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Understanding Prayer Q&A with Dr. Erwin Lutzer · Karl and Crew

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  S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond its cast
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  S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide. Overcome
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  S3: Tips and tricks to kill. Tips and tricks.
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  S1: Delivering the truth daily.
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  S4: All of my attempts to, you know, prop myself up
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  S4: with achievement in good works. Well, God wasn't impressed by that.
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  S2: The gospel changes everything.
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  S5: Freedom in Christ. Man, it's like that backpack of cement
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  S1: Now, from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl
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  S1: and crew. It is Ask the Experts.
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  S6: Week and quite a week we've had here. If you
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  S6: did not get the link for Doctor Sauer and his wife, Sue,
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  S6: they've got a podcast that is pretty epic. Just text
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  S6: the word quiet to 800 555 7898. Quiet to 800
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  S6: 555 7898. So I know, Ali, you've got prayer figured out.
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  S6: When you talk to God, you get those answers and
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  S6: you have all all those really, we don't need an
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  S6: expert for the topic of prayer because, Ali, you've got it.
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  S6: So go ahead and just share with us in about 30s.
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  S3: Wow.
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  S6: Um, why you pray, what you pray, how you pray.
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  S6: That's always going to have deliverables in your lap. Go
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  S6: ahead Ali.
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  S4: And this is where we go to 30s of radio silence.
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  S3: That's great.
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  S4: Oh boy, do I wish that that were the case.
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  S6: Yeah, a lot of us have questions and it revolves
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  S6: around prayer. And most questions around prayer deal with why
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  S6: in the world doesn't God answer my prayers? Coming up
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  S6: here in just a moment, we are going to have
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  S6: Doctor Erwin Lutzer with us here. Guys.
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  S4: I'm excited. I'm surprised you didn't say. The man, the myth,
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  S4: the legend.
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  S6: The man, the myth, the legend. You're right. I should
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  S6: have done that. Now, doctor Erwin Lutzer is going to
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  S6: be with us, so buckle up. This is Forrest. Frank.
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  S6: Your ways better. It's Carl and crew. Ask the experts.
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  S6: Doctor Lutzer straight ahead.
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  S1: Standing on the rock each and every day. You're listening
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  S1: to Carl and crew.
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  S6: And a wise man told me one time. Seems like
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  S6: knowing the will of God. And we can find that
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  S6: first Thessalonians four three be sanctified in Christ Jesus. Knowing
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  S6: the will of God is one thing, knowing the way
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  S6: of God, that's another thing. And when it comes to prayer,
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  S6: some of the ways of God we don't understand. Why
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  S6: doesn't God answer my prayers? Doctor Lutzer is with us
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  S6: right now. Good to have you with us, pastor. Uh,
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  S6: this is an important work that you've done, and let's
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  S6: get into it a little bit here. At first blush,
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  S6: why doesn't God answer our prayers?
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  S7: Well, you know, there are many different ways that I
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  S7: could answer that except to say this. That God hears
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  S7: our prayers even when sometimes they are not answered. And
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  S7: so to ask the question the way you did, sometimes
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  S7: it's because we regard iniquity in our heart. For example,
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  S7: David said that when I regard iniquity in my heart,
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  S7: the Lord doesn't hear me. But also it may not
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  S7: be God's will at all. And you know, one of
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  S7: the things that I'd like to point out, and I
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  S7: know that we may reference a book I've written entitled God,
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  S7: Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers? One of the points
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  S7: I like to make is that we sometimes claim promises
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  S7: which aren't ours. This particularly happens in the name it
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  S7: claim it area. And so I remember a woman coming
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  S7: to me and say, God has abandoned me, you know,
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  S7: because she was listening to a television preacher who said
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  S7: that if you aren't healed, it's your lack of faith.
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  S7: And so her husband wasn't healed, and so she believed
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  S7: it was all her fault. So actually, Carl and I
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  S7: know that we're going to be getting into this as
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  S7: we discuss these things, but it's a very complex issue.
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  S7: And one of the points I want to make, really
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  S7: out of the gate is when Jesus was in the
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  S7: Garden of Gethsemane, according to Mark chapter 14, he prayed
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  S7: three times that God would remove the cup from him.
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  S7: Aren't you glad God did not answer that prayer?
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  S4: Doctor Erwin Lutzer that's probably a rhetorical right. Doctor Erwin Lutzer,
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  S4: our guest right now, pastor emeritus of Moody Church, going
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  S4: to be taking your questions this morning. Our topic he's
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  S4: got a book out. Why doesn't God answer my prayers?
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  S4: A Biblical Guide to God's Hidden Purposes. If you want
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  S4: to throw a question to Doctor Lutzer, you can call
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  S4: or text (800) 555-7898. 800 555 7898. Doctor Lutzer. One of
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  S4: the most unhelpful quotes that's repeated so often is this one.
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  S4: You know, everything happens for a reason that's offered up
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  S4: as a way I think, of making sense of things
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  S4: that don't make sense. And I guess it's true to
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  S4: a certain extent. But when we think about God's purposes,
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  S4: God's hidden purposes, everything happens for a reason seems to
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  S4: fall kind of short. Speak to that.
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  S7: Well, you know, it is true that everything does happen
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  S7: for a reason. But, Ali, our challenge is we don't
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  S7: know what that reason is, right? And what we have
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  S7: to do is there are times when we just have
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  S7: to trust God. You know, I'm thinking, for example, of
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  S7: Martin Luther. He said, what do you do when you
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  S7: look around and see no reason that God is on
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  S7: your side? You continue to trust his bare word. But
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  S7: I want to say this to all those who are listening,
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  S7: and I hinted at it already in the book of revelation.
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  S7: The Bible says that our prayers are offered unto God
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  S7: as a sweet incense to him. So to go back
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  S7: to Jesus in the garden, even though God didn't answer
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  S7: that prayer, the good news is that he God, heard
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  S7: Jesus prayer. And that's a very positive word in Hebrews
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  S7: chapter five. Maybe we're getting off on it a little bit,
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  S7: but one of the things we have to do is
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  S7: is say this the reason for prayer is not just
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  S7: that we come before God and give him a list
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  S7: and say, well, this is what I'd like you to
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  S7: do for me today. The reason for prayer is that
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  S7: we might get beyond that to God Himself. And what
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  S7: we have to do is to recognize that in the end,
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  S7: we need God more than we probably need our answers.
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  S7: You know, the prodigal son. He came home because he
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  S7: was hungry. But I suspect he needed his father more
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  S7: than he did his dinner. And so the the needs
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  S7: of life and everybody's fighting something. Life is hard everywhere.
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  S7: Those needs keep driving us Godward. And so we come
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  S7: with our need. But in the end, we're occupied with God,
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  S7: worshiping him and saying, thy will be done. So that's
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  S7: the way in which we have to handle this. You
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  S7: know the reason I talk about this and I look
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  S7: forward to further questions, is this so many people deconstruct
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  S7: from the Christian life, they leave it behind because they
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  S7: prayed for healing. It didn't happen. They prayed for deliverance
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  S7: during a time, maybe even of abuse or persecution. And
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  S7: then they say, God's not worth anything to me. I'm
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  S7: out of here. So what we have to do is
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  S7: to try to help these people sympathize with them, but
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  S7: also draw them back to the father.
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  S6: Love it. Doctor Erwin Lutzer is our guest right now.
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  S6: And ask the experts. Phone lines, wide open. Text as well.
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  S6: Phone or text. Your question for doctors. We're focusing on
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  S6: prayer right now. 800 555 7898 800 555 7898. There
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  S6: are no dumb questions. I want to just say that.
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  S6: Bring them to them. 805 55 7898. You know, I've
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  S6: we've been looking about a week ago. We're looking at
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  S6: George Mueller's prayer as outlined in James five and Spurgeon
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  S6: and Swindoll. Um, many have said and gone to that
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  S6: passage as a template for prayer. It's a beautiful one.
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  S6: It has to do with healing of people that are
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  S6: troubled and sometimes sin in their life. But the the
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  S6: question this leads me to is a lot of people say,
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  S6: and it's true. Prayer is taking hold of the willingness
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  S6: of God. That's what Mueller said. I love that quote.
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  S6: But pastor, my question for you is this simple. Does
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  S6: prayer move God or does it move us closer to God?
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  S6: Which one is more dominant?
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  S7: Well, probably both, but I want to say this it
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  S7: should draw us toward God and closer to God. So,
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  S7: you know, you've you've really entered into the realm of
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  S7: mystery here, because on the one hand, nothing surprises God.
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  S7: God sees around corners. I was counseling somebody who wanted
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  S7: a certain position, and he didn't get it and was
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  S7: so disappointed. And I said, you have no idea what
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  S7: God has kept you from by closing that door. God
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  S7: can see around corners, but we can't. So at the
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  S7: end of the day, we do trust him. But more specifically,
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  S7: in answer to your question, there's a sense in which, yes,
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  S7: prayer changes things that moves the hand of God, but
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  S7: at the same time, God sees everything simultaneously. Everything is
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  S7: in his hands. So from an ultimate perspective, all that
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  S7: we have to keep coming back to is that God
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  S7: ultimately is in control. But and I hope I going
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  S7: to take a moment here, Karl, many people say, well,
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  S7: God already knows what we need. And and he's got
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  S7: everything buttoned down. Why should I pray? Isn't this interesting?
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  S7: In Matthew chapter six, Jesus said, when you pray, don't
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  S7: pray like the heathen. You know they repeat themselves and
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  S7: think that they shall be heard because of their much speaking.
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  S7: Your father knows Already what your needs are. Does Jesus say, okay,
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  S7: so don't pray? No. In this manner, therefore pray. Our
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  S7: father who art in heaven. So what Jesus is saying,
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  S7: just because God has everything in control, the first thing
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  S7: we should do when we come before God is to
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  S7: give him praise. Our father who is in heaven, hallowed
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  S7: be thy name. Why? Because prayer is drawing our hearts
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  S7: toward the father. And in the midst of that, we
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  S7: ask him to meet our needs. We commit things to him,
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  S7: and maybe I'll get a chance to talk about what
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  S7: that means in a few moments. But what we're doing
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  S7: is ultimately we're submitting to him and coming to him
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  S7: and saying, father, I need you. And he may not
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  S7: answer the prayer like he did. The Apostle Paul, who
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  S7: prayed three times that the thorn might go, But God says,
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  S7: I don't just leave you alone. I'm going to give
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  S7: you a substitute. I'm going to give you grace. And
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  S7: Paul says, okay, if that's the case, I'll glory in
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  S7: my infirmities so that the power of Christ remains in me.
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  S7: So there's the Apostle Paul, who didn't get an answer
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  S7: to the prayer that he wanted, but he did get
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  S7: an answer.
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  S6: Yeah.
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  S4: Doctor Erwin Lutzer, our guest this morning, our guest expert
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  S4: for this hour. If you have a question specifically taking
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  S4: questions around prayer this morning with Doctor Lutzer 800 555
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  S4: (789) 880-0555 7898. Coming up, we're going to tackle some of
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  S4: the basics. Is there a right way to pray. Is
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  S4: it really just talking to God? Is it that simple.
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  S4: Coming up.
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  S1: Get your info from a source you can trust. It's
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  S1: Ask the Experts week with Carl and crew.
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  S8: Ask the expert this morning taking your questions.
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  S4: On prayer for Doctor Erwin Lutzer. 855 five 7898 800
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  S4: 555 7898. Misty calling in this morning from Dayton, Tennessee.
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  S4: Go ahead with your question for Doctor Lutzer.
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  S9: Good morning. My question is, and it's ironic that you
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  S9: mentioned it before the break about how to pray. Um,
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  S9: is it I mean, when I pray, I just pray
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  S9: like I'm just talking to my best friend. I mean,
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  S9: is that wrong? Is there a proper way to pray?
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  S6: That's a great question. What do you say, pastor?
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  S7: You know, prayer is talking to your great friend. But
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  S7: there's a sense in which what we need to do
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  S7: is to recognize who this friend is. I'm a little
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  S7: bit troubled by those who just jump into the presence
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  S7: of God. Hey, sometimes this happens before a church service.
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  S7: Let's have a quick word of prayer. Lord bless this, etc.
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  S7: there's no problem with that except this. We should take
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  S7: a few seconds and realize who is it that we're
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  S7: talking to? I mean, we're coming into the presence of
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  S7: the Almighty. This is not a small matter. And sometimes
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  S7: we trivialize prayer that way. On the other hand, to
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  S7: this dear sister who called, I always love to refer
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  S7: to Peter. He's drowning because he's walking toward Jesus. He
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  S7: no longer is looking at Jesus. He's looking at the wind,
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  S7: and he doesn't have time for a formal introduction. He
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  S7: just simply shouts, Lord, save me! Now when you're going
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  S7: under in a lake, you don't have time to think
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  S7: about a lot of things and be very formal. You're
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  S7: just desperate. So I don't think that we should say
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  S7: there's just one way to pray. Except that I like
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  S7: to begin my day in. That happened again this morning
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  S7: where I. I give God praise. Sit back in my chair,
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  S7: remind myself of who God is and who it is
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  S7: that I'm talking to. So that's the way to pray.
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  S7: But after that, yes, read the Psalms. David just shared
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  S7: his heart, and sometimes he unloaded at God, you know.
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  S7: Where are you? Um. You know I trust you. Are
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  S7: you always going to turn against me? God can handle
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  S7: our honesty. He really can. So we should come reverently,
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  S7: but come honestly because he knows the truth anyway. And
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  S7: as a result of that, I think it will enhance
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  S7: our fellowship with the Almighty.
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  S6: A lot of questions coming in here. Ask the expert
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  S6: doctor Lutzer with us right now. 800 555 7898. Uh, pastor,
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  S6: with regard to praying the will of God, someone asked,
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  S6: how do we know to pray the will of God?
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  S6: This must be directly linked to the Word of God.
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  S6: What do you say?
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  S7: Yes, indeed. And you know, if you're looking for the
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  S7: will of God, there are 5 or 6 passages in
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  S7: the New Testament that tell you exactly what the will
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  S7: of God is. Here is the will of God, your sanctification.
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  S7: Give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God.
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  S7: And I've always maintained, Carl, that if we obey the
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  S7: will of God that is revealed, God will guide us
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  S7: in those matters that are unrevealed.
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  S6: Oh that's beautiful. Yeah.
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  S7: You have to make a decision. Okay. And you don't know.
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  S7: And I've had to do this many times. Is it
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  S7: going to be a or is it going to be B.
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  S7: So what I try to do is to say, Lord,
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  S7: you know that I'm leaning toward this way, but if
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  S7: I'm wrong, please close the door. You would be surprised
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  S7: at the number of ways that God has to lead us.
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  S7: The question is a matter of our hearts. Think of
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  S7: all the creative ways in which God led Jonah back
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  S7: to Nineveh. I mean, you know, he prepared a fish.
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  S7: He prepared a wind. He prepared all this stuff because
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  S7: God says, even though he's out of my will, I'm
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  S7: going to get him back. So the problem isn't with God.
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  S7: Do the six things. I don't have all of them
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  S7: in my mind right now. But do those things that say,
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  S7: this is the will of God.
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  S6: Yeah.
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  S7: And obey those, and you'll be surprised at how God
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  S7: will lead you in matters that are unrevealed.
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  S4: Taking your questions for Pastor Erwin Lutzer. 855 five 7898.
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  S4: Drawing from his book, Why Doesn't God answer my prayers?
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  S4: If you want more, just text the word oh, what
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  S4: word do we have for media? Media? Text media to
• 17:35
  S4: 800 555 7898. Text media to 800 555 7898. Let's
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  S4: go to Bert calling in this morning from Forest Park, Illinois.
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  S4: Give us your question for Pastor Lutzer.
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  S10: Yeah. Thank you pastor. And a big fan. If this
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  S10: is my last day on Earth, I want you to know.
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  S10: Thank you for your ministry and your service. Um, here's
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  S10: my question. If I'm on a prayer team at church
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  S10: and prayed for somebody and the person they prayed for died.
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  S10: How do you keep them encouraged? Because what I said
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  S10: to them, because this is in my spirit. Um, God
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  S10: is going to heal either on this side of heaven,
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  S10: on the other side of heaven. But the answer came.
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  S10: And so while they're gone, you know, and they were
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  S10: saved and all those pieces. So we know they're in heaven.
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  S10: But the person was still discouraged. So how do you
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  S10: pray through something like that when that request comes up
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  S10: and then keep that person encouraged?
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  S7: And that's an excellent question. And every pastor has had
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  S7: to ask that question and answer it in some way.
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  S7: It's not easy. But the truth is this ultimately, God
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  S7: is God and we aren't. And we have to tell
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  S7: him that there are many unknowns, but in the end,
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  S7: things are going to look differently in the end. What
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  S7: we'll discover is that God did all things well. The
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  S7: reason it's so difficult for us to say that on
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  S7: this side is we only you know, the other day
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  S7: somebody was giving an illustration of, uh, flying on a plane,
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  S7: and I think he was flying into San Francisco, though
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  S7: I could be wrong. But anyway, all that he could
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  S7: see is water, and the plane is getting lower and
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  S7: lower and lower, and he thinks we're going to crash.
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  S7: But then suddenly, you know, I guess the, uh, runway
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  S7: appeared and all was well. Now, this is what he said.
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  S7: I could only see out of the window. The pilot
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  S7: had a windshield, and he could see things that I
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  S7: couldn't see. And, you know, ultimately, that's what it comes
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  S7: down to. God sees things we don't see. And, uh,
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  S7: you say, well, that takes a lot of faith. Exactly.
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  S7: And the trial of your faith is more precious than
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  S7: gold that perishes, even though it be tried with fire.
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  S7: So there are many comforts that you can give to
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  S7: people like this, and if they are in emotional distress,
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  S7: expect that life is hard. Sorrow is fine. Yeah, but
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  S7: we don't sorrow as those who have no hope.
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  S6: Amen. Thank you for that question. Going back to the
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  S6: phone lines. Jacob, first time caller in Chattanooga, Tennessee. What's
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  S6: your question for Pastor Lutzer?
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  S11: Hey, Colin. Uh, thank you guys for taking my call.
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  S6: What's your question, Jacob?
• 20:24
  S11: Uh, my question is about surrendering to God's will and, um,
• 20:29
  S11: struggling with that. And what kind of, I guess, praying
• 20:32
  S11: for that. Um, to help, um, the heart be submitted
• 20:36
  S11: to that.
• 20:39
  S7: Ultimately, if I understand your correct your question correctly, you know,
• 20:44
  S7: I'm thinking of Romans chapter 12. Present yourself to God,
• 20:48
  S7: a living sacrifice. And I think in that context, again,
• 20:52
  S7: it does talk about the perfect will of God. So,
• 20:56
  S7: my brother, you'd be surprised at the number of ways
• 21:01
  S7: that God has to finally get us to say yes.
• 21:05
  S7: And what he does is he often has to show
• 21:08
  S7: us that our way is not as good as his.
• 21:11
  S7: And at the end of the day, what we have
• 21:14
  S7: to do is to say, not my will, but thine
• 21:17
  S7: be done. And whatever that means, that's what you have
• 21:22
  S7: to accept.
• 21:24
  S6: I love that coming up here, pastor. We want to
• 21:27
  S6: tackle this one. It comes in different forms. Prayer has
• 21:31
  S6: been commonly seen in the West as a one way
• 21:35
  S6: proposition and intercom. But God paints it as conversation. We
• 21:42
  S6: talk with him and he prompts us. What does that
• 21:47
  S6: look like in my life? We'll get that question answered
• 21:50
  S6: with Doctor Lutzer. You got a question? He's got answers
• 21:54
  S6: 800 555 7898. What a week.
• 21:59
  S1: You've got questions. They've got answers. It's Ask the Experts
• 22:04
  S1: week with Carl and crew.
• 22:05
  S6: Important question here. Asks the experts all week long. And, boy,
• 22:08
  S6: we're in the middle of it here with Doctor Erwin Lutzer.
• 22:11
  S6: Great questions coming in. All we are lacking is yours.
• 22:14
  S6: 800 555 7898 pastor, a question that came in. And
• 22:19
  S6: let me just frame it. This is multiple people have
• 22:21
  S6: this perspective. A lot of people wonder, uh, have I
• 22:25
  S6: been missing something in prayer? And that is prayer is
• 22:29
  S6: often seen, I think, in the West, more so than
• 22:32
  S6: other regions around the globe. As a intercom system, we're
• 22:36
  S6: talking to God. Whereas one great spiritual man recently said, no,
• 22:40
  S6: it should be more like a walkie talkie. How do
• 22:43
  S6: we release the button and listen to God, pastor.
• 22:48
  S7: You know, that's an excellent question. And as I have
• 22:51
  S7: frequently heard you say, there are two different ways to
• 22:55
  S7: fall off of a log because it has two ends.
• 22:58
  S7: On the one hand, you find those who think that
• 23:01
  S7: they have direct access. God talks to them and gives
• 23:04
  S7: them messages, verbal messages that are unfiltered. You know, God
• 23:09
  S7: told me this about you. That is very dangerous. I've
• 23:15
  S7: known people who thought that they were speaking on behalf
• 23:18
  S7: of God, and it's very clear they were not. On
• 23:22
  S7: the other hand, what you have is God, the slot machine.
• 23:26
  S7: I come before you and hear my needs for today.
• 23:29
  S7: I want you to do six things for me. Goodbye.
• 23:32
  S7: And I'm going to work. Here's here's the way in
• 23:36
  S7: which I see it. God does respond to us, and
• 23:41
  S7: we should expect a response, but it may not be verbal.
• 23:46
  S7: In fact, as I say, that could lead into some
• 23:49
  S7: dangerous waters. But it is a sense of his presence.
• 23:54
  S7: You know, you think, for example, of Paul's words in Philippians.
• 23:58
  S7: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
• 24:02
  S7: let your requests be made known unto God. And the
• 24:04
  S7: peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your
• 24:09
  S7: heart and mind. So there are times when the response
• 24:12
  S7: of God is just a sense of the deep confidence
• 24:17
  S7: of his presence, and a deep sense of peace, that
• 24:22
  S7: this is in his hands. And for me, that is sufficient. Yeah,
• 24:26
  S7: but exactly. We should expect to hear from him, but
• 24:32
  S7: not verbally, but according to his promises. And then there
• 24:36
  S7: are times when we speak to God and we feel
• 24:38
  S7: that the heavens are silent. And we may not know
• 24:41
  S7: the reason for this, but we have to analyze our
• 24:44
  S7: own lives. You know, James says, he says you offer
• 24:48
  S7: requests to God and you don't get it so that
• 24:51
  S7: you might consume it on your own lusts. In other words,
• 24:54
  S7: it's possible that we have prayed a prayer that is
• 24:58
  S7: so selfish and so, so self centered. If I could
• 25:03
  S7: put it that way, with all kinds of sin in
• 25:06
  S7: our lives. And so we can't really expect the blessings
• 25:10
  S7: of prayer. And sometimes it is just a sense of
• 25:15
  S7: his presence and saying, yes, Lord, I see your hand
• 25:19
  S7: in this. Now, in addition to this I frequently seen
• 25:23
  S7: in my life, and I'm sure that this is true
• 25:25
  S7: of everyone who's listening. We look back and we see
• 25:29
  S7: ways in which God led us that we didn't know about.
• 25:33
  S7: And so there's that confidence that he's leading us, even
• 25:38
  S7: though sometimes the way is unclear. Going forward.
• 25:41
  S4: Doctor Erwin Lutzer with us this morning taking your questions
• 25:45
  S4: on prayer. (800) 555-7898 CTV first time caller from Chicago. Go
• 25:51
  S4: ahead with your question.
• 25:54
  S12: Um, my question is, um, I have read a lot
• 25:58
  S12: of books on prayer. I go to prayer services and
• 26:04
  S12: I really would love to have a better prayer life.
• 26:09
  S12: But when I read the books, I just get fired
• 26:13
  S12: up a few days, and then later on it dies down.
• 26:16
  S12: So do you have any tips or what do I
• 26:21
  S12: do to improve my my prayer life?
• 26:25
  S7: I think that's really an excellent question. And I would
• 26:27
  S7: say this, that when you want to give, you improve
• 26:31
  S7: your prayer life, God will probably bring enough trouble into
• 26:35
  S7: your life to help you to recognize that you need
• 26:38
  S7: him every day. But the other thing is, and there's
• 26:43
  S7: a lot of mystery here. And I know that the
• 26:45
  S7: name of this segment is called Ask the Experts. And
• 26:49
  S7: I think to myself, my, you know, you should be
• 26:53
  S7: calling somebody else. But here's the point. What we have
• 26:57
  S7: to do is to realize there are times when God
• 26:59
  S7: gives us a burden, and we pray for that burden.
• 27:04
  S7: And when the answer is no, we keep praying and
• 27:07
  S7: keep seeking God. I mean, this certainly happened to Daniel
• 27:10
  S7: in the Old Testament, many other illustrations. Sometimes God just
• 27:15
  S7: you know, there's a verse in Isaiah that says, give
• 27:18
  S7: me no rest. In other words, keep coming. So to
• 27:22
  S7: those who are disappointed with God, begin with worship. All
• 27:27
  S7: the time. You know that word acts. How does it go? Adoration, confession,
• 27:33
  S7: thanksgiving and supplication. That actually is a good way to
• 27:37
  S7: remember it. So you always begin by giving God praise.
• 27:41
  S7: You always begin by submitting to him, because that's the
• 27:44
  S7: main thing. You persist in the concern that he has
• 27:49
  S7: laid on your heart and you don't give up. So
• 27:53
  S7: you keep going. Why? God just wants us to go
• 27:57
  S7: deeper into him, if I might use that kind of terminology.
• 28:01
  S7: He wants to keep us on a short leash. And
• 28:05
  S7: so why? Because he wants us in his presence. And
• 28:09
  S7: if we can begin to think of prayer as being
• 28:12
  S7: in the presence of God and think of it that way,
• 28:16
  S7: rather than just, here's what I want you to do today,
• 28:18
  S7: it changes everything.
• 28:21
  S6: Pastor Lutzer, our guest right now, asked the experts coming
• 28:24
  S6: up here in a moment. I'm going to ask Steve
• 28:26
  S6: in Florida to stay on the horn. He's got a
• 28:28
  S6: great question. It deals with depression, mental illness, even suicidal
• 28:33
  S6: thoughts and others and questions on how to pray for that.
• 28:36
  S6: I'll let him pitch it to you. Pastor. That's coming
• 28:39
  S6: up straight ahead. Your questions for Pastor Lutzer 800 555
• 28:45
  S6: 7898 800 555 7898.
• 28:51
  S1: When you don't know who's better to ask than an expert.
• 28:55
  S1: You're listening to Carl and crew.
• 28:57
  S6: Yeah. Ask the experts here with Carl and crew. What
• 28:59
  S6: a week we're having Doctor Lutzer with us right now. (800) 555-7898.
• 29:06
  S6: Time is going by fast here, Steve. Thanks for holding on.
• 29:09
  S6: What's your question for Pastor Lutzer?
• 29:12
  S13: Hi. Good morning, pastor. And I have a question. How
• 29:17
  S13: do we pray to God for ourselves and for others
• 29:22
  S13: and with others that are dealing with depression, mental illness,
• 29:29
  S13: or really in the deep darkness of suicidal thoughts?
• 29:33
  S6: Thank you for the question, Steve. What do you say, pastor?
• 29:36
  S7: Well, Steve, first of all, I'm not an expert in this,
• 29:39
  S7: so I speak with hesitation, but I hope I'm also
• 29:42
  S7: going to be able to speak with a word of
• 29:44
  S7: encouragement and hope. There was a man by the name
• 29:48
  S7: of William Cooper, sometimes pronounced Cooper in England. He wrote
• 29:53
  S7: the song there is a fountain filled with blood. He
• 29:57
  S7: wrote the words God moves in a mysterious way, his
• 30:00
  S7: wonders to perform. And yet six times he tried to
• 30:05
  S7: commit suicide. He obviously had a mental illness. He lived
• 30:09
  S7: with depression. But in the book of Habakkuk, there's a
• 30:13
  S7: prayer that the prophet prays at the end after devastating
• 30:18
  S7: news about Israel going to be consumed by Babylon. And
• 30:24
  S7: Cowper took those words and wrote them and put them
• 30:28
  S7: into a song. And I do quote them, by the way,
• 30:32
  S7: in the book that we're talking about. But here's what
• 30:35
  S7: I want to say. Cowper wrote The Vine or Fig
• 30:38
  S7: should neither their vaunted fruit should bear. Though all the
• 30:41
  S7: fields should wither, nor flocks be in be there. Yet God,
• 30:46
  S7: the same abiding his praise shall tune my voice. For
• 30:50
  S7: while in him confiding, I cannot but rejoice. Here's what
• 30:54
  S7: I want to say to those who are depressed. They
• 30:58
  S7: may go for counseling and all, and that may be helpful.
• 31:00
  S7: I'm not opposed to that. But if you have a pulse,
• 31:05
  S7: you still have a praise. And what we need to
• 31:09
  S7: do is to look beyond our feelings, beyond our circumstances,
• 31:16
  S7: beyond what we want to do. And we have to
• 31:19
  S7: live a life of praise. And when we do that,
• 31:24
  S7: it so often lifts our spirits and helps us to
• 31:29
  S7: know that even in my depression, God is here and
• 31:34
  S7: I can honor him. And when I honor him, I
• 31:38
  S7: begin to experience his sense of help and peace now.
• 31:42
  S7: Beyond that, there are many things that I don't know
• 31:45
  S7: about mental illness and all that. But I want to
• 31:49
  S7: say to everyone listening, no matter where you are in
• 31:52
  S7: your prayer life, begin with praise. Always begin with praise.
• 31:57
  S7: Begin with thanksgiving. Find things for which you can be thankful.
• 32:02
  S7: And it's amazing how this will change your attitude.
• 32:06
  S4: Great question Steve. Thank you so much, doctor Erwin Lutzer,
• 32:10
  S4: our guest expert this morning. 805 55 7898 taking your
• 32:15
  S4: questions on prayer. Coming up. This one came in by
• 32:17
  S4: text message. I think it's a good one. How does
• 32:19
  S4: someone who gets nervous and tongue tied when praying in
• 32:23
  S4: front of people improve that coming up?
• 32:28
  S1: Get in the know with life's biggest questions. It's Ask
• 32:31
  S1: the Experts week with Carl and crew.
• 32:33
  S4: I remember going to a new church, and I noticed
• 32:36
  S4: early on that when the offering would come around, Sometimes
• 32:39
  S4: they would ask someone from the congregation to take the
• 32:42
  S4: microphone and just pray for the offering. And I remember
• 32:45
  S4: it didn't take many Sundays before I started to have
• 32:48
  S4: a sense of panic when that time was coming. Boy,
• 32:51
  S4: I hope he never passes that mic to me because
• 32:54
  S4: I certainly don't want to pray in front of everybody.
• 32:57
  S4: Doctor Erwin Lutzer. This question came in by text message,
• 33:00
  S4: but many people feel like this. Like I can pray
• 33:02
  S4: in my prayer closet, but in on a mic or
• 33:05
  S4: in front of a group of people in a small
• 33:07
  S4: group that can feel very intimidating. What do you say?
• 33:11
  S7: Well, Ali, I think you're the one to answer that question.
• 33:14
  S7: You seem to have come a long way.
• 33:16
  S3: From.
• 33:16
  S7: Being fearful that you would pray in public to be
• 33:20
  S7: on a national program, so I think you're the one
• 33:23
  S7: that should answer. But here's the point. It's okay if
• 33:26
  S7: you feel uncomfortable praying in public, and I hope that
• 33:32
  S7: you aren't forced to if that's the case. But at
• 33:36
  S7: the same time, you know there is growth here and
• 33:40
  S7: there is prayer that happens in the heart. There's prayer
• 33:43
  S7: that happens in your private life. And even if you're
• 33:46
  S7: uncomfortable in praying out loud, you also may be uncomfortable
• 33:49
  S7: just speaking out loud. That's okay. You may grow in
• 33:52
  S7: that department, or you may not. It's your heart that
• 33:56
  S7: God wants.
• 33:58
  S6: I love that Pastor Lutzer is our guest right now. Uh,
• 34:02
  S6: there's a lot of questions coming in with regard to
• 34:05
  S6: spiritual trajectory and prayer for this sanctification, which is a big,
• 34:11
  S6: fancy word for growing up in Christ Jesus. Uh, what
• 34:14
  S6: are we looking for when we pray that way? Let's
• 34:17
  S6: say we're praying to overcome a temptation. What are we
• 34:20
  S6: looking for, pastor?
• 34:24
  S7: Well, what we're looking for is, yes, in the Lord's Prayer.
• 34:28
  S7: You know, lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.
• 34:33
  S7: So that is a legitimate prayer. But there are also
• 34:35
  S7: other things in the Word of God that we need
• 34:38
  S7: to be obedient to, to see that prayer fulfilled. We
• 34:42
  S7: can't simply say, okay, God, I've prayed about that. Now
• 34:45
  S7: I'm okay. I mean, the Bible talks about spiritual warfare.
• 34:49
  S7: It speaks about guarding our hearts and so forth. So
• 34:53
  S7: I hope I'm answering your question, Karl. I'm not entirely
• 34:56
  S7: sure that I am, but that's what comes to mind.
• 34:59
  S6: Well that's good. Um, how? Just a quick follow up
• 35:03
  S6: to that. I have found that when I'm listening to
• 35:06
  S6: the Lord in prayer, he brings Scripture to mind. In
• 35:09
  S6: the absence of Scripture, creates a vacuum for which almost
• 35:14
  S6: any of my own wisdom could come in. How central
• 35:17
  S6: is the Word of God? And I mean, this is
• 35:20
  S6: a softball, right, pastor? It's central, isn't it, to prayer.
• 35:24
  S7: Well, it is, and even this morning, before I got
• 35:27
  S7: out of bed, I was praying. And what was I praying?
• 35:29
  S7: I was actually praying Scripture. And what people need to
• 35:33
  S7: know is, if you're new in the prayer life and
• 35:35
  S7: you don't know how to pray for your child or whatever.
• 35:38
  S7: Look at the promises of God. Look at Paul's prayers
• 35:43
  S7: and pray those. And when you pray a prayer that
• 35:47
  S7: Paul gives, I was actually praying. Ephesians chapter one. When
• 35:51
  S7: you pray a prayer like that, you don't even have
• 35:54
  S7: to add at the end if it be thy will.
• 35:56
  S7: That is the will of God. The Apostle Paul constantly
• 36:01
  S7: you know that your that the eyes of your heart
• 36:03
  S7: may be enlightened, that you might know what is the
• 36:05
  S7: hope of your calling and the inheritance of the saints.
• 36:09
  S7: Those prayers are always God's will. So if you know
• 36:14
  S7: where to begin, that's a great place to begin. Paul
• 36:17
  S7: prays about 12 different prayers in the epistles. The letters
• 36:22
  S7: that he wrote begin there.
• 36:25
  S4: Doctor Erwin Lutzer, our guest this morning. This one came
• 36:27
  S4: in and could have come in many times over. Someone says,
• 36:31
  S4: I'm constantly praying for my son's salvation, but I've not
• 36:35
  S4: seen a change. What do I do now?
• 36:38
  S7: Uh, just keep praying and make sure that you, uh,
• 36:43
  S7: provide an environment where the prodigal son is willing to
• 36:47
  S7: come home. And, uh, all that you can do is parents.
• 36:51
  S7: You can't convert your child. You can pray that God
• 36:55
  S7: would convert them, but you can't. Conversion is of God. So,
• 37:00
  S7: my dear mother, my dear father, whoever you are, keep praying,
• 37:05
  S7: keep interceding. Many illustrations come to mind that we don't
• 37:09
  S7: have time to give right now of parents who kept praying,
• 37:14
  S7: and God eventually answered their prayers, but it didn't happen
• 37:18
  S7: right away.
• 37:19
  S4: Doctor Lutzer, this is a heartfelt question from someone who
• 37:22
  S4: says they've gotten really frustrated with God with my life,
• 37:25
  S4: I've talked to him angrily. I believe suffering from chronic
• 37:28
  S4: anxiety and dealing with despair has led me there. My
• 37:31
  S4: question is, how can I know God will still hear
• 37:33
  S4: me and see me since I fear I have offended him.
• 37:38
  S7: I go to Psalm 77 and read it there. The
• 37:43
  S7: author I think it may be Asaph. He just pesters
• 37:46
  S7: God with one question after another just spills out his disappointment.
• 37:50
  S7: But the psalm does end with praise. So to this
• 37:55
  S7: dear person, God can handle whatever you have done. And
• 38:00
  S7: if you are upset with him and you tell him that,
• 38:04
  S7: don't worry, he can handle it. But what he wants
• 38:07
  S7: ultimately is praise and submission. And when you're brought to
• 38:13
  S7: that point, God, of course forgives and he understands. So
• 38:18
  S7: we keep going on.
• 38:20
  S6: I love it. Some of you are just maybe getting
• 38:23
  S6: a portion of this, and I want you to take
• 38:27
  S6: a deeper dive. If you text the word media, you'll
• 38:30
  S6: get linked up with great resources, including Pastor Lutzer latest book.
• 38:35
  S6: Why doesn't God answer my prayers? Why doesn't God answer
• 38:40
  S6: my prayers? Text media to 805 55 7898. Text media
• 38:47
  S6: to 805 55 7898. Although there have been a ton
• 38:52
  S6: of questions, we've just barely scratched the surface and in
• 38:56
  S6: his work, why doesn't God answer my prayers? It's going
• 38:59
  S6: to plumb the depths of Scripture and give years of
• 39:02
  S6: wisdom from Pastor Lutzer. Text media to 805 55 7898.
• 39:10
  S6: You know, pastor, I just want to take a moment here.
• 39:12
  S6: Give us your best 60s on this question, because next
• 39:16
  S6: week we start in earnest on share. We're actually going
• 39:19
  S6: to have a full hour here coming up that we
• 39:21
  S6: call it jump start, just to get a little bit
• 39:23
  S6: of a head start on what's happening next Tuesday. And
• 39:28
  S6: it's a daunting thing. $4 million is our goal. Why
• 39:31
  S6: give to Moody Radio? Why, pastor?
• 39:35
  S7: Because your gift is going to do more than you
• 39:37
  S7: will ever see on earth, but you may indeed see
• 39:40
  S7: it in heaven. You know, Carl, the more I've been
• 39:43
  S7: on radio and you as well, of course, and the
• 39:46
  S7: whole media thing, I am truly amazed at its impact.
• 39:52
  S7: But we don't know that impact all the time, because
• 39:55
  S7: there are so many people who listen that we never meet. Uh,
• 39:58
  S7: there are changes that are made, and best of all,
• 40:02
  S7: people are listening and they hear the gospel. So if
• 40:05
  S7: you want to make an investment that is going to
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  S7: go on and meet you in eternity, you can give
• 40:13
  S7: to Moody Radio, you can give to share. And you
• 40:16
  S7: know that the gift will be very wisely and widely used.
• 40:22
  S4: Pastor Lutzer been such a delight to have you with
• 40:24
  S4: us this morning. Text media to 800 555 7898. If
• 40:30
  S4: you want more more resources, online sermons. And again, that
• 40:33
  S4: book we've been featuring, why doesn't God answer my prayers?
• 40:36
  S4: Just text media to 800 555 7898.
• 40:40
  S6: This has been an amazing week. This has been an
• 40:44
  S6: amazing week. And there's some of you that are wondering, well,
• 40:49
  S6: what kind of a week has it been? I've just
• 40:52
  S6: been here for this. We have had guests. I mean,
• 40:55
  S6: AI experts in Drew Dickens, Greg Dempster, Robert Lewis on manhood,
• 40:59
  S6: Sam Storms on the power of the Holy Spirit. We've
• 41:03
  S6: had Cathy Cook. I mean, the list goes on. Abdu Murray,
• 41:07
  S6: we've had an incredible week here. So we're doing something
• 41:11
  S6: very different. We're taking each of these segments of experts
• 41:14
  S6: and we're creating its own episode. So when you grab
• 41:19
  S6: this link, you're going to be linked to everything for
• 41:22
  S6: this week.
• 41:22
  S4: Just text show to 800 555 78, 98. Just text
• 41:27
  S4: that one word show to 800 555 7898 the word
• 41:32
  S4: text here is show.