This is the Truth Network. This is the Truth Network. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk about it.
The truth is, I can't hide it, I can hold it if no more. A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Speak your mind.
And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. Welcome to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you today. If you'd like to be a part of what we're doing on this program, 866-34 TRUTH.
866-348-7884. Aren't you glad we don't have rotary phones anymore?
Some of you don't even know what that is. But 866-348-7884 Let me ask you something. When when trouble shows up in your life, When things show up that are unpleasant, What do you actually pray for?
Well, think about that for just a moment. The doctor calls you with news you didn't want to hear. Money gets tight, family situations begin to unravel. When you turn on the news and you see wars like what's going on in Iran, and a world feels like that it's unstable, increasingly unstable. What do you pray for?
What do you pray? What do you ask God? To do? Do you ask him to remove the problem? Do you ask him to give you strength to endure it?
Do you ask him for wisdom on what to do next? Do you. Do you find yourself praying for something else entirely? And I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. And the surprising push.
Mehan the thought came from something I saw in the news recently. Many of you all saw last month at a Munich Security Conference. I don't know if you caught that or not, but there's a moment where California Governor Gavin Newsom. was speaking about him to this to this group that it for whatever reason he brought in American politics. And he shared with those gathered that we just need to wait Donald Trump out.
Just wait till he's gone, and then things can get back to normal. We can be productive, you know. Yada yada yada.
Well, clearly he does it like Trump. But Munich wasn't a political stop. It's a serious conference about security, serious things. And what caught my attention was something underneath what Newsom said. which was the mindset.
And it was Just wait for what you don't like to go away, then you can be productive. We just got to wait him out. We'll get through this next three years, and then we can get back to what we're going to do. Just wait for the bad thing to go away.
Now California is like one of the largest economies in the world. And he could offer quite a bit from California to this conference right then. You know, this is about security there. cybersecurity, AI, all these kinds of things. California is flush with all that kind of technology.
And he could have said something to the effect of: hey, you know, we got some political tension back home, but let me tell you what we got in the stockroom right now, boys. that could help meet the needs being discussed at this conference. But instead he offered Just write it out. Just endure the moment. Just wait until the problem.
disappears. And I found myself asking a question that was a bit uncomfortable. Is that mentality deeper in our Christianity than we might want to admit?
So let me ask you again, when hardship enters your life, What do you actually pray for? Do we sometimes approach prayer like this, Lord, just make this stop? Lord, just make this go away. Lord, help me get through this thing so things can go back to normal.
Now there's nothing wrong with asking God for relief. Scripture is filled with people crying out to God in distress, and He heard them in their distress. But here's another question. While we're praying, What are we doing? Are we simply waiting for the situation to improve so that we can resume the life we prefer?
Or is prayer meant to shape how we walk through the situation? While it's still happening. And I'd like to hear what you think about this. When life becomes difficult, how do you pray? What do you pray for?
What does that look like to you? 866-34-TRUTH 866-3636. three four eight 7884, because when you look at the pattern of scripture, something interesting appears. Joseph prayed. But he sat in prison for years.
David prayed, but he still spent years running from Saul before he ever became king. Paul prayed about the thorn in his flesh, and the answer he received wasn't removal. The answer was, My grace is sufficient for you.
So here's the question. It just keeps lingering in my mind. What if God sometimes does his deepest work by not removing the trouble immediately. But by shaping who we are while we walk through it, Joseph sat in prison, he didn't get out of prison. for thirteen years, I think.
And yet he was productive in prison. What if prayer is not only about changing circumstances? What if it's about? Changing Us. And that's a very different way.
to think about hardship, isn't it? And I just can't help but think. I keep going back to that with Governor Newsom. He said, we just got to wait this out. Has hardship ever changed the way you pray?
Did you pray Once this way and now you pray differently. My prayers have certainly changed over the years. I mean, I've been walking through a medical nightmare with my wife for 40 years. My prayers have changed, I promise you they have. What about you?
86634 TRUTH 866-348-7884. I've spent a lot of years sitting in a hospital room praying. When your wife goes through almost a hundred surgeries. You kind of live inside of that world long enough, begin to notice some things, you notice your prayers change. Early on, the prayers often sound like this: Lord, fix this.
Lord, we just got to get through this and get on with our life. Lord, make this stop. Lord. Please let everything go back to the way it was. But over time Things change.
And I want to know if that changed for you. If I'm alone in this, or is this something you've seen as well in your life? What do you pray for now? Has your prayer life changed over time? Do you pray for the situation to disappear, or do you find yourself praying for strength?
Do you plan do you find yourself Just putting your life on hold until the storm passes. What if the storm doesn't pass? But if you, you know, for David was anointed king. You know, and I think for 20 years he was being chased all over Israel by Saul. That had to have been somewhat discouraging.
And I'd like to hear Your thoughts on that. As as we Go always go back to the Word of God. Stand on that and say, okay, Lord, what are you. teaching me in this. CS Lewis There was a Quote from um him at one point, prayer doesn't change God, it changes us.
Have you noticed that? Have you noticed you being changed by The way you pray. And I think that's the thing I've learned over years when I have something that just will not go away. And what do I do? Do I put my life on hold?
Do I do like Gavin Newsom said? I said, Well, we just got to. Just wait it out. We just got to wait it out. Is that biblically what we're called to do?
Do you see that in Scripture? where we just gotta wait it out. and we're not to be productive right now. I saw in various places in scripture where some people sometimes they. stood, but they didn't stand by idly.
I couldn't help but notice that.
So we're going to weigh into that today, and I know that's an unusual thing to see. With Gavin Newsome in Munich at the Security Conference, do you think, you know, that what that, but you see the principles of Scripture. all around if you pay attention. because you see human nature the way it responds to things. And Our human nature is going to dictate to us unless we bring it under submission to the things of God.
And I I cannot see any place in Scripture. Where it would honor God for me to put my life on hold. for forty years until my wife's legs grew back. You tracking with me on that? I don't see anywhere in scripture where that That even makes sense.
And so that's what I want to get into today. 866-34-TRUTH-866-3626. Three, four, eight. AD4. What do you pray for and what do you do while you're praying?
What do you pray for? And what do you do? while you're praying. What does obedience in prayer look like? How does that flesh out in your life?
What scriptures speak to you loudly in this? And we'll talk about that more when we come back. This is Truth Talk Live. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com.
Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. We're talking about prayer. What do you pray?
And what do you do while you're In that season of prayer, while you're waiting for that prayer to be answered, or maybe it doesn't get answered at all, certainly not in the way that maybe you thought. What do you do? How do you conduct yourself? And David in Kentucky. David, good afternoon.
Welcome to the program. What are your thoughts on this?
Well, thank you. When I first heard you speaking, I thought you were speaking I think you were speaking about Being born again, and no, you know, no, no, I was speaking on prayer, David. I'll tell you the question I was asking.
Okay. That are unpleasant. And I was referring back. Most likely what I saw with Governor Newsom in the Munich Security Conference. And he told them, he said, we just need to wait Donald Trump out, then we can get back to business as normal.
Is that the model that we take as believers? We just got to get through this or get away with it, get the thing that we don't like out of the way. Then we can be productive. Or do we pray differently? How do we pray?
So I'm putting you on the spot. Obviously, you had something else on your mind, but what are your thoughts on that when I say that? Page. I think it's really important for all believers just to realize that we can pray at any time, anywhere. And you know, I think it's one of the biggest mistakes we've made as Christians and Going after school systems that act like they could take prayer out of the school when we really don't focus on.
just letting our young people know that you always have that ability to do so wherever you are Whatever you're doing. That's a very good point. What are your thoughts about your prayer life? How that has grown, changed, different? What do you do?
Do you put your life on hold while you're waiting for God to answer that prayer? What do you do? No, not necessarily. I mean, I don't think you can put your life on hold waiting for God to answer a prayer necessarily. I mean, I think He wants us to continue to be productive and be just the bi best example we can to others and I mean, it's hard.
Uh obviously To um You gotta understand the God and how He works. It really is can be tough at times. Indeed. And I appreciate you pivoting that fast. is about When we as believers are facing things that are uncomfortable.
and unpleasant. How do we conduct ourselves as we pray? What is our responsibility in this moment? And I'm going to go again, there's a scripture. You all know.
It gets quoted a lot, but rarely in context. And that's Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. We all know that. But do you know what came before that?
The people have been praying to go back. from exile. They were in exile.
Okay? And the prophet of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord, came to him, and they're all excited because they're going to hear from the prophet of the Lord the word of the Lord. It's going to come through Jeremiah. Go back and look at the text. It says it right there.
Starting verse 4. Roughly. And so they're all excited. Everybody's gathered around. Oh, we're going to hear the Lord speak.
He's going to tell us we're going to get home. But that's not what he said. He said I put you here for a reason. And when the time is up, I'm going to come get you. But in the meantime, I want you to build your houses, get married.
Plant your crops, plant your vineyards, get your kids married, have grandchildren, basically seventy years. He said, When I'm ready, I'll come get you. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. That's the we love that verse. But the other part says Y'all be still right here.
And you be productive right here. And And I'll come get you when I'm ready.
Well, now that's not a very attractive message to a lot of people, is it? We want relief right now. A lot of us tend to be like Veruka Salt from the original Willy Wonka. You remember that? I want it now.
You know, we want it now. And Lord, take this away from me right now, Lord. And we we basically stay churned up Until Something changes in our life. And again, I go back to Gavin Newsome sitting there saying, We just got to wait Trump out. You are the Governor of the State of California.
You have vast resources to offer a World Security Conference. and that the best you had was we got to wait this out. Is that what leaders do? Is that what leaders do? The Apostle Paul wrote scripture.
While in prison, Chain. He did not wait for a new Caesar. He did not wait to be freed from prison before he wrote scripture. He wrote it while in prison. And I think that's the thing that drives home to me as I see this.
I say, as Christians, we're to be very industrious people. Not busy for busy's sake, but busy about the things of God. being obedient to where we are. Right now, where he's put us. Because he does know the plans that he has for us.
He does know us. And he does know our name, and he knows what he has in mind for us. but it may be to go through a lifetime of these things. A season of this that could extend on for decades. It has for our life.
How many prayers do you think that Gracie and I have prayed over this thing? And she, you know. I mean, last year alone she had eleven operations. When you've gone through this for 40-something years and you've had almost a hundred surgeries. You don't think we've prayed for this?
Pray for her legs to grow back. But for whatever reason He says, no, but you're to be productive. You'll be productive right here, right now. and be responsive in this. When Gracie lost her legs, Uh back in the 90s.
After trying to get them saved for so many times, not get them saved in salvation sense, save the legs. She didn't have her legs go forward at an invitation. That was not it. I'm not mean to mock that. It just sounded kind of funny the way that came out.
But she was trying to have her legs. repaired and they just couldn't and finally she had to just give them up. And what she decided to do at that point was to create a prosthetic limb outreach to her fellow amputees over in West Africa. We've been doing this for two years. 20 years, 20 plus years, putting legs on amputees.
Being productive on it, knowing that one day It says, They that wait upon the Lord shall do what? Run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint, mount up with wings like eagles. Do you believe that? Do you believe that Gracie's going to run and not grow weary? And walk and not grow faint?
Scripture says they that wait upon the Lord will do that. It just doesn't say how long we have to wait.
So what do we do while we wait?
Well, in the meantime, Gracie's waiting on that. and she's putting legs on her fellow amputees. I learned a A lesson from that. We didn't wait for her circumstances to improve. Before we started, being busy about the things of God.
Right now. Right in the middle of this. By the way, if you want to see more about what we do with that, with prosthetics, we take used limbs too, by the way. We'll collect them. If you've got one from a family member that's passed away or a kid that's outgrown them, we'll take them.
Go out to standingwithhope.com. and see what God does with somebody who is productive while they're waiting on the healing. This is Peter Rosenberg. This is Truth Talk Live. We'll be back with your cause in just a moment.
You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. We're talking about prayer.
How do you pray? What do you pray? What do you do as you pray? How do you Function. Do you just put everything on hold?
Do you sit around and wait and wring your hands? Or do you get busy with the things of the kingdom and of your life and the stewardship you have right now? What does that look like for you? How did you learn this? All those kinds of things.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. Dennis in Richmond, Indiana. Dennis Welcome to the program. What are your thoughts on this?
Well, uh you caught my attention. Um I'll be honest if My wife and I have been struggling with uh her illness for about Five months. Um please. She's really become weak and hardly can hardly walk or stand. And in my prayers, I have learned to As late Do a little bit of both of what you mentioned, waiting.
You know, we. The Bible tells us, wait patiently for the Lord. And I'll be honest, I've been waiting. But then I've been really seeking I've been really seeking God's direction too and as to you know, where do we go from here? And how it's really been helpful to me to to just wait on God.
not just sitting by hoping, but just waiting. knowing that he's going to He's going to do a wonderful work when That'll be m marvelous in both of our eyes. What does that look like to you waiting? When you say you're waiting on God, what does that look like to you? I mean, you're not just sitting in a quiet, easy chair all day long.
No, I'm not No, I'm I I am doing my best to take care of her. because of her weakness. And that that really that really does involve a lot of my time. you know, just just helping her with different things because of her weakness. But in in that in that Fine.
I've just been able to really search my own heart. And, you know, just seeking God's direction. one step at a time. That's what I see waiting, part part of waiting. It is, but you're busy being a caregiver while you do it.
And but you're not You're not busy for busy's sake and you're not. You're going about the things that are entrusted to you right now. And Are you in an in a a mindset of saying, Okay, Lord, I trust you. in your tongue But you have entrusted me with my wife to care for her in this. And I'm going to do this unto you as I wait for you.
Two. reveal your purposes in this at whatever level you want me to. That's exactly what I'm Said to myself, I do trust you. And I believe he knows. I do.
Well, we both. We're both good. Following Christ each day, and I have. just settled it where I trust him and he, whatever the outcome is, it's what's best for us. at this time of our lives.
Has there been a moment in this when your perspective changed that you could look back to, or did it just over time kind of start to shift? Or is there a defining moment when you realize something's different here? It wasn't so much a deciding moment, but I'll be honest, I was looking for you know, a complete recovery. But I have learned that We just have to let go. of of the situation And I just pray that it's in your hands, and whatever you have for us is.
As always, the best. It's always the best for us and for his glory. And that's right now, that's where I'm at. Is there a particular scripture? that comes to your mind.
when it gets a bit gnarly for you that you just kind of hang on to? That anchors you?
Well, there's Uh There was Uh I I can quote it. you know, in every situation Give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. And then Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. Present a request to God. And those, I'll be honest, I've just been.
rehearsing, going over those and just leaving it there And knowing that Everything is in He's in complete control. of every situation. When you say those things and you're basically preaching to yourself, which I think is marvelous, I mean, scripture is filled with those who preach to themselves. One of my all-time favorite passages in scripture is David at Ziklag. Do you know that story?
Yes, yes. His own men were going to stone him. And they picked up rocks and because all of their families, their possessions, livestock, everything had been stolen while they'd been out following David around going on some raids. They came back to their camp and everything was gone. And they were going to stone him.
And it said, David encouraged himself for the Lord. I mean, I would imagine he was praying at that moment, but his own men were picking up rocks. And he preached to himself. And it sounds like you're preaching to yourself to remind yourself that there are kingdom things going on here. Don't always feel that way, and you can't always see it, and it's sometimes pretty discouraging.
And there are moments when you heard this quote. I'm gonna see what you think about this, Dennis. I heard this quote not too terribly long ago that sometimes. Even a sigh. It's a prayer.
I believe that because God.
Well, Jesus is interceding for us, and He with the Holy Spirit. His spirit bears witness with our spirit and You know, we know that Sometimes Words just fall short. in different times. But God knows God knows where we are. And he He can pick up, like you say, even a sigh.
And um Take care of it. What does it say in Romans about the spirit? interceding for us with groans, that we can't even we can't even understand the groans And as somebody who is taking care of his wife, you understand this to watch somebody struggle. You've grown, haven't you, in your prayers? Oh, I have, I'll admit.
It's uh stretched me But Like I always The Bible tells us it's for our good and his glory. You know the uh the old hymn um Sweet hour of prayer. Oh, yeah. You ever seen that hymn? William Wadsworth wrote that.
I'm going to hold on a second. I'm going to step over here to the Key Giver keyboard and play the spell. I love there's one line. He says, In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief. Do you know anything about seasons of distress and grief, Dennis?
I've gone through I'll be honest.
some through this time of you know just Just seemingly five continuous months of Yes. not knowing what the outcome.
Well, I'll tell you, I'll let you go.
Well, listen, you've been a remarkable encouragement, Dennis, and I thank you for taking the time to call and share. Your story, and you know, I do a radio program for caregivers. It's on this network on Saturday afternoons. Oh, okay. And I've been doing it.
I've been on the air with for fellow caregivers for a long time. And my podcast is as well. There's almost I'm on the Truth Network carries my podcast. And um It's uh it's called Hope for the Caregiver. And I would encourage you to go out and listen to it.
It's free. There's almost a thousand episodes. And they said that when I started doing this years and years and years ago, They said, Oh, I don't think you'll be able to fill up an hour. You'll never be able to do it. And here I am, you know.
Almost 14 years later, and we're still just getting started because the things that we learn in this crucible of caring for someone else, we start to see things in Scripture that we would have never seen before. And I got one piece of encouragement I'd like to leave with you, Dennis, before we go to the break, and I'm going to let you go here in just a moment. But I got one piece of encouragement for you. I struggled for a long time as I took care of my wife, who suffers tremendously and has a broken body. She's a wounded woman.
from a terrible car accident back in 1983. And people used to say to me all the time, just Jesus understands, just trust Jesus, give it to Jesus, give it to God. He understands. I didn't have any idea what they meant. I mean, I couldn't process it.
What does that look like? And I thought, how does Jesus? I looked through all the scripture and I didn't see one place where a man was taking care of his wife with 100 surgeries and both legs amputated over 40-something years. I've seen no place in Scripture like that. until I step back from the entirety of Scripture.
and looked at the whole thing, and I realized our Saviour, who is the bridegroom. And the church is his bride, his people. Our Savior is in love with a wounded bride. He is the ultimate caregiver of a wounded bride. And Dennis, I want you to remember that as you take care of your bride.
that you have a Savior who truly does understand this. He is desperately in love with his own bride that is wounded, and that's us. He loves us with a love that we can't even process, and he understands exactly what you're going through. And he understands exactly what I'm going through. I speak fluent caregiver.
I've learned to speak fluent caregiver over the years. But, Dennis, It's his native tongue. That's who he is. And I hope that is encouraging to you. And I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to call and share your story with us, okay?
Yeah. Thank you. Yes, sir. This is Peter Rosenberger, and we're talking about prayer and what it does to us. What does it look like to pray, as the hymn says, in seasons of distress and grief?
My soul has often found relief, And oft escaped the tempter's snare By thy return, sweet hour of prayer. Have you prayed that? Have you liked this? What happens to you in these moments? What has changed in the way you address these things?
What does that look like? These are all questions I think are worthy of us coming together as believers to build one another up.
Sometimes we feel like we pray in isolation, but we don't. We are connected, and it's called the communion of the saints. We're in Christ. We're in all this together with Him. And that is Truth Talk Live.
This is Peter Rosenberger. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger, 866, 34 Truth 866.
348-7884. We've been talking about prayer and What changes in us as we pray. It is an extraordinary thing to be able to pray to the Almighty.
Sometimes I don't know about you, but I have taken that for granted. And there are times when I don't know what to say.
Sometimes I just go to the keyboard and just play because I don't really have the words. Hans Christian Andersen, the great fable writer. wrote once, um, where words fail, music speaks. There's um When we don't know what to say, sometimes there's a great story, by the way, of a woman back in the early 1800s. Um She she had a child that died, a little baby.
And it was such a... difficult, difficult time. and a friend of the family came over. to the home. Set at the piano.
and played. Not he was a famous composer, not that he played some of his pieces. that she knew he just improvised and just played for her. To Just minister to her. And He sat there quietly.
I mean, just he didn't say a word, he just played. And then, after about 45 minutes, an hour or so, I don't know how long he played. He got up. Took her hand, he squeezed her hand, nodded at her. and walked out, let himself out the door.
Never said a word. Just played for. In her distress he just played for her. That was Beethoven. And I I thought, what a what a remarkable way of ministry.
And sometimes prayers look a lot different. when we're in agony. and we don't have to come up with the right words. I remember I was praying before Gracie went in for her 91st surgery last year. She had 11 straight in a row.
We were supposed to just have two, and it just mushroomed out. And as we ended up having 98, but as she went into her 91st, and I didn't know we had seven more left to go, we didn't find that out until afterwards. It just things just kept going wrong. But I'm in pre-op with her. And Um she's in her gurney, getting ready for surgery.
And I'm sitting there's about this time last year. And I just mumbled out, Lord, 91 is just too much. It's just too much, Lord. And I somehow finished the prayer and mumbled out an amen or something. You know how sometimes you get that way when you pray.
Well, maybe you don't, but I do. And She didn't even really open her eyes after I finished the prayer. She just said quietly from her gurney. Ninety-one is not too many. It's however many he says is necessary.
That's an exceptional way of responding to that when you say. And I was humbled by that because I thought, you know, I got it wrong. And um Maybe I'm You know, the only one that's done that. But If I am, I am. But I've learned through this that I don't always know what to pray.
But we are commanded to pray. More than that, We have the privilege of praying. And our Father hears our prayers. We can't understand the way he does certain things. We never will.
There is nothing that's going to be explained to me On this earth, that in my limited mind, that I can smack my forehead and say, Oh, now I understand. I'm so glad I understand that now. Why she had to go through 98 surgeries and both of her legs amputated in pain every day since Reagan's first term. And that makes me feel better. Nothing, nothing on this earth is going to do that, but I wasn't built for this earth, and neither were you.
And when we are in his kingdom. in glory with him. Every tear is going to be wiped away. And we'll see him as he is. But I I So when I look at this, I have changed in the way I approach prayer.
I don't know about you, but I have. And I would be Very much like I started off the program with talking about Gavin Newsom. We just got to get through this, get rid of the bad thing, and then we can be productive and live our life. Lord, just take this away from me so I can go out and live my life. And God says, No.
He said it to Paul. My grace is sufficient. Gracie gave up her legs and then started a prosthetic limb ministry. And I've watched So many amputees stand and walk. Because she trusted God with her limb loss.
This doesn't make sense, God. And yet she trusted him with it. The clinic director we work with over there just sent me a note. Last week, and he said, Send me a new picture of Gracie. I want to show them where she is now because she's just now starting to walk better.
Now, they had to straighten her back, she was bent over almost 40. Almost 50 degrees, but 48 degrees. and they had to rework her spine and everything else. It's been a huge process for her. over these last four or five years.
And she couldn't stand up straight at all.
Well, now she is. and she's starting to walk, and she walked yesterday seven hundred and fifty steps.
Now that To you and me, that's not that big of a deal. To her, that's a very big deal. And she's walking it straight. She did it with her physical therapist yesterday. And so his name is Moses, and he sent me a note that says, Send me a picture of Gracie.
I want to show it to the patients. And and I did, and it was a picture of me taking her to the um clinic down the the valley the other day and she had to get some uh imaging done. And she's standing there, she's standing straight. She wears shorts. You can clearly see her prosthetic legs, but she's straight.
And she was smiling as just as Beautiful as the morning. I mean, it was and it was amazing because I got her down there like at nine o'clock, which is normally that she doesn't move that fast at nine. That has nothing to do with her disability, that's just her. She's never been a morning person.
So I sent this picture.
Well, then Moses turned around and sent me a picture of a patient that came in on Monday. And her name is Esther. which is kind of interesting right near here during Purim. And She's missing both legs. And he showed her picture, Gracie's picture, to Esther.
to encourage her. And Esther's getting some new legs. And I showed Esther's picture to Gracie, two women, both both of them missing both legs, separated by you know, half a world away. And it was just kind of a poignant moment that God did not answer our prayer to save Gracie's legs. But there are a lot of people walking.
And knowing about the things of God that Well I it did. Evidently that was that was something that he purposed. And we get to play a part in it. And one day will understand it. But we trust him.
Until then. We trust him. And in Genesis 15, Abraham believed God. and it was accounted to him as righteousness, he took him at his word. Do we take him at his word?
And you remember that old hymn back in the 50s? Stuart Hamlin wrote it. By the way, he ran for president. I don't know if you knew this or not, but the guy that wrote this, let me go back over here to the caregiver keyboard. It is no secret what God can do.
You remember that? It is no secret. What God can do, what He's done for others, He'll do for you with arms wide open, He'll pardon you. It is no secret what God can do. And I think that's a prayer.
That would shape my life. It is no secret. We've seen it. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come. We do not have to get this adversary or this.
this challenge lifted from us for us to be productive for the kingdom. We don't have to be like that. We can be productive for the kingdom from our hospital bed. We can be productive for the kingdom with no legs. I've seen it done.
are broken sinful laughs He uses to his glory. I don't know how he does it. I don't know why he does it. I'm just grateful that he does do it. It is no secret what God can do.
What he's done for others he'll do for you.
So, as you think about this, as we go through our life and you pray and Look at the things that you're asking for. Look at the way you're conducting. Remember what Dennis says: he is busy taking care of his wife as he prays. For God to intervene in this somehow, but trusting him and being industrious and faithful to the task in front of him. And that's what we're called to do as believers as we pray.
Waiting on the Lord doesn't mean sitting in a dark room somewhere with our hands clasped. It means I'm waiting on the Lord. And I'm taking care of my wife as I do it. I'm on this program. ere's I do it.
I am going about the business of all that we do with our work in West Africa. as I do it. And I'm asking you to consider the same thing. Is that what's going on in your life? Do take a moment.
to go out to Standing With Hope. StandingwithHope.com And you can see, particularly if you have a used prosthetic limbs, please don't throw those things away. Because they go to a prison down in Arizona. We work with a company called Core Civic out of Nashville, where we used to live. and inmates volunteered to disassemble the leg.
So that we can take the parts All the components, the foot, the knee, the pylon, screws, adapters, all that kind of stuff, we can reuse that. We can't reuse the socket.
So Esther, for example, is going to get a brand new custom-made socket, but she'll use a foot or a pylon. They spend Recycled. and she'll be able to walk with this. She'll get a brand new liner and sleeve. We have a bunch of those just sent over there.
But we need those used limbs. If you have a friend that had a child that's an amputee that outgrew that limb, we always need pediatric parts. Because we've got a lot of kids that we've treated over the years, so we always need that. And you can see all of that at standingwithhope.com and why you're there. If you look at just look at what we do.
And if you say, you know what, I want to be a part of this. I can't go to Africa, but you know what? I can help do this. And you can donate right there. Gracie, when you envisioned doing a prosthetic limb outreach, did you ever think?
that inmates would help you do that. Not in a million years. What does it mean? I would have ever thought about that. When you go to the facility run by Core Civic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country that you put out the plea for.
And they're disassembling. You see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs. And arms, too. And arms. When you see all this, what does that do to you?
Makes me cry. Because I see the smiles on their faces and I know. I know what it is to be locked someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out. Of course, being in the hospital so much and so long. When I go in there, then I always get the same thing every time.
These men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one man said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that? Parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea. I thought we were still in the 1800s and 1700s.
I mean, you know, I thought of peg leg, I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of. Titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and C legs and all that. I never thought about that. I had no idea.
Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith-based programs that Core Civic offers? I think they're just absolutely... Awesome. And I think every Prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because. return rate.
of the men that are involved in this particular faith-based program. and the other ones like it, but I know about this one. Are just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much. That test so much.
about Just, that doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken. to help other broken people be whole. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limb, whether from a loved one who passed away, Yeah. You know, somebody who outgrew them, you've donated some of your own.
What's the best place for them to do? How do they do that? Where do they find it? Please go to stanningwithhope.com/slash recycle, and that's all it takes. It'll give you all the information on the what's that website again?
StanningwithHope.com/slash. Slash recycle. Thanks, Crazy. Take My hair. Lean on me.
We will stay.
