Seasons Of Prayer After Hours

Hi, I'm Joanne Dikner, Memaw with It's Storytime Memaw, an answered prayer for stories that point children to God on the Truth Network for kids. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it, share it. But most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. So we are so entrenched that other members couldn't even get to us today.

We're talking about a very deep, deep, deep subject. We got so far down the tomorrow that we lost several people behind us. I don't want to mention any names, but Sam and David. Did I mention Sam and David? Rodney. Rodney, yes. And Danny. Daniel.

Oh, Daniel's son. That's so hard, man. But anyway, we got an awesome topic. And I really love, love, love where we've gone with it so far, Andy, and the regular show. So you may want to go back and listen to that on the podcast. But tell us about our season of prayer.

And this isn't, we had fun, we had seasons. No, I couldn't wait till you busted it out there. In my Christian life and as I walk through the years, I'm still, I'm so far where I want. I don't feel like I pray enough. But there's connection in my prayers to God. I know that he hears me.

I experience his presence. But that wasn't always that way. There were some dry prayers that just hit the ceiling. And a lot of it because I had a wrong perception of who God was.

I didn't really necessarily see him as Father. It talks about come to God and ask for wisdom in James. To abrade us not, which I always struggle with that phrase. But it means who's not there ready to just beat you up. Who's there not ready to reproach you or whatever. He's there to hear you. And no matter what you're going through, if you're going there and asking wisdom, that breaks his heart right there. He was like, okay, they're wanting wisdom for me.

They're not trying to do it in themselves. And it positions you to actually hear from him, receive from him, and get his help on a situation. So I'm going to replay the Patch Adams clip that we got from, because we ended the last show with Kenny and this clip. I want to play it again with a little bit of your ballcard experience kicked in here. All right.

Please. What's the answer? Oh, you're another one of those bright young fellows who always know the right answer. Welcome to real life. How many do you see?

Four fingers. Look at me. You're focusing on the problem. If you focus on the problem, you can't see the solution.

Never focus on the problem. Look at me. How many do you see?

Look beyond the fingers. How many do you see? Eight. Eight. Eight.

Yes, yes. Eight's a good answer. See what no one else sees. See what everyone else chooses not to see. How to feel, how to conform to your laziness. See the whole world anew each day.

The truth is, you're well on the way. You didn't see something here besides a crazy, bitter old man. He wouldn't have come in the first place. He didn't come in the first place, and he didn't relate to the old man until he patched, which is later how he got his identity.

He patched his cup, which now the old man wanted to share his wisdom, Andy, and that wisdom has everything to do with your ballcards. Well, it goes back to where he's looking at the problem. He's looking, and he's only seeing four, and there's a shadow, and it's getting in the way. There's really eight. What happens is if he stops looking at the four fingers and starts to look at the face of the master, as the case would be, the man that's asking the question, you can see the shadow of the other four fingers. Right, right.

In addition to the four fingers he's holding up, and so he comes up with twice the answer of what originally he had. But again, the idea of if you just focus on the fingers on the ballcards that we talked about in the first show. Yeah, I'll say a little bit about that. So, me and mom had this back and forth back in the day when I was really into ballcards, loved my Cardinals, wanted to complete sets and all this. Mom, are we going to the store to get ballcards? Mom, mom. And her standard answer was, we'll see.

We'll see. That was like, leave me alone. And there was really not a lot of relationship in it. I mean, she was good and took care of all my needs, but I had one goal in mind, and it was those ballcards.

It wasn't anything to do with her, other than her being the vehicle to get to it. And that's what we do a lot of times. We even come to God in a holy attitude, God, fix my problem. You know, fix my sin or whatever.

God, God, please, God, God, God. And it's not anything of God, I just want to know you. And when I look into your face, when I see your face, I will get, the problem will be solved. But it won't be because I'm looking at the problem, it'll be because I'm looking in your face. Same concept of just whether we want the goods and the results and the answers, or we actually want the person who creates it all or makes it available. Which actually, you know, it's kind of neat that the whole idea of there's a light that's creating the shadow that's in his face, right? That is giving you more than you, A, get the relationship.

But through the relationship, the problem is always solved, too. Not necessarily the way you thought it may be, but just in the relationship itself, like where you wanted to get to, or whatever he's going to show you in the process. Which, obviously, that leads us to where you really wanted to go, which is in this clip at Woodlawn, or however you want to set that up. I will, but before we do, I also wanted to bring a scripture in here. You know, we've heard, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Well, what Jesus is saying there, the things that would be added to, is all the things that Gentiles seek. You know, your stuff, your provision, all those things. And I have found the more I journey through this life, the more that I truly do that, I put his kingdom first. I'm not perfect or whatever, but my desire is his kingdom and not mine. And the more that I do that, that other stuff really does just to happen. It just, you know, you're able to focus more on the kingdom, the kingdom aspects, righteousness. All righteousness to me is all the brokenness that you found in your life, let him come in and heal that and find out what was going on through all that brokenness. But in doing all that, all that other stuff becomes immaterial. And you may not receive it at the level you used to think you should or whatever, but it becomes less relevant.

But he's still meeting your needs, there's no doubt about that aspect of it. But on this clip, it's from Woodlawn, and I haven't seen the movie, but I like this clip. God's taken me back talking about seasons of prayer. I've prayed the Lord's Prayer in the past in my life. And a lot of it was from a position of not really seeing God as Father.

And I've talked extensively on the show about that. But, you know, that first part, our Father, which art in heaven, you know, just understanding who God is as our Father is key. And it positions us for everything else. Well, in this clip, it's from, it was during the 60s or maybe 70s, they're starting to integrate the schools black and white, kind of like Remember the Titans. And there's fighting going on between, you know, just within a single locker room.

But this is, that team's going on and they're playing another high school team. And through all this division, one of the coaches, a chaplain asked the coach, wanted to pray before the game, I think it is. But anyway, it's just really, it's about a group saying the Lord's Prayer together, and I'll speak to it more. I think it's kind of important to know that what happens is you'll hear the chaplain begin to pray. But of course, the school administration doesn't want this open praying.

They don't want to invite trouble. So they actually pull the plug on the guy. And so he's in the middle of the Lord's Prayer and then see what God does. This is taking place in Birmingham, Alabama, where the church got bombed and where Martin Luther King got thrown in jail. Right in Harold's neighborhood. A lot of bad stuff. Let's go. Shorty. Pray for us, Abe.

Really? What are we doing? Give him credit where credit is due. Will you pray with me? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. I will be with thee.

Amen. So in this season of prayer that this guy was going through, I mean, it brought people together. The Lord's Prayer is just powerful if you really pray it with a heart of relationship. And it, you know, like I say, it's really came back into my life stronger because it's so simple and so relational.

And it's flexible, too. I used to want to pray a big, long list of stuff, which is good. But sometimes I believe, again, it says God knows what we have need of before we even ask it. And even when you're praying for those spiritual things, missionaries, you know, spiritual things against evil, whatever it may be, God knows all that. But just that surrender to him in that in that basic prayer, that prayer, that's what, two or three paragraphs. Jesus said, this is how you do it. And a lot of times we just kind of abandon that.

But that's how you do it. And sometimes I'll start out and I'll be hallowed by thy name and not get that much further. It takes, that's the majority of my time because God's name is so holy. And so there's so much there in just finding out who God is. There's names of God that you can go through that gives, reflects his character and who he is.

When you start out that way, it changes the rest of it even. But I guess the thing is, we all have seasons of prayer. We pray different ways.

I've noticed that through my life. And hopefully as we evolve deeper into that relationship, I know John and the Wild Heart team have just come off a series, four sessions of deeper prayer. And there's, he talks about it like in Ezekiel where, you know, Ezekiel went up to the, I guess, like the knee length and then the waist and then up to the chest as we get into deeper in God. And I think that's what God's desire is, is to take us through that. But sometimes all God wants to hear is a simple heart cry, God help me.

And this is the whole idea. There's so much more to prayer. Listening is so key to it. But, you know, a lot of times we just get petition and supplication, but we don't get into thankfulness.

We don't get into worship or adoration. They're all aspects of prayer. And it's just identifying where you are and what season you are and then asking God to take you to the next. I know I have a deeper place to go that I want to go.

I mean, I listen to Robby talk about it and what he's done for years and it's kind of shaming, actually. I think my life is so simple. But I know that it's real to me and what God has me at right now.

And there will be times where I'm deeper. Robby's ahead of me, you know, but, and others are ahead of me. But that's not, it used to be that I felt like I had to compete with somebody.

How crazy is that? I got to compete in prayer. That's how we can be at times. So a year ago, you know, this Our Father idea is more than amazing whenever I hear it. Because for years and years and years, the very first thing I always go to before I do any other kind of praying on my list is always the Lord's Prayer. And so about a year ago, just be right at a year ago, I was speaking at a car show in Atlanta. And I went up by myself because Tammy's mother was real sick and she couldn't come. So I wasn't used to that. And I get into the hotel room the night before and I've got to deliver a, essentially a gospel presentation with a bunch of people that came to a car show that are going to give you five minutes, right? And you've got to somehow or another tell them that Jesus is the answer in five minutes.

And I never do that, obviously, with a lot of prayer. And so I go to bed, you know, studying all these scriptures, trying to think, you know, like, oh my gosh, you know, this is what we need to do. Well, about two in the morning, man, I have the most crazy, erotic dream. I was horrible. I mean, like, horrible. And I wake up from this thing and I'm like, God.

Where'd you go? Like, really? I mean, here I am. I've got to deliver this message and I'm in a place where I shouldn't be. And, you know, this is horrible.

This is awful. And of course, I just immediately go to my go to. And the second those words came out of my mouth, our father, Jesus says to me. Yep, it's our father.

And I saw something about that that I'd never seen before. It brought me tears to my eyes and it still brings tears to my heart. It's Jesus, his father, too. So, yeah, I've always heard that you're speaking in plural. For everybody, because it is all of our fathers.

But don't forget. It's interesting you say that, that recently I heard people saying it really could be translated or should be stated more as my father, which makes it much more personal. But I love what you just said, because it truly is. It is Jesus. Because one of the big questions, I bet you, if you're like me, do I pray to Jesus? Do I pray to the Holy Spirit? Do I pray to the father? Well, who was Jesus praying to?

And what did he say? This is his prayer. Our father. And immediately I felt the connection that morning when I desperately needed, because what you're looking for is a light to come on, right? Like I'm in God's presence. And immediately it was like, Robby, I'm right here with you.

Right? Because it's our father. And since that moment, that prayer never be the same just in the first two words. I mean, yeah, like you say, I don't even know how many hours I've spent on that prayer.

You know, where the rabbit trails that of my head goes, whatever. But it's amazing just those two words because of the relational connection to the fact that, oh, yeah, that's Jesus' father. So as you said that, I was just like, man. And I love that scene from Woodlawn.

And Harold, of course, loves that movie, too. So I know you have something to say about it, right? Yeah, I grew up in Alabama and you really don't push us Alabama rednecks. You got to pull us.

You try to push, then you're going to get pushed back. And what I saw in that movie is the way that this chaplain pulled the black guys and the white guys together. And coming from that part of the world, I never had a class with a black person until I moved to North Carolina and was in my mid 30s in graduate school. It's the first time I ever had a class with a black person. You know, separate water fountains, things that a lot of people never would believe now. So you went to school in the early 50s?

Yeah, I graduated high school in 1959. And, you know, there were a lot of things that were desperately wrong back then. Terribly wrong.

You know, Jan was working in Birmingham at that time and, you know, they were taking fire hoses and spraying people and had the German shepherds leaping at them and all kind of things like that. And it was just so bad. And I just hate thinking about it, to be quite honest, because I feel like it's a stain on me. I didn't participate in it. I didn't I didn't have any animosity or any ill treatment for the black person.

And I felt like they were being horribly mistreated. In fact, I can remember telling somebody I said, you think that's a problem? You put up a sign and say that you've got to be over five feet seven to drink from this water fountain.

I'll show you a problem. I bet that's true. I bet that's true. So you don't judge a person by what they can't control. Right. I didn't choose anything about my height or my skin color. And a black person didn't choose theirs.

And so this redneck Alabaman comes to his first boot camp. Right. Yeah. These wackos tell me that I got to go hear from God. Well, I was I was to the other extreme.

I didn't believe you could. I didn't think God spoke apart from his written word. And I found out that, yeah, he will.

He will. And so in your own personal prayer life, you know, how is that different today than it was 10 years ago? Well, I used to think I was smart and I gave God the result. And then I became aware of the fact that how stupid I was that the Holy Spirit, he's he's interpreting everything anyway. So my prayer life kind of changed from God, you got to do this to spirit.

Help me ask for what I really need. Why should I limit God? He has no limits. And I can't know all the impacts that might occur from given the result that I think I want. God knows what could come and he said, no, no, no, you don't want to go that way. Bridges out and you're going to fall in water and drown. Go this other way.

So that's been a big change. But if you're sitting out there and you hear Robby and you say, wow, it's not me, you're not by yourself. I'm not there either. I'm really at times ashamed of how anemic my prayer life is. I'm an old man. I'm 82 years old. I ought to know better. I ought to do better. Instead of staying up so late watching the police chase people and wreck them.

I mean, you can really get hooked on YouTube car chases if you allow it. And then I don't get up in the morning. This isn't like a Catholic confessional right now.

I'm saying that I'm doing something that keeps me from improving my prayer life by getting up in the morning at a reasonable time. The thing that occurs to me because, you know, we're good friends. I mean, Harold and I spend a lot of time together because he's in my Christian Businessmen's Committee in Mocksville as well. So that Harold, if you know him well, is a man of few words. But he listens phenomenally. He isn't missing the trick that's going on.

Right. And so, you know, I'm just like and believe me, you know, there's a lot of times he puts me to shame that I'm going, oh, man, I can't I can't believe I was because he has wisdom that only Harold has. And so, you know, we all share that. But I know that I would love just an insight of what is that conversational intimacy like between Harold and God? Because we know that Harold listens more than he talks. He just does.

And he has great admiration for people who think before they speak. Yes, I do. I know you do. So I'm curious about that. That conversation between you and God, what does it sound like?

I would like for it to be a lot more frequent than it is. But it's like what I said earlier, like, you know, God, you know what is best. Do what is best. Don't listen to me. And Kenny, I kind of related to part of one of your comments earlier. Some years back in 2002, I flatlined twice. And the next morning I had five bypasses.

And I remember laying there in that hospital bed that night knowing that I was going to be knifed the next morning. And the peace that I had because I said, you know, God, it's in your hands. It's all up to you.

Whatever you know is needed. Apparently he saw fit to let me hang around. Well, the other, you know, just be real specific.

And I've never even told you this, but it's true confessions, right? Take me out of the ballgame. Anyway, you know, we go around the room at CBMC and pray. And everybody has their prayer time and it comes to Harold. Harold almost never fails to ask to be forgiven. He's like, man, I know we've come up short, God. It's always in Harold's prayers. So I know it's in his heart and I know it's in the Lord's prayer.

We know forgive us our sins is we forgiven. But I always get this real sense of like, man, this is coming from Harold's heart. Like I have definitely blown in here.

God, I need your help. And see, it speaks to who he is. Right.

And if you're and if you know, you haven't thought you've done anything wrong for the last 14 hours or whatever, you know, and all of a sudden, Harold just puts you right there like, oh, yeah. But that's true. That's true. And it's really helpful. And I also think it's that's really helpful to pray with a group of people. I can you know, you've prayed with Gather Markley and you and you and I have for years and years and years. And you know his heart because of what he prays. Right. And by the way, we also know Thomas's heart, you know, which is which is its own scene. So we have one minute left, Kenny.

We haven't given you a chance to say a word. Yeah. Yeah.

He was digging at me the first time. I've been kind of signed back a little bit. But anyway. The prayers, they're so. That precious time we get. Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Don't lose that chance to really talk to God and listen. And it's all about what are you seeking in your day because what you say is you're going to find what you so you're going to read.

So the choices start, I think it should start in the morning. But any time it comes to your mind is a good time to get back in. You don't say, oh, God, here I am rushing into it again. Yeah, that's good stuff. And yeah, you've heard it from all of us. You got a chance. Go for it. Thanks for listening. This is the Truth Network.