Pertinent Persectives on Prayer, Part 1

[0:00] Well, for starters, if you would open your Bible, please, to John's Gospel, chapter 14. John's Gospel, chapter 14. We are going to be examining the subject of prayer.

[0:16] We are not going to plumb the depths or the mysteries of it because that is impossible. But I just want to relate to you some of the key things that I have learned since I have been a believer over about the last 65 years or so.

[0:36] And I want to begin with a great complex disappointment that I experienced, probably having not been a believer for even a year at the time.

[0:51] And I was enrolled as a freshman student at Cedarville College. And they had about 140 or 50 students in the whole student body.

[1:02] And my freshman class was the largest one. And now I saw in the newspaper just a few days ago where Cedarville University now has exceeded the number of 5,000 students enrolled.

[1:18] And that is absolutely explosive growth that that school has undergone. And I'm satisfied that Dr. James T. Jeremiah made a pretty secure foundation there.

[1:30] And those who followed after him have done the same. But I well remember being in class and opening the scriptures as a new believer and as a new student.

[1:43] And how overwhelming the whole thing was because almost all of the kids in the class, well not all of them, but a huge number of them were a bunch of PKs. That's preacher's kids.

[1:54] And those that weren't preacher's kids were MKs. They were missionary kids. And man, they knew their Bible like I couldn't believe, you know. And when a reference was given, they just flipped their Bible open and went right to it.

[2:07] And I thought, that's amazing how they do that. All those books in the Bible, all those pages, and each guy could turn right to it. I don't understand how they do that. And while they would turn to it, I'd go back to the index.

[2:18] And see what page that particular book was on. And by the time I found it, it moved on to another passage, you know. And that was kind of frustrating. And one of the things that I began doing that I never did before, except for the now I've laid me down to sleep, I prayed the Lord my soul to keep.

[2:38] Other than that prayer, that's the only way I ever prayed. But now I had learned as a new Christian, I was on praying ground. And I could pray, and I could get answers to prayer like nobody else.

[2:53] And I looked at, I was reading John's Gospel, and I was reading here in verse 12. And it says, Truly, truly, I say to you, this is Jesus speaking, He who believes in me, the works that I do shall he do also.

[3:12] And greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father. And, said Jesus, Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

[3:29] If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. I thought, wow, that's really something. And I know I can take it in good faith because of who said it.

[3:46] Jesus said it. But, is he talking to me? Well, of course. This is a book from God for all Christians, and everything in it comes with the authority of God, and you can take it to the bank.

[4:03] And whatever God says, he's going to stand behind it. So, I began trying to put this into practice, and every time I prayed, I would make sure that I added, and I pray in Jesus' name.

[4:18] And that will clinch the deal, so I'll be guaranteed that what I ask for, I'll get it. But it didn't work. What's the problem?

[4:30] Well, immediately, I knew that the problem, the source of the problem, had to be in one of two locations. The problem either had to be with God and the Bible, or the problem had to be with me.

[4:46] Well, guess who appeared to be the most guilty one? It was me. So, I began asking this kind of question. Well, he is talking to people who are committed to him, and who love him, and that's the problem.

[5:04] I am not as committed as I ought to be, and I don't love him as much as I ought to, because if I did, this would work for me too.

[5:16] So, Wiseman, the problem is, you need to get with the program. What do you need to do? Well, for starters, you need to pray more. But wait a minute, that's part of the problem.

[5:28] The praying, you know. Well, what else is there in my life that I could clean up that would be more pleasing to the Lord? What do I need? Well, let's see.

[5:42] I stopped smoking. I was a pack or two pack a day guy when I came to know the Lord. And this, by the way, was way back before the Surgeon General ever said anything about smoking or put it on the cigarettes, on the pack, you know.

[5:57] But I just knew that it wasn't a good thing to be doing. That was just common sense. So, I quit smoking. And booze never was a problem, so I wasn't drinking.

[6:08] And even though I lived in an army barracks for three years and could swear for about 10 or 15 minutes without repeating myself, I gave up the bad language and that wasn't a problem anymore.

[6:21] What am I lacking? I don't know. But I need to find out, so I'll pray about it. Now, wait a minute. Back to a chicken and an egg thing. What's going on here? And it was terribly complex and confusing for a new Christian and discouraging.

[6:36] And I'd beat up on myself and I'd say, well, my husband, maybe you're not witnessing enough. Maybe, you know, and I was looking for all of these reasons why this thing wasn't working like it should for me.

[6:51] And I was too embarrassed to talk to anybody else about it and ask him because I knew they were all in tune and all the schoolmates, they were all getting, and by the way, that was another thing. Grades.

[7:03] My first semester at Cedarville College, my grade point average was .6. Out of a possible 4.0, I was a .6.

[7:18] And that was something to pray about, but that didn't seem to work either. And it was terribly, terribly confusing. And I went on with that for a long time. These are things that if you don't get them resolved, they stunt your growth.

[7:35] They keep you from maturing and developing. And I'm satisfied that this is what has happened to a lot of believers. You realize, guys, there are a lot of men and women in their 60s who've been saved for 40 or 50 years and are still spiritual infants.

[7:57] They have not matured. And when we see something like that happen in an individual's life, intellectually or physically, we're so saddened by it.

[8:11] And here is someone like my own daughter, for instance, when she was born. Came to find out later that as a result of all kinds of complications and medications, etc., she was the equivalent of about a five-year-old mentally when she was 30 years old.

[8:34] And she passed away quite unexpectedly at 30. And she did not develop mentally. And we call it mental retardation. And that's a shame when that happens.

[8:44] But, fellas, there is a spiritual retardation also. And Peter addresses that when he tells us that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[8:58] We are to grow up in Him. We are to mature in Christ. And you do that by desiring the sincere milk of the Word. That's starting out in the Christian diet with the milk of the Word, just like a baby does at its mother's breast.

[9:14] It starts with a milk diet. And then it moves on to cereal and pablum and stuff like that. And then when the baby is old enough, as a young person, they are able to eat solid meat.

[9:27] That helps them grow even more. And there is a spiritual analogy there. But I had absolutely no idea at all about the concept of rightly dividing the Word of God.

[9:42] And when you don't, you have just one alternative. If you do not rightly divide it, you will wrongly mix it. And that's what I was doing and didn't even know it.

[9:56] Because my thinking was everything in the Bible is to me as a Christian. No, it isn't. No, it isn't.

[10:07] And it never was intended that way. It is not to me as a Christian. Everything in the Bible is for me, but not to me. For me, but not to me.

[10:19] Paul said, writing to the Romans in chapter 15, I think it's verse 4, if it didn't move, that whatsoever things were written aforetime.

[10:31] Now you've got to remember, when Paul wrote that in Romans 15, the New Testament hadn't even come into being yet. All that existed was the Old Testament.

[10:42] So when he said, whatsoever things were written aforetime, he was talking about Moses in the beginning to Malachi. That's all they had.

[10:53] And he says, they were written for our learning. So that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.

[11:06] And that word, beautiful, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have confidence. Confidence. Big difference. That's the meaning of that word.

[11:18] So, that simply means that all of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us.

[11:28] That is part of what it means to rightly divide the Scriptures. The word in the Greek is orthotomuntos. Orthotomuntos.

[11:39] And it has to do with cutting straight. Cutting in a straight line so that you get a clear demarcation.

[11:51] And when you cut something, you always do it for just one reason. You want to separate one thing from another. So you cut it.

[12:03] If a surgeon is operating on a patient who has cancer and he finds the location of the cancer, he cuts it. He separates the cancer from the good tissue.

[12:18] That's orthotomunto, which means to cut or to cut straight. Now, he has to be careful how he cuts because he'll cut into good tissue if he's not. So the idea is to cut it straight.

[12:30] Cut it precisely. And that means things in the Scriptures have to be divided. Because if you don't divide them, then you take it this way.

[12:41] And this is the way I took it. But I didn't see the reality of it. If you take it like some people say you're supposed to do, then... Well, let me put it this way.

[12:56] All of the Bible is for our learning. But not all of the Bible is for our doing. Some of the Bible is go and do thou likewise.

[13:12] And that's for Christians today, and it has to do with loving your wife as Christ loved the church. Go and do likewise. That's what you're supposed to do. But when it comes to sacrificing animals, or some other commandment from the Old Testament, it doesn't mean that you're supposed to imitate that.

[13:36] That is for your learning, not for your doing. So you've got to separate what is for your learning and what is for your doing. And if you get fixed in mind what is proper for your learning, then you'll be able to enter into the doing with efficiency and clarity and it makes all the difference in the world.

[13:58] And I don't mind telling you, I'm not proud of this, but for the first, oh my, for the first eight or ten years of my Christian life, I never really heard or understood or appreciated these principles of the right division of Scripture.

[14:21] And I was in a school that taught the Bible. And I never got that information there. They never made a distinction of it. And as far as I know, they still don't.

[14:33] But to me, it is the key. It was the most liberating thing. Nothing, absolutely nothing, made the Bible come alive to me more than learning and understanding what was for me and to me as opposed to what was for my learning and understanding.

[14:49] The whole Bible is for our learning. And I get so peeped sometimes with people who are opposed to this and they're, oh, well, you're one of those dispensationalists. You cut up the Bible and you just take the parts that you want and you leave the parts that you don't like.

[15:05] That's terrible. That's terrible. But that's what we're often accused of. And they come back with, but we take the whole Bible. Well, I think you get my point.

[15:17] But anyway, I've given people literature to read. I've given other pastors literature to read about these things. And I tell them, I'll tell you what, do me a favor.

[15:30] Would you take this and read it? And everything in it that you find that is not true about rightly dividing the Scriptures, every problem you find, every error you find, underline it and mark it and get it back to me and I'll be happy to hear what you have to say and discuss it.

[15:51] Oh yeah, I'll be glad to, be glad to. And you give them to them and you never hear from them again. They never get back to you. Because they, like so many, are already primed and plugged in to their particular frame of reference and woe be unto anybody that tries to move them out of it.

[16:11] It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen in so many cases. things. And in my case, I had something going for me in that I was a relatively new Christian and had not been so indoctrinated in so many things that made it impossible for me to drop off some of those.

[16:28] And I was in a favored position for which I thank the Lord. So let's get back to this now. Chapter 14, whatsoever you ask in my name, that will I do.

[16:39] And I want you to keep this in mind, guys. If you look at the setting here under which Jesus wrote this, you will see that this is all taking place in the upper room. And that started back as early as John 12, John 13.

[16:54] So we've got like John 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and part of 18. All of those chapters took place in just a few hours.

[17:06] That was the night before Jesus was betrayed. The night of the Last Supper, when he was in the upper room with the apostles. And that's one of the principal things that separates John's Gospel from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

[17:21] They are called the synoptic Gospels because they see things pretty much alike. But John, in his Gospel, takes an entirely different tact and a different game plan, if you will, in laying forth what he does.

[17:35] So his Gospel kind of stands alone. And then, while we're in John's Gospel, look at verses 25. Verse 25, here in chapter 14.

[17:48] These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

[18:11] That, too, is something that people like to apply to themselves as believers. And they do that with good heart, good faith, good intentions, and they just say, wow, there's a little ditty that we used to sing in Sunday school many years ago.

[18:24] Every promise in the book is mine, every word, every line. No, it isn't! No, it isn't! But it sounds so good. And way back in Sunday school, we can begin teaching our children incorrectly by thinking, every promise in the book is mine.

[18:44] Every word, every line. So all you have to do is claim it! In faith, claim it! Have you ever heard of the faith preachers?

[18:56] The name it, claim it, blab it, grab it? They're all over television. And they prey on vulnerable, desperate people who are really looking for a miracle.

[19:09] And they capitalize on that and take advantage of it. It is one of the most heinous things on television for people to take advantage of those who are vulnerable and hurting out there and they are a sitting duck for this kind of stuff.

[19:24] So, we need to rightly divide the word of truth. And this passage here talks about these very things. It's just a shame the way that it is.

[19:40] And you know what the corrective is for this? For me, and my appreciation of it, the corrective is taking the word of God and teaching it verse by verse.

[19:53] There isn't much of that that goes on. And the reason why is because too many pastors are cherry picking certain portions of Scripture that are their favorites or that are common or that will be easily accepted and they ignore and stay away from the difficult stuff, the hard stuff to understand.

[20:17] Because, listen, everything in this book, everything in this book is connected to everything in this book. It's all interrelated.

[20:30] It's all intertwined. But it has to be rightly divided. And when you do, it will give you an even greater appreciation for the things that are not for you.

[20:41] But you'll even have a better appreciation for them, even though they're not for your application. So the principle is line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.

[20:52] And that's the only way, in my estimation, to study the Scriptures. And that's why at grace for the last 50 some years, we've gone through the whole New Testament verse by verse.

[21:08] And that doesn't mean we ignore Genesis or the Old Testament. In fact, we spent five years in Genesis on Sunday mornings. And it was tremendously profitable, but you've got to keep it in its historical context.

[21:22] And while it is true, God, people say, well, I just take the whole Bible. I take the whole thing because God's the one who gave us the Bible and God doesn't change. So I take the whole thing.

[21:34] Well, God doesn't change. That's true. God doesn't change at all. But you know who does? You do. I do.

[21:44] Humanity does. The human race changes. Was there a change between Adam and Eve being created? And what happened with the flood? And why the flood came?

[21:56] Of course, there was massive change. And God brought the curtain down on the whole thing. So as you move all through human history, man is developing and changing and the needs are.

[22:07] And for originally, the need was to develop a people through whom the seed could come, that God had given in the promise. And you know who he gave the first promise to?

[22:19] It's a beautiful thing. You would think that God gave the first promise to Adam and Eve. He didn't. He gave them commands, told them what they were supposed to do and all the rest.

[22:32] But you know who got the first promise? Satan. The devil got the first promise. God said, I'm going to put enmity between your seed, that is your offspring, and her seed, her offspring, and you will strike him on the heel.

[22:53] That seed will be the seed of the woman. You will strike him on the heel. And that speaks of the death of Christ. Christ. And he says in 315 of Genesis, and he will crush your head.

[23:09] That is a blow of finality. You can survive a strike on the heel, but the crushing of the head is something different. And that was the promise that God made for Adam and Eve, but he made it to the serpent.

[23:26] And that has been played out, and is being played out, right now, before our very eyes. And as you move on through the Old Testament, you see things changing, and God raises up a special man, Abraham through whom Isaac and Jacob will come, and then the twelve sons, and then you've got the thing in Israel, or Israel moving to Egypt, and the plagues, and the coming out of Egypt with the Exodus, and all of this stuff.

[23:54] And they come to Sinai, and there God uses Moses to give them the tables of the law, and the commandments, and all that went with it, and these were special people for a special time.

[24:04] And do you realize, guys, do you realize that the law of Moses was never, ever given to you? It was given to Israel, for Israel, for that time.

[24:19] And the time would come when it would be taken from them, and that would be, when Jesus was on that cross, and cried out, it is finished, the veil in the Jewish temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

[24:41] That's very interesting. Listen, words mean things, guys. It doesn't say that the veil in the temple was torn in two. It says it was torn into from the top to the bottom.

[24:58] And for those who think, well, there's natural explanations for all of that. That was caused by an earthquake. No, it wasn't. Ask any seismologist the effects of earthquakes, and they would tell you, something like that temple, that huge, thick, woven curtain, would have been torn from the bottom to the top.

[25:17] But it wasn't. Scriptures are specific and says it was torn from the top to the bottom. Picture, if you will, a giant hands reaching down and ripping that thing in two.

[25:33] And God was saying, I'm done with this. Judaism is defunct. And there is a new and living way that has been created.

[25:45] And what is it? And Hebrews says that now we pass through the veil. And what is the veil now? The veil is the body of Christ.

[25:56] Physical body of Christ. That's the veil. That's amazing. And it's all connected. But if you don't see the connection, you won't get the teaching or the blessing.

[26:08] And that's why nothing works like the Word works. So, I've got to move on here. We're going to be too far behind. Now, chapter 15. We're still in John's Gospel.

[26:19] Look at chapter... Let's see. Oh, let's go to 16. 16. 12.

[26:30] John chapter 16, verse 12. I have many more things, Jesus said, to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. You can't contain it now.

[26:40] But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will disclose to you what is to come.

[26:57] That's, of course, future things. He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine and shall disclose it to you. This is another thing that I tried to appropriate and found out that it didn't work for me.

[27:09] And do you know why it didn't work for me? It wasn't written to me. It was addressed to those 12 apostles. Well, 11, because Judas had gone out by then.

[27:21] Addressed to these 11 apostles, and they didn't have a clue what Jesus was talking about. Right up to the last minute, they didn't understand that He was going to the cross. And Peter even rebuked Him when he talked about it.

[27:32] But here he's saying, he's saying that the Spirit of Truth will guide you into all the truth. And then, he says, He shall glorify Me.

[27:44] In verse 15, the things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. I tried to claim that too. After all, every word in the Bible is to me, right?

[27:57] No, it isn't. This was specifically given to the apostles. And what was the purpose of giving it? So they could recall it. Listen guys, you need to understand that when Jesus was here on earth for those three or three and a half years, and giving the teaching and the parables and the miracles and everything else that went with it, don't think for a moment that the apostles were standing by with a notepad and taking notes and writing down everything Jesus said.

[28:30] They didn't write down anything He said. They were just content with listening. And the gospels, the gospels that are in the inspired Word of God, none of them were written by anyone until years after Jesus had gone back to heaven.

[28:54] We were devoid of this information for several years. And as far as we know, if the scholars are right, and they probably are, John's writings were among the very last, including the book of the Revelation.

[29:07] And John was the apostle that Jesus loved, we're told. And he was the last one to die. He was probably the kid. He was probably the youngest one of the whole twelve when they started out.

[29:19] He was the last one to die, most likely in his nineties, when he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos. And that's when he wrote the Revelation under inspiration. And up until that time, we've got John's gospel, and first, second, and third John, he wrote all of those, and then the Revelation, years after Jesus was gone.

[29:39] And Luke, who also gave us the Acts of the Apostles as well as his gospel, he too did not write. Well, how were they able to remember all that stuff? They weren't.

[29:50] The Spirit of God recalled to their minds what Jesus had said, and allowed them to put it on paper for the original autographs, what we would call the original copies of the Word of God.

[30:05] So as they wrote, they wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. And the word is theonoustos. Theonoustos. And the word theos is God, and theonoustos, P-N-E-U-S-T-O-S, is the word from pneuma, which has to do with pneumatic.

[30:25] If you use pneumatic tools, they are air-driven. And your lungs are referred to as pneuma because of the air that is in them. And theonoustos means breath, breath or air of God.

[30:41] That's what we mean when we say the scriptures are God-breathed. When you talk, when I talk, you are breathing while you're talking.

[30:53] You can't talk without breathing. And you're doing it automatically. You're taking air into your lungs and using it to expel words and information. And that's why we say the Bible is the breath or the words of God.

[31:10] God-breathed, breathed out. And it is a beautiful thing. That's the whole basis of inspiration. And that doesn't mean simply that the scriptures are inspiring, although they are, but it means they are inspired, which gives them their authority.

[31:33] It is the source from which the scriptures come that gives them their authority. It's a beautiful thing. But this is not what we're teaching on. We're teaching on something else.

[31:45] Let's go to chapter. I've got all these references written down. Marv, I should have known we wouldn't be able to get to them. But anyhow, let's.

[31:56] Let's. Oh, my. Got to keep track of the time here.

[32:14] Okay. Let's. Let's go to Romans eight. First of all. Romans chapter eight. Very familiar passage. And boy, this was sure a breakthrough for me years ago when I was able to finally get a handle on this.

[32:24] Boy, it really changed everything. I mean, especially regarding prayer. Romans chapter eight. You got to keep in mind now the guy who wrote this under the inspiration of the spirit of God, the apostle Paul.

[32:38] He was one who was well accustomed with the whole issue of praying because he comes from the background of being a Pharisee, of course, and they were committed to their prayers.

[32:51] And like Jesus said, they loved to stand on the street corner and recite long prayers so that people could admire them. And all it did was feed the flesh. So he was very familiar with prayer and everything that went with it.

[33:04] And we're told in in Romans chapter eight, which is a really breakthrough passage if you get a handle on it. And well, let's start with I just have to jump in with verse 26 in the same way.

[33:21] Verse 26. In the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness. And part of that weakness is spiritual and part of it is intellectual.

[33:34] And hey, guys, all of us, without exception, are so weak in so many ways that it's pathetic.

[33:45] But we often don't like to think that. We like to think we're strong. We're a can-do guy. Well, I've lived long enough to know that if we really understood how ignorant we are and how weak we are, we'd be embarrassed.

[34:00] Because we just don't know anything as we often know. And that's partly what Paul is saying here in verse 26.

[34:11] He says, in the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness. For we, do you think Paul was including himself in that we? I'm sure he was.

[34:25] But wait a minute. Wasn't he an apostle? Does that mean that he knew everything? Of course not. He's still a human. We, we do not know how to pray as we should.

[34:43] Now, there are some people who really take exception to that and say, well, Paul speaking for himself, I know how to pray. I know how to pray as I should. Well, how do you know?

[34:53] Well, all I have to do is look out there and see what the need is. And I pray about the need. What's so hard about that? Well, for starters, in most cases, you only think you know the need.

[35:07] You only think you see the need. But you don't see what God sees. You see with limited vision and limited understanding. And yet, for most of us, that satisfies us and we pray on that basis.

[35:22] And sometimes we're right and sometimes we're wrong. Sometimes we're praying incorrectly and we don't even know it. Because praying in sincerity is no guarantee for accurate prayer.

[35:36] I think most prayers that are offered are offered in sincerity. Oh, God, please this and that and the other. And they're very sincere. But God isn't looking and listening and saying, oh, well, I'm not going to grant this because it wouldn't be in his best.

[35:52] But he's so sincere. So I'll let him have it or let her have it or whatever. It doesn't work that way. We know that we do not know how to pray as we should.

[36:05] Hey, deal with it. Acknowledge it. Accept it. It's part of your humanness. It's okay to be human. We're not supposed to know everything. We don't know how to pray as we should.

[36:16] But, thank God for this, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Or feelings too deep for words.

[36:28] And I think that means that the Spirit of God stands ready to give us some guidance and some direction in how we pray. And I've learned one thing.

[36:39] All of our prayers are to be submitted to God for His consideration and His determination.

[36:51] Not for our doing. And the best thing that perhaps taught me that was Paul's own experience about this thorn in the flesh he had.

[37:02] We're not real sure what it had, but what it was. But it very possibly was his vision. We don't know that. But there are things that indicate that he had a vision problem. And he says, I besought the Lord that this thorn in the flesh, which was a way of describing a nasty problem, that it would depart from me.

[37:24] And I prayed and asked God to take it away. And you know what? I'm sure that Paul thought it was the most reasonable thing that he could possibly pray. Because if it was a vision problem that impaired him, wouldn't it be wonderful if he had clear 20-20 vision?

[37:44] And could see clearly to write and clearly to read? And wouldn't that be a great boon to his ministry? Of course. Hey God, be logical.

[37:58] Get with the problem. You've got the ability to fix this. I had a problem. And if it was his eyes, Paul could say, I fully expect to wake up tomorrow morning with 20-20 vision.

[38:10] And when he woke up the next morning, his vision was blurred. So he thought, well, all I need to do is just blink a few times and it will all come.

[38:21] And it didn't. What's wrong? Did I ask in faith believing? Oh, yes. But God didn't grant it. Why? Well, he's busy. Maybe he didn't hear.

[38:32] Maybe I need to ask again. And he says, I asked the Lord three times to remove this thorn and flame. Now, listen guys. If God turns down a select individual like Paul, whom he used to write one-third of the New Testament, and set his request aside because he had something else for him, is there any possibility that he might do that for you?

[39:06] Or that he might treat you and your prayers that way? He says, and Paul learned this the hard way. We know not how to pray as we are.

[39:17] Oh, Paul could say, I learned that. Boy, I sure did. And the Lord says, well, Paul, I'm not going to give you good vision. But what I'm going to do is give you something that I know is even better in your interest than what you asked for.

[39:36] Even though you may not think so, trust me. I really know better. What I'm going to do is give you the ability to bear up under this problem.

[39:48] Well, thanks a lot. I'll tell you what. You know what my flesh says? My flesh says, well, thank you, sir, just the same, but actually I'd rather you answer my first prayers.

[40:05] You know? And you know why we feel that way? Because in our arrogance and in our ignorance, we actually think we know better than God. And we want to clue him in on what he really ought to do.

[40:20] I mean, listen, this is no way for you to run a railroad. You get with my program. This is what I... I know what my needs are. And you have the ability to fix them.

[40:30] So let's get with it, huh? Isn't that just human arrogance speaking? I tell you, are we not all guilty of this one time or another?

[40:40] And we charge God foolishly? How many times do you think Job prayed when all of this stuff was coming upon him? And he didn't know what he was doing wrong.

[40:52] And he cried out to God and said, Lord, I don't know where I've offended you. I don't know what I've done that has really turned you off to me.

[41:02] But it must be terrible. And I want to make it right. And please let me know how I've offended you so I can apologize, so I can do whatever I need to do. And then what is God's answer?

[41:15] More problems. More problems. Well, good grief. More problems. And finally, the guy is reduced to boils. Boils breaking out all over his skin, sitting on a pile of ashes.

[41:31] And he picks up a broken piece of pottery and starts scraping his skin and the boils and the pain and everything. And his wife, his wife is in this as much as he is because she's a good wife.

[41:47] And she is devastated to see her loving husband reduced to this. And finally, she throws in the towel. And she says, I've had it with God.

[42:01] I've had it with God. All you've done for Him, all you've done for the generations here, you've given and you've given and you've given and you've prayed and you've held all of these things in His name.

[42:14] And this is the way the Almighty thanks you. Job, don't you know when you've had enough? Curse God and die. Get it over with. She couldn't stand to see Him going that way.

[42:27] And Job said, you speak as a foolish woman. How is it that we who have received good things from the Lord shall not also take the negative things?

[42:44] God has given and God has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Fellas, that's the ticket.

[42:56] That's the ticket. And nobody is saying it's easy. Because it isn't. It's terribly, terribly difficult. That's why most people don't do it.

[43:11] They would rather have a pity party. Oh, me. Oh, my. What did I do to deserve this? Why has this befallen me? And I don't understand.

[43:21] And where is God when you need Him? And all the rest of it. I don't know about you, but I can identify with all of this stuff. This is part and parcel of growing and maturing in the Christian life.

[43:32] And how many believers come to their 60s and 70s and they never did get it. Never understood it. And don't appreciate it.

[43:42] And sometimes they consider themselves, well, God and I aren't actually on speaking terms anymore. Why not? Why not? Well, the truth be told, and they're usually too embarrassed to admit it, but God didn't come through.

[43:58] All I asked for was the life of my granddaughter. And he could have done it. But he didn't.

[44:08] And she died. And it's God's fault. And he could have saved her. And he didn't. And God doesn't care. He didn't care about me. He didn't care about my problems. So I'm not going to his old church anymore.

[44:22] And I'm not going to read his old Bible anymore either. And this is humanity in its ignorance and arrogance speaking. And is there a one of us that cannot identify with this on some level?

[44:38] Of course we can. In our humanity. We're all subject to this. And do you know what will bring you out of it? The only thing it will bring you out of it, the only thing that can do it, is information.

[44:53] Where are you going to get the information? Same place we're getting this. That's the only place where it's available. And the food is here and it looks so good. So, thank you dear for caring for this bunch of old men.

[45:06] We do appreciate it. Hey guys. Needless to say, this is going to have to be part two. Because I didn't get to what I intended to bring this morning. So, we'll do that next week.

[45:17] Okay? Enjoy your breakfast. What do you got?