Are you a prayer wimp?
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Are your prayers
short, weak and ineffective?
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Well, stay tuned to meet a woman
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who can give you tips to
set those prayers on fire.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis,
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello, and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guest today is Dr.
Nadine Joseph-Collins.
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Dr. Joseph-Collins
is a woman's advocate
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and a prayer counselor.
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Welcome to Urban Report, doctor.
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Thank you.
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It's so much to
say Dr. Joseph-Collins,
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may I just call you Nadine?
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Yes, it's
perfect. Alright, good.
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Good, good, good.
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So you are involved in
this whole aspect of prayer
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and there are so many people,
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I hear all the time and
I have too, I must confess.
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This is time for
true confessions, right?
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So up until this past year,
my prayer life was really weak.
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If I have to say, I
mean, it was just weak,
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I would just say
a couple of lines
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and then get up and do
what I had to do but it just...
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I wanted more and I
knew that I needed more
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and then the Lord
showed me something
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and we can talk
about that later.
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But there are so
many people who like me,
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had this or have just this weak,
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ineffective prayer life.
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What have you found as
you go around the country,
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what have you found had
been the main concerns of people
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with prayer?
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Yes, one of the major concerns
people have and I was surprised
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because growing up
in the church I thought,
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you know, we see
very good prayers,
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you must admit, if
there are any people
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who can pray in the
face of Adventist people,
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we have the lingo correct...
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Right.
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We all of these, you know, I
call Hailey Mary's, you know.
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We have this gracious
and eternal heavenly Father,
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hasten the foot steps of
those who are on their way,
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we your loving
children combine before you,
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we have a lot of
lingo and I thought, man,
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we got this thing covered,
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we know how to
pray and God taught me,
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that really we say prayers
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but our prayers are
not effective prayers.
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Now what's the difference?
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The big difference is you
could say something very nice,
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like a good prayer,
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the ones that we do all the time
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but effective prayer is praying
that actually breed results.
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Positive results,
I'm talking about,
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not just any results.
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Right.
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So you talk about what is
the major problem I found,
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both here in the US
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and traveling around the world,
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is that a lot of
people are frustrated
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in their prayer lives
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because they're not
getting answers from God.
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It's like, I was surprised
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to meet so many
frustrated Christians,
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they are like, you
know, um, I've been praying,
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God doesn't answer,
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I have these needs
and people are deflated.
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They are disgusted
somewhat in a sense as well
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because we're speaking
about this prayer thing
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but God is not hearing me
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and I found that
there are reasons
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why we're not getting
answers to our prayers
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and that is where
the rubble meets the road
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and everybody is
not willing to go there.
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Okay, so now
let's talk about that,
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'cause I wanna hear.
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Okay, so what are the reasons
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that people are
not getting answers?
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Okay, you want the long
story or the short story?
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The long story, we
have time. The long story.
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Okay, let's start.
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So the thing is,
when we first met,
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I met you as Dr. Yvonne Lewis...
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Yes. And now I
call you, 'Yvonne.'
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Right.
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Maybe in the next
three years, I may call you,
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"Hey, what's up, Y?"
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You know, you
shorten the name, so on.
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Now what people don't
realize or we already heard
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but we have not
been implementing
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is that in order for us to
have a powerful prayer life,
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we first need to have
a relationship with God.
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We don't just
need to know about Him,
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we don't just
need to go to church,
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we need an
intimate relationship.
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And when people
hear intimate sometimes,
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they always think about a
man and woman relationship,
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but when we think
about the story of Elijah,
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when he was in the
cave in I Kings 19.
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The Bible said, he
heard God in a whisper,
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that was above the
rocks breaking down,
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above the wind,
above the lightning,
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above all of the noise,
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so it says that he must have
been in close proximity to God
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because if I'm in
a room and I whisper
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and you're on the other
side, you'll not hear me.
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In order for you
to hear my whisper,
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we need to be
in close proximity.
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So it starts with our
relationship with God,
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not just be in a
said relationship
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but a relationship
that actually works.
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You know how we
spend all of that time,
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when Facebook,
what's apping people,
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I-message, over
Skype, whatever it is,
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we spend a lot of time
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investing in
people that we love.
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We spend all that
time talking to them
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and we expect our
relationship with God
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to be something hurried.
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So in order for me to
know your voice, like,
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if I called you on the
phone when we just met,
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I would have had to say,
"Hi, Yvonne, this is Nadine."
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I'm sure I'll have to
identify myself a few times
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in the next few conversations
until one day when I call,
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I wouldn't have to
identify myself anymore
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in the advent of like caller id,
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because you'd
recognize my voice.
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I'm loving this,
Nadine. I'm loving this.
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Oh, man, this is so beautiful,
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because this is
personalizing God.
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Yes, yes.
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This is not... He's
not some deity out there,
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He's someone that's
wants to be right here...
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Wants to be right there
and sometime it comforts me,
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you know, cause I'm like, Lord,
you are who you are and yet
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when we choose to
spend time for you,
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it means so much to Him
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and that is why people
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who spend a lot of
time in God's presence
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appear to be more
blessed than others
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because you're a
parent and you know like,
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you might have a
kid who's close to you
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and you may have a kid
who lives far away from you,
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the one who's close to you,
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you usually get
more of your presence,
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they get more of your
attention and stuff like that
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and when we look at God
and spending time with Him,
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it's like the child who chooses
to spend more time with Him,
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end up getting a
little more blessings
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because they're
right there under Him.
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I am one of those children,
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I want to be as
close as possible
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as I can get to God.
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Yes.
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I wanna get as
much from Him as I can.
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As my father,
you wanna give me...
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He says He wanna give
us exceedingly abundantly
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above anything we can ask
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but He wants that personal time.
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This is so good,
um, there is a pastor
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that came to 3ABN to visit
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and he had told
one of my friends,
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Irma Murray, she
had heard him say,
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he has this relationship
with the Lord that is really,
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just special and he said
that just what you're saying,
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that God, that Jesus
specifically, is lonely.
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When she told me
that, tears came to my eyes
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because I don't
think of Jesus as lonely.
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I don't think of Him
as wanting to be so close.
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I mean, I do but I don't.
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I don't think of
Him as lonely though,
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I've never
thought of Him like that
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and then when I
talked to Pastor Portes,
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when he was here, he said,
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"Jesus doesn't
just want members,
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He wants friends."
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He wants friends and
so what you're saying
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is just reinforcing that
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and actually
that's life changing
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because once you realize that,
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you find out how you
can get closer to Him
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and you do it.
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I mean, my life has
been changed totally,
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so I totally, I'm just like,
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I'm so into this, okay, so...
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Yes, yes, so we
need to know His voice.
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Yes.
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And one another
thing is like I mentioned,
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for us to know His voice,
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we'd have to spend
time talking to Him.
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Right.
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So when the noises of life come,
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the stress is the frustrations,
above all of that noise,
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we can still hear
that voice of God,
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that still small
voice just like Elijah heard
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and another aspect of
our prayer life, like,
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a fundamental
aspect is that prayer
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or talking to God is
a two way conversation.
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Most times when we go to Him,
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we go to Him and
we do all the talking.
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Right.
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Now how many of us would
like to be in a relationship
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where one person
does all the talking?
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Well, honestly, for me,
that's what made it boring.
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I mean, I just have to admit it
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because I was
doing all the talking...
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Yes, yes. So, I mean, I was.
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So if you're
doing all the talking,
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you're just saying,
tu, tu, tu, tu, tu, okay.
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And both parties are frustrated.
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Why?
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Because you do all the
talking and you get frustrated
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because you may not
get the response you want
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or you may not get
any response at all
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and the person on the
list might feel left out.
00:09:06.94\00:09:09.78
So if we're talking
about God as a personal God,
00:09:09.81\00:09:11.75
having that
personal relationship,
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you could imagine how
hurt and frustrated He is
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that He wants to talk back to us
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and I thought
about something recently
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and I thought, "Wow, you know,
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we actually
should change our self,
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when we do all the talking."
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Absolutely.
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Yes, because He
wants to bless us
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more than we can
ask and as human beings,
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if we have not died to serve
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which is something I
need to touch on soon,
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if we have not given up
our will for God's will,
00:09:38.11\00:09:40.54
every time we go
to ask Him something,
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we're asking Him something
we can see in our own eyes,
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something that we can measure,
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something we think
it's actually close above.
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But when we trust Him
and we allow Him to talk,
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then He gives us
the bigger picture.
00:09:52.65\00:09:54.92
He shows us so much more
blessings I want to give you,
00:09:54.96\00:09:58.33
you cannot ask me
things that I wanna give you
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because I wanna
give you so much more
00:10:01.10\00:10:02.80
than you could
ever ask or think.
00:10:02.83\00:10:04.47
Yes.
00:10:04.50\00:10:05.83
Yes, and we
should change ourselves
00:10:05.87\00:10:07.67
and we shorten God's hands
00:10:07.70\00:10:09.80
because we
wanted all the talking.
00:10:09.84\00:10:11.87
So the first thing we have to do
00:10:11.91\00:10:15.41
is spend more time with Him,
00:10:15.44\00:10:17.55
so that we can differentiate
His voice from any other,
00:10:17.58\00:10:23.28
then what?
00:10:23.32\00:10:24.92
We need to wait on
Him, listen to Him talk,
00:10:24.95\00:10:28.86
allow prayer to be
a two way conversation
00:10:28.89\00:10:32.43
and not just us
bringing our requests to Him.
00:10:32.46\00:10:34.36
Love it.
00:10:34.40\00:10:35.73
Yes. Okay.
00:10:35.76\00:10:37.10
And then the other
thing we have to recognize
00:10:37.13\00:10:38.50
is that we need to practice it,
00:10:38.53\00:10:42.57
like every other art,
like everything else in life,
00:10:42.60\00:10:46.37
Ellen G. White speaks
about prayer as a science
00:10:46.41\00:10:49.24
and most of us would like
to hear the word, 'science'
00:10:49.28\00:10:51.75
but it simply means
like there's a strategy,
00:10:51.78\00:10:54.25
there's probably
something logical
00:10:54.28\00:10:55.92
that we can do to
get responses from God.
00:10:55.95\00:10:58.85
And part of that has
to do with us recognizing,
00:10:58.89\00:11:01.52
Galatians 2:20,
00:11:01.56\00:11:03.96
where it says "I am crucified
with Christ, never the less,
00:11:03.99\00:11:07.13
I live, yet not I
but Christ lives in me,
00:11:07.16\00:11:10.30
and so the life I now live,
00:11:10.33\00:11:11.67
I'm not living it
00:11:11.70\00:11:13.03
but I'm living it by the
son of God is living in me."
00:11:13.07\00:11:16.00
This has so much
today for prayer life
00:11:16.04\00:11:18.54
that we don't recognize
00:11:18.57\00:11:20.34
and it's exciting to me
00:11:20.38\00:11:22.04
when the Lord
revealed that to me,
00:11:22.08\00:11:23.95
that if I die to self
and Jesus is living in me,
00:11:23.98\00:11:29.42
this body
belongs to Nadine, right?
00:11:29.45\00:11:32.25
Well, it doesn't
really belong to.
00:11:32.29\00:11:34.52
This body is
Nadine's body, right?
00:11:34.56\00:11:36.99
But when Christ is
living in this body,
00:11:37.03\00:11:39.66
Christ is living
in me, the Bible says,
00:11:39.69\00:11:41.93
"Whatsoever
things you ask in prayer,
00:11:41.96\00:11:44.17
believing you receive
it, you will have it."
00:11:44.20\00:11:46.43
And most times we say that text,
00:11:46.47\00:11:48.20
we quote that text and
we think we're going to go
00:11:48.24\00:11:50.77
and ask things and of
course, we will get it
00:11:50.81\00:11:52.44
but we have not recognized
00:11:52.47\00:11:54.38
that it's contingent upon
Christ being the one in us.
00:11:54.41\00:11:57.88
He's living in us, so
when He's living in me,
00:11:57.91\00:12:00.95
whatever I ask, it
is not Nadine asking,
00:12:00.98\00:12:04.29
it is the Spirit
of God living in me,
00:12:04.32\00:12:06.15
prompting me to ask God
and that is why He says,
00:12:06.19\00:12:09.52
"Whatsoever you ask,
you will receive it,..."
00:12:09.56\00:12:10.89
Why?
00:12:10.93\00:12:12.26
Because God is
the one living in me
00:12:12.29\00:12:14.66
and He's telling me what to ask
00:12:14.70\00:12:16.20
and then He answers Himself
and He will never deny Himself
00:12:16.23\00:12:20.74
what He puts in
my heart to ask Him
00:12:20.77\00:12:23.30
and so that's
where or that's the key
00:12:23.34\00:12:25.67
to have in our
prayer lives, go wow.
00:12:25.71\00:12:28.54
That's the key to having
God answering every prayer
00:12:28.58\00:12:31.38
that we ask
because when you go to Him,
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.08
it's not Yvonne asking God,
00:12:33.11\00:12:35.32
it's the Spirit of
God asking through you
00:12:35.35\00:12:38.05
and God answers these prayers
so He can help build our faith.
00:12:38.09\00:12:41.39
He answers these prayers,
00:12:41.42\00:12:42.76
so we can have that confidence
to continue to seek Him
00:12:42.79\00:12:45.76
which is another thing.
00:12:45.79\00:12:47.16
Yes, yes, so what do
you say though to the person
00:12:47.20\00:12:51.57
who, let's say,
my spouse is very ill
00:12:51.60\00:12:55.60
and I pray and I pray and I pray
00:12:55.64\00:12:59.84
and I ask God to raise
my spouse up but He doesn't?
00:12:59.87\00:13:05.61
Then that prayer was a
no, the answer was a no.
00:13:05.65\00:13:09.48
How do you explain that?
00:13:09.52\00:13:11.25
That is one of the
most frequent questions
00:13:11.29\00:13:14.36
I get when I travel around.
00:13:14.39\00:13:17.03
There are a few different
ways we can look at it,
00:13:17.06\00:13:19.03
we can look at
it in one way where,
00:13:19.06\00:13:22.83
did you ask God
if it was His will
00:13:22.86\00:13:25.23
that this person is healed?
00:13:25.27\00:13:27.74
Maybe, there maybe more glory
00:13:27.77\00:13:30.74
in this person's
death than in life,
00:13:30.77\00:13:33.98
that's just one
angle, in other words,
00:13:34.01\00:13:36.38
God sees beyond us, our
eye sight is so limited,
00:13:36.41\00:13:40.52
we can only see
now, so, "Oh, Lord,
00:13:40.55\00:13:42.62
I just want my
spouse to be healed now."
00:13:42.65\00:13:45.05
I was just
speaking to a friend today.
00:13:45.09\00:13:47.26
Her daughter died,
00:13:47.29\00:13:49.52
so I was in a prayer
group and so my friend
00:13:49.56\00:13:53.60
the contact I am with
in touch of all the time,
00:13:53.63\00:13:55.83
she was relaying
the message to me,
00:13:55.86\00:13:57.70
so the lady's daughter
died just about two months ago
00:13:57.73\00:14:01.00
and we found out
that because of her death,
00:14:01.04\00:14:04.74
so many people have
changed their lives.
00:14:04.77\00:14:08.08
And when I heard it
today, she was only 26,
00:14:08.11\00:14:10.41
it was comforting
because I'm like, "Wow,
00:14:10.45\00:14:12.35
so God is doing more
in her death than in life.
00:14:12.38\00:14:15.52
More lives have been changed."
00:14:15.55\00:14:17.15
I mean, it's not our desire
for our family members to die,
00:14:17.19\00:14:19.69
especially young people,
but it's just simple to say,
00:14:19.72\00:14:22.76
God is in control of all
things and while we might think,
00:14:22.79\00:14:26.26
"Okay, my spouse
needs to be healed
00:14:26.29\00:14:28.06
and God is not doing that."
00:14:28.10\00:14:29.70
1)Maybe, we
should see God's will.
00:14:29.73\00:14:32.37
Lord, what is your will?
00:14:32.40\00:14:34.57
Which is one of the
things that is attached to self,
00:14:34.60\00:14:38.87
when self is alive,
00:14:38.91\00:14:41.04
the will of God
we are not seeking.
00:14:41.08\00:14:43.65
So we are never going to edify
00:14:43.68\00:14:45.31
Lord, what do you want?
00:14:45.35\00:14:47.08
But when self is
dying or when self is dead,
00:14:47.12\00:14:50.15
all you're doing is seeking God,
00:14:50.19\00:14:51.69
what do you want, Lord?
00:14:51.72\00:14:53.05
What do you
want? What do you want?
00:14:53.09\00:14:54.96
And I remember the first
time I came across that word,
00:14:54.99\00:14:57.76
'the will of God, '
I was in my late teens,
00:14:57.79\00:15:00.86
around 19 there about and
there was this book in the ABC,
00:15:00.90\00:15:03.77
'How to know God's
will in your life?"
00:15:03.80\00:15:05.70
And I read the book
00:15:05.73\00:15:07.07
and I think in the
first chapter the author said,
00:15:07.10\00:15:08.80
"To know God's will, you
have no will of your own."
00:15:08.84\00:15:11.77
And I struggled with that
for a long time, I thought,
00:15:11.81\00:15:13.88
"How could you not
have a will of your own?
00:15:13.91\00:15:15.94
Meaning, okay, I
want to go to the store
00:15:15.98\00:15:19.21
or I don't want
to go to the store.
00:15:19.25\00:15:21.52
So I thought,
"How could I do that?
00:15:21.55\00:15:23.65
How could I not have a will?
00:15:23.69\00:15:25.02
You know, how
we're as human beings,
00:15:25.05\00:15:26.45
we want to do something,
we usually have a direction.
00:15:26.49\00:15:28.32
Right.
00:15:28.36\00:15:29.69
You know, even
when you do research,
00:15:29.72\00:15:31.06
you generally have a direction
that you want to go in...
00:15:31.09\00:15:32.43
Right, right.
00:15:32.46\00:15:33.80
And I struggled
with it but I decided,
00:15:33.83\00:15:35.16
Lord, let me try this.
00:15:35.20\00:15:37.20
And so I wanted
to get a computer,
00:15:37.23\00:15:38.90
that's when people were
now getting desktop computers
00:15:38.93\00:15:42.34
at home and so on,
00:15:42.37\00:15:43.71
and I went to
the bank and I said,
00:15:43.74\00:15:45.74
"I would like to take a
loan to get a desktop computer."
00:15:45.77\00:15:47.94
So that's like,
in the late 1990's
00:15:47.98\00:15:50.05
that I bought it,
00:15:50.08\00:15:51.41
I hope I didn't
gave away my age...
00:15:51.45\00:15:54.12
If you did, you're so young.?
00:15:54.15\00:15:56.62
I think it was in the late 90's,
00:15:56.65\00:15:58.02
like around 99 that I bought
and so I went to the bank,
00:15:58.05\00:16:00.76
I gave my papers
00:16:00.79\00:16:02.12
and the gentleman put
everything in the computer
00:16:02.16\00:16:04.49
and then he looks
at me and he says,
00:16:04.53\00:16:06.83
"I don't get it."
00:16:06.86\00:16:08.36
He says, "You look on paper
00:16:08.40\00:16:10.87
as if everything is
in order to get the loan
00:16:10.90\00:16:12.87
but the competition is
saying you don't qualify."
00:16:12.90\00:16:16.07
Now when I was
going for the loan,
00:16:16.10\00:16:17.44
I said to the Lord, I want
it 'cause I want the computer
00:16:17.47\00:16:20.28
and if you don't
want it, I don't want it.
00:16:20.31\00:16:21.64
So which ever way
it goes, it's fine
00:16:21.68\00:16:23.38
and I looked at him
and I said, "That's fine."
00:16:23.41\00:16:25.21
And he looked at me,
"How do you mean it's fine?
00:16:25.25\00:16:28.05
I'm gonna go to the manager."
00:16:28.08\00:16:29.52
I said, "No, no, no,
it's okay, it's fine,
00:16:29.55\00:16:30.89
thank you very much."
00:16:30.92\00:16:32.25
And I left.
00:16:32.29\00:16:33.89
The following week,
00:16:33.92\00:16:35.26
there's a couple I
used to assist with doing,
00:16:35.29\00:16:37.06
um, projects with them
00:16:37.09\00:16:38.43
and I used to use my
work computer to help
00:16:38.46\00:16:40.60
and they came to the
office and said, "Nadine,
00:16:40.63\00:16:43.03
we would like to
give you half of the money
00:16:43.06\00:16:44.77
to get your computer."
00:16:44.80\00:16:46.74
Wow, now look at
how it would have been,
00:16:46.77\00:16:49.54
had you insisted, you
would have paid the full price.
00:16:49.57\00:16:52.97
Only the full, I would have paid
00:16:53.01\00:16:54.34
probably three times the amount
00:16:54.38\00:16:55.98
for the desktop
computer because, you know,
00:16:56.01\00:16:57.71
the interest rates on
these loans are so high.
00:16:57.75\00:16:59.25
Right.
00:16:59.28\00:17:00.62
And so I'm like, that
was my first experience
00:17:00.65\00:17:03.18
practicing having no will
of your own and since then,
00:17:03.22\00:17:06.76
I have been using it
and it has not failed me.
00:17:06.79\00:17:10.56
So it's a blessing
00:17:10.59\00:17:13.33
when we can take
time to seek God,
00:17:13.36\00:17:16.67
to see what God wants for us
00:17:16.70\00:17:19.33
and then take time
praying for that thing
00:17:19.37\00:17:23.54
that God has placed in
your heart to ask of Him.
00:17:23.57\00:17:25.84
So when it comes to like
the sick spouse and so on,
00:17:25.87\00:17:28.21
"Father, what is
your will for my spouse?
00:17:28.24\00:17:31.25
How will you get
glory in this situation?"
00:17:31.28\00:17:34.18
But most times, we do it
from our own selfish perspective
00:17:34.22\00:17:37.09
not looking at how it
might be in God's eyes
00:17:37.12\00:17:40.56
and so it will be a
blessing when we spend more time
00:17:40.59\00:17:43.63
seeking the will of
God and when we do that,
00:17:43.66\00:17:46.13
we would be less frustrated
when we pray and answers come
00:17:46.16\00:17:50.73
because we are not
praying on our own,
00:17:50.77\00:17:52.23
we are praying
in the will of God
00:17:52.27\00:17:55.54
and that's where
all of the answers are
00:17:55.57\00:17:58.14
because God will
never deny Himself.
00:17:58.17\00:18:01.71
That's very interesting.
00:18:01.74\00:18:04.11
So...
00:18:04.15\00:18:06.28
I don't know if people
ask you this question or not,
00:18:06.31\00:18:09.18
but, you know,
there's this whole movement
00:18:09.22\00:18:11.69
of contemplative prayer
00:18:11.72\00:18:13.46
and that kind of
thing in the church.
00:18:13.49\00:18:14.82
What...
00:18:14.86\00:18:16.19
and spiritual formation
and that kind of thing.
00:18:16.22\00:18:18.33
What's different about what
you are promoting than that?
00:18:18.36\00:18:23.50
For me, when I look at prayer
00:18:23.53\00:18:25.23
and what God has
placed in my heart,
00:18:25.27\00:18:26.90
it's simply a
matter of denying self.
00:18:26.94\00:18:31.91
Nothing in this has
anything to do with me,
00:18:31.94\00:18:34.98
accepting the
testimonies that God give me
00:18:35.01\00:18:37.18
from answering my
prayers and I make sure
00:18:37.21\00:18:40.15
I share the testimonies
because every time you do that,
00:18:40.18\00:18:44.22
you are lifting God
up and because I call it,
00:18:44.25\00:18:47.42
"Being a billboard", I told Him,
00:18:47.46\00:18:48.79
"I want to be a
billboard for you"
00:18:48.82\00:18:50.86
so that when others see my life,
00:18:50.89\00:18:52.96
they can know that you're real,
00:18:52.99\00:18:54.43
that you are true
and that you work,
00:18:54.46\00:18:56.26
so it's all about God,
00:18:56.30\00:18:58.57
the answers that He
gives to the prayers
00:18:58.60\00:19:01.24
and everything that He
does, it's not about Nadine,
00:19:01.27\00:19:04.34
He's just going to use
me so that He can shine,
00:19:04.37\00:19:06.81
that the world can see Him,
00:19:06.84\00:19:08.54
so it's not
focusing on you really,
00:19:08.58\00:19:10.51
it's about God and I
think God answers prayers for us
00:19:10.55\00:19:15.15
not because He just
wants to answer the prayers,
00:19:15.18\00:19:20.22
He answers the prayers
00:19:20.26\00:19:21.59
because He also
wants to build our faith,
00:19:21.62\00:19:23.96
so we have
evidence that God works...
00:19:23.99\00:19:26.80
Absolutely.
00:19:26.83\00:19:28.16
And I tell people all the
time like in my notes and stuff,
00:19:28.20\00:19:32.37
I keep this is the
evidence of my prayer life.
00:19:32.40\00:19:36.64
So when God answers
prayers and you keep the notes,
00:19:36.67\00:19:39.17
you know how we used to
practice writing prayers,
00:19:39.21\00:19:42.04
requests and then burn them,
00:19:42.08\00:19:44.88
the Lord told me years ago,
00:19:44.91\00:19:46.92
over ten years
ago, don't do that.
00:19:46.95\00:19:48.72
You're burning the evidence.
00:19:48.75\00:19:50.52
That's right, that's right.
00:19:50.55\00:19:51.89
You're burning the evidence
00:19:51.92\00:19:53.25
which will show that
God actually works...
00:19:53.29\00:19:56.12
That's right. So you keep them.
00:19:56.16\00:19:58.46
And that's one of
the things, Nadine,
00:19:58.49\00:20:01.23
that has
revolutionized my prayer life
00:20:01.26\00:20:04.57
'cause Pastor Portes,
again, came here and said,
00:20:04.60\00:20:07.20
"Get a notebook and
write down the things
00:20:07.24\00:20:10.77
you want to ask
God for, and then show,
00:20:10.81\00:20:15.04
you'll be able to see how
He's answering your prayers.
00:20:15.08\00:20:18.85
You're very quick to forget
but if we have it written down,
00:20:18.88\00:20:22.32
it's evidence."
00:20:22.35\00:20:23.69
I have some, I don't
know if you want to see them.
00:20:23.72\00:20:25.05
Share it, yes, please.
00:20:25.09\00:20:26.42
You know, I have a lots
but I just use a few here,
00:20:26.45\00:20:28.49
I wanted to just
show you and I asked God,
00:20:28.52\00:20:32.56
you see when I talk
about being personal,
00:20:32.59\00:20:35.06
I ask God for
anything and for everything
00:20:35.10\00:20:39.60
and some of it might
seem so frivolous to people.
00:20:39.63\00:20:42.20
Simple things...
00:20:42.24\00:20:43.57
But it's between
you and God, right?
00:20:43.61\00:20:44.94
It's between us because
it's our personal relationship.
00:20:44.97\00:20:46.71
Exactly.
00:20:46.74\00:20:48.08
And I tell people all
the time, do not get upset
00:20:48.11\00:20:51.11
because of what I
choose to ask God,
00:20:51.15\00:20:53.28
'cause I share
with them what I ask,
00:20:53.31\00:20:54.88
some of the things I
pass the notes around,
00:20:54.92\00:20:56.79
don't get upset
because of what I ask Him for
00:20:56.82\00:20:58.69
because there's a lot
more where that came from.
00:20:58.72\00:21:00.22
Right.
00:21:00.26\00:21:01.59
So you might think for example,
00:21:01.62\00:21:02.96
me asking Him
for something like,
00:21:02.99\00:21:04.33
even braids for my
hair or even undies,
00:21:04.36\00:21:07.30
I mean, it's crazy
the things I ask Him for.
00:21:07.33\00:21:10.57
Yes, because He's my
Father. That's right.
00:21:10.60\00:21:13.07
And I have made it a point,
00:21:13.10\00:21:14.64
"Hey, you gave
me earthly parents
00:21:14.67\00:21:16.44
but I'm depending on you."
00:21:16.47\00:21:17.81
So everything I
want, I go to God,
00:21:17.84\00:21:19.87
even when I ask
Him for everything,
00:21:19.91\00:21:23.11
from my laptops to phones
to everything and I'm specific.
00:21:23.14\00:21:28.45
Yes, that's another thing.
00:21:28.48\00:21:30.25
That's there's so
much, I can talk about,
00:21:30.29\00:21:32.35
about prayer but I talk
about being specific here,
00:21:32.39\00:21:35.96
in this devotional book, I
wrote a few years ago, right,
00:21:35.99\00:21:38.93
and every time I go
places, people tell me
00:21:38.96\00:21:40.93
this is one of the most
powerful devotions for them.
00:21:40.96\00:21:43.87
Be specific and you know why we
need to be specific in prayer?
00:21:43.90\00:21:46.23
Why?
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.60
Because the enemy is
very ready to counterfeit
00:21:47.64\00:21:51.14
or to give us what it
looks like the blessing.
00:21:51.17\00:21:54.31
So if I wanna pair of shoes
00:21:54.34\00:21:55.94
but I
specifically want black shoes
00:21:55.98\00:21:58.05
and I just go to God and I say,
00:21:58.08\00:21:59.61
"I want a pair
of shoes, Father."
00:21:59.65\00:22:02.62
And He blesses me and
you give me a red pair
00:22:02.65\00:22:05.09
and I say, "Thanks, Yvonne."
00:22:05.12\00:22:06.45
Have my prayer been answered?
00:22:06.49\00:22:09.12
Well, no, you
got a pair of shoes
00:22:09.16\00:22:10.83
but they weren't black.
00:22:10.86\00:22:12.19
Exactly, because my desire was
00:22:12.23\00:22:14.33
for a pair of
black shoes, right?
00:22:14.36\00:22:16.30
But most of us will
accept that pair of shoes
00:22:16.33\00:22:18.43
as the blessing but I will not.
00:22:18.47\00:22:21.50
I will take the red pair
of shoes and then I will say,
00:22:21.54\00:22:24.67
"Thank you, Yvonne.
00:22:24.71\00:22:26.04
Thank you, Lord,
00:22:26.07\00:22:27.41
now I'm still waiting
for my black pair of shoes."
00:22:27.44\00:22:29.41
You wanna hear
another story. Yes.
00:22:29.44\00:22:30.98
Let me give you
one about a phone.
00:22:31.01\00:22:32.35
Yes, yes.
00:22:32.38\00:22:33.72
I remember in
college, where you know,
00:22:33.75\00:22:35.12
when Blackberries just came out,
00:22:35.15\00:22:36.75
there was a little square
thing on the side, I had one
00:22:36.79\00:22:39.65
and then it got
destroyed and I wanted an 8720.
00:22:39.69\00:22:43.79
It was coming out as
a new one, very thin,
00:22:43.83\00:22:46.06
very cute and I remember
asking God specifically right
00:22:46.09\00:22:50.30
and here just like I'm writing,
00:22:50.33\00:22:52.60
what kinds of phone I
want and specific laptop I want
00:22:52.63\00:22:56.14
and so on and I wrote down,
I wanted 8720, and one day,
00:22:56.17\00:23:02.14
somebody came and they
brought me a Nokia phone
00:23:02.18\00:23:04.25
in the box and the bag, right.
00:23:04.28\00:23:07.02
And I took it from them only
00:23:07.05\00:23:09.45
because the person was very poor
00:23:09.48\00:23:10.82
and I thought if they went out
of the way to get me a phone,
00:23:10.85\00:23:12.99
I need to take it.
00:23:13.02\00:23:14.76
So I took the phone,
00:23:14.79\00:23:16.52
I gave it to
one of the gentlemen
00:23:16.56\00:23:18.29
in our prayer
group and I tell God,
00:23:18.33\00:23:20.00
"I'm still waiting for my 8720."
00:23:20.03\00:23:22.43
So I called a friend,
00:23:22.46\00:23:23.80
I asked him to check the
price for me and so I'm at home,
00:23:23.83\00:23:26.80
I didn't have the money
00:23:26.84\00:23:28.17
but I asked the
question as if I had the money.
00:23:28.20\00:23:31.04
So can you check the
price of that for me?
00:23:31.07\00:23:32.44
And, no problem.
00:23:32.47\00:23:33.81
They called me
back that evening,
00:23:33.84\00:23:35.18
very same evening and said,
"Nadine, I gotten your phone,
00:23:35.21\00:23:37.85
8720 and I paid
zero dollars for it."
00:23:37.88\00:23:42.72
Wow.
00:23:42.75\00:23:44.55
So if I had accepted
that Nokia as my blessing,
00:23:44.59\00:23:47.39
although I was
specific about what I wanted,
00:23:47.42\00:23:50.09
I will not have
gotten what I really want
00:23:50.13\00:23:52.09
and these things
seem frivolous to people
00:23:52.13\00:23:54.06
but truly God is interested
in every aspect of our lives.
00:23:54.10\00:23:58.03
Yes.
00:23:58.07\00:23:59.40
He said the
bread and water is sure
00:23:59.43\00:24:00.77
and that doesn't mean
00:24:00.80\00:24:02.14
He doesn't want to
give us everything else.
00:24:02.17\00:24:03.51
I ask for my bread and water
and I ask for everything else.
00:24:03.54\00:24:07.11
Yes.
00:24:07.14\00:24:08.48
I tell God, I
want every blessing
00:24:08.51\00:24:10.45
that has my name on it.
00:24:10.48\00:24:12.51
Every single one
of these blessings
00:24:12.55\00:24:14.22
and so I have so many
stories like that about things
00:24:14.25\00:24:17.99
that would come to me
00:24:18.02\00:24:20.56
before I get
exactly what I asked for,
00:24:20.59\00:24:22.82
so we need to recognize
when this fake blessings come,
00:24:22.86\00:24:26.56
but most of us stop right there,
00:24:26.59\00:24:28.20
we accept the look
alike of the blessing
00:24:28.23\00:24:30.73
and we miss out on the blessing
00:24:30.77\00:24:32.13
that was almost
there or the blessing
00:24:32.17\00:24:33.67
that's actually there.
00:24:33.70\00:24:35.17
You know, so...
00:24:35.20\00:24:36.54
I love it. And it's so good.
00:24:36.57\00:24:38.91
How did you get
involved in prayer ministry?
00:24:38.94\00:24:43.28
You know, I'm tempted to say
00:24:43.31\00:24:45.08
that it started
when I was in college
00:24:45.11\00:24:48.25
but I think it started
a long time before that
00:24:48.28\00:24:50.65
because my grand mother
00:24:50.69\00:24:52.25
who raised me was
a woman of prayer.
00:24:52.29\00:24:54.76
She was my first
example of prayer,
00:24:54.79\00:24:56.93
that lady would
pray all the time.
00:24:56.96\00:24:59.26
So that's my first
real example of prayer,
00:24:59.29\00:25:01.83
prayer that actually
works and then later on in life,
00:25:01.86\00:25:05.17
when I went to
college, I had this friend
00:25:05.20\00:25:06.97
who actually taught me
00:25:07.00\00:25:08.34
about writing down
my prayer requests.
00:25:08.37\00:25:09.77
We were prayer partners, Debbie.
00:25:09.80\00:25:11.64
And we would come to God
00:25:11.67\00:25:13.78
with our requests and
the two of us would pray,
00:25:13.81\00:25:16.51
we would agree on it,
00:25:16.54\00:25:18.45
because remember the Bible says,
00:25:18.48\00:25:19.81
"If two agree
on it, it is done."
00:25:19.85\00:25:21.22
And I recognize the
enemy doesn't like agreement
00:25:21.25\00:25:24.72
because the Bible
says, "One can slay a 1,000
00:25:24.75\00:25:27.82
but two can slay 10,000."
00:25:27.86\00:25:31.13
So the maths is
not 1-1000, 2-2000,
00:25:31.16\00:25:34.30
it just jumps all the way to 10.
00:25:34.33\00:25:36.40
So we would write our requests
and we would pray about them
00:25:36.43\00:25:41.07
and we would see God answer them
00:25:41.10\00:25:42.70
and that's how it
really began for me
00:25:42.74\00:25:44.64
and then she introduced
me to other people of prayer
00:25:44.67\00:25:47.21
and we began to
minister to people
00:25:47.24\00:25:49.11
and I've seen God do
the craziest of things.
00:25:49.14\00:25:52.98
For example,
one time in college,
00:25:53.01\00:25:54.48
while I was in my
masters, I asked God,
00:25:54.52\00:25:57.32
one of my AY leaders had a car.
00:25:57.35\00:26:00.32
His car would
breakdown all the time.
00:26:00.36\00:26:03.83
I said to the Lord,
"Listen, if I have a car,
00:26:03.86\00:26:06.76
I do not want a car like
his, I want a brand new car."
00:26:06.80\00:26:10.30
Would you believe that I
actually got a brand new car.
00:26:10.33\00:26:13.97
I didn't have to
go to the bank for it,
00:26:14.00\00:26:15.84
I didn't have to take a loan,
00:26:15.87\00:26:17.21
I was just paying for
it every month directly
00:26:17.24\00:26:19.54
because one of
my friends' uncle,
00:26:19.57\00:26:23.18
we met over dinner
and he needed somebody
00:26:23.21\00:26:25.85
to sort of sit his car,
00:26:25.88\00:26:28.08
that was another island
and he didn't want it packed.
00:26:28.12\00:26:31.79
Wow, look at how
God opened that door.
00:26:31.82\00:26:35.09
He is... I say God is crazy.
00:26:35.12\00:26:37.03
He is, He's crazy about
you, He's crazy about me,
00:26:37.06\00:26:40.00
He's crazy about
us, His children.
00:26:40.03\00:26:42.03
He loves us.
00:26:42.06\00:26:43.40
So what's the ultimate
strategy for a wow prayer life?
00:26:43.43\00:26:48.87
I would say that we
need to work on developing
00:26:48.90\00:26:51.07
the habit of praying everyday.
00:26:51.11\00:26:53.17
You realize that spells hope.
00:26:53.21\00:26:56.04
I love it.
00:26:56.08\00:26:57.41
Yes, we can use that
acronym in our ministry,
00:26:57.45\00:26:59.58
you know, I use this product,
00:26:59.61\00:27:01.02
so we call it "24
Days" to developing a HOPE
00:27:01.05\00:27:03.72
which is the habit
of praying every day
00:27:03.75\00:27:06.05
and psychologists are
saying that top performers,
00:27:06.09\00:27:09.36
in order for them
to do what they do
00:27:09.39\00:27:11.99
have really good
habits, like athletes,
00:27:12.03\00:27:14.86
they say would spend at
least 10, 000 hours practicing
00:27:14.90\00:27:18.07
to be good at their skill,
00:27:18.10\00:27:19.97
they say that
musicians or artists,
00:27:20.00\00:27:23.14
Picasso, Mozart,
00:27:23.17\00:27:24.51
and these guys would
spend a whole decade of silence,
00:27:24.54\00:27:26.57
they call it ten
years to perfect the art
00:27:26.61\00:27:28.64
and if you wanna
perfect your prayer life,
00:27:28.68\00:27:30.65
if you wanna be a top
performer in your prayer life,
00:27:30.68\00:27:33.31
you need to
practice praying everyday.
00:27:33.35\00:27:36.62
Everyday, praise the Lord.
00:27:36.65\00:27:38.09
Thank you so much
for being with us,
00:27:38.12\00:27:40.32
but then put your website up.
00:27:40.36\00:27:41.89
So people can
know how to reach you
00:27:41.92\00:27:44.73
and also we should tell them
00:27:44.76\00:27:46.09
that you are the new
wife of our nice Collins,
00:27:46.13\00:27:48.60
who is the host
of Dare to Dream's,
00:27:48.63\00:27:51.40
Taste of Paradise.
00:27:51.43\00:27:52.77
So tell Nyse, we said, hi.
00:27:52.80\00:27:54.47
Thank you so
much for joining us,
00:27:54.50\00:27:56.84
we really love you
and appreciate you.
00:27:56.87\00:27:58.91
Join us next time
00:27:58.94\00:28:00.28
'cause it just wouldn't
be the same without you.
00:28:00.31\00:28:02.38