3ABN if
you've enjoyed the programs.
00:27:15.14\00:27:17.98
We always love to hear from you.
00:27:18.14\00:27:20.33
Can you pray
for us Dick? - Sure.
00:27:20.67\00:27:21.89
Heavenly Father we're
glad that can come to you
00:27:22.34\00:27:25.32
as our heavenly daddy and
that you wanna give good gifts
00:27:25.48\00:27:29.32
and sometimes Lord we do ask
for crazy things and thank you,
00:27:29.48\00:27:33.42
thank you for not answering
those prayers, for blocking
00:27:33.88\00:27:36.30
those until we more and more
are conformed to your image,
00:27:36.49\00:27:41.47
so that over time we're on your
wavelength, until we can finally
00:27:41.63\00:27:46.39
say "Oh I delight to do
your will, oh my God, because
00:27:46.54\00:27:50.44
you've put your
will in our hearts".
00:27:50.59\00:27:52.97
And so Father, teach us to
pray, every day bring us closer
00:27:53.59\00:27:58.24
and closer to You in prayer.
00:27:58.39\00:28:01.15