What's going on, everybody?

How's it going, everyone?

It's been. It's been a wild day.

A wild day.

Yep. Yeah, I've wanted to throw the computer against the wall a couple of times, so I need some prayer. You think you can pray for me?

We could probably pray for you.

Yeah.

For that, you know, we should probably talk about prayer in general. Yeah, we should talk about that.

You know, we have a series about a year ago, I feel like.

Yeah, I was gonna say. I didn't think.

I think it was last year. It was last. It was the beginning of the year, wasn't it? Maybe where it was like we came out and we did like four weeks on prayer, right?

Yeah.

And in case anybody's listening saying, oh, my gosh, another podcast talking about prayer, we had a listener write in and actually ask a question.

So.

So the listener, listeners, what do you.

Want to post this question?

Listener 1245B posed this question.

Not post, texted this question, whatever. Why are almost all of the prayer requests about asking God for healing, positive results on some sort of procedure or scan protection while traveling, or from bad weather, provisions like a new or better job or finances, etc. Where are the prayers asking for obedience, wisdom, discernment, boldness to share the Gospel, his strength while in the wilderness season, etc. Why aren't we hearing about those kind of prayers? All right, so they've asked us, what's our take? What's our take? That's what we're going to talk about today. We are definitely going to talk about that. For the record, just to set up the whole thing. It is okay to ask for all of those things?

Yeah, absolutely.

All the early things that we hear about all the time, that we are constantly commonly requesting prayer requests for, those are things that are okay to ask for, for sure. Like, there's nothing wrong with asking for prayer to get well or whatnot.

You know, I think talking to God about. Because that's what prayer is. Talking to God about anything and everything is not only okay, it is, well, encouraged, really to talk to him about it. You want to have that relationship where you can talk to God about anything and there's things you can't talk to other people about that you should. And there's going to be things that you're going to ask of him and hope of him, even beg him for. And that's all good.

Short answer. We'll dive into it after we pray. But do you feel like there is a difference in what is okay to talk to God about, which is anything. I agree, like wholeheartedly that you can talk to God about anything and what you can or should ask others to talk to God about.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. So you're asking if there's a difference in what you can talk to God about and what you should ask other people to talk about what on your behalf.

Yeah. So like, when you're asking for a prayer request, like, here's a prayer request. Could you pray for me on this? Is there a difference between what you can talk about and just short answer, yes or no. Right. Is there a difference between what you can talk to God about and what you should ask for? Not what you can. Because obviously you can ask anybody to pray for anything. But, you know, as John Chris says, you know, I'm not praying for your dog. Like, you know, like, I'm not saying I won't. I'm just saying, like, there's some things that people think is ridiculous. Do you think that there are some things you really should. That's, that's something you should talk to God about.

And maybe I like the question. It's definitely a different type of question when it comes to prayer. I would say maybe that's.

That's, that's acceptable. That's acceptable. What do you think?

What do I. I would love to mull this over a bit more.

Quick answer.

Quick answer is I think that we are. Our associate pastor has a saying where he says, complain up, lean to the side and pour down. Right? So if it's a, if it's something like, hey, I need God for this and it's like an emergency and like, I don't want to bring this to people who I'm leading because it's going to reflect badly on me. Because that's when you bring it up and ask them to pray along with you. And, you know, if it's day to day, things like, hey, I'm struggling at work and things like that, you can lean to the people that are kind of on the same level as you. And so that'd be my kind of quick answer is like, what category does it kind of fall into and how can we join together?

Yeah, but I mean, this could be such a broad topic of things to talk about here. And that's what's probably like my head was swimming with different possibilities of things that people pray about. I've heard all kinds of things. And of course I talk to God about all kinds of things. And I'm like, what would I actually think? I mean, I don't know, man. There's stuff that, I mean, in some relationships, sure, but not all relationships, you know? I don't know. I don't know. That's a wild thing. I really would like to think about that one more.

What's your quick response?

Yes. Yes. There is absolutely things that. That you. I think that you shouldn't ask other people to pray for. You know, Like, I think. I think that that's my quick answer. I'm totally open to discussions. I mean, I. I think I could.

See some things where I would agree on that.

There's, like, something. And I don't just mean, like some people. I just mean, like, yeah, why don't you talk to God about that? And, you know, because, like, I don't know. I think some things are. I don't wanna.

Yes.

I'm not gonna dive into it.

Let's say.

Let's say.

Let's not get too far. No, no, let's not get far.

Right?

Yeah.

We gotta pray if we're gonna make it today. To quote Nick. Yeah. Who's quoting MC Hammer. Yeah.

That wise philosopher.

That wise mc. Modern philosopher.

Jesus Christ. JC Hammer.

JC Right.

Should come up with her own dude. MC Hammer. But Jason.

And he's laying down the law. That's right. With a judge dread mask on. There you go. I am the law.

These two right now, I know.

That was the greatest scene from the series, I guess. Welcome to the truth response, Sam. All right, Matt, you want to pray for us?

You know. Yeah, I'll go ahead and pray for us. As we talk about prayer.

I can't get my hat off.

You ready?

No, I'm not. I'm all kinds of discombobulated. All right, go ahead and pray.

All right, Father, thank you for today and just for all the blessings that you give to our lives. You know, there's many things we can talk to you about, Lord, and some of them sound a little whiny, some of them a little complainy, some of them a little ascii, a little needy. But, Lord, we just want to be able to appreciate the fact that we can come to you about everything and anything. And, Lord, just continue to pour into us the answers that we do need, not necessarily the ones that we want so that we can ultimately become better reflections of you. Help guide this conversation. Help us to help others in their prayer life and with some insight. And, Lord, just continue. Just keep us strong as a show and help us grow. And we do all things and pray all things in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. So why don't we start by talking about why do people primarily ask for. For the. For healing or positive results or protection or provisions and so on and so forth? I think. Why is that the typical thing that people ask for?

I think the short answer is because we're trying to fit God into our box. And this is my plan, and I need you to help me accomplish my plan.

I think that's the. The. The answer that is subconscious. I think that's a subconscious answer for sure.

Maybe. I think it comes down to the.

Fact that not always.

On a spiritual level, whether we recognize it or not, we need God. The thing that we need to be dependent on for anything is God. And I think even if it's in our subconscious, we know that. And the thing is that it's the most real. It's the most active, everyday thing for us. Anyone who is trying to have any kind of relationship with God, even those who don't necessarily have a relationship with him, but are willing to, even for a moment, recognize the entity that is God, I think the most natural thing to know and to do is that we can go and ask of Him. And so when you're talking about the world being as screwed up as it is, and it is. It doesn't take much. Just look around or turn the TV on or your computer or your phone, whatever.

Yeah, yeah.

And with the world being as crazy as it is, with so much that is not good, it just drives us to feel the need. And that need is ultimately going to come out as a request. You know, think about it. I've had people who aren't. I wouldn't call them religious, or I wouldn't call them people of faith, followers of Jesus, any of those things. And yet sometimes when stuff really happens and the chips are really down, or when someone they love is going through something really bad, they'll go, hey, you know, if you could just put a prayer in. Which is interesting also because, like, you know what I mean? Sometimes they're like, nah. If you want to try to talk them any other time about God, they're like, I don't have a. They act like you're an idiot. But then when something's going on, they're like, yeah, if you could put a prayer in.

Yeah, I don't understand how you can reconcile God doesn't exist. Hey, can you pray for me?

Yeah.

It's an interesting phenomenon.

I don't understand that. But, yeah. No, I know a lot of people have done that to me.

I am convinced. I am completely 100% convinced. And I think every human being knows in the core of our cores, the truth. I think in the core of our course, the seed is in there that God is real and that everything that comes with it. But I think some people just bury it further. And for some people, the ground softens. But it's just wild how disobedient some will be. And yet in their time of need, start to open themselves up to it like a crack in the foundation, just for a moment. They're gonna seal it back up with cement later, especially if things go well for them, or maybe even faster if things don't. But they're willing to crack it open and go, hey, just if you could pray a little bit.

It's like they've thrown a little bit of dirt on the cement that they've buried, right? They've thrown a little bit of dirt on there, and they're like, hey, I wonder if we can get something to grow here for a moment. Just for a moment.

Yep. One of my favorite stories was there's a pastor up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and he had put a post out on Facebook, this is 10 years ago, but he had a guy respond and say, I'm an atheist. And he was really offended. And he started going back and forth in a conversation with this guy. And then the guy just went silent. And three days later, he gets a phone call to his. Or the pastor gets a phone call to the church, and it's this guy. And he says, just so you know, I gave my life to Jesus because he said after I was so angry at our conversation, I started, like, just screaming. And then I started screaming at God. And then I realized, why am I screaming at something I don't actually believe? And I started reading scripture. And he goes, now I'm all in that.

It's crazy how God works, man.

Awesome, right?

Yeah. You know what's funny is that there's a song that Aaron Lewis and it's called Everybody Talks to God. I love it so much. And the idea is that at some point, everybody's going to talk whether you want to believe or not. And scripture even tells us that every knee will one day bow. You're not getting away with not acknowledging Jesus, right? You're not going to getting away without acknowledging God, even when it comes to eternity. But, you know, it's wild. It is wild when somebody. Just for a moment, you know, just for this moment, I'm just gonna dip my toe into this pool. I might reject it right after. But the thing is, going back to the question like why is it so prevalent? I think it's the most natural state of our hearts is to know that we need and the ultimate provider is God.

Yeah. I think it is a natural state, a natural pull. I also think that both things can be true though. I think that it can be that, that innate nature to just when things hit the fan, we go to the one we know innate, like in, in our nature and can fix things. But I also think that like it's one of those self driven things. I think that it definitely is a, it is selfish whether whether it's right or wrong. I'm not saying, I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong. I am saying that it is innately selfish. I mean think about healing, right? Like when did Jesus heal people? It generally wasn't for selfish reasons. Right. Like it was because of other things.

To reveal someone's faith, whether it be that person or another.

Right.

So it was definitely not the whole like, yo, God, my kid is sick, can you heal them? It was like, I believe that you can do this if it, if it's in your will. Like it's, it's one of those, like if you're willing to do this, I know that you can and would you be willing? Like it's, it's not a, like he's not being treated like a genie, you know, granting you wishes. Yeah. You know, and that sort of thing. And so I think that both can be true. Like, and, and I mean also like I don't think that every time somebody prays for healing or every time somebody pray, I don't think that that is always selfish either necessarily. But I think that those are the more self viewing. I don't know. It's selfish. It is selfish, right? Like not necessarily the negative connotation of selfish.

Yeah. But like self is necessarily a bad.

That's what I'm trying to say.

So like you, yeah, there is inward viewing with it. But like you, they're not bad things. I mean there are, I mean I've heard people pray for things. I'm like, that's kind of ridiculous. But I mean at the same time I'm like, but they're talking to God.

Sure, yeah, absolutely.

And I would much rather them continue to ask him for things that I honestly would have no problem with him saying no about. Because I'm like, yeah, I've done the same thing. I've been like, hey God, what about this? And I can just imagine him going, yeah, you know, I'm not going to do that. Right.

But.

We do. I think, you know, God, he wants our communication. And you know, the question about why is it always these things? Well, like I said, I mean, it's. It's the most frequent. I guess as we run into these situations, it takes a different perspective. We have to be in a little bit of a different place, if not a lot of bit of a different place to go from our needs and wants selfishly. Right. To help form me.

But the help form me is what you actually need, right?

Oh, absolutely.

That's the thing.

And the funny thing is God loves to sprinkle that into some of our other prayers.

Sure.

You know what I mean? But to be. It takes the moment of going, all right, look, I'm in a place where I need to work in my faith. And whether that's. I'm in a good place in my life or I'm in a bad place in my life, or I'm just in a place I'm recognizing. I want to go deeper, I want to go further. I want him to know me more. I want to know him more. I want this better. And that's a very. You have to be deliberate about it. You know, this is something. And what's funny is that you also want to do such things with the reality that, like, this could hurt. This might not be comfortable, but I know it's needed. And for some, they might have to get through some of the I wants I needs, good or bad, to get to the journey of all right, Lord, make me better.

Yeah. But the thing that I think most people don't get is that if you're on the track of God make me better, you get to avoid a whole lot of the God will yous.

Yeah. Think about what I just said, though. I mean, it takes people a while to get there.

I get it. I get it. But it also takes people saying something. I think that it takes. It takes us sharing that with people. Like, I think that that, that takes teaching people and discipling them and showing them that, like, you know what, what you really need is not healing. What you need right now is obedience. And you need to ask for obedience, you know, like, perhaps. But I mean, like, sometimes I'm just saying, like, that's, that's the, the hard reality of it, that sometimes you know what, you're sick.

Yeah.

Sometimes you're terminally sick, unfortunately. And that's just part of it. And that, that's part of the, the, the process that God has. Has placed in. In front of you.

Your body is A machine.

If you're down, yes. If you're asking for obedience in the midst of that, like, he's gonna show you where he's gonna show up. And that is the most important, right? Yeah, that's way more important.

You pointed out that sometimes. You kind of at least pointed out that sometimes you need somebody to come alongside you. You know, this is really what you need. There's also people that are unhelpful with that. I'll give you an example. You'll have people saying things, and we know of a few that do it. But, like, some people will be like, you know, I wanted to pray for patients, but I know that that could mean that I got to be careful about asking for that because, you know, God make it really hard for me. And I'm like, don't say stuff like that. Yeah, that's not helpful to you or anyone else. If. So if somebody comes to you is like, I was praying for God to give me patience. And they immediately go, you got to be careful asking. No, be like, great. All right, so have you. Have you learned anything yet? Like, what are you. What are you hoping maybe to get? Like, those kinds of things that are kind of what you want to do. You to go in there and be like, well, you know, you gotta be careful. You might not want to do that. And like, no. Why in the world are we saying things like that? I've done it myself. All right, I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I've done it before, but I've heard people do it lately. And I'm like, I don't think that's a good thing.

No, we used to do that in our Bible study all the time when you go around and take prayer requests, and somebody would go, hey, guys, I'm going to do it. We're like, don't do it. They're like, pray for patience. Like, no, it's like, because we know God's going to give you opportunities to practice patience. Well, not only that, he's not just going to magic dust with patience.

I always say you should, like, instead of starting with give me patience, Lord, start putting yourself in places where you have to be patient. Like, one of the things. And I know some of you all have. Have heard me say this before, and I know you have. I will go in Walmart's longest line at times just to practice it intentionally, you know, like, because if you're. If you're being intentional about practicing whatever. Patience in this case, right? Then whenever the opportunities come up to where you're gonna have to be patient. And I say opportunities because that's what it is. It's an opportunity for you to show the glory of God and the fruits that he's giving you. Like, then you're gonna recognize it, and you're gonna be more apt to do it. Just like when you read scripture.

Sure.

The more you read scripture, the more scripture flows out of you.

So whatever you're putting in, for sure. But I mean, like, even, like, you know, when you look at the. The scripture and God refers to himself as a father, I always go back to this. So it's like, imagine your kid. Your kid can ask you anything in the world. He says, I want to do this. I want to do that. Please help me with this. Please help me with that. And in your head, you're like, that's not the plan. I'm not going to do that. I appreciate you coming to me and asking me, but I'm going to say no. And that's. And that's fine. And then every so often, they say something that changes your mind. It's like, so now here's the question. So if you go into, like, the. Let's say we're going into Exodus. My mom brought this up several weeks ago. She's like, if you go into Exodus and you're reading it, it looks as if Moses has changed God's mind. What's your opinion on being able to change God's mind?

We're not gonna go there.

We're not gonna go there in this episode. On another episode.

Well, because I'm pretty sure I know where you stand on it. I could be wrong. I know where I stand on it, and most people don't agree with me, so.

Fair enough.

So.

Oh, man.

Go ahead, go there, go there, go there. Briefly, Briefly, go there.

I had something I wanted to say.

And I didn't want to lose it.

I feel like I'm losing because I was listening to what you were saying. Darn it.

That's all right.

Get distracted with another question.

That's all right. Well, I mean, ultimately, what I've started to do in my own personal prayer time is just not start with all right like I used to. I used to start with thank you, God, for everything that you've given me, all these opportunities. I will say that Ken Griffey Jr. Didn't get to be as good a batter as he was just by accident. It's because he had more opportunities at the plate. Right. And so. And obviously that's more regarding sales and everything, but when it comes down to prayer life. It's thank you for all these opportunities and things you put in place for me. And then now I'm immediately going into. Give me some divine appointments today and tell me what you need from me. And then, hey, here's a few things that if you can help me out with, I'd be really appreciative. Like Psalm 51:10 says, created me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit. That's a daily. Figure out what's wrong with me. Help me fix those things and help me be better.

Right?

And that's how it should start. But most people just go, like you said, we don't. We don't. Usually when people. When life is going well, that's when their prayer life drastically drops off because, well, I don't need you now because I'm good. It's like, but I'm going to need you when I start falling apart again.

Oh, yeah. I mean, you're right. But that's where those who have more, we'll call it more veteran relationship with God start to understand that things are. Well, maybe we should work on things now. There should be an uncomfortableness with being too comfortable. You know what I mean? Where it's like, things are a bit too good. I need to prepare. And so, you know, it's funny. Cause one of my students came to me recently and I was like, how are things? How's this? How's that? And they're like, actually, everything's really good, and it's making me freak out. And I was like, well, I get it, I get it. I remember what I was gonna say. So you kind of touched on the idea that, like, we go to God, right? And we say, all right, so these are the things that I want. And we even tried to justify the things that we want, right?

Of course.

You know, my son did this the other day, right? He came to me and he was actually complaining about. He'd gone to his mother about something he wanted to do. And he's. And she was like, why do you want to do that? And he was complaining. He's like, why does she have to question it? And he's like, this isn't like. I just thought of it. I've been wanting to do it for a while, and I don't understand.

And.

And I was like, you don't get it. And it's funny because as you were spoken, I was like, man, I did what I think in a very minute, little way, I did kind of what God does with us. Sometimes that you touched on. It's like I looked at him, I said, you know, son, you don't understand. Our role as parents is to listen to the things that you do, don't do, want to do, talk about doing, listen to get involved with. And we got to weigh all of it and try to figure out what's the best for you and try to help steer you in those directions. So you come to us an idea, and we are not sure if that's a good idea for you. We're going to be hesitant, we're going.

To question you, we're going to ask.

Why, and we're going to make a decision whether we're going to support that or not. You know, and sometimes we go to God and we got all these great ideas, all these plans, and he might be like, look, I get it. I get where you're at. And it's not like you're in a bad heart space necessarily, but ultimately that's not where you're going. And that's not where I want you to go. That's not where you need to go. And there's this other thing that I'm actually prepping you for and go there. And so, you know, it's all part of it. And I love that. We started a class here at the church after a book that I brought in called After I Believe. Brilliant Book. And it just takes all the different parts of the Christian life and puts it very simply. And the idea is that after you come to faith, what, you know, what do you have? And this kind of helps you kind of form it in a very grasping way. But when it talks about prayers, you know, they break it down. I've heard it broken down into three, but it breaks down the four. It's like God answers every prayer. But these usually puts it into four main categories. It could be a yes, it could be a no, it could be a not yet, and it could be a growing. So, you know, like, not yet, it's coming, or you have work to do before I could give you that.

Yeah.

And like, sometimes, I mean, and then of course, sometimes it's no.

Yep.

Sorry.

No. Suck or not.

Sorry.

Yeah.

Nope.

But I mean that we also, obviously God knows us, right? We know everything about us. He knit us together in our mother's womb. I had a situation with. With my daughter. She has been saying for the last four years, I want to do interior design. I want to do interior design. I need to go to college. And so we've been pushing her and pushing her. You need to do this, you need to prep this. You need to take this kind of test. And the more and more I'm sitting here, like, every time she would say, I want to do interior design, in my head, I'm going, no, you don't. Like, why would you want to do it? Like, that is not you. Right? Because design is drawing and it's architecture and it's math, and it's all this stuff. I'm like, that's not you. So I kept every thought. She would bring it up, and I would say, are you sure you want to do design? And my wife would nudge me, and she'd be like, she wants to do design. I'm like, I don't think she does, though, then. So finally, I was able to get with a friend of mine who is in interior design. So I had them sit down and after an hour long conversation, come to find out my daughter wants to do interior decorating, not design. She wants to do decorating. So in a similar fashion, she's coming to me going, help me with this. Help me with this. And I'm going, that's not what. If I help you, you're gonna go the wrong way.

What happens is. And we all do the same thing, but what happens is in those. In those spaces is that they romanticize things that they think that they. That it is.

Of course, so.

And it could be part of it. It could totally be part of it, but it's not all of it. So when they. And it's kind of. It's kind of like me moving to Florida and being from Baltimore. There's things about being from Baltimore that I love and I can romanticize from here, but I don't actually want to live there anymore. All right? And for anyone who's in Baltimore, I love you, but I'm sorry, I just don't want to come back, so. But the thing is, when they look at these things on the outside, they're like, oh, but I get to do this? Like, yeah, but you don't understand what it takes to get there. You don't understand what it means to get to do all these other things that you're gonna have to do, you know, before you can just do that, you know? And with that in mind, I mean, you know, once you. Once they can see it for themselves, then suddenly the story changes.

Yeah.

I think that's interesting. God does the same thing with us. We're like, hey, I would love to do this. And he's like, you have no idea what you just asked Right.

He did it.

He did it to John and his brother. It's like, we want to be on your left and right. He's like, you don't understand what you're asking.

Like, you.

Like, it's.

That was. You ain't ready to find out what.

He said, which is amazing.

That's.

God says that to us all the time, and we just get an actual. It's in scripture that we got to see him say that. Yeah. You don't get. You don't know what you're asking.

Yep.

It's true, though. How many times do we go. And we're like, hey, this is what I think I want? He's like, no, you don't.

Nope. Or if you truly do, then it's like, all right, I will help you get there. But this is going to be uncomfortable. It's like somebody watching somebody run a marathon and go, you know what? I want to do that. And then you're like, you really don't. You have no idea what's gonna go into the training. You know, I'm actually preparing a message. We're talking about spiritual authority at the next young adults. And so I'm talking about, like, King Uzziah and how he was, like, scolded for lighting the incense in the temple. It's like, this was not an authority given to you. This was given to something else. And it's like you would have had to go through a completely different training to be set up in that way, and that's not the way you chose to go. Yeah, but now I'm going off.

Oh, it's okay.

Saul's a good example of that, too.

Yep. For sure.

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, there's a lot.

Yeah.

But, you know, that's the thing. You know, ultimately, God knows he knows us better than we think he knows us. That's something. Let's get that through our heads. God knows you better than you think he knows you. He really does. And, I mean, he designed you, by the way. So, like, if you think that you know better than him, you are sorely mistaken. It's wild. I tell that to my kids in a different way. I go, you know, God loves you more than I do. And that's saying a lot. And they look at me like, haha. Okay, dad. And I'm like, you don't understand. You have no idea how much I love you. He loves you more than that. Like, that's wild to think about. Like, he loves me more than I even love myself. Which actually is a little easier because I'D love myself less than I love my kids. But, like, for sure, you know?

Mm. So then. So then let me ask you this question. I listened to a. The same. The same pastor up in Wisconsin was talking about how he's been invited. You know, he goes all over the country and preaches and stuff, and people say, hey, would you be part of our prayer team down here? Pray for people? Of course. And he said he has a couple instances he talks about, like, where he's gotten to the point now where he refuses to do any kind of blanket prayers over people. You know what? Like, the. The unspoken response, it's like, can you pray for me? Sure. What's going on? Like, well, it's just. It's unspoken, but God knows what's going on. And then people go, let's pray. And he'll always stop and go, no. It's like, if you want prayer, I want to help you. He's like, so you need to trust me that we can. We can handle this. So he told this story about this gentleman who comes up and he says he's weeping, and he's like, I just need. I need God to free me from all this guilt. And I just, like, I just. I feel so heavy. Please pray for me. And the guy put his hand on the shir shoulder and started praying. And so the pastor stopped him and said, okay, let's dig into this. And he said, if you're not willing to trust me, then I can't help you to the degree you want help. Come to find out. In the conversation, he had overwhelming guilt because he, six months earlier, had left his wife and three kids for a mistress, moved down to the area, couldn't find a job, and everything's falling apart, and she just left him. That's why he has overwhelming guilt. And he's like, you don't need prayer to be free from guilt. You need restitution, and you need, like. So we're gonna pray for that, and I'm gonna get you connected with, you know? So what's your.

I don't know.

What's your take on that?

I think that's great. That's something I never thought of before. But I am one who. I hate anonymity. And I understand that in certain. In certain companies, like certain mixed companies, you don't want to say certain things or whatever. It's not appropriate. But at the same time, like, I really hate anonymity. I think it is totally ruined everything that it could in today's society. So I think that. Yeah, I think that you need to find at least the person that. That you can trust enough with, whatever, you know, whatever it might be that is wise enough to help guide you through a situation where you can't see. Sure. You know, and if you.

I mean, if you've got a trained prayer team, this is literally what they've been called to do. This is. And part of their training is confidentiality. Unless this is something that is like, we have to escalate this to the police or something like that.

Right, right.

Then they're trained to. No, this is between us.

Sure.

And so if you're going up there and you're like, I can't even trust that you're going to just keep it between us, then find someone else that you're more comfortable with or find a pastor or something like that. What's your opinion? You're kind of quiet.

I'm just thinking about different things as you're speaking. So, you know, it is interesting. Like, the guy that, you know, his bigger problem wasn't the one that he put on the surface. It's these other rooted issues that got him there. You know, how many times do we run that in our own lives different ways? You know, we try to avoid the roots of the problem and for the more immediate thing, well, as if, you know, and look, and we're all guilty of it, I guess, where we're like, you know, I don't really want to acknowledge this. I just want to. I just want this help here. Because one, sometimes you can't go back. You can't go back and fix. Sometimes you do things you can't undo. And so, I mean, that's hard in itself. And sometimes the guilt and the pride gets in the way of that and facing that and coming to terms with stuff that we have done or not done or all those things can get in the way. We just, you know, one, obviously we talk about what we can come to people at number one, like, going back to, like, you need to be able to go to God with all of that. And as you're unwrapping that, you really unwrap it. Like when you go to God. Well, it's this. And this is how I got here, and this is how I felt, and this is what happened then. And this is the decision I make and help him kind of work through all that with you. You know, there's a reason he's called mighty Counselor. He's the best. Like, he will sit there and listen. And thing is, is that whether we realize he's doing it or not, sometimes he's helping us to understand how we got into different places. And maybe that can help us to kind of reform the way that we're talking to him, or even helping having other people get involved with us in that prayer. Because maybe sometimes the first thing we need to do is try to go to God ourselves. You know, he did rip the curtain in two, and so, you know, we can go straight to Him. Now, I am totally for going to other people for prayer help, but I think that maybe should be step one in some of these areas where it's like, you need to start working this out with him, and then maybe you can get help to help you kind of unwrap it better or even help you focus it better. But you also don't want to go to the other extreme where you abuse praying with other people, you know, and it's almost humorous. But, like, you have people that are like, this is how I spread rumors and this is how I gossip, is I'm going to talk about the things, and they'll bring stuff to you. And, like, you know, I don't know if this is what you should be doing right now. Like, you seem to have a problem with this person. You should not be talking to me. You even need to be talking to them about this now. And, you know, and it's one thing, like, if you need me to mediate, make sure they're both there, but we're not doing this. You know, one of the things that we have to protect also is if other people are involved. We're not here to take sides. We're here to help heal wounds and help people go deeper in their faith. And if you're coming in with. In some ways with, like, you're hiding some truth or you are, you can use a platform like that to almost attack people or try to sway people. Man, you're abusing this system. So you got to be careful with that, too. So you got to kind of balance it out. It's like, all right, what's the real reality? And how do we really need to go about this? How should you start? And I think especially some of this stuff gets so complex. Go into God and be like, look, this is where I'm at. I get that you want other people for help, but sometimes you need to go and just lay it out. And maybe that's part of the problem is that we. Maybe you're not willing to do that because you're afraid of what God's going to show you. And if that's where you're at, these people aren't going to help that. They're going to end up showing you that with his help. So you might as well just get it with him first for sure.

And I think tagging onto that and actually ending up back at the question for the second half of that is, that's true. And unfortunately, you can only go so far. You can only grow so much without accountability. At some point you stop, period. I don't care if you're the greatest pastor of all time. Without accountability, at some point you, you stop growing and will start declining and you'll be stuck. And so, but going back to that other question, like, to the other part of the question, like, it's truly why people don't ask for those other things is because they're, they don't want to deal with whatever it is because it's hard.

Oh yeah.

I mean, there's a skit guys skit. I don't know if you guys know who skit guys are, but skit guys are awesome comedians that do Bible related skits. And there's a skit about the heart chisel or something like that. I believe it's called the heart chisel. Okay. But it's all about like the person is standing there and God has, you know, hammer and chisel and, you know, the person's like, you know, God, I want you to, to make me better. Right. For me. Yep. And as God starts forming them, it's like, that hurts. Yep. I know. But the only way that you can be formed, it's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt. So like, you have to come to a point where you decide that a. I think you have to set the example. I will go back to that every time. But you have to come to the point where you decide that, like, I am going to change and it's going to take everything that I've got and I just have to rely on God and others to, to get me through it. I mean, that's why he puts others in our lives so that we could lean on them. I mean, you know, carry each other's burdens, you know, and whatnot. But I think that once you've decided that or if you're the person asking this question, I think it's important to show people that it's okay to pray for these things.

Yep.

I mean, if you're struggling with something and you've got that group, you know, that's, that's close to you, like say, hey, can you be praying for obedience for me? In this situation.

Mm.

If. Even if you have to generalize it a little bit more in a group, like, like maybe it's not as close knit group, maybe it's a women's Bible study or something that is a big, a large women's Bible study. They ask for prayer requests, offer it up, offer up the whole, hey, I really could use some, some obedience. That's what I need right now, you know, and showing people that it's okay to go deeper and start asking for the non surface level. Semi superficial. I don't want to call it superficial, but semi superficial. Things that are like, yeah, we all know that God can do that, but what you actually need is the deeper stuff. And so setting that example and saying it's okay for you to ask for these things, I think that's our responsibility for those of us who are willing to go deeper is to start showing people that it's okay to ask for those things.

Yeah. And I think that a big part of this, which we're kind of hitting on, but it's important. I just kind of want to say this. You need people that you can actually be real with. And I'm gonna hit both of us. So guys, we don't have to have it all together all the time.

True.

I know that somehow there's a stigma, that if you don't have it all together, then you're less of a man or whatever.

Mm.

Okay, stop it. Find someone you can be absolutely real with. First off, you can do it with God. Okay. That goes without saying. But you need people you can actually be absolutely real with. And women, you're not immune to this either. I know some of you. And you will hold things back. Guys and girls, stop that.

Yep.

Gotta find. And I get it. I get it. I really do. It is hard. It is really, really hard to find that person that you can feel safe enough, secure enough, that you can trust enough to be real with. Okay. But try to seek that out because man, it. Holding back, holding back is only going to be a Problematic.

Yep.

I want to challenge that a little bit.

Here we go.

I don't disagree with you. I don't disagree with. Okay, I don't. I don't disagree with you, but I want to challenge it just a hair. And I want to say that your relationship with God needs to get to a point where it doesn't matter who's sitting across from you, that you're willing to be real with them. And I know that's hard. That's the next level. I get it. But once you're secure in that, God's not going to fail me. God's got me. And everybody he puts in front of me is somebody he's put in front of me. Right. If you are somebody who's been put in front of me by God, I should be willing to share anything that needs to be shared because. Because he's got me. And if he's placed you in front of me and I know what you need to hear, or I know what I need to be vulnerable about, then I need to do it. Regardless of whether or not I know if I can trust you, whether or not I know you well or I don't know you hardly at all. There. There is a point in which you can get to where you just got to be open about it. And I think that. That it is a next level, it's a next step, it's a next whatever, you know? But I think that that is something that I truly believe.

Well, let's put it. Let's put that at the. At the level of like, pastor matter. Pastor Nick. Okay. Some new. New congregant, couple weeks in, sits down, they start going and say, pastor Nick, how can I pray for you? I'm not saying he struggles with this. I'm just throwing him out as an example because we're here. But let's just say he's struggling with pornography at the moment. Like, are you saying that this brand new congregant, who's maybe only brand new to the faith, like, pray for me, I have a porn addiction or something like that. Like that.

Maybe. Maybe not to quite that extreme.

Sure.

But I think that. I think that there has to be a vulnerability that is beyond the. I've let you in. Mm. Especially for those of us who have been in the faith for a long time, there has to be that. Especially if you're expecting for like, say, say, say. Let's keep with Nick.

Sure.

He's not listening. He's not listening to this anyways.

So he's gonna get emails from.

So. So let's go with the same scenario. Right? But instead, this new congregant has entered a life group with you.

Sure.

Right. With him, you know, and in order for others to be vulnerable, they have to see vulnerability in you. Right. And maybe that's not the thing. Maybe there's another thing that will show vulnerability. But, hey, you know, you're going into this. This life group or discipleship group, where it's like, I'm supposed to allow them to trust me, Right. They're supposed to be able to trust me, but I'm not gonna be trusting of them. Like, that's kind of a ridiculous concept that, okay, I'm your pastor. You should trust me.

Sure.

But I'm not gonna trust you with everything. So I think there's a give and take there. That there has to be. Now, I think that, yes, obviously, some things. Some things in the right places for sure. Right. I think that the porn addiction thing, I would say that obviously should be other men that you're talking to. Right. You shouldn't be just blahing it to the women around. But I think that whenever we start talking about finding someone who you can feel safe with, I think that we end up taking that to an extreme. And I think that we don't let people in, and I think that we have to set the example of allowing people in and taking our own guard down and taking the walls down that we've built up. I think that's our responsibility to do first.

Sure.

I think part of that is when you enter into a relationship where you're. We've talked about this before. Where it's giving each other permission to be able to carry each other's burdens there. Where you're like, all right, listen, I would love to. Maybe it's a conversation where you go, man, we're friends. I want to be able to talk to you, and you'll be able to talk to me. And that means, you know, look, I want you to be able to handle my stuff. I want to be able to handle your stuff. You know, all that stuff. And, you know, some of the best friendships I've had in the faith have been with those where I've gone and been like, look, man, we're brothers in this. If we're going to fellowship deeper, let's go deeper kind of thing. And, yeah, you hold each other accountable, but you give each other permission to see into each other's lives in a new way, in a deeper way.

Sure.

You know, and that can be really beneficial, and it can kind of keep everyone encouraged in the right direction, but also gives the permission to call someone out, like, if you're like, look, man, I can see that this isn't right. Or, hey, man, you've spoken to me about your relationship with your wife, and you've spoken to me about the fact that you don't go on enough dates with your wife. And when's the last time you had one? It's been a while, hasn't it? You're not doing what you've Been talking about you want to do. So I think it's time you do that.

Sure.

You know, it can be something as simple as that, but, like, just that ability to just go, all right, man, you know, you need to do this.

Right.

You know, you've been putting this off. I don't know why you keep letting this happen.

But, yeah, I think that if you've shared that at all, I think you have the right to speak into that. In fact, I mean, as Christians, I think that we have. We have the right, given in Corinthians, to hold each other accountable, whatever level of that that is. You know, like, if I see you doing something wrong, I should come to you and speak to you on it.

Of course.

And I need to do it in love. I get that. Like, everybody's quick to that, but I need to do it. Like, I don't. Out of love. It's not out of love that we avoid that. It's not out of love that we avoid that responsibility. And I don't care who thinks they know all or whatever. Everybody likes to do the whole plank and spec thing. Right. As. As well, your sin and my sin. Well, no, I don't agree that that is what scripture is saying. I think that scripture is saying, yeah, if you're struggling in the same way, in the same everything, and you're not dealing with your sin. Right. Mm. Then you need to be careful about judging someone else's sin.

Right.

But if you're dealing with things and it's a different sin, I think it's. It's totally applicable for you to go and call them on it, because that's how accountability works. That's how accountability works at all. I mean, so there has to be that. Right. So, like, I think that we are so quick to, like, not want. Not want to confront people. A lot of people don't like confrontation. My wife is one of those. She hates confrontation. And so, like, we are so quick to not want confrontation that we're unwilling to hold each other accountable when we're called to do so.

Of course.

So I think that. That we have to be careful about it. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be working towards those relationships and deepening and all of that. I totally agree. That's why I started with. I agree with you. The pushback is. I don't want us to get so stuck in this mentality that it has to be somebody we can trust, that we don't allow ourselves to be held accountable, and we don't allow ourselves to do the holding true, accountable.

Well, it's all about going further, you know, and that's actually the second part of the question that was posed to us is why isn't it these other things? Right. Why aren't we asking for this more often than we're doing these other things? And I think it comes with maturity. You know, as we start to mature in our faith and in our walk with Christ and as we do start to grow a little closer to him and maybe even reflect him a little more, these things start to come more at the forefront. And I think they start getting sprinkled in or they might be occasional and then they start to become more frequent.

I mean.

If God is such a priority in your life, where, and I hope we all can get to that point where, you know, it's like I need to continuously get better. I need to continuously draw closer. You know, these questions are common. They do overtake these other things. Are the other questions there? I don't think they ever go away. I think that's just part of our normal life. Do they get rephrased, rethought? Yes. Do you alter how what you're exactly. You're asking for. Sure. But I think that the only way you're going to be able to move more from the things that I want and need or think I want or need to God use me, help God, strengthen me. God, you know, whatever it is that we need to get better at is you got to mature in your faith. And it's a journey, you know, and we can't. I mean, we've talked about this with other things, but we can't necessarily judge where one person's at in their prayer life versus another. I mean, where that person came from, where they started can, you know, could have been a whole different thing that you couldn't even handle in your life. But God knew they could and moved in that way to make it happen.

But we can judge an unwillingness to grow.

Sure.

So that's why I think we should.

If we know someone that's just flat out. And I think God calls people out for that, where he's like, you're not trying to do anything right. You know, because you're right. We touched on this earlier. God's not a genie. He's not there just grant wishes. I mean, his heart's for us, but it's not that.

And then like, and we're told to run the race. We're not told to ask for God to run the race for us.

And you know, and I think we've probably all had. We could probably all share a story, at least one where our prayer life has changed dramatically, maybe in the way that we've. We approach prayer or even the things that we ask because of some of the scenarios or some of the stuff we've been through. You've shared one.

I've shared it multiple times about my daughter and the prayer life changed through that scenario.

Yeah. And, you know, I've given stories over episodes about basically what it is, how I learned to really give things over to him in my prayer as compared to, like, surface level doing it, you know, when I'm, like, really submissive in what I'm doing. And, you know, but that came with time. It came with different scenarios that are either good or bad. You know, I've had things that were great that changed how I prayed, and there's things that were hard, you know, and that's part of the journey.

Yep. So I have something to your point and something to your point. So to your point, talking about being more confident in other people, I have a. I've had scenarios where somebody told me, you know, if you've got somebody who's showing genuine interest in you, like, I show, like, I love everybody. So when I say, what do you need prayer for? I genuinely want to know enough. I want to help.

Right, Right.

But there are definitely people that I've had in my life who are simply gossip seekers. She was like, tell me what's going on. And then you tell them. And then you find out from somebody else that you told them the thing. I made a couple mistakes early on where I told somebody that was in the group. I confided in them and said, you know, like, I. I have a st. Not stash. I have a couple of six packs at home that I have a beer now. And again it's like, okay. And then they went immediately to multiple other people. And then all of a sudden, I had this reputation of somebody who drinks all the time. It's like, that's not what happened. So there definitely needs to be some discernment when it comes to who we can be. Like, who are the people who are genuinely there to help you and who are there just to try to get something out of you so they can go share it with the world because they want to.

Well, you definitely shouldn't call it a stash.

Is probably the part that makes it up. Now, see, on. On that, like, I. I think I disagree with you. And I'm not. I'm not fully solidified in that. But I think. I think I disagree because I think that to some degree, like, for instance, I think your character will go ahead of you. And I think that the way that you act and those closest to you will. I mean, obviously, if you're not living a life of drunkenness, then those around you who know you that hear that will know better and will step up for you.

Yep.

And if they don't? Well, sometimes God allows us to go through stuff, Right? And so I don't know that. I mean, I don't know the scenario very well, but I don't think that should make us hesitant in saying things. Like, I don't think that that should stop us from. From sharing those things. You know what I mean? Like. Well, that goes back depending on the situation. I mean, I don't. Like I said, I don't know why you confided that in them or whatever. If you guys were just talking, it was. Yeah. I mean, to that degree, like, people who are gonna gossip are gonna find something to gossip about. And. And I. Me, personally, I don't worry what people say about me, Right. Like, I have. I have worked my butt off to build bridges that God only could build, like. And has, like, he stepped in and fixed a lot of the things that I've burnt down. And honestly, I don't care about what my reputation looks like. I think that it goes before me and that God's gonna take care of it because he knows me.

Well. It's a whole living a way that if somebody spoke negatively about you, nobody believe it, Right?

Yeah. Well, I mean, it goes back to what the Bible says with let your yes be yes and your no be no. Like, are you genuine all the time or are you this way, this way and this way that way? And, you know, that's where it gets real tricky. Like, you know, we. We want to talk the talk, but we gotta walk it too. You know, if you are going into church and that's the day that you put on your Sunday finance, and I don't mean close. I mean, if that's when you're showing that you have a spiritual side to you, and then you go out and you live a completely different life, and so people know two different versions of you, like, fully different versions of you, like, yeah, that's problematic. You need to rectify those two realities, you know, but if you are. And like I said, this goes back, as you mature, this gets easier. And, well, it happens. Should. Should happen naturally as we mature in Christ. But, like, your genuine self should get to A point where really you don't. I mean, you don't have really anything to hide anyway. But even if you do have a struggle, you can go. Look, you know, I've been feeling this temptation. I've been doing this now or whatever it is, and. Because what you really want to do do is get further in your walk with Christ. And if you recognize something's holding you back. And, you know, I sometimes is that. Is that you're right. Sometimes that means, hold on, I don't want him to cut me off. Sometimes that does mean you have to go and do a heart check with God. But sometimes you'll only allow yourself to go so far. And so sometimes you do need some of that person. That's what you're right about. To go and go. I think you're not going far enough.

Mm, no. But I think both are needed. Yeah, I agree with you 100% on that.

But I think the number one thing, going back to the whole big overarching thing here. So I had a friend of mine in Minnesota who had a co worker who got hurt on the job, right? And he was borderline paralyzed from his legs down. He had to go through a lot of physical therapy, right? And of course he got prescribed Vicodin or whatever it was. And then the prevailing issue was every time my friend would go over there, find out, like. Like, how's your physical therapy going? I didn't go this week. It's like, I just. I don't want to. But he kept getting his Vicodin re upped and re upped and re upped. And I think one of the biggest issues going back to the main question of why do we not ask for God to break us down and shape us is because we're treating prayer like morphine. We're treating prayer like pills. We would rather have something that numbs all the pain that we have and makes us feel good rather than God going, here's all the things you have to physically do to get to the point where you want to do. So rather, let's just pray for all. Help me with this, Help me with this. Help me with this. Help me this. Help me to not feel any of this pain so I can make it through life without having to actually confront it.

Well, that's true in a lot of things in life. Like, I think that if you're gonna start something new, for instance, unless you're, you know, you've got some skin in the game going around and telling everybody that you're gonna start something is A dopamine high that a lot of times ends up making you not actually go through with it.

True.

And so you got to be careful with the yes, be yes, no, be no. Right. Like, I think that that's. That's solid. I mean, he's coming after you today. No, no, I'm saying. Yeah, no, no, no, I'm agreeing. I'm agreeing with what he said earlier.

I was getting it.

Yeah.

No, yeah, but. Right. And. And you also, like, great example, since we're talking about prayer, you know, discipline yourself. So if you do say something that you're gonna back that up. So, for instance, and this is the easiest one, we hear it all the time. And I constantly wonder, because I try to keep myself in check. People come around. I'll pray for you in that. Right. And then how many actually do it?

Yep.

If I say I'm praying, I'm praying like I want to. I don't. It can't just be words. If you're gonna say something right, then do it right.

And I think if you've got the ability, even over a text message, say a prayer right now.

Yep.

And offer it. Because then. Even if you forget from then on, like, you've prayed for them and you've taken the moment to speak to God on their behalf. Yes. I think that is. That is super important.

I'll get group texts. Hey, guys, you know, this is what's going on. Can you guys send out a prayer? And oftentimes you'll get a reply from me that just says on it or praying.

Yep.

And I've quite literally pray right there.

Yep.

Like, all right. And even if it's something short, sweet, and to the point, but I'm going to pray about it.

Like, sure.

Sometimes you'll get.

I stop and do the same thing.

Don't even give you all the information. And you know what? You don't need it, Father. You know, this is what's going on. I don't know what's going on, but you know what's going on, Father. Help them, you know, like, whatever it is, you know, to your will, of course, because that's one.

Well, and that goes back to what you brought up, you know, about the. How do we feel about the whole blanket prayer thing? And I think that. Well, it depends on how you approach it. Right. Like, I don't like anonymity. I don't like that at all. But at the same time, if you ask me for a blanket prayer, it's gonna be God's will be done, not what you want to be Amen. And so, like, that's. That's definitely going to be the content of my prayer, is God, work in them. Show them what they need, you know, and that sort of thing not help them out of whatever situation they've gotten themselves into.

Yeah. We have scripture that backs us up that way, where, you know, sometimes our prayer really turns into a why, well, why didn't I get what I wanted? Or why is it not what I asked for? Why did you allow this to happen even though I prayed against it or whatever it is? Because, like, part of the question was, you know, we pray for healing. We pray for good test results, and when they don't happen, well, God, why? Why? And sometimes the answer is because he didn't study.

Sorry, go ahead.

I think it's a different kind of test.

Different kind of test. Oh, no, but I mean, I think it goes direct. I mean, look at Job. Job asked that same thing. And God's like, basically was like, what is it for you to know this? Like, sometimes we can't really know. Maybe we wouldn't even be able to handle it. But, you know, we have to trust. And that's part of having faith in God being the almighty God who is in control and has our best interests at heart, even as a whole. Like, sometimes just trust that he knows what's best here. And I know for some people, they're like, what do you mean? Just trust that he. No, seriously, you need to learn to have faith. The fact that God really ultimately knows what needs to be done, whether we like it or not.

Yep.

And, you know, sometimes things that you go through and things that are happening, like, it's not for an immediate thing. Sometimes it may be 20 years before you're able to be like, yo been there. I've been there. You know, like, I. Let me. Let me help you out. Right? Like, I've been through this and. And you can. You can then help someone else where maybe you didn't have help, you know. Oh, yeah. And God allowed you to go through something that was super difficult. And this was. My daughter asked me. She was sick a lot when she was a kid, just for reference. Like, a lot. A lot. And we had no idea what was wrong with her. And there was a. Like, a long period of time and serenity. She asked me, like, why am I not like the other kids? And that had to be. My response is like. And it was. It was all God, because I had no idea what to say. But it was. It was one of those, like, sometimes we have to go through things so that other people can benefit.

Yep. Sometimes the training is not for you. Right?

Yeah.

Well, I mean, I. There's been things that I've gone through for sure where I'm like. At the time, I'm like, I don't get this at all. And I might have frustratedly complained.

But.

Then, yeah, some time goes on and next, you know, you're. You have insight, you have encouragement, you have. You've got something for someone else, and you're suddenly like, if you're willing to take a step back, go, oh, man, that's pretty cool, actually. You know, it might have sucked then.

But not to mention nice now. You know, sometimes we have to build callous.

Yeah.

Callous aren't always to keep good things, keep everything away. Right. It's not. It's not to keep everything away, but it's to keep bad things away. Right. Sometimes you have to go through something bad so that you can be prepared for the next thing that's coming. Because the next thing that's coming may not be as easy as the first thing. And so sometimes we have to go through a series of things to build us to a point where we can handle this major thing that's coming down the road that we would have never been able to handle otherwise.

We're getting in shape. That's basically the same thing, is that.

God, that's exactly what that is.

Spiritual shape where you can exercise once and great. Good for you. But if you exercise regularly, your body starts to condition. You can exercise more. Sometimes if you're weightlifting, you can weight lift more. Your body gets better prepared for whatever it is that you continue to do. You could be better in your weight, you could be better in your health, whatever. But it only comes with that kind of discipline of continuing to go down that journey. We'd love to work out once and be in great shape.

Oh, it'd be wonderful.

That would be like. That's not how it works.

No. But you develop callus on your fingers when you start to learn how to play the guitar. And once the calluses. Once you've gone through the pain of, ow, this hurts, then you finally get to the point like, this doesn't hurt as much anymore. And now you can play a beautiful song because you took the time to develop the calluses, right?

Oh, yeah.

And I'll tell you then, when you shift to a 12 string, right, the. It hurts still, but it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it would have had you not had the 16. That's and that's. That's the levels upon levels upon levels of building that God is shaping you into. And if you're running with him on that. Yep, you're going to see it and you're going to understand it. Maybe not in the moment, but you're going to. You're going to. You're going to see it. And so final thoughts?

Yep, final thoughts. Trust your covering the people who are closest to you. They're an authority over you, can help you discern what exactly you're trying to do. We had a situation where. And I've told this story before. I don't know if told it here, but like, we. When the young adult director stepped down, I went to the pastor and I said, I'm ready. It wasn't like, hey, do you think I'm good? It was like, I'm ready to take the spot now. And they said, not yet. And I don't understand. And there was. I had. They prayed and we had to pray. It's like, if there's something that has to be corrected, please help me figure it out. And then almost a year to the day, it was like, now we're ready. I was like. And then going back, going, wow. If I had started when I wanted to start, this whole thing would have fallen apart because I was not ready for this.

Yeah.

But I thought it was. So I would say trust those in authority over you to help you discern what you need to do, what you need to say, how you need to pray, and things of that nature. There's my final thought.

I would say my final thought.

Keep.

Keep talking to God. Talk to him about everything. But as you do, be intentional about him helping you grow. Because as you do all those things you're going to talk about, you're going to end up talking about it differently. You're going to be able to see it differently. You're going to be able to know differently what to do, and you'll be able to hear him better. So, yeah, you want to bring it all to him. Bring it all to Him. But while you're doing that, be intentional. Help him. Help you grow.

Yeah. And as always, I'm the harsher one. And I'm going to say. I'm just going to say, like, if you're hearing us right now, if you've. If you've listened to this podcast, it's your responsibility to set the example. Mm. So if you're hearing only prayers of God, help me build me up in the positive results or protection or whatever. Not that Those things are bad. I say that it's your responsibility. And this is me talking. Whatever. It's my thoughts. It's your responsibility to say. My prayer request is that I'm obedient in the thing that God's calling me to.

Yes, sir.

It's my prayer that I am able to grow in my patience because I'm lacking in it, or to be less quick to anger and slower to speak. And the things that actually produce the fruit of the spirit. And I think that it's your responsibility, if you're hearing us right now, to set that example. So for those of you who are asking the question, we love you, but that's the call, is to step into that responsibility of being vulnerable enough to say, this is how I'm choosing to pray.

Yep.

And this is how I'm going to ask for prayer. And hopefully, by your example, others will step into it.

There you go. So get away from the spiritual Vicodin to start leaning into physical therapy.

There you go.

Right?

Spiritual therapy.

Spiritual therapy.

Wow. So crazy, crazy podcast today. It was a good topic. This did not go anywhere that I thought it would, but it was awesome. It was good. We're getting really close to 250. It's a coming. We got new things coming. Just in general. I've been working on upgrading things and we got some new mics coming and. Sweet. All kinds of stuff. So we got lots of fun stuff. Hit the, like, hit the. Subscribe, do the things, comment, comment, share, all that stuff. Also, Breath and Bone has released two songs this last weekend, which is the weekend before the weekend.

He's on fire.

He is.

Yeah. So those are officially out now. Breath and Bone. You can find us on Spotify and all the different places. It's two bees that look backwards mirrored with a cross in the middle, just in case you need to find it. But it is what it is, so check it out on there. And if you haven't yet, grab a ticket. We got some cool prizes that we're in the talks about. And God bless.

I know you said event. No, I'm sorry.

God bless.

Now just. You had. He stopped God's blessing. So we go. So you go to eventbrite.com.

Yes, eventbrite.com. look up the truth response live.

There you go.

Just make sure. Yeah. And I need to remember to stick that in the thing in the description. So. Yeah. Yeah. I need to be held accountable to that. So yell at him, all of you.

That's right.

If it's not under this and you're watching this or listening to it, put your comment in.

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God bless. Hey, hey.

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