Prayer Worrier Or Warrior

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This is the Truth Network. The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.

So how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here now.

Welcome to Masculine Journey. And once again, Sam Main is not at the helm, but he is on the phone, so I probably need to behave. No, you don't. He can't get you. He can't.

Well, but he's coming back, though. That's the problem. This is. I'm Danny Marsh and no, I don't have a clue who I am.

They need to put the student driver sign above the studio. We're glad you're with us and we are going to talk a little bit about prayer this week. But before we do that, Robby, we've got a few events coming up, don't we? We do. We do.

We have an entrenchment that is that it's absolutely F.R.E.E. free as long as you're fasting. It's still free. You know, they're asking that you make a donation for food, but it's free if, you know, obviously you want to come. It's a weekend adventure. We haven't done that before. Starts out on a Friday evening and all day Saturday in Reedsville.

And again, you go to masculinejourney.org. It starts on September 30th, if I'm not mistaken, ends on October 1st. Yeah. And after that weekend before Thanksgiving, Jim, what's happening?

Weekend before Thanksgiving. I do believe that would be our boot camp. It would. And that's the long version of the entrenchment. You get four days instead of two.

And it's only $199 and worth, oh, I'm telling you, it's a life-changing $199, believe me. Absolutely. Well, we haven't had anybody to my knowledge that's ever asked for their money back.

There's a couple who probably thought about it. I'm just saying. But you came back. I did. I did come back.

So anyway, keep your receipts. The topic this week is something I think God laid on my heart is talking about prayer. And more specifically, the intimacy of prayer and how that affects our hearts and how it adversely and positively at times, because our perception of who we are is kind of where I've gone with this. And so we're going to jump right in. And Sam, you want to set up your clip? Yeah, it's from the TV show The King of Queens. And I never really did watch that show very much, but I caught this portion of this episode years ago. And it just struck me as being very funny and very true in a lot of ways. But what's happened is Doug and Carrie have been to church that morning and they've learned about prayer and they're learning how to use or not use prayer. So let's just step in. Carrie's been praying for a pair of shoes.

Yeah, they're black with these silver strappy things, but they're a little out of my praise range. So, you know, you know, you can't pray for shoes. Why not? Because you're not supposed to pray for petty things. Well, at church today I prayed for my raise and I got that.

That's what you were praying for? Okay, you obviously have no idea what you're doing here. An extra hundred bucks a week says I do. Okay, how can I explain this to you? Let's pretend I'm God. Well, gee, I'd love to end world hunger, but I'm too busy looking for cheap shoes for Carrie.

Oh, well. Okay, you know what? I believe that you can pray for the important things and you can also pray for the not so important things. God's a pretty bright guy. He can figure it out. Well, that's how you think it works.

Yeah, that's how I think it works. You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't even know how to pray right.

You're kneeling by the bed like a five-year-old. I will pray any way I want to. Fine. Pray the way you want.

Well, I look like a moron. What is your problem? My problem is you're using God as your own personal genius. I am not.

You are too. You think that if you want a pair of shoes, all you got to do is pray for them and poof, they're new shoes. Well, that's not the way it works, okay? I did not do anything wrong. Once again, let's pretend I'm God. Okay, you know what? Don't do God again.

You do about the worst God I've ever heard. You know what? That's it. You're done. You're done praying. It's over. Excuse me?

Yeah, that's right. I forbid it. Oh, forbid it? Okay. You know what? I just thought of a few more things I want to pray for. Oh, really?

What, is there a lipstick out there that you actually don't have? Well, you know what? Try praying with this in the background. Oh, look at that.

Dallas. Oh, yeah. Bring it. Yeah. Okay, you know what?

All right. I will just use my prayers to cancel out your prayers. Oh, bring it. Well, I'm bringing it. You're going down.

Sam? Yeah, that clip just cracked me up, but it was so true in so many ways that we, you know, is it okay to pray for the small things? Is it okay to pray about things like that? It's always a good question, but when I think about relationship and I think about friendship, and when I'm talking to my friends on the phone, we talk about the little things.

Sometimes we talk about the big things, but we also talk about the little things. And I do think it's okay to share your heart with God. They do it on a very humorous side, but I think God cares about what your heart cares about.

It doesn't mean you're going to get those things the way you think you are, but sharing your heart with God is never a bad thing. Yeah, they kind of redefine the word prayer warrior there at the end, I think. So battling back and forth, canceling each other out.

Going right at it. Kind of a new way of looking at that. So the good clip, I enjoyed that one. As soon as I heard that clip, I thought of decades ago. This was in Charlotte when Independence Boulevard had a lot of traffic lights, and we were driving down the road. I was driving down the road riding with my father. I said, man, you've made every single light. So I prayed for him. And I said, what? And I kind of mimicked what he said.

Well, that's a trivial thing to be praying for. And my father came back with some real wise words. He said, and I said, that's a real small thing to take to God.

And he said, for God, everything is a small thing. And that solved it. That is pretty good. Well, Jim, while you got the mic there, why don't we set up your clip?

Alrighty. This is a, well, this is for me the number one war movie, because it's very different, but it shows real bravery. It's about Desmond Dawes.

It's Hacksaw Ridge. And he is a conscientious objector. He's up with guys that are trying to hold a plot of land that the Japanese are attacking viciously.

And at the end of the battle, the first battle here, he's the only one left up there that isn't wounded. And he is talking to God about it, and we'll kick it off there. Hey! Help me get him down! Help me get him down! Come on! Let's move! Come on!

I can't help him, buddy. He's gone. No. Come on! We've got to get out of here!

What is it you want of me? I don't understand. I can't hear you. Alright. I got you. Are you in? Yeah.

I can't see you. Just be quiet. Hold still now. I got you. Hold tight. There you go. Try now. Try now.

I thought he was blind. Shh. Shh. Keep it down. Can you walk?

I don't know. We've got to get out of here. Come on. Come on.

This man stays with me. I'll fix you up. Are you ready to get out of here?

I sure am. Please, Lord. Help me get one more. Help me get one more.

Please. Help me get one more. One more. Help me get one more.

Help me get one more. Desmond in this is the only medic left for the entire battalion. They've taken such heavy casualties. And it's sort of hard to hear in this clip, but when he is asking God to speak to him, it's a human voice that he hears. It's somebody calling out for a medic, and he is the only medic there. And ultimately, through his prayers, through his bravery and his dedication and his reliance on God, and these prayers, which he's doing constantly through the time he's up there, he saves probably at least 75 men from being killed by the Japanese.

Like I said, overnight he was the only one up on the plateau that wasn't wounded, and ultimately he was. But it is an amazing example of following God by being in that close relationship in a very difficult situation. And that's kind of the heart of the topic, Jim, is that it's a great movie, that intimacy, that coming to him as a child and not a beggar.

I think I've prayed as a beggar lots of times in my life, an outsider looking in just hoping somebody's got my attention up there. But ultimately, God is inviting us to his throne of grace, and he says, come boldly as a child, and that changes my perspective on how I pray and when I pray. And ultimately, I think that's the goal. Boldly as his child, we are beloved sons and daughters of the creator of the universe, and he wants nothing more than to spend time with us. As I was looking at the topic this morning and thinking, a phrase came to me. It says, instead of trying to earn his favor, I need to yearn for his presence. So that's kind of where we're trying to go here, I think.

Anybody got anything? We've got about a minute before the break. Well, I'll put one in for my wife here, because she, and now I forget who she was quoting, but which is more important, prayer or Bible study?

And that was asked of somebody that was wise, and their response was, which is more important, breathing in or breathing out? And that hit me pretty hard this evening, too. Well, we'll be back after the break. While you're taking a little break, go to masculinejourney.org and register for the boot camp and the entrenchment, and check us out.

And you've got five more seconds to say we'll see you on the other side. One of the things that's been a true joy to me is having my sons go with me to boot camps and watching them get an understanding that I wished I would have had at their age. It took me several years, and I'm still probably learning it a little bit as we go. But watching them get a good foothold into manhood and understanding what's important, what their role is, and how to stay away from the enemy, to receive healing and restoration in a way that you love on others. Register today at masculinejourney.org. One of my favorite things about boot camp, well, the favorite thing about boot camp is every time I go, I encounter God. And as anyone that has encountered God knows, generally speaking, it's nothing we expect. A real encounter with God out of the blue. He knew what I needed, I knew what I wanted, and those two were rarely the same thing.

Register today at masculinejourney.org. Somebody's praying, I can feel it. Somebody's praying for me. Mighty hands are guiding me to protect me from what I can't see.

Lord, I believe. That was Ricky Skaggs and Somebody's Praying. And the song means so much to me because my dear friend, Jeff Burrow, who lives down in Flint Hill, North Carolina, he used to sing that song. It just makes something in my heart. And if you don't like Ricky Skaggs, you probably need prayer. I'm just saying.

Not that I'm a fan at all. But anyway, we are talking about prayer. And we're throwing some clips around and throwing some ideas around. And so I'm going to set my clip up while I've got the mic. Of course, I'm hosting, so I've got the mic regardless. Nobody is not passing back and forth if you sit between Rodney and Jim.

It's like a tennis match. But anyway, the clip is from chosen. And it's a scene where Jesus has come back from the Roman soldiers took him in. And he's come back and he went to pray. And evidently, the disciples were a little upset because he didn't check in with them first. You know, can you imagine, you know, a Jesus and you'll hear the thing. But ultimately, what they lead into is they're inquiring about his prayer time and what he's praying. And the line that we all know so well out of the gospels is Lord teaches to pray.

And he goes into the end of the prayer. So what were you doing out here? Praying, John. Remember, there is a big event to prepare for. Rabbi, with all due respect, you couldn't have told us that you were back first?

You were grabbed by Roman soldiers with weapons. We were all worried sick. Did I not tell you that I would be back and to keep planning? We're all going to have to learn how to do this, regardless of what's happening, good or bad. Things are only going to get more difficult. You can't just shut down when you're fearful.

And what are you going to do when I'm no longer here? Yes, we are still figuring this out. Yes, but we can do better. We will do better.

Rabbi, Philip said the baptizer gave his followers a prayer in addition to the daily traditional prayers. Perhaps you could do the same. Yes, I'd like to learn more about what you're saying when you're out alone. Now, now you're behaving like true students.

This is what I like to see. Prayer is the first step in getting the mind and the heart right. It's why you see me go to it so often. So teach us to pray like you do.

Face it. When we pray, we want to be sure to first start with acknowledging our Father in Heaven and His greatness. So you can say, our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. And we always want to be sure to do God's will and not our own. So we say, your kingdom come, your will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven, and just as we have. Yeah, they were challenging, hey, you should have checked in with us. He was Jesus. It made me think about a lot of different things. But it made me reminisce a little bit and think about, had I ever had anybody personally teach me to pray?

And I don't know that I had. I think I just kind of learned in church and probably learned some stuff I probably didn't need to learn, to be honest. You know, some people pray and they say, Lord, 500 times.

And, you know, those kind of things. But I wondered that, you know, about, you know, us around this circle or, you know, in any given circle is, you know, has anybody had somebody teach you to pray? I won't say that I've had anybody teach me to pray, but there's some things I believe about the way we ought to pray.

I like the KISS principle. Keep it simple, stupid. I'm good at the stupid part. And in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 7, it says, When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

You can talk yourself into a big mess and get lost. And who do we think we are that we're going to impress God? You know, I mean, are we going to say, God, listen to my vocabulary? I studied hard. And I want you to be duly impressed with what I have to say.

That ain't getting me past the ceiling. All we need is a simple, simple approach to God. Oftentimes, you know, to me it's like, God, you know what I need.

I don't need to try to tell you what I need. And another thing that I was told by someone that I respect highly, and they said, you know, pray for God's best, not for specific outcomes. Because, again, he knows.

And he's the one that's going to make the difference, not me. Thank you, Harold. I'm glad he understands Southern slang, because I use a lot of that. He invented it.

He invented it, yeah. Yeah, I think, you know, there's different little models that, you know, you look at how to pray. You know, Acts and other things that are little acronyms for ways you might pray. And sometimes it's very helpful for me to think through that to have a pattern. But most of the time, for me, I just want to be relaxed and really trying to find my own true need or somebody else's need. Because that's what's usually a lot easier for me. When I know somebody else has a problem or trouble, I can pick that up and go to that. But like Harold said, keeping it simple. I've seen some people that I just admire the way that they can say so much with so few words. And then I've also been very, very impressed by people that, wow, that was kind of a long prayer. But actually, it didn't seem long at all while you were listening. Because it was just, there's very intentional things that they're talking about are coming from their heart.