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So, thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. A lot of times when we pray to God, we try to do it like everything's under control, like everything's cool. I'm just dropping in to say hi to my buddy.
But what God is looking for is a little bit of desperation in His people. Let's talk about why that matters on today's episode of Clearview Today. You're listening to Clearview today with Dr. Abadanshah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill.
I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clearview Today show. We got a great conversation here with our host, Dr. Abadanshah. And if you're listening for the very first time, we want to talk to you.
Two five two four two nine six zero six nine. We want to hear your opinions. We want to hear your thoughts on the show. Any comments or questions that you might have for Dr. Shaw?
Any hot topics you'd like us to talk about? And also just a chance to say hello. This is what God. God is doing through your show in our ministry in our church. That's right.
That's right. You know, Doctor Shah, prayer is something we talk about a lot on the show. Prayer is something that a lot of us do.
Sometimes we don't do "quote unquote" correctly, and people will balk when you say, "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! We mean correctly." You can't tell me how to pray. You can't tell me how to talk to God. You think I can pray incorrect?
But a lot of people do. Yeah. And what we want to talk about today, again in our series on the parables, is that. Prayer of desperation.
So many of our prayers are so casual, just like a conversation, because we have emphasized the importance of conversational prayer that we have made it such like a chit chat, a chit chat, a fireside chat with God. That's not what prayer is. Prayer is pleading with God. Not that you have to sit there and try to convince Him or placate Him, but there has to be this intensity in prayer. James talks about that intensity, the the the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.
That's right. And today's parable is, in a sense, setting up that statement. Yeah, what James says. In his book, I think people treat prayer as something that's just part of your Christian checklist, or like we have to bless the meal. I say my prayers before bed, and that that sense of pleading, that sense of desperation, is really lost on people.
It's really lost on you know, kind of this grappling with God about things that are that matter to you and things that are on your heart. I think it's a bleed from what we do in our regular life, right? Like I go to church, and I got my number one priority is I got to convince everybody I got my life under control. Like I'm good, I'm good. Things are going well.
I'm blessed. And after a while, we start treating God the same way, where it's like God, I just want to thank you for everything going great in my life right now, and you know, Lord, if you could just come on by, I'll be here till noon. We do that. I know we're kind of laughing, but I think a lot of people's prayer lives are stunted, yeah, and they don't know how to get that desperation back, right? And we need to have that desperation in prayer.
I am guilty of that because there are many times in my morning devotional, I have I have certain things that I've been praying for for some. Time, and I'll get distracted, or somebody will come by, or or my my text messages will start coming in in the morning, and it does not have that intensity that I need, and it's not even like trying to fire myself up to have this kind of prayer, but that should be my mindset. I'm talking to the person who controls the entire universe. And my need, my request, is in His hands. It's not like I'm trying to make Him believe that I need it, but I need to convince Him that God, this is important, right?
So there is that balance of knowing that He already wants to bless us and give us, at the same time. Showing Him, Lord, I really, I really, I am resting and relying upon You. Without You, I cannot, cannot make it, and this thing will not happen unless You step in. I'm trusting You. I'm trusting Your character.
I'm trusting Your Your grace, Your sovereignty, and Your grace, God. I'm trusting in You, and it may be something as Lord, save somebody. It may be something as Lord heal physically heal somebody. It may be something as Lord intervene in this relationship and and mend those hearts. Whatever it is, we need to pray with with intensity.
Why do you think that is? Because, and the reason I ask that is, we just wrapped up a series on getting to know God, and so a lot of the people, if they've been following, they know already that God is all knowing, He is all powerful, He quote unquote does not need me to pray.
So, where does this need for a desperate prayer come in? You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean, in the James series, we covered that very well because. God is going to respond. There are certain things God's going to do no matter what.
That's His sovereign will. But then there are things that He wants us to cooperate with Him to come alongside with Him, and prayer is the way that we come alongside with God. And we come alongside, and we're not trying to convince him that this needs to be done. We're trying to convince him how much we depend on him to intervene in this situation. Does he not already know that?
Yes, but in the process of praying, we're also clarifying our view of God, our desperation, and our faith. In Him, absolutely. I have a question that I don't know that I I'm ready to hear the answer for, and I feel the same maybe for our listeners at home. But are there prayers that we may pray sometimes that God doesn't answer because we don't pray them with enough desperation? I agree.
I think I think there are times God says, "You're not ready for this because you don't." And I know there's people who are listening to me right now who will say, "That's that's not true." Well, what do you do with you have not because you ask not? That's right. Wow, what do you do with that? And you don't come to God. You don't come before God and ask for something.
You know, just nonchalantly, like you. You know what I mean? Like you're a son of the king. Yes, that's true. But you also this is this is your king.
Yeah. And I think a lot of people will twist what you're saying into meaning you just have to say it hard enough. I like the way you said it. You're not ready. Your heart is not ready.
You're asking nonchalantly. If you're not desperate for that prayer, then you're not ready for it. And fate is that. Element that we have tried to do away with because of some misunderstandings and because of abuse in our. In that theatrical Christian culture, where faith healers are on stage, and you know, if you believe, do you believe?
You know, things like that, and people get up and start walking across the stage, and it was comes come to find out later on, it was all set up, and it was all a show.
So we are scared of those exercising faith, kind of. You know, prayers or behaviors. We feel like, no, no, no, that's not, that's not. We don't need to do that. Testing God, yeah.
But if you go by what the Bible says again and again, what we find is that repeatedly, God says, "You have to trust me. You have to have faith in me." Do you see a marked difference between life in the East and life life in the West? Because you, I remember you talked about before in the East, you did see some.
Sometimes people would go out, and there would be healings, and there would be stuff that like happened that was a little more faith requiring requiring than what you typically see in the West. Is that is that something that kind of you brought over with you, having seen that stuff before? In some ways, yeah, but just know a lot of my prayer life has been impacted by people in the West. I mean, like reading Ian Bounds or praying Hyde. He was a missionary to India.
You know, these are they're not people from the East, right? They're people from the West. Andrew Murray's book on prayer. You know, all these people were from the West.
Now, even though Andrew Murray was more, you know, from South Africa, but still, there were people from the West. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. So, but I think it's um, it's true that yes, I have seen. People willing to believe more in the East, but again, at the end of the day, I think it's human behavior.
We we don't we don't believe, and the more reasoned people become, we feel like if you if you believe, then you're not logical enough, and you're not scientific enough. And I don't think that's that's really true. I think you're 100 right. And I want to dive into this a little bit further. I'm going to take a quick break, thank some of our sponsors, and then come back and let's dive into these parables.
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Now let's get back to the show, Doctor Shaw. We're talking about prayers fueled and filled with desperation. Where do we find that in the Bible?
Well, here you have two parables that Jesus gives in Luke chapter eleven and Luke chapter eighteen. We're going to put them side by side and see if we can understand what that prayer of desperation looks like.
So the first one is Luke chapter eleven, verses five through eight, and then verse thirteen. And he said to them, Jesus said to the disciples, the people who were listening to him, "Which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,' for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him." And he will answer from within and say, "Do not trouble me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give to you." I probably would say that if somebody knocked on my door at midnight asking for bread. Would your children be in the bed with you?
They might be. Depends on the night. I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness. He will rise and give him as many as he needs. And then, verse thirteen, this is Luke chapter eleven, verse thirteen.
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? That's the first parable. Yeah, great points.
Now we can look at the second parable, which is Luke chapter eighteen and verse one. Through verse seven, then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray, and not lose heart, saying, "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
Now there was a widow in that city, and she came to him saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself." Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her. Lest by her continual coming she weary me. There it is. And then the Lord said, "Annoying man, he don't." Hear what the unjust judge said, and shall God not? Avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them.
I love when the Bible takes thing like emotions that we have and like it puts them in this really like this really proper way of speaking. You weary me, lest she weary me. Whereas they would be like, man, get her out of my face, get on my nerves, man. But it's such a human emotion. I like how both of these both these parables seem to be doing the same thing.
Like they're setting up someone who's. Getting what they want in a way that's maybe unconventional, and saying if that happens, and we all know that happens, imagine how much more God is going to bless you. Yeah, because God's good. God is love. Right.
People often think that this parable, these two parables, are about persistence in prayer, and in a secondary level application, yes, they are about persistence in prayer. But the primary level application is really about how much more will God? How much more will God? That's the point of these. Two parables, so it'll make more sense when we put them side by side.
So let's begin. Parable number one is based on friendship. A friend goes to a friend at midnight. To borrow three loaves of bread for another friend who is visiting, very friendly people. The bread ain't even for me, man.
It's another friend. I got a buddy of mine came into town. You're my buddy. You're my buddy too. Yeah, I would invite.
I appreciate. I'm your buddy, but not at this time of the night. Yeah, no. I knew you was a Knicks fan. You didn't want to come over watch this game.
So just give me the bread, though. The second parable from Luke 18 is about the court system. The legal system. A woman is repeatedly badgering a judge to get justice for herself. He's he's a good for nothing judge.
Yeah, yeah. The antihero in this in these two parables. The first one is the sleeping friend. Do not trouble me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed.
I cannot rise and give to you. I mean. You know the the houses back then were sort of like this one room house, and imagine getting out of the bed. Oh, to wake up those children once they wake up. That's it.
That's it. They're gonna cry. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Then we go to the bathroom.
They want to eat something. They're hungry. They're thirsty. He's like. That's a bad.
You don't understand. Yeah, I used to. Oh yeah, we we we both have. We have all all been there. There used to be a time where David would come and pick me up in the morning to go to the gym together.
And sure enough, every time I would get up, there's a baby sleeping next to me in the bassinet. Every time he'd wake up crying. Yep. I was like, man, this is this is a bad. It's not good.
Imagine it being David knocking on the door asking for some bread. Y'all got some bread? I need to make a peanut butter jelly sandwich. I would be, especially if my kids were young and they were little. I'd be, ooh, I'd be mad.
Would you be upset if I if I knocked on your door at three o'clock in the morning and then you opened it up and I was asking for bread? Yeah, I wouldn't be too happy. See, I'm in a different stage in life. I don't have little children. See, this parable works because you have little children.
Yeah, and and how amazing it is that the Bible applies. It's like it was written for 2026. Yep. I mean, today, if somebody knocked on your door and and you have to go to work the next day, and your kids are tired, maybe sick, and and then to have them be woken up because some some idiot friend of yours is knocking on the door, street, yeah, I'd be I'd be hot. Knock it off!
I'd be hot. Yeah. Would you be more annoyed or confused? Let's take a quick break. Hey guys, John here with the ClearView Today show, and I want to just take a second and talk to you about today's sponsor, WatchSafe.
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Now let's get into the show. Confused first, but then annoyed. The anti-hero in the second parable is the unjust judge, because it says about him that he did not fear God nor regard man.
Now, judges have to be unbiased. At the same time, this judge did not even fear God, which means he was totally heartless. He's he's he's of the world. He is not one of God. Yeah, he's he's like he got the position, he's making money.
Yeah, he's in power. He doesn't care about you. It wasn't that he didn't take sides; it was that he was on his own side. Forget everybody else, one hundred percent.
Now, what's the response? Out of contempt. I say to you that he, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. Means this is not a friend helping a friend in a time of need. He is giving it out of contempt, just because, like, you know, I want to argue with you, I want to fuss at you, but it's going to make me look bad.
Take the bread and get out of my. I've done that. Oh my goodness, I've done that. Where people ask me for something, and I'm like, I'm so disgusted with you. I'm so like fed up and annoyed.
I'm gonna just look like the guy with the moral high ground and just give it to you, so you'll get out of here. Yeah, I literally just want you to leave. Yeah, yeah, I've done that absolutely. But the second parable is more out of annoyance because this widow troubles me. I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
This lady just says, "Leave me alone." Oh my goodness! Here she comes again. Can you see him talking to the bailiff or whatever? He there back in those days. Oh, is that?
Oh my goodness! You've been a pastor for over thirty years now. Have you ever had someone's name pop up on your phone, or you see their car pull up the parking lot, and you're just like, "Oh my goodness!" Please, here we go again.
So, so he the judge helps not because he is a good man. He helps because he is irritated. He's annoyed. He is exasperated over her constant badgering. Yeah, she wore him down.
After all, she kept she kept bugging him until she got what she wanted. She got what she wanted. And so, what's the point? Unlike the sleeping friend who gave out of contempt, God is our loving heavenly Father.
Okay, if you then being evil. Luke eleven thirteen know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more I want us to remember that when we're praying tomorrow. How much more? It's so important for us to stay in the Word.
It's so important for us to study the Bible. Don't just get up in the morning and pray, or at night just pray. And I know there are times you don't have time, but take the time to study the Bible because this. Reminds us that we're not just calling on God who does not care about us. We're calling on God who cares for us.
How much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Yeah, I think that's important for us to remember because a lot of us know.
Somewhere in the back of our mind, yeah, God's going to take care of me. But it doesn't manifest itself when I'm actually going through the stuff. Probably because I'm not really asking for help. You know, where I should be asking for help. I should be relying on Him.
Now I'm going to try everything else first, and then when I when all seems lost. No, I got to start praying. Yeah, this reliance on God, this this sort of desperation before God. How does that, like, what what what sort of things will we pray, or what ways will we pray? How does that change the our time spent in prayer?
Well, because you know the person you are talking to, and you are you know we began this conversation by talking about the earnest prayer, the the the fervent prayer, but that fervent is not trying to convince him. Please, you gotta answer me, please, please, please! Don't turn turn me away. It's more of a expressing God. This is how I'm feeling.
This is where I'm at, and you are my only hope. It's not like. Please be a good God. Please be a nice person. No, it's not that.
It's that God. Without you, without you intervening in this situation, all hope is lost. But you can change the situation. You can change the heart of that person. God, would you do that here?
Would you magnify your glory, God? Would you show yourself and and not just that this person would be healed or this relationship would be healed or this person would come to know Christ, but the greater picture of your kingdom growing of many. More people be impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the kind of fervent prayers. That's right.
It's not a sales pitch. You know, no. We we treat a lot of our. I'm guilty of this a lot of times. We treat our.
Prayers like a sales pitch, where when I choose the right words, when I incentivize God, now He's going to step in because oh, I like the way you phrase that. There's a really a really melodic cadence, yeah, voice, and I use all the flowery words. God's going to respond. No, God, God wants to see a desperate heart before Him. God wants to see someone who's earnestly seeking Him.
Yeah, and and the second one parable, you know, again is say, and shall God not avenge His own elect? Means unlike this unjust. Judge who give a verdict out of annoyance. God is a loving heavenly Father who will avenge his his people, his choice ones. Yeah, I think a lot of times there's people like when something goes wrong in the church, when something goes wrong in someone's life.
You know, as church leaders, a lot of times we were. Kind of the last to find out when people are suffering, and they want you to be there for them, but they don't tell you. And when you say, "Well, why? You know, why did you not tell us about this?" I just didn't want to bother you. You're so busy.
You are. I know y'all have so much on your plate. And a lot of times, I do think we treat God like that, where our problem is either big enough to mess with us and not big enough to bring before Him, or it's just the case that I just don't think He's going to come through, even if I tell Him. This might be one of those even if you don't moments, and I don't want to go through that.
So I know I should be praying, but I'm just not going to. That's tough. Yeah, it is tough. Don't doubt his best. I mean, this right here in Luke chapter eleven verse nine, it says, "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find." Knock, and it will be open to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks, it will be open.
So, my encouragement to our listeners and our viewers today: No matter where you are in your life, that burden that you're carrying, that that that pain that is that that is constantly with you, it may be physical pain. It may be relational pain, it may be mental or spiritual pain. Talk to God, ask Him to intervene in your situation. Ask for His healing, ask for His miracle in your life. You say, well, you know, theologically, do miracles have?
Don't worry about all that. You just talk to God and say, God, we, I know that you are the one in control. I know that you are the one in charge. And if you don't step in, there is no hope. Yeah, there's someone listening to this right now.
I think, and there's a possibility. It's on Christian radio. It's on podcast. It's on YouTube. Maybe someone just stumbled upon it, but maybe they're listening to this right now and they're saying, you know, it sounds great that there's a person out there who hears.
My wishes and and will give them to me, but I've never trusted in someone named Jesus. I'm not a Christian. I have never believed this, but I'd be willing to give it a shot if He would hear my prayer and answer. Right now, I'd be willing to give it a shot. Would you just talk to that person for?
Yeah, of course. And again, you don't have to convince God. To save you through Jesus Christ, this prayer is more about other things in your life. This is not a prayer that you have to do to somehow work up God, God's grace to you. God's grace is freely available.
It is simply saying, "Jesus, I believe that you are God's Son. You came as promised in the Bible, and you are." The one who created this world, and you knew when you created this world that this world will sin, that the first man and his wife they will sin, and Satan, this angel who turned against God, he will. Tempt them to doubt God's word and sin.
So you knew all this was going to happen, and and you made us anyways. You made Adam and Eve anyways, knowing that you will have to yourself come and die for them, because God is holy. God is just. He will punish sin, and the penalty of sin is death. But you died, so that we wouldn't have to.
You took the penalty of God's wrath, the Father's wrath, upon yourself. You who knew no sin became sin for us, and you died for our sins while remaining sinless. And I believe that you died in my place. You were buried, but you rose again. As again promised in the Scriptures that you will rise, and so I trust you.
I. Am looking to you as my savior. I want you to be my savior. I want you to represent me, and then thank him for saving you because that's all you have to do. Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead.
You will be saved. He said, "But I don't feel anything. I don't feel, you know, like fireworks going on. I don't feel like this world all of a sudden has has a deeper hue and and colors are more beautiful. Maybe maybe that's happened to you.
Maybe it's like, okay, I just prayed. It's a transaction. That's right. That God recognizes. That's right.
That prayer is a simple transaction. That now your sins upon Christ." And Christ's righteousness upon you; that imputation has been made. Amen. It's done.
Now, what else has happened? The Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the of the Godhead, the Triune God, has now come to reside in you, and He is making the truths of the gospel real in your life. It's already begun. If you prayed just now, it's already begun.
So make it public. Go find a church, a Bible believing church. Find a Christian who truly walks with God, and and and tell them, hey, this has happened. Take the next step. Be baptized, and get into the Word of God.
That's my encouragement to you. Amen. And then there are people. You know, somebody asked a question. What about people who have prayed desperately for a while and their prayers are not being answered?
Stay at it again, not with a desire to convince God, because He's a loving heavenly Father who loves His children. But God's timing is not there. That's right. So stay at it. Stay at it.
Stay at it. Yeah. It's a good encouragement for us. A good reminder that prayer is not just something to mark off your Christian to-do list. It's not just another moment in your day.
Prayer is talking to the Creator. It's talking to your Father who loves you, the King of the Universe who who wants you to cry out in desperation for the things that are on your heart. And being a good Father, He delights in giving us the things that we desire. That's right. And these stories that Jesus is telling, you know, they they communicate these truths to us because.
You believe, right? If you didn't believe, it would make any sense to you at all. You'd be end up more confused. But because it's making sense to you, there's a belief there. There's a desire for you to grow, and I believe it or not, that really does make all the difference.
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