Welcome to God First, a program committed to encouraging you to put God first while viewing life through the window of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's episode. Yes, and I am co-founder of God First Bible Fellowship. And yes, Brian has graciously allowed me to take the reins today.
And so this is temporary. But I am joined by one of my Jesus girls, whom I honor and I call her my mentor and my friend. And her name is Tara Fuhrman, and she is founder and president of Knowing God Ministries in Cary, North Carolina. She's a speaker, a teacher, an author, a prayer warrior and anything else you want to put behind that. But she is a dynamic leader of women.
She's also married to her best friend, Tim, and they have two adult children. And so I am so honored to have her own today because we're going to be discussing prayer and her book and not just her book, but the power of prayer. And in her title, she actually mentions how powerful prayer is because it is what we use to fight.
And so the name of her book, is Prayer Made Simple, Fighting for Your Family and Friends in Prayer. So welcome, Tara. Welcome, Anita. Thank you.
I appreciate you having me. Yes, I want everyone to know as much about Knowing God Ministries as possible. So can you tell us a little bit more about Knowing God Ministries? And you'll hear us say KGM, and that is the acronym for Knowing God Ministries.
But share a little bit more about your ministry with us. It helps women to know God. Quite often, it's the woman who brings the gospel and the reality of God into their home. When this happens, when we know God and we're living His Word in our homes and in our corners of the world, He changes us. He changes our marriages. He changes. He brings life to our children and to our families.
Think about that for a minute. When we are living the gospel, He can bring life to a dead marriage. He can impact unsaved people. He can impact a business.
He can impact a school. I mean, it's amazing. Just simply knowing God, how that changes the trajectory of our lives and potentially an entire generation. So at Knowing God Ministries, we host luncheons, we host women's conferences, mother-daughter events, and just simply said, we help women know God by teaching them the truths of God's Word and helping them to apply it in their everyday lives. Yeah, I love that. And I am on the Knowing God Ministries team, and I am so honored to serve with KGM. And one thing about KGM is that discipleship is so important to KGM.
And so I love that. And if you know Tara, you know that she is really big on establishing a quiet time with the Lord, a time to lay yourself bare before Him, praying specifically and scripturally and allowing your time with Jesus so that you can soak Him in and give yourself fully to Him. And so she really helps to equip women with knowing how to pray, taking that time to praise and thank Jesus, to allow Him to illuminate any darkness within you and to speak to you.
And so she does such a wonderful job with that. And she really makes you feel that prayer is more simple than you think. And so when we think about how prayer can be really simple, but it's powerful and it's powerful enough to fight for ourselves, our family and our friends.
And you perfectly put that in your title of your book. And so I really would like for you to talk about the conditions for praying powerfully, because we know that although it's simple, prayer is very powerful. It is.
It is. And I just want to, gosh, I've got so many things going through my brain as you say that. So one of the conditions, first of all, I want to go back to what you said about a quiet time. That is so important, Danita. We can know God by going to church, but we know Him by taking time for Him every day, carving out even if it's just 10 minutes, 15 minutes a day to read our Bibles and to talk to God. And that's what prayer is, is it's talking to God. And we can be so real before God. And we don't have to be embarrassed at the things that we, because God already knows.
I mean, He already knows. The timeliness of this podcast could not be more perfect, because last night and even this morning in my own quiet time, you know, I was crying out to the Lord on behalf of something that is very near and dear to my heart. You know, we all have things that are near and dear to our hearts.
You know, touch points, so to speak. And, you know, my heart point got touched. Those situations in life that no one can fix. But God.
And those are the things that we take to Him in prayer. That's what catapulted me into a quiet time is because I had a marriage that I couldn't fix. I mean, I could not fix. I was doing everything I could to fix it. And it was not working. But as I was really honest with God and began to tell Him, all right, God, I need help with this.
I don't know how to do this. And, you know, His word would just come alive. And I thought, my goodness, this is a coincidence.
But it wasn't a coincidence. That was the God of the universe speaking to me, illuminating His word. And so one of the conditions for praying powerfully is we've got to be in His word and we've got to spend time with Him. And if this is a new concept to you, just start with 10 or 15 minutes.
But I want to challenge you. Do it for a month. Do it for 30 days. And I guarantee you, you will be addicted to your time with God. It will become such a part of your routine and such a part of the really the condition of your heart, because you will experience a joy and a peace and a grace that you aren't normally experiencing. You will become addicted to that time and you'll need it.
And so spending time with Him is one of the conditions. Now, let me just say right here from the get go, the Bible is clear. We can talk to God anytime.
And I do. I mean, if you could read my mind, Denita, if you could like really like I'm in my office right now and there is no one here in my office. But I'm just talking to God nonstop.
I'm talking to Him in my head. And that, too, is prayer. When I'm driving down the road, I'm talking to God. That, too, is prayer. And the word says pray continually.
But what I'm talking about is we want to fight for our friends, for our family, for our children, for our marriages in prayer. This requires pausing, stopping, getting alone with God, opening up His word and praying. And so that's how Prayer Made Simple came about. And so let me just even go there as I continue with these conditions for Praying Powerfully, Denita.
I had a daughter that was extremely sick, extremely sick with an autoimmune disease that we were even wondering if she was going to live. And I didn't know how to pray. I mean, I knew how to pray because everybody can pray. You can talk to God.
We don't have to talk in these or that. But my neighbor who was intentional, I mean, she was intentional with discipleship and I veiled myself to her. And as I would go to her house for lunch or for tea afternoon, she would have me for afternoon tea.
She was of that generation. She was precious. But anyway, she would have me and I would just tell her all my problems and she would pray with me. And I would know when we got finished praying, I would be like, man, she prays different than I pray. I mean, what is it that is different the way she prays? We see she was praying scriptures and she would just open up God's word and pray it back to Him. And so that was where Prayer Made Simple came about is just a woman that if she wants to know, OK, how do I pray for my marriage? Bam, I got a page for her to go pray the marriage. But in order for God to hear her prayers in a nutshell, going back to your original questions, and I know that I have kind of gone on a few rabbit trails here. You're fine.
You're fine. But the first thing is getting alone with God and making sure you have time with Him. And the second is, do you have a relationship with them? I call it a covenant relationship.
You know, are you His child? And as we go to church does not necessarily mean we are God's children. And this is one of the reasons why I started KGM is because there are so many denominations out there. I married a man that was of one denomination. I was of another denomination. And he had his view of the way to be right with God. And I had my view of how you're right with God. And, you know, when I learned what the Bible said about being right with God, that changed my life. And so are you right with God? Do you have a relationship with Him, a covenant relationship with Him? And the Bible says to those who believe and receive, they are given the right to become children of God.
And that's John 112. And so make sure you have a covenant relationship. And we can go back to that if you want to, Danita. But, you know, next is if we're cherishing sin in our heart. And so, you know, if we're hanging on to, if we know that we are living a lifestyle of, you know, that God would not be happy with, you know, we can't cherish that. You know, I remember one time when I was, you know, my thoughts, my ongoing thoughts towards another person were not right. They were not holy either, I can assure you. And, you know, God had to get that right with me before, you know, get on to the serious business of fighting for my, you know, my children in prayer.
And when we begin to harvest or harvest, when we harbor unforgiveness towards someone, I mean that, and I'm talking really about, really to the more mature believer here, because this is a roadblock for our prayers being answered. And, you know, Danita, I had something really hurtful happen about three months ago. I was, you know, it's over one of these real controversial issues right now in the public square, so to speak. And I was at a football party and these women jumped down my throat for, you know, just my stance on, you know, whether to do the vaccine or whether or not to do the vaccine.
And I don't want to go there, but it is certainly a hot button issue. And these women jumped down my throat and it was embarrassing. It was public. It was humiliating.
It was worse than any middle school thing that I have had ever experienced in middle or high school. And I'm telling you, for months I have been dealing with unforgiveness. And so in my quiet time, I'm like, I choose, I choose to forgive them. I choose to forgive that whole scene.
It was horrible. I choose to forgive them, even though at the end of the day, one did eventually call and apologize, which was awesome. But still you have these tentacles of unforgiveness in our heart. And when we are hanging on to unforgiveness, God does not hear us when we pray. And so we need to search our heart daily. That's part of having a quiet time is searching our God.
Show me anything in me that is offensive towards you that you don't like. And listen, we don't have to go on a deep dive. He will show us. He will give us a middle picture. And you're like, oh, yeah. And that's what he's been doing this fall.
That's just a real present illustration. And I'm much better than I was two months ago. I'm much better than I was a month ago. But it's still something I'm working through. And so, like, as I'm driving down the road and I pass that person in my neighborhood, I'm like, I'm harboring unforgiveness. And I'm like, Lord Jesus, I choose to love that person. I choose to love that person.
I choose to forgive. So anyway, this is just an everyday example of what this looks like so that we can fight for our marriage and for our family and for our children and for our friends in prayer. Because we've got to be right before the Lord. And as we're right before God, the word says that he hears us when we pray and that our prayers avail much. And so I want my prayers to avail much because we live in a wicked world and I've got two kids in college in this wicked world.
And so you better believe their mama is on her knees a lot on behalf of her children. And there's something there's a quote in your book that I love that talks about the power of prayer. And you say, quote, the power of the word is like taking a shotgun and putting a bullet through the head of a snake in the spiritual realm.
I love that quote because it really is that powerful. And we have to take things to the Lord that require that and that requires that kind of power. And so I love that you put that in your book and I love, too, that in your book you give people actual sections in your book where they can look at things that are considered sin that are sinful so that people can be specific and look over that and see in that list.
Is there something that convicts my heart? And then they can pray it spiritually and give it to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to replace it with what is good because sin does block prayer. Followers, I don't like to say believers as much anymore because people believe in Christ, but don't really follow him. Even Satan believes in Christ.
So I like to say followers of Christ. But followers of Christ have a direct line of communication with God. And like you mentioned, your friend who was who prayed with you is like she seemed to have this direct communication with God. And so when we tap into that power of prayer, we are empowered. And so you included a section, an entire section in your book that is called Powerful Prayer When Life is Hard. And we know that many people are experiencing hard times right now. And so as we become more empowered through prayer, we should use that power to bring loved ones before the throne of God.
Can you speak a little bit more about how we do that effectively? Because your book has an entire section that helps us with that. Sometimes I don't even know how I feel, but that's where this book has helped me. And even before I even put this book together, I put together a compilation of scriptures because I didn't even know what I needed to pray. I mean, a woman, I'm glad that you're interviewing me and not Brian, because sometimes men are understanding the emotional mess a woman brings to the table, right? Yes, say so. And so sometimes I don't even know why I've got this thick or why I feel this yuck in me.
And so I'll just go down this little, little list. What is it that I need? Do I need strength? Do I need courage? Am I feeling fearful? Am I feeling insecure?
What is my problem or what is their problem? And then you just go to that page and you pray the scripture and it's worded in a way, just like before the break when you said it's like a bullet to the head of a snake. When we pray God's word, I'm telling you, there is a physical piece that's almost tangible that comes over you when you pray.
And so that's why I developed that section. It truly came from the heart of a woman going, what is it that's going on with me right now? What is it? Is it this? Is it this?
Is it this or is it this? And then I just went to that section and it's not a ton of scriptures. You know, it's maybe seven to ten scriptures per page, just enough to lift that oppression that sometimes that we can feel or the depression that is trying to gloom us or whatever it is. You know, when we feel like we have no strength, you know, or when somebody emails us and says, you know, such and such has got this going on, pray for healing. Well, you know, a lot of times I'll open my book to that section and I've got scriptures at my disposal to pray. And I'll insert that person's name in the scripture and I'll pray that scripture for them and I'll maybe send it back in an email or maybe I'll write it on a note.
But that's what that section is all about is just, you know, putting, you know, putting a label to it and then praying with power to help that remedy that situation. And with that, I like the fact that you mentioned covenant relationship earlier, because having that deep relationship with God, you do. That's your direct line. And that line is even shorter.
You don't have to go far to reach them. But having that covenant relationship, some people may say, why all of that? Some people feel like it doesn't take all of that. You know, why can't I just say my rehearsed prayer that I say every day or whatever?
You know, they really do feel like it does not take all of that deep of a relationship, you know, kind of like at the surface of things with God. Can you encourage those who have those types of thoughts? I can.
I can. A covenant relationship. Let me just even back up from there, Danita, why it's important to have a covenant relationship. You know, the world ascribes many different ways as to how we get to God. But we have to come to God the way He says you come to Him. And the way He says that we come to Him is through Jesus. Through a relationship with Jesus, sin separates us from God. And while God will hear the prayer of someone, God hears everybody's prayers. Everybody, even the people that do not belong to Him, He hears their prayers.
But if they refuse time and time and time again to not come to Him the way He's prescribed for us to come to Him, there's a barrier because sin separates us from God. But when we invite Jesus to come into our life and to forgive us of our sins, Jesus removes our sins supernaturally. But He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that God could hear our prayers, so that He can hear our prayers. He puts His Holy Spirit in us. He gives us a personal relationship with Him. He gives us eternal life when we die. And He gives us a joyful life on the here and now.
But that joy is predicated on staying connected to Him. Yeah, that's so important. I think that's something that is missing today. We do have a lot of surface relationships to where we're not really going to the throne of God and laying bare before Him. And something you mentioned earlier made me think of the word transparent, to be transparent before God, so that we can allow Him to, I know He sees, He's Elroi, He's the one who sees all things. But as we lay transparent and bare before Him, He can speak into those things that we are bringing to Him because we are acknowledging, I need help with this, God.
I need You. I need to acknowledge that I am completely and utterly dependent upon You, Lord. And I need for You to take this, whether it's something that you're laying at the feet of God that belongs to you, that you want to give to God, or something that is involved with someone else.
Because in prayer we are fighting, not just for ourselves, but for our family, for our friends, our loved ones, our communities, and our nation, and the world. We're bringing people from throughout the world to put at God's feet. And so it's important for us to be able to have that relationship with Him, to know and allow Him to speak to us. It's a two-way communication, right?
Yes, it is. We're there to receive from Him, but most importantly, we're there to honor Him and to praise Him. And it's so important. And if you could just take a couple of minutes, there was something that was on my heart as I looked through your book, too, is you talked about praise and worship. Right. What does praise and worship look like during prayer?
Just a couple of minutes on that, if you could. Well, as we believe, as followers of Jesus, followers of Christ, as you say, DeNita, believers and followers, you know, the Lord says, we're given, He's excited that we've come to His throne room. It says, let us approach the throne of grace with confidence.
Let us receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. And the Bible says, the Bible tells us to worship and to praise His name. I love the Psalms. If this is a new concept to you, I want to encourage you to go to the Psalms.
Just start with the Psalms. Worship nourishes our hungry soul. It gives, it pushes back the darkness in our life. Let me give you some examples. You know, can I give you some examples?
Because it's easy to describe it. So, for example, I can get overwhelmed at the heaviness of everything going on in this world. But when I turn my eyes to the Lord and I look to who, to who He is, that's part of praise and worship. That look into God for His greatness.
And the scriptures, especially in the Psalms, are full. So, for example, in my praise time, I might say, great are you, Lord, Lord, most worthy of praise. No one can measure your greatness. You are so great. Your power is absolute.
Your understanding is beyond comprehension. At your command, the waves and the wind were silent. You are the God who gives breath to every human being and to every creature. I mean, these are all scriptures. But as we pray these words back to God, there is a, it lifts our hearts. It pushes back the darkness. It helps, it uplifts our mood. I mean, praise, it's so powerful. And it honors the Lord. The word, enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
The word says that He inhabits the praises of His people. And so when we begin to use these words that God has given us in His word to pray back to Him, He draws closer to us. And I can't put my finger on it. It's supernatural.
And it's hard to even explain with words. But when you've experienced it, you know it. So I would just, some of my favorite words to pray back to Him are in the late Psalms, like Psalm 145, Psalm 146. Those words are just, it's a wonderful springboard into our prayer time. And then what happens, Anita, is it takes our mind off of us, off our small circumstances and onto God who is able, who is the most high God, who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. And so we get up feeling refreshed and we're at peace because we know that God's got it. I had a prayer partner one time and she would say, God, I've given all these things that are on my desk. I'm putting them on your desk now because I know that they're on you. I know that you're able because you are bigger than I can comprehend. You are stronger than I know you are. And she would just use those words to praise Him.
And I'm telling you, you get up and you still have the problem. But you're different because you spend time in prayer and specifically in praise and in thanksgiving. And thanksgiving is a part of that. Thanksgiving, I find when I pray with people, they tend to confuse thanking. And thanking is a big deal. Being thankful and having a heart of gratitude. And God is so honored with hearts of gratitude.
But it's two things. You know, praising Him is one thing and thanking Him is different. And so I would encourage everyone in their prayer time to always have components of praising God and thanksgiving. He wants our lifestyle, our entire being, to be a worship to Him. Amen.
Yes. I am prayerful that this book will reach many. And even I would suggest people giving it away at Christmas as a Christmas gift.
Because we all need to tap into that precious gift of prayer. And so I know that this book will help as many as possible to do that and to pray and be effective and have powerful prayer. Can you tell us really quickly how people can find you? Yes.
Yes. KnowingGodMinistries.net or you can go to TaraFurman.com. Either way, you'll find my website and it's right on the homepage on the banner.
It's easy to find. And I just want you all to go and visit there because there are some events coming up. You can purchase her Bible studies. There will be workshops.
There are monthly luncheons. And you can even book Tara to come and share at one of your events. And she's also on social media. So look her up and sign up for her newsletter because she gives words of encouragement often. And so I encourage you all to go and visit Tara. Tara, thank you so much for joining us today. It is an honor to be on this podcast. I listen to your podcast regularly and to be a guest is it's an honor. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Oh, you're so welcome. To God be the glory. May your kingdom come, Lord. Your will be done. Bless the great nation of Israel and may there be peace in Jerusalem and may the lost be drawn to Jesus Christ.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-07-07 21:19:03 / 2023-07-07 21:29:49 / 11