Friday, May 9 | The Power of Prayer in America

This episode of Clearview today is brought to you by Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water. When you drink Le Bleu, you're only getting two ingredients, hydrogen and oxygen. Le Bleu is the leading choice for hydration with a patented process that removes impurities and ensures the highest level of purity possible. Unlike other bottled waters, Le Bleu's ultra pure filtration system provides water that is free from contaminants and infused with only the essentials your body needs. So whether you're at home, on the go or working hard, Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water offers a refreshing, crisp taste with every sip. It's going to give you the hydration you need without the worry. So make the smart choice today and experience the difference of Le Bleu Ultra Pure Water. You can find out more and order online at Le Bleu. That's L-E-B-L-E-U.com and make sure when you check out, you tell them the Clearview Today show sent you.

You can use promo code T-O-D-A-Y at checkout to get 10% off your next order. It's going to save you money and it's going to support all of us here at the Clearview Today show. So stay hydrated, stay healthy and without further ado, let's start the show. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis and welcome to the show.

Welcome to the studio. Great conversation we got on board for you today. It's been a great week.

Lots of things have been happening this week. But first, before we do anything else, we've got to check in with today's host. We're clearing the static. We're dropping the doubt. The doctor is in.

All the haters get out. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Dr. Abbadan Shah. Thank you so much. Oh my goodness.

Did you get a chat GPD to do that again? That one was all me. Was it really? That was all me. The doctor was in.

All the haters get out. I have to say that actually was good. Thank you.

I will say I had to thank you. The studio audience. You loved me.

You really loved me. They were a little delayed in coming on board. The studio audience was a little bit delayed. Should we pay attention to your cues? Every single one of you was leaving without a paycheck today. Yeah, as you were walking up the stairs, I was like trying to think of something. And when I saw you, when I saw you walk in, I was like, the doctor is in. I was like, all the haters get out.

I don't know why. That was good. Yeah, yeah, that was good. Well, Dr. Shah, today's verse of the day is coming to us from second Corinthians chapter five and verse eight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Dr. Shah, that's the question, isn't it? What happens when we die? Yeah. What can we expect?

I know I'll be present with the Lord, but what does that mean? Last year I did a series called Death Dethroned and that series really attracted the attention of a lot of people. Yes, it did. I remember.

Online, of course, but also in the community. We had people from as far as 30 minutes away who heard this message, I think on the radio, we were on the Truth Network. So they heard the message on the radio and they began to share with each other. And one of them, one of the families had just lost an infant. And so it was a very difficult time for this family. They were grieving the loss of their little one. And so this message came at the time when there were questions, you know, what's going on? Not the questions as to where is the child, because everyone knows by the grace of God, they're in the presence of God.

That's right. So everything was okay there, but still struggling with the whole topic of death. And this message came and I was, I think one of the messages I preached on was that passage, which is absent from the body, present with the Lord, which means we are one unit. Human beings are not just soul and spirit. We are body and soul, or you can call it body and spirit. You can call it body and mind, body and heart, basically is the immaterial part of us and the material part of us.

That's exactly right. That makes us one. We're not just immaterial beings. We are material and immaterial coming together. But death brings about a separation. It separates us.

It rips us apart from our self. That's why death is not natural. That separation is where our spirit is taken away from our body, which is also very much part of us. And then our body has to be buried.

Some people cremate, whatever, whatever. But nonetheless, what happens to the spirit? What happens to the soul? For those of us who are believers, Paul says, absent from the body, but present with the Lord. We are then in the presence of God in our souls, in our spirit. And we are waiting for the day of resurrection. Right. You still exist. Your dying is not, okay, I no longer exist.

You are with the Lord, your spirit, your soul is there. That's right. And we deny any suggestion of soul sleep and all of that stuff. That's not biblical. Right.

It's not coming from scripture. We're not sleeping. We are in the presence of God, who is spirit. So there we are in spirit.

He is spirit. We're waiting until that day that we will be reunited with our bodies, same body. So you're not going to look different. People think when I get to heaven, what am I going to look like?

Right. Maybe God's going to let us look like the most optimum version of us. Like a Chris Hemsworth type, like an Arnold Schwarzenegger, like a Ronnie Coleman. Build like a Hemsworth, please.

I'd like to look like the Hodge twins combined into one, please. I don't think that's going to happen, but you will definitely have glorified bodies and no longer any more sickness or any abnormalities, none of those things. You will be at your best. I think God may give us the bodies that we will be at our prime in this life. If other situations were like sickness and health issues and fallen world situations are kept aside, what would we look like? That's what we will be in heaven. I think the statement you led with was one of the most comforting things I have ever heard you say, both from the pulpit and in the radio show is that death is not natural.

Because so many times, and we've talked about this on the show, but so many times people fall into that line of reasoning. It's just part of life. It's just normal.

It's just transition from here to there. And people use that to sort of diminish the power of death. But death is not natural. There's a reason that it hurts. There's a reason that we grieve because that's not what God intended.

That wasn't the design of God's world. And sometimes it's not just that it's a transition. Some people think death is natural in the sense that that's where our existence ceases to be. So what happens to us after that point?

We live on in the memories of people. Yeah. Yeah.

That's a low hanging fruit, but I've heard people say it. There is no transition. So at least I'm okay with the transition when somebody says, well, death is natural part of life. We're going from one to the other side. It's a transitional period. Okay. I see what you're saying. I disagree, but I see what you're saying. It's not natural.

But for those who think death is natural in the sense that it is the end of our chapter or end of our book of life, that is the most dangerous one because they make this life all there is to it. Praise God for the truth and praise God for the hope that we have. Gentlemen, today's going to be a good day. We got a great conversation, but before we do anything else, got a new segment we've been doing.

This is one of my favorites so far. This is Hot Take. Oh, I burned myself.

You better be careful. It's very hot. This is our place where the opinions are spicy, truths are unpopular, and someone is going to lay down and die on the hill of their choosing.

Dr. Shah, this is your week, my friend. What is your hot take for the week? So my hot take for the week actually goes along with that word hot is that, look, I am for hot weather. I'm with you, man. Literally a hot take. It is actually a muy galliente take. That's right. I'm with you.

I can't stand the wintertime. So last week, as you all know, I was in DC for the National Day of Prayer. It was a great privilege, great honor to be there. Maybe we can talk about that a little bit today.

Some of the other things that happened there. But I saw in the weather that it was going to sort of be a little bit on the warmer side late in the afternoon. And so when we got there, David and I got there that morning, it was nice. It was nice.

It was probably in, I would say, maybe 70s, maybe 71, 72. And then when we stood out in the line out there, not much of a line, but just four or five people standing out there, we were in the sun. And I was like, oh, that's a little warm.

Let's see what happens. And then people began to gather. And then there was a little shady spot close to the gate where the Secret Service people were one by one coming.

And so people were trying to move to that shady spot. But I stood there, I was like, that's okay. This is a once in a lifetime type thing. I'm going to stand in the sun. And then didn't realize how much more of the sun I was going to get. Well, we walked in, as you know, we walked around in the garden, waiting to get to the rose garden on the side, all that stuff, great stuff. And then we got into the rose garden, I would say about 11 o'clock, I would say 11 o'clock, maybe even earlier. I think it was earlier than that.

I think it was like 1040. And then we're just waiting. And then realized, oh, the event doesn't start until 12. So it's just waiting in the sun. Waiting in the sun. So we were sitting down relaxing. And then, of course, the event began at 12. It was a great event. So from 1030, I would say, till about 1.15, 1.30, we were out in the sun. Now, what's interesting about this hot take is that you've been in D.C. within the past year, both when it was really hot and when it was really cold.

I was going to say you had the exact opposite problem last time you went to see the program. Last time at the inauguration, it was freezing cold. I mean, I'm talking about 15, even less, like 13, 12 degrees. Like hurts your face. That is ice.

Oh, my goodness. Hurts your face, your ears. Which would you rather have, the hot? Oh, hot any day. People around me were melting, you know, last week when I was in the National Day of Prayer, sitting in the Rose Garden. And I could see people around just like wiping their forehead. Sweat. One pastor said, he said, oh, yeah, I have third degree burns.

I am actively cooking. Yeah, like his skin is like purple at this point. Yeah, it's going to be hot weather all day. I know your sister is the same because your sister, when she came here to as she started like being here full time in America, it was in the winter time, but it was kind of it was actually in the fall. It was maybe 50 degrees, just like a light chill. She was bundled up.

She had like a big coat. I was like, I was like she would like walk into the office. I was like, it's like 50 degrees.

I mean, it's nippy, but like it's not a need for she was like, no, this I do not like this. I cannot do it. I was like, wow. I was like, does it never get this cold in India?

She said never. Yeah. Well, unless you go up towards the north, towards Kashmir, that's where the Himalaya Mountains are way to the north. Yeah, of course, it gets very cold.

Yeah, I can imagine. Before we go into the conversation proper, I do want to update us with a check in for our weekly wisdom. If you remember our weekly wisdom from Monday came from Luke chapter 18 and verse one and men ought to pray lest they not faint. Mary R from Dallas, Texas. What do you think the R stands for? Ryan. Mary Ryan. I hope her name's not actually Mary Ryan. She wrote in, she said, hi, Dr. Shaw.

I'm a big fan of the show. I listen every single Wednesday on pray.com. Shout out to pray.com. I've been following her big, big shout out to pray.com. Look how clean this shirt is. I like that shirt.

Very nice. I have been following your weekly wisdom from Luke 18 one, praying more worrying less. It's only been three days, but I definitely feel lighter.

Like I'm not carrying everything by myself anymore. Just wanted to say thank you and please keep teaching us the word just like that. It's making a big difference. So encouraging to hear from the listeners and viewers of the show who are taking that wisdom and applying it to their lives. I mean, that's the whole goal is that we would engage heart and mind for the sake of the gospel. And so to hear your daily wisdom, Dr. Shaw being applied in that way, that's encouraging.

That's awesome. And with us, like we've been praying for our nation for, I would say very heavily these past few years. And a lot of times it has felt pointless. It has felt like we're just shouting into the wind, but then Dr. Shaw, you were invited to the white house last week for the national day of prayer. And I remember thinking maybe our prayers are doing a lot more than we realize maybe behind the scenes these past few years, God has been working and getting things ready. No doubt because what has happened in our nation is nothing short of a miracle.

How things have turned, how things are changing. I mean, it's a shock to me, although I shouldn't be because I've been talking about the importance of prayer, that God hears our prayers. We started our men's Tuesday morning prayer time right here at Clearview. And we have a 25, 30, sometimes even 40, 45 men that come and they pray here.

Six a.m. Six a.m. every Tuesday morning. And we have women's prayer group that meets once a month. And I think they're working towards meeting more than once a month. So we have that. We also have men praying during the service of our church.

That's true. So Sunday morning at 830 and at 11 o'clock, we have a gentleman who is in the 830 service in a room praying. We have somebody at 11 o'clock. And there are times that we have to make sure somebody is there.

People are busy. Sometimes they forget. But overall, we're working towards having someone praying.

Why? Because we believe in the power of prayer. That's right. We believe that when God's people ask for something, God answers. Many times people have the idea that, yeah, you can pray all you want, but everything's already set in heaven. There is no purpose. There is no reason.

There is no solid reason why you need to be praying. It's already settled. God's going to do what he wants to do. That's his plan. All you can do is sort of get with his plan.

And that is true. I believe completely in the sovereignty of God. If I had to err on any side, it would be on the sovereignty of God. I believe that he is sovereign.

He is in control. Having said that, he has given us something and that something is not a toy. Prayer is not a toy. Like, imagine if I were working in the garden and I have a shovel and I have a real water hose or I have actual instruments that I can use to dig in the garden and do things. And then my children want to come join me. So I give them a plastic spade, like a shovel for the beach. Here's your little shovel and pail, right?

Go play with your toy. Sometimes people have the idea that God is the one with the real shovel and we're given the little sand box shovel and pail. The illusion that our prayers are doing something. Yeah, like it can do the work, but it's really not going to do much.

Like, what are you going to do with that on a hard ground? I agree. And so we pray, but it's more cursory. It is superficial. There is no faith.

There is no confidence. But when we read the Bible, we find that sovereignty is not compromised and neither is our responsibility. I think you made a great point. And that's one that I hadn't ever really articulated or even thought about.

But I think it's true. And I think I've had that in my own life where my prayers can do a lot for me in my life. So God bless me. Keep me safe.

Bless my family. But if I pray, Lord, change this nation, you know, impact this nation through this church, through this radio show. There's always that nagging doubt that I think the enemy puts in me, especially, but also in others, where we're like, he's not going to. You think your prayers are going to change an entire nation? You think God's going to do it because you specifically prayed for it? Right. You got to get all sorts of people praying for it. And then maybe God will pay attention. There's no guarantee. Right.

There's also the fear that some people have. And I guess this is really more born out of a more like you said, John, do you think God's really going to answer your prayer? But I don't want to I don't want to pray this and then God not do it. Then I'm gonna make God look bad. I don't want to pray I don't want to pray this and then God not come save God's honor.

Right, right. God doesn't need you to go to bat for him. He doesn't need you to he doesn't need you to make him look good.

He doesn't need you to watch his back. And also praying has taught me patience because we have been praying, God, will you please impact this nation through Clearview Church for years now? And imagine if he had like audibly spoken, hey, I am going to do it in about 10 to 15 years from now. I'm going to send Dr. Shah to the White House lawn to be praying with President Trump. I'd be like, well, first and foremost, 15 years ago, I'd be like, Donald Trump is the president? But then also, I think I would have been like, you know, can you speed it up a little bit?

Lord, I'm, I'm in my 20s. I need to I need I need to have this going right now. That's right. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Last week, we were on the White House lawn in the Rose Garden. I had heard about the Rose Garden, had seen pictures, videos, up until recently seeing people gather there for different events. But here to walk in, I mean, I walk through those corridors, come into this big room, and then be asked, you know, you can step outside and you're welcome to stay in the cool room here.

You can step outside in the garden, not the Rose Garden, but this this another garden right here. And so I'm like, okay, let me go use the restroom. So I was afraid to go. I was like, I don't even know where I'm at right here. I don't want to be lost. And so I walk up, but there are people everywhere.

There are people in military regalia everywhere. So they guided me. And then I kind of walked around in the garden area for a little bit. And then realized that it's not at 11, it's at 12. So we have plenty of time. So I did some live videos from the garden talking to our online audience, which were gathered for the National Day of Prayer.

I was able to, we were able to live stream, our team did a great job, and I was able to talk to them about it. And then, then at 11 o'clock, we made our way into the Rose Garden. And it was so amazing, walking past buildings and grounds and looking at the Washington Monument at the distance and going, wow, that's what it looks like from here.

Yeah, that's it. That's a viewpoint that very, very, very few people in America will ever see. Yeah, that was crazy. I'm like, I know I've been to the Washington Monument tons of times. But seeing it from the lawn of the White House is different.

It's a select few individuals who get that point of view. That's incredible. Did you have, you had been to the White House before, but have you, is that your first time in the Rose Garden?

Oh, yes, definitely. Yeah, I've been to the White House. I've toured the White House before. This was back in 2019 during Christmas.

Again, President Trump's first term. And so we were able to go in and it was great, but it was cold. So we're not walking around. We were just inside and then we, in a couple hours we left. That's incredible. Tell us a little bit about the event itself. What was it like after being in the Rose Garden?

When did the event start and what all was involved? So President Trump was the first one to come out. There were a couple of songs sung, but then President Trump came out and he talked to us and it was phenomenal.

Just like he's always very winsome, very funny. I mean, he cracked jokes with a bunch of pastors and church leaders, men and women who were there, who supported him and still support him and they truly get what is happening. Right. So I pity people who are upset and angry over things and you go, I don't know what world you're living in. Our foundational values are very different. Not sure what your agenda is, but here you're seeing someone standing up for religious liberty in America. Because for the past 10, 15 years, very rapidly the government was encroaching on religious liberty.

Yes, that's true. Our ability to say, hey, that goes against our conscience. Our freedom to say these values are unbiblical. So no, we're not telling you not to live in a homosexual relationship.

We're just saying we have the right to call it sin. I'm glad you brought that point up too, because a lot of people will think that COVID-19 started that and that was a thing that had predated COVID-19. Yes, they used that, but that was an older problem. Oh yes, and it was coming like a freight train against faith communities. Let's just say faith communities first, but also against Christian communities.

Yes. And the whole abortion thing, making employers having to support people who are living in that lifestyle or planning on abortions. And now we have to monetarily support them and say, I guess that's what we have to do. Or else we're going to face the wrath of the government. Things like that.

It just went from bad to worse. Or think about some of those agencies. I know we had Catholic agencies and Protestant agencies that were being penalized because when it came to adopting children, they had no control over who adopts them. So it could be a same sex couple. It could be anybody. And for them to say, no, because of our value system, we will not let you adopt. Sorry.

Can't do it. Those rights were taken away and were being taken away rapidly. And so it was quite amazing to be there and to see President Trump come. And once again, in his characteristic way, he made us laugh. At the same time, he was very real about how our freedoms were being threatened as people of faith. He talked about how our values were being challenged. He talked about how faith, in fact, he brought up that separation of faith and church and state. That's what it is, isn't it?

That's what they say, right? And I was like, wow. I never thought that we would ever have a president who will get up there and make fun of this separation of church and state, which actually was never to separate church and state. It was simply to let a group of believers, the Baptist, Danbury Baptist believers, know that, hey, look, we're not going to step into your business because there's a separation there between the church and state means state has no rights to tell you. Like we don't have any right to tell the state how to regulate things.

It was a completely different issue. Yes. The separation of church and state was always meant to benefit the church. The church, yes. It wasn't that the church couldn't influence the world around them.

Right. Now it's become almost like anti-church. This is how we keep the church out. But people think it's a law. People think it's something that actually exists. They don't think it was just a line in a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote.

They think it's some actual policy that enforces things. Yeah. And so so many things were happening. Media was being impacted.

Christian media is what I'm referring to. So to be sitting there and hearing the president talk about these things and then talk about, we are one nation under God. And I was like, this is, this is an answer to prayer.

And I'm glad you, absolutely an answer to prayer. I'm glad you were able to go and I'm glad you were able to see this, this side of him that is not being portrayed by any media, any mainstream media. People don't realize it's not owned by conservatives. It is not owned or operated at all by conservatives. It's operated by people with an agenda. And I think we talked about this on mic a little bit, but we also talk about it a lot off mic is that if you look at the media, you have a very different picture of not only the president Trump, but people's impression of him. If you listen just to mainstream media, everyone can't stand him. If you look at how people voted, it's the exact opposite.

Because you can own the media. You can't own people's thoughts and their voting habits. Well, he won the first time. We know that the 2016 elections.

He won the second time. But here's the thing. This election was too big to rig.

That's what he said. And I totally agree. It was so big in the sense of it crossed over racial backgrounds. It crossed over sexual backgrounds. I mean, it was people, male, female, young, old, black, white, Hispanic, Asians. They were all voting for him. And it also crossed over monetary backgrounds. So it was not just like the rich voted.

I mean, how many billionaires can do that? So it's a lie. A lot of these rhetorics that are thrown out there and even by educated people, I'm very disappointed in them. Either they are not as smart or they're trying to get a position somewhere or they're looking for some favor. So they put these things out there hoping someone will see them and throw them a scrap of bread. I would never have expected that from academics. I would never have expected that from an academic person. Yeah, they're just looking for a little scrap.

Throw it my way. Look, look, look, look. I'm saying the things you don't think they make enough money. And it's an easy, easy thing to do, right? Some public figure like President Trump.

So we're going to bash him. And on that basis, I'm going to get some favor from you. I'm hoping you'll see it and throw me some scraps. Wow. And I'm like, wow, that you are that small of a person. Yeah, you are that small of a person that you have to, you have to bash somebody who cannot, who will not take the time to come in. Can President Trump like go and find that academic and say, what did you say about me? Let's look at this.

That's not going to happen. He is a busy man. He is doing much, much greater things than then come go after one academic. So it's easy for me to punch somebody when then I don't have to worry about a punch back.

The Zero Reaper. He's got better, more important things to do. But my punch to him tells you, hey, you see that? See, I punched him.

Watch, watch again. Boom. Yeah. See, can you, can you, can you give me that job? Can I, can I, can I come speak at your conference?

Can I have that book deal? One more punch. Boom. Okay. There you go.

How about now? It's like, oh my goodness. It's interesting that there's those kinds of people in every area of life. They're just after different scraps. Right. Good point. Great point. But for me, I thought this was a great, as I mentioned last time, the best part, what the Religious Liberty Commission that was established to protect our religious liberty, our first amendment rights.

Well, that is awesome. We're almost out of time, but Dr. Shell, what is one word of hope you want to leave our listeners with? I would say pray, pray, pray. Because if God has answered our prayers in tremendous ways over the past few months, whatever you're struggling in your life, maybe it's family issues, maybe it's financial, maybe it's health.

Maybe we're still praying for our nation for some other things to happen, an awakening, a revival to come. Pray. Amen. Pray. Don't, don't lose heart.

Pray. Amen. Guys, make sure you join us tomorrow. Same time, same station. We're going to be diving into another great topic here on the Clearview Today Show. Thanks again to our sponsors for making today's episode possible. And don't forget that you can support us by subscribing to the show on iTunes, and you can always support us financially at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

John, what do you want to leave our listeners with today? Definitely, just very quickly, we are going live on May 23rd to 24th, our 24-hour prayer vigil. We do three of these every single year.

We're going to be going live. We already did one in 2025, right? Or is this the first one of the year? January. January. Okay, cool.

Top of the year. That's right. So this is our second one of the year. We're going to be live from the hours of seven to nine, maybe 930, maybe 10, if we get a lot of calls, but we want you to call us on the air, 252-582-5028. We will be going live.

We'll be praying for you guys. That's May 23rd and 24th. No, just May 23rd is when we're going live, but the prayer vigil goes both ways. That's right.

That's right. We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today. So we'll be right back. We'll be right back. Bye.