Cynthia Scott: Seeing God Move in America

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Hey friends, and welcome to Her God Story, where

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you'll always hear stories that encourage your

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faith and inspire your walk with the Lord. I'm

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your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at

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Somebody Cares America and International, author

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and fellow traveler on this journey with Jesus.

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I'm so glad you joined us. Today, you're gonna

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hear the story of a woman who spent 20 years

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building a successful business only to lay it

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down and step into something entirely new. What

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followed was a journey of prayer, obedience,

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and discovering how God had been preparing her

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all along to help awaken believers across our

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nation. But her story also raises a question

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for all of us. Have you ever noticed how easy

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it is to miss what God is doing right in front

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of us? Sometimes we're so focused on our plans,

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expectations, or even our worries that we overlook

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the quiet ways God is moving. Yet Jesus gave

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us a powerful clue about how to live. In John

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5 19, he said that he only did what he saw the

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father doing. That means the father is always

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working and he's always revealing it to us. Jesus

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watched for the father's work and then joined

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him in it. Bible teacher Henry Blackaby captured

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that idea so well when he wrote, God is always

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at work around you. Your task is to see where

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he's working and join him. That really is the

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invitation to all of us. God's always moving

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in our families, in our communities, and even

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in the small moments of everyday life. The question

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isn't whether God's working. The question is

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whether we have eyes to see it and hearts willing

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to respond. One of the things God is always about

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is caring for widows and orphans. It's a priority

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for him. Just read James 127. So I want to take

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a moment to thank those of you who support our

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Widow and Orphan Fund. Over the years together

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we have provided dignity, provision, care, and

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hope for some of the most vulnerable people among

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us, and it has gladdened the heart of God. If

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you'd like to join him in this work, just visit

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hergodstory .org and click help now. My guest

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today is a woman who has devoted herself to seeing

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what God is doing around her and joining in.

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Cynthia Scott is an author and passionate prayer

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leader who spent many years helping mobilize

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believers to seek God and pray for our nation.

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She leads a daily prayer call and is the author

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of Celebrating God Our Founder at America's 250th

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birthday. It explores the ways God's hand has

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been at work throughout our nation's history.

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She also has a deep desire to help believers

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recognize God's activity and respond in faith

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and prayer. Cynthia, we're so glad you're with

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us today. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you so

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much for having me, Jody. It's a real delight

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to be here. Well, Cynthia, it's always helpful

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to get a little background on what shaped a person's

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life. So would you tell us a bit about your family

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and your formative years? Yes, I was raised in

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the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Catholic with

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a Catholic family and I feel like I always loved

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God from the time I was young I was in the youth

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band when I was in middle school and I just I

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loved him I don't know how else to say it but

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when I was in my teen years my aunt and uncle

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be were part of the charismatic renewal in Pittsburgh

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and so I was born again and just turned my heart

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towards God was really ravenous for his word

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in my 20s and and sought him and I was married

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when I was in my mid -20s. My husband, Grant,

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also from Pittsburgh. We settled here in this

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area and we have three children and two grandchildren

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now. But early on, I was involved in business.

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As you mentioned, I had a business for 20 years.

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I worked before then. It was a legal staffing

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company. And I became part of a group called

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Fellowship of Companies for Christ during that

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time. as though I met Jesus afresh in the workplace.

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And I think that's really important for people

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to hear because God does not just encounter us

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in our home life or in the topics that we mostly

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talk about at church, right? We know that God

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is the God of our entire lives. So we need to...

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as you said, sort of be tuned in to what he's

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doing around us, whether it's in our work life,

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at home, in our community. And during that season

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of work, and I owned a legal staffing company,

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and I began to be involved, as I said, with Fellowship

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of Companies for Christ. And I learned that my

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business was my platform for ministry, that he

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gave whatever he gives us, whatever it is, whether

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it's your home or or an activity or a hobby.

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everything really is a platform for ministry.

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And I began to get involved in some of the local

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ministry activities in our city, Pittsburgh,

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where I was working. Yeah. So somewhere along

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the way, I mean, you're building this wonderful

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business after college and a few years in the

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work world. God began shifting your focus away

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from the business and shifting it toward greater

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involvement in what he was doing in your community.

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So take us through that transition because you

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invested a lot of time and energy and money in

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business. Take us through that transition and

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how you became involved and what you became involved

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in and eventually why you actually decided to

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close that business you had invested so much

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in. Yes. Well, it's interesting when I go back

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to those years, The Lord was speaking to me about

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hearing him in the midst of my business life,

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in the midst of the business world, which is

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not something I learned so much at church, for

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example. However, there was one person who was

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extraordinarily influential in my life, and that

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is Henry Blackby. You referenced him earlier.

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I knew him because I went to a conference, a

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work life conference. And when he spoke, I knew

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I needed to bring that, that we needed that message

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in Pittsburgh. And the message was to repent.

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Like in the middle of this work life conference,

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Henry Blackby is saying repent and turn back

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to God. He said things like, give your best to

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God. Make sure that we're not as business people,

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or he wasn't a business person, but he worked

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with many very high level business people to

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minister to them. don't just give God's second

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best. Make sure you're giving God your best.

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And so it was in that process that I got to know

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him and his wife, Marilyn. And we did end up

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inviting them to Pittsburgh for a God's presence

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in your work life conference. In the meantime,

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just personally, I was doing some Bible studies

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in Pittsburgh with a small group of people and

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that little... initiative I called God, Women

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and Work. And I started with the life of Deborah

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and looked at how God used her in sort of her

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work world, right, as a leader in Israel and

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was just tying the scriptures to work for women.

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You know, God... God has many roles for us as

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women, and he's very creative in how he leads

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us to fulfill those roles. And there are different

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roles at different times, too. So I felt like

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it was really important that women particularly

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were listening to God because your life, Jody,

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doesn't look the same as mine and it doesn't

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look the same as your listener's lives. God is

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very creative. And even in my business during

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that time, I had a lot of flexibility because

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I had a small business. I was raising children

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with my husband, the boys. We were playing hockey.

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We traveled all over the place for that. And

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I just found that God really did meet me where

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I was. But as I said, I learned from Henry Blackaby

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to watch what God was doing. And I also learned

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one other very important spiritual point, and

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that is. leadership. He wrote the book, Experiencing

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God First, and then he wrote spiritual leadership

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because people wanted more information about

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how to hear him in leadership. And I love what

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he said. Spiritual leadership is moving people

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onto God's agenda. So whatever area you're in,

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whatever your listeners do or wherever they find

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themselves, they can be a spiritual leader by

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watching and and seeing what God is doing and

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leading people onto God's agenda in that particular

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instance. And you're right, my heart, I became

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involved in citywide ministry initiatives. We

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did a solemn assembly. I chaired the Franklin

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Graham Festival of Hope, the local leadership

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committee in Pittsburgh. And I began to see my

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heart just moving away from the business and

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more and more into seeing what God was doing

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and helping others to see what God was doing

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in and around their lives. Yeah, you know, I've

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noticed in my own life that God gives me grace

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for a season, a particular work or a particular

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ministry. And there's great fulfillment and satisfaction

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in that. But when He's ready to lead me into

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something new, that grace lifts and the fulfillment

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just isn't there anymore. And the things that

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I was doing become more difficult. And, you know,

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I realize He's helping me release it. Because

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we love those seasons of grace and fulfillment.

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And we see God working. And when He wants to

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move us on, sometimes it's hard for us to let

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go of what we've been doing in the past. You're

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entirely right about that. That's a process.

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Yeah. And those lessons that Henry Blackby gave

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you, and everyone else, but that you really grabbed

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onto to see where God is doing and join Him.

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I know that he had a new assignment for you when

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you started to release the business. So share

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about that transition away from business, really

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into more ministry. Right. That season was interesting

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because I was closing the business. And I think

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I mentioned this to you before, as I was packing

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up boxes and boxes of marketing materials, I

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noticed that, you know, Ten years prior, my marketing

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materials were all about the business and marketing

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the business. And then I saw more and more marketing

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materials about the ministry initiatives, because

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a lot of those things I underwrote, I had my

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graphic people do them. So they were along with

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the other information in these boxes. And I thought,

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you know what? The Lord really has shifted my

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heart. And that's what we have to be attuned

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to. So what happened then was I closed the business.

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And in the meantime, having worked with the Billy

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Graham folks as a volunteer in 2014 for that

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Festival of Hope, that big evangelistic outreach,

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Franklin Graham was moving into another season.

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He was doing the Decision America tour. And I

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was able to transition again as a volunteer at

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the beginning to be involved in the prayer prior

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to those Decision America rallies that he had

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all across the nation. And that was an amazing

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time in 2016 because he went to every state and

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preached the gospel. He called people to repentance.

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He called them to seek God. He taught us to engage,

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told us to engage in our local communities to

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vote, for vote for the candidates that were the

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most aligned with God's purposes, right? Nobody's

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perfect. And then I became more involved with

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them and continued to do work with them part

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-time in the area of prayer, so advanced prayer.

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So I would go in and I would call and visit prayer

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networks in advance of him going and get them,

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let them know what was happening sort of ahead

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of the public, get them praying. And the reason

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I was so committed to that is that, you know,

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as we look at the scriptures and we look at history,

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a great move of God. is the most important thing

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that can happen in a society. And when we tend

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to get off course, right, it's a great move of

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God, a revival which brings new life to the churches,

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a spiritual awakening that usually happens as

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a result of that if it's deep, which brings others

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into the kingdom and ultimately a reformation

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of societal institutions. And we saw that in

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the first great awakening in America. We saw

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that in the second great awakening in America

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and As I became more and more convinced that

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we need a deep and thorough third grade awakening,

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prayer is always the thing that preceded that.

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That's sort of what led me into that area of

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prayer ministry. And so I spent several years

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doing that with them, and then COVID hit. Just

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share the story of your first involvement with

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prayer back in Pittsburgh and what happened the

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year after that in your city. You said that prayer

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always precedes You know, a harvest. Yes. Well,

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I, during that season of about 2005 to 2000,

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well that happened, Franklin came in 14. I was

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part of a small group that, and we prayed for

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the city and we did several conferences, spiritual

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awakening, spiritual leadership conferences and

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different initiatives. But what our heart was

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set on was a time of repentance, a solemn assembly.

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And that's when the leaders, either political

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or spiritual in a city, call the people together

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to repent. So I had this group that I was leading,

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a small group, and this is what we were praying

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towards. We wanted to see this type of, and it

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really began in 2008 when the crash of the market.

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And if you remember that, that was just such

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a, it was a dramatic and traumatic time in our

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nation. And when I went to the scriptures, the

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Lord brought forth to me the book of Joel. And

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you know, when the storehouses are in shambles

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and the barns are broken down, our barns were

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broken down. storehouses were in shambles. And

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what did he say? Call a solemn assembly, repent,

00:14:02.289 --> 00:14:05.190
and maybe the Lord will hear and respond. And

00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:07.809
at the end of the book of Joel, it's so interesting,

00:14:08.169 --> 00:14:10.769
is a revival, right? The Lord did hear, he did

00:14:10.769 --> 00:14:13.230
respond, and there was a revival. So we were

00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:16.529
at that stage, not presuming on the Lord to bring

00:14:16.529 --> 00:14:20.429
any kind of an awakening, but just in that place

00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:24.230
of repenting for the sins of our city, basically,

00:14:24.250 --> 00:14:29.080
and our nation. And so that culminated in 2013

00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.779
with a solemn assembly in Pittsburgh where we

00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:36.539
had pastors and leaders, the Christian community,

00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:39.179
two bishops actually formed and we worked with

00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.940
the bishops, an Anglican bishop representing

00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:43.860
the Protestants and the Catholic bishop because

00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:46.309
Pittsburgh is primarily Catholic. And we came

00:14:46.309 --> 00:14:49.190
together and we repented before the Lord. And

00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:50.850
I do think that that may have been one of the

00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:53.470
most significant spiritual things that I've ever

00:14:53.470 --> 00:14:55.570
been involved with. I was the leader of that

00:14:55.570 --> 00:14:57.210
committee. And afterwards they said, well, what

00:14:57.210 --> 00:14:59.029
do you feel? And I said, well, I don't feel anything.

00:14:59.250 --> 00:15:02.529
I just did what the Lord said. We did it. He

00:15:02.529 --> 00:15:05.169
called forth a solemn assembly. It took us years

00:15:05.169 --> 00:15:09.690
to get there, six to be precise. And then he

00:15:09.690 --> 00:15:12.230
did it. And so now the rest was up to God. Well,

00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:15.580
what was the next thing? an evangelistic outreach,

00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.100
just like in the book of Joel, because right,

00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:21.720
right then, you know, right before that solemn

00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:24.559
assembly, right around that time, someone had

00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.419
requested that it wasn't me that someone had

00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:28.679
requested that Franklin Graham come to Pittsburgh

00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:33.429
and He began interviewing people and they decided

00:15:33.429 --> 00:15:37.269
to come. They interviewed me. They decided that

00:15:37.269 --> 00:15:39.110
I would be the leader for the local leadership

00:15:39.110 --> 00:15:42.409
team. And so we saw just one year afterwards,

00:15:42.590 --> 00:15:45.129
a year and a few months after that solemn assembly,

00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:48.389
that time of repentance, a time of evangelism

00:15:48.389 --> 00:15:51.389
and many, many people coming to the Lord. Yeah.

00:15:51.389 --> 00:15:54.289
Isn't that so great? I mean, God gave you the

00:15:54.289 --> 00:15:57.429
ability to see the results of your obedience.

00:15:57.529 --> 00:15:59.909
I mean, you are being six years to get solemn

00:15:59.909 --> 00:16:01.529
assembly. You wouldn't think it would be so hard

00:16:01.529 --> 00:16:03.870
to get people together to pray, right? We thought

00:16:03.870 --> 00:16:05.669
it was going to be six months. Yeah. Let's face

00:16:05.669 --> 00:16:09.049
it. But God's timing was perfect. Yes, it was.

00:16:09.149 --> 00:16:11.490
And you know, I would like to also point out

00:16:11.490 --> 00:16:14.940
that that is a pattern in scripture. And I know

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:16.919
you look to the scriptures, I do. You know, when

00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:19.519
I have a question, I say, where is this Lord

00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.759
in the scriptures? How do I know how to relate

00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.320
to you? Because if I go to your word, if I find

00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.220
something similar, it gives me at least a starting

00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:31.000
point for what you've been saying in this instance.

00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:35.559
And yes, it was incredibly exciting to see how

00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:38.519
that really did unfold just along the lines of

00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.519
that pattern of scripture. And you can imagine,

00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:44.230
I mean, I started to move out of that, how I

00:16:44.230 --> 00:16:46.590
mean, after that, my business just wasn't as

00:16:46.590 --> 00:16:48.929
exciting as it had been once upon a time, right?

00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:53.370
To see people come to Christ and to know what

00:16:53.370 --> 00:16:57.250
he can do in any life that is fully surrendered

00:16:57.250 --> 00:17:00.629
to him. It is an amazing thing. And that is something

00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:02.970
every one of your listeners needs to hear. That

00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:05.750
message is for them, that God can do anything

00:17:05.750 --> 00:17:08.549
he wants through your life. Just surrender to

00:17:08.549 --> 00:17:11.150
him. And you won't know what the next thing is.

00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:13.730
And that's the scary part, right? Because we

00:17:13.730 --> 00:17:16.650
don't know. And that's the scary part in any

00:17:16.650 --> 00:17:19.130
kind of a transition, which is what came next.

00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:21.809
And I mentioned that briefly to you, how I was

00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:23.630
working with the Graham folks, whom I love. They

00:17:23.630 --> 00:17:26.950
are amazing. They are the best of the best. I

00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:30.029
love Black Abbey Ministries, too. And the Grams,

00:17:30.049 --> 00:17:33.480
and in both cases, they're... excellent and they

00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:36.579
have integrity and they follow the Holy Spirit.

00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:39.319
Like that's the best of everything, right? That's

00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:41.700
surrender to God. That's what we try. That's

00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:43.920
what we all try to do, right? In our lives we

00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.380
try to be surrendered to God and hear Him and

00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:49.279
follow Him and then give Him our best, whatever

00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:52.960
that is. in terms of what we do. And what followed

00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.400
was this passion to see people return to God,

00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:59.200
this passion for revival and understanding that

00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.859
the first steps of that were prayer and repentance.

00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:03.980
Before then you have hopefully an outpouring

00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:06.720
of his spirit. And I worked with the Graham folks

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:09.039
for a couple of years and then COVID came, things

00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.359
changed. And I was home, I had some eye issues

00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.099
and some family reasons that I needed to be home

00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:17.490
and really travel wasn't. It wasn't suitable

00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:21.130
for me, for my life any longer. Yeah, not for

00:18:21.130 --> 00:18:23.430
many people during that season. Right, right.

00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:27.089
But specifically for me because it wasn't going

00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:29.190
to be, you know, it wasn't going to be the kind

00:18:29.190 --> 00:18:30.670
of thing where I could just jump on a plane any

00:18:30.670 --> 00:18:32.730
time, which by the way is a lot of fun and I

00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:35.710
loved it. So it was one of those seasons, Jodie,

00:18:35.970 --> 00:18:37.910
where... You're sort of giving up something.

00:18:37.910 --> 00:18:40.970
You don't know what the next thing is. I prayed,

00:18:41.089 --> 00:18:44.170
Lord, will I ever have another assignment? You

00:18:44.170 --> 00:18:47.230
know, please don't put me on the shelf. And,

00:18:47.349 --> 00:18:49.349
and I had serious eye issues too. Like I didn't

00:18:49.349 --> 00:18:51.109
know if I was going to have sight in one of my

00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:55.430
eyes. And so it was a long time healing and praise

00:18:55.430 --> 00:18:57.769
God. I do have sight with the help of a cataract

00:18:57.769 --> 00:19:01.509
lens and in my right eye and And you know, God

00:19:01.509 --> 00:19:04.650
has brought me through to another season. And

00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:07.869
what I'd like to say, too, is during those seasons

00:19:07.869 --> 00:19:11.509
of transition, and really, you probably do this

00:19:11.509 --> 00:19:14.230
as I do now, we look back at our lives and we

00:19:14.230 --> 00:19:16.309
see, wow, I didn't realize that God was actually

00:19:16.309 --> 00:19:20.150
preparing me for something new during that difficult

00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:24.480
time. I do want to encourage your listeners to

00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:26.140
just hang in there with God if they're going

00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:28.420
through one of those difficult times. I spent

00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:31.839
four and a half months face down with this eye

00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:36.000
in my bed because I had three retina surgeries,

00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:40.440
one after the other. And I mean, people said,

00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.220
how do you even get through it? I said, listen,

00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:45.299
this is just God's season for me. I'm sticking

00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:48.579
with him. I listened to so many Bible studies,

00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:51.480
so much scripture during that time because I

00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:54.809
really couldn't do much else. And I just waited

00:19:54.809 --> 00:19:56.710
to see if God would bring something out of it.

00:19:57.289 --> 00:19:59.490
Well, that is so key that, you know, in times

00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:02.970
that could be discouraging, you fed your mind

00:20:02.970 --> 00:20:04.990
with the word of God and with encouragement.

00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:09.390
And so many people get into a downward spiral

00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:12.869
because they start listening and rehearsing reasons

00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:15.690
why their life isn't where it should be instead

00:20:15.690 --> 00:20:19.730
of focusing on God. And like Psalm one says,

00:20:19.970 --> 00:20:23.140
meditating on his were day and night. That's

00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:25.740
how we become trees planted by rivers of water

00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:30.559
that bear fruit in every season, right? So that

00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.799
season of transition, when you finally got your

00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.440
eyesight back, you started sowing into your local

00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:39.680
church. And that was really positioning you for

00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:43.799
something unique. So share a little about what

00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.839
you were doing with your local church and how

00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.859
God positioned you to What you're doing now,

00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:53.980
preparing the church in our nation for this year's

00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.140
250th anniversary. It's really fascinating because

00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:00.859
those seasons that you think are just waiting

00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:02.779
seasons, they're really not. They're preparing

00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.160
seasons. They're seasons of preparation. And

00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:07.440
so I was involved. We had a new pastor. We have

00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.299
a new, he's fantastic, Craig Gergo, and the old

00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:12.579
pastor, the founding pastor, is also a dear friend,

00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.920
endorsed the book, and he's fantastic. But when

00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.990
he came in, God connected us right at the beginning

00:21:17.990 --> 00:21:21.410
because we had a mutual friend. He was from Memphis.

00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:26.490
And I shared my passion for prayer. And immediately

00:21:26.490 --> 00:21:28.509
he said, well, let's get moving on that. Let's

00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:30.150
start a prayer council. Then we got into COVID.

00:21:30.509 --> 00:21:32.930
COVID was a time where we had our church was

00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:34.869
closed for a little while. But we were doing

00:21:34.869 --> 00:21:36.549
some prayer videos and some other things. And

00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.089
the Lord laid it on my heart to pray for the

00:21:39.089 --> 00:21:41.609
nation. Obviously, we needed to pray like we

00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:43.819
do right now. We needed to pray that for the

00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:47.359
nation because of COVID. And the Lord laid it

00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.099
on my heart to pray for the nation out of the

00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:53.420
history of the nation. This only came from the

00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:57.559
Lord because, I mean, I was a history. major

00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:59.940
in college, but it wasn't like I was thinking

00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:02.140
about history in all these ministry initiatives.

00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:05.140
So I started to research and it was so exciting

00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:07.059
because I was reading books like The Light and

00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:10.660
the Glory and A Hundred Scriptures that Shaped

00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:13.039
America. And I began to research the history

00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.400
that I never learned in college or in high school,

00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:20.259
which was that God's hand was on our nation,

00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.180
really going back to its inception, the time

00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:26.759
of the early colonists. And the more I read to

00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:29.460
write these prayers that we used, my pastor and

00:22:29.460 --> 00:22:31.680
I, in congregational prayer settings, we led

00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:34.400
them. The more I researched, by the time I got

00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.160
to the fourth or fifth prayer, I realized that

00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:41.359
God himself was our founder. That all of the

00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:44.599
men and some women that we celebrated were great

00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:46.980
and they played a huge role in our founding,

00:22:47.140 --> 00:22:50.099
but behind all of them was God himself. From

00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:52.160
the beginning, it wasn't just like God helped

00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.920
us, he did it. and it was evident. Like, when

00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:59.460
you looked at the panorama of our history, people

00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:01.480
often ask, well, what's the one thing? Well,

00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:03.039
there's not one thing, and that's the point.

00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:06.660
There were so many times when God's guidance

00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:10.579
was evident in the leading of the pilgrims, of

00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:12.839
the Puritans, the way our education was set up.

00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:17.769
And then we departed at the end of at the beginning

00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:20.329
of the 1700s, we had departed. And so what did

00:23:20.329 --> 00:23:23.609
God do? He brought the first great awakening

00:23:23.609 --> 00:23:27.150
with amazing pastors like George Whitefield,

00:23:27.349 --> 00:23:31.519
and he stirred us back to himself. he stirred

00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.819
us back to himself. And then he brought out of

00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:39.279
that the unity of Christians. And remember, Whitefield

00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.140
was preaching, you've got to be freedom in Christ,

00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:44.839
and you've got to be born again, and God loves

00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:48.000
everyone, the individual matters. And so out

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.180
of all this preaching, the colonists were set

00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:55.000
on fire for the Lord. Think about this. our founders,

00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:57.460
our human founders, were raised in the era of

00:23:57.460 --> 00:23:59.900
the first great awakening. Like these are things

00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:03.960
I learned as I did the research. And so out of

00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.819
that, he brought unity among Christians, which

00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:10.339
brought unity among the colonists in the fight

00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:13.839
for freedom. And so now as I look at history,

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:16.140
I think, how is it that these things were ever

00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:18.660
taken out of our books? Because they're central

00:24:18.660 --> 00:24:21.700
and we've got to relearn them. We've got to relearn

00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:24.299
them. So we prayed through all of these things

00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:26.880
and I was just like that moment when I realized

00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.299
that God himself was our founder. That was just

00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:33.140
like a huge light bulb went off in my mind. It

00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:36.319
changed everything about the way I looked and

00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.339
my first reaction and my Continuing reaction

00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:41.799
is that God doesn't get the credit. He deserves

00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:45.619
He deserves to get the credit for this nation

00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:48.140
and we really are an exceptional nation We're

00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:50.799
not a nation without sin. I address sin in the

00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:53.480
book because the book is half narrative half

00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:56.700
prayer We can get to that in a minute, but he

00:24:56.700 --> 00:25:00.440
was behind it And there's no other nation like

00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:05.079
ours. And it's because he is woven into the thinking

00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:07.539
that went behind the nation, the actions that

00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:10.160
brought forth the nation, the documents that

00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:12.940
solidified this nation. He's interwoven into

00:25:12.940 --> 00:25:15.240
all of them. And Americans need to know this.

00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:19.220
Yeah, they do. And you were researching this

00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:22.400
and studying it for your church and for your

00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:26.160
press groups, never understanding that God had

00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:29.539
something bigger in store. for all that he was

00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:33.640
revealing to you. Share how that came about from,

00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:36.559
you know, leading your church in prayer for the

00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:41.779
nation to writing a book that is amazingly timed

00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:45.220
to have, and it was released right before the

00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:48.619
250th anniversary of our nation. It's an incredible

00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:51.059
story as well. That's a God story. I mean, I

00:25:51.059 --> 00:25:53.319
know you talk about these God stories. And so

00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:55.720
those prayers that I wrote, which led but they

00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:57.680
started with the pilgrims and they went through

00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:01.079
the Emancipation Proclamation, American exceptionalism,

00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:07.220
and they sat in my laptop for five years. I thought

00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:09.900
back then, I thought, wow, I mean, it might be

00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.359
nice if there was some way to compile them into

00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:14.079
something so people would be able to pray for

00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.400
the nation. Many people pray, they don't often

00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:17.900
think to pray for the nation. It's just sort

00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:20.319
of a jumping off point, a starting point. And

00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:23.779
then in May, something really incredible happened.

00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:26.779
I was having dinner with a friend. He works for

00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:29.859
the Billy Graham organization. Will, Franklin's

00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.700
son, was coming to Pittsburgh. I was just for

00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:34.339
sort of a smaller event. I was the local contact.

00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:38.660
And there's a lot of, there's a lot, well, even

00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:40.500
before that, I don't know if I mentioned it,

00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:43.700
but January 9th is my birthday. We won't say

00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:49.039
how many, but last January in 2025, I debated

00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:51.500
what do I want to do for my birthday? And I thought,

00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:53.619
I want to have a prayer meeting for my birthday.

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:56.980
That's what I want to do on my birthday. So I

00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:58.640
scheduled a prayer meeting with some of the friends

00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.599
that I pray with in the morning and I invited

00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:03.900
some others. It's not an organization. And I

00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:06.019
never told anybody it was my birthday. I just

00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:07.539
brought them together. We prayed for the nation,

00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:09.299
the city of Pittsburgh, et cetera. We prayed

00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:13.059
for a catalyst. I got home that day. And the

00:27:13.059 --> 00:27:15.359
Philly Graham folks called me and said, my contact

00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.640
on there and said, hey, what do you think about

00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:19.680
Will Graham coming? And I said, yes, I just got

00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.480
home from a prayer meeting and so I helped them.

00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:24.079
So it was in the course of that time, it was

00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:28.359
May of 2025. Will was coming on Thursday, Del

00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:32.259
was in town, we were having dinner. And normally

00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:34.200
when I have dinner with Del, my husband's there,

00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:38.059
Del writes. sports devotionals. So we always

00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:39.940
talk about sports. My husband loves sports. They

00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:41.720
love sports. We talk about it. But Grant was

00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.000
busy, so we had dinner out. And I said, Del,

00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:46.920
tell me about your writing. And this was the

00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:50.140
first week of May of 2025. He said he's got two

00:27:50.140 --> 00:27:52.619
books going. I said, well, maybe I think I might

00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:55.599
have a book in me if the Lord decides to bring

00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:59.119
it out. And he said, well, you should go to this

00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.309
conference. Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference

00:28:02.309 --> 00:28:05.589
down in North Carolina. It just happened to be

00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:08.789
the end of the month of May last year. And I

00:28:08.789 --> 00:28:12.309
walked out of that dinner and I sensed in my

00:28:12.309 --> 00:28:16.130
spirit so clearly. I am opening a door for you.

00:28:16.230 --> 00:28:19.049
This is a scripture that God has used from Revelation

00:28:19.049 --> 00:28:21.289
three. I've put before you an open door that

00:28:21.289 --> 00:28:24.529
no man can shut. He'd used it before in my life.

00:28:24.690 --> 00:28:27.910
So I knew immediately to pay attention. And he

00:28:27.910 --> 00:28:30.130
said it differently. That's exactly the way I

00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:32.250
sensed it in my spirit. I am opening a door for

00:28:32.250 --> 00:28:34.690
you. So I went home, told my husband, signed

00:28:34.690 --> 00:28:37.470
up for the conference, went, shared the idea

00:28:37.470 --> 00:28:41.119
of the book. that it would be celebrating God,

00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:43.759
because by that time, I sort of had the idea

00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:48.000
of celebrating God. Like, let's make this 250th

00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.279
celebration about God first. You know, yes, let's

00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:53.259
do everything else. Let's do the parades and

00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:55.480
the parties and the fireworks, but let's put

00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:58.099
God at the top. Let's celebrate him. So by that

00:28:58.099 --> 00:29:01.049
time I had the idea, I had the title. the publisher

00:29:01.049 --> 00:29:03.369
even tried to change the title throughout the

00:29:03.369 --> 00:29:05.049
course of this. And I'm like, no, this is the

00:29:05.049 --> 00:29:06.990
only way it comes out of my mouth. This is the

00:29:06.990 --> 00:29:10.569
title. And so I get there. There's lots of little

00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:12.410
meetings that you can have with people who are

00:29:12.410 --> 00:29:14.789
in this publishing and book business. I did as

00:29:14.789 --> 00:29:16.789
many as I could just to learn as much as I could.

00:29:16.869 --> 00:29:20.670
Plus went to some seminars and I found that the

00:29:20.670 --> 00:29:23.880
idea was resonating with people. But they said,

00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:26.039
you don't have time to bring a book out. Like,

00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:28.180
basically, I didn't have a reputation. Nobody

00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:30.519
knew me. I didn't have the connections. I had

00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:33.720
nothing going into this. And nothing, I shouldn't

00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:36.859
say that. God, I was sent by God. So I had everything

00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:40.480
really that I needed. And what really solidified

00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.299
it for me, and I mentioned this to you, is that

00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:45.019
on the very last day, I was standing in line

00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:46.759
outside of a door where we were going to have

00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:49.019
these one -on -one meetings. And a woman walked

00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:51.859
up to me. I don't remember her name, but she

00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:54.220
said, and I said to her, oh hi, you know, what

00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:55.839
are you writing on? She said, I'm writing on

00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:57.940
Malchus. And then she said, what are you writing

00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:00.200
on? And I said, I am writing on, I'm writing

00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:04.059
a book celebrating God, our founder at America's

00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:07.140
250th birthday. And she said, I've heard about

00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:10.819
you. Now I'd never spoken with her before and

00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:15.250
that meant, that God amplified the idea of celebrating

00:30:15.250 --> 00:30:17.470
him. That's what that meant. I knew that it wasn't

00:30:17.470 --> 00:30:19.769
about me. It was not about a book. It was about

00:30:19.769 --> 00:30:22.950
amplifying the idea among the people of America

00:30:22.950 --> 00:30:25.150
and hopefully beyond that God founded America.

00:30:25.250 --> 00:30:30.170
And he deserves the credit. So I got lots of

00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:31.990
information and contacts. They said you're going

00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:34.690
to have to self -publish this book. Of course,

00:30:34.690 --> 00:30:39.230
I couldn't do that all by myself. So I was referred

00:30:39.230 --> 00:30:42.190
to Redemption Press. which is a very reputable

00:30:42.190 --> 00:30:45.349
self -publishing company that provides pretty

00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:47.930
much everything you need. Editors, project managers,

00:30:48.009 --> 00:30:52.009
the whole thing. And I called them, I sent the

00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:55.349
first two chapters to them, and they said, yes,

00:30:55.670 --> 00:30:59.289
and away we went. And so I wrote the narratives

00:30:59.289 --> 00:31:01.670
and revised the prayers over the course of the

00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:03.930
summer, so that was pretty quick. We got to fall

00:31:03.930 --> 00:31:06.849
and my editor, Jennifer Edwards, fantastic editor,

00:31:06.990 --> 00:31:10.500
she said, You should really present this at turning

00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:12.799
points big conference. I said, do you really

00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:15.359
think so? She said yes I said well the book isn't

00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:19.000
supposed to come out until February of 26 because

00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:21.579
we were preparing it for NRB national religious

00:31:21.579 --> 00:31:25.400
broadcasters and I Called Athena who owns the

00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:28.599
company and she said we need to get this done

00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:31.099
if you can meet your deadlines We can meet our

00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:34.240
deadlines. I will get a booth and we will launch

00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:36.650
the book in December So that's what happened.

00:31:36.910 --> 00:31:39.609
It's amazing. And those books were shipped just,

00:31:39.829 --> 00:31:42.910
they made it by a hair, right? I mean, God is

00:31:42.910 --> 00:31:45.289
never late, but he's often not usually early.

00:31:45.450 --> 00:31:48.789
I mean, that's bringing a book to market in less

00:31:48.789 --> 00:31:52.529
than a year. That is, I mean, I've never written

00:31:52.529 --> 00:31:56.970
a book, but I have heard many who have, and that's

00:31:56.970 --> 00:32:00.309
astonishing. Seven months. Yeah. Significantly

00:32:00.309 --> 00:32:06.980
less than a year. And So it's just God, and it's

00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:11.259
because he has a purpose to call us back to himself.

00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:15.319
And this book, I pray, is just one tiny part

00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:18.119
of that. And what's different, what I learned,

00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:21.460
and then we went to NRB, and I hired a great

00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:25.920
publicist, and I've been doing... interviews

00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:28.279
to share the ideas behind this book and to share

00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:31.920
the book and what I learned is that there are

00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:34.400
a lot of wonderful history books but this book

00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.980
is more than that as you know this book is meant

00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:40.960
to engage the reader with God himself around

00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:43.440
the founding of this nation through the history

00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.960
and prayer that is in every chapter and the prayers

00:32:47.620 --> 00:32:50.799
reflect the history that I share about God's

00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:54.599
hand in the founding of America. We deal with

00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:56.900
the pilgrims, the Puritans, education. You know,

00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:58.920
most people, some people have said, this is my

00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:02.220
favorite chapter, the chapter on education. 106

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:04.980
of the first 108 colleges in America were founded

00:33:04.980 --> 00:33:08.519
in the Christian faith. That is a fact. It's

00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:11.380
a fact. It's astonishing, but it's a fact. And

00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:14.480
because they wanted to train pastors, the Puritans,

00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:18.400
who started the first college Harvard in 1636

00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:22.809
they were not only devoted to training their

00:33:22.809 --> 00:33:25.589
children at home in the Bible, but they were

00:33:25.589 --> 00:33:29.069
devoted to training their pastors in colleges.

00:33:29.569 --> 00:33:32.849
And so that's how our whole educational system

00:33:32.849 --> 00:33:35.650
started between the colleges and then the at

00:33:35.650 --> 00:33:38.410
-home training on the Bible. And we really are

00:33:38.410 --> 00:33:41.029
a Christian nation. We were steeped in biblical

00:33:41.029 --> 00:33:43.970
principles. And yet in our day, we don't know

00:33:43.970 --> 00:33:46.700
that. We don't know that history. So to know

00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:48.700
the history and then pray for the nation out

00:33:48.700 --> 00:33:51.000
of it is a powerful thing. Yeah, I mean, it's

00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.279
clear that this is a passion and a zeal of yours.

00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:55.779
And, you know, when we see God leading us, as

00:33:55.779 --> 00:33:58.259
you clearly did, it's not always an easy path.

00:33:59.339 --> 00:34:02.880
But when God directs our steps, there's just

00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:08.280
joy and, you know, zeal and passion like you've

00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:10.719
got. So you've told us a couple of stories. Just

00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.260
share one more of what God's done in the history

00:34:13.260 --> 00:34:15.079
of our nation. maybe something a little more

00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:17.719
recent. What I really like to tie this to is

00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:20.119
prayer. I'm going to give you a piece of history

00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:24.400
that really ties the battle for our nation to

00:34:24.400 --> 00:34:27.119
prayer in a way that only God could have orchestrated

00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:31.099
because I want for your listeners to know that

00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:33.480
their prayers really matter. And we don't know

00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:35.219
all the facts of what's going on in our nation

00:34:35.219 --> 00:34:37.099
and their prayers matter today. We're in a war

00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:40.800
today. They matter today. So back in, and we've

00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:42.840
all heard about this, the shot heard around the

00:34:42.840 --> 00:34:45.400
world, the Battle of Lexington, right? That was

00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:50.619
April 19th, 1775. And the pastors of that era,

00:34:50.809 --> 00:34:53.230
of the revolutionary era coming out of the first

00:34:53.230 --> 00:34:56.309
great awakening, prepared the, were preparing

00:34:56.309 --> 00:34:58.610
the people for battle, to battle for their freedom,

00:34:58.849 --> 00:35:00.730
freedom in Christ and freedom from the King of

00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:03.489
England. That was sort of the thing. And so they

00:35:03.489 --> 00:35:05.849
had prayed. They did not know what was happening,

00:35:05.849 --> 00:35:09.230
but we know that when the British came to Lexington,

00:35:09.469 --> 00:35:10.909
that was the first, that was the beginning of

00:35:10.909 --> 00:35:13.780
the war. on that day. What most people don't

00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:17.659
know is that a month earlier in Connecticut,

00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:20.960
their governor, Governor Trumple, knowing all

00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.039
the tensions that were going on in the colonies,

00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:26.719
called for a day of prayer and fasting for the

00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:29.860
colonies. And the day that he appointed, a month

00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:33.639
earlier, was April 19th. the same day that the

00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:35.480
battle broke out and nobody would have known

00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:39.380
that. So while the people in Lexington were fighting

00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:42.289
the first battle of the Revolutionary War, the

00:35:42.289 --> 00:35:45.929
people in Connecticut were praying for them unbeknownst

00:35:45.929 --> 00:35:48.309
that those things were coordinated. They were

00:35:48.309 --> 00:35:51.190
coordinated by the hand of God because he knew

00:35:51.190 --> 00:35:53.630
how difficult the battle was going to be. So

00:35:53.630 --> 00:35:55.369
he set his people to pray. It's like the book

00:35:55.369 --> 00:35:57.389
of Nehemiah. You know, they prayed, they fought,

00:35:57.750 --> 00:35:59.530
they worked and they had their swords. I mean,

00:35:59.610 --> 00:36:01.449
the sword is prayer, right? And then we do the

00:36:01.449 --> 00:36:04.869
work that was going on right then in our history.

00:36:05.070 --> 00:36:07.329
And there are so many things like George Washington

00:36:07.329 --> 00:36:10.030
was a praying man. There were many times throughout

00:36:10.030 --> 00:36:13.550
our history dating back to the Puritans and the

00:36:13.550 --> 00:36:15.570
pilgrims where they called for public days of

00:36:15.570 --> 00:36:18.170
prayer and fasting. That's who we are as a nation.

00:36:18.309 --> 00:36:21.570
Most people do not know that. So we think about

00:36:21.570 --> 00:36:24.590
Christians praying, right, our private prayers,

00:36:24.809 --> 00:36:28.210
maybe prayers at church, but we prayed as a nation

00:36:28.210 --> 00:36:31.170
during those times and we need to get back to

00:36:31.170 --> 00:36:37.309
that. And prayer was accompanied by action. Yes,

00:36:37.449 --> 00:36:41.050
always. Always. Yeah, I think that's a biblical

00:36:41.050 --> 00:36:44.409
principle. Don't you? Absolutely prayer prayer.

00:36:44.530 --> 00:36:46.190
I mean, this is the way I say it prayer begets

00:36:46.190 --> 00:36:50.570
action gods and ours Yeah, you know we I think

00:36:50.570 --> 00:36:54.269
I think some people have the idea that I pray

00:36:54.269 --> 00:37:00.230
and God does the rest and God does the rest through

00:37:00.230 --> 00:37:08.630
us through his people and without our our tangible

00:37:08.630 --> 00:37:14.110
actions frequently, God chooses not to work.

00:37:14.409 --> 00:37:18.630
Oh, it's a requirement that we obey him. Yeah,

00:37:18.769 --> 00:37:22.090
sometimes he does a miraculous thing. But even

00:37:22.090 --> 00:37:25.369
when the children of Israel were standing at

00:37:25.369 --> 00:37:29.190
the Red Sea and God opened the Red Sea, He said,

00:37:29.389 --> 00:37:31.769
Moses, you hold out your staff. If Moses hadn't

00:37:31.769 --> 00:37:33.610
held out his staff, would the Red Sea have opened?

00:37:33.809 --> 00:37:36.050
No, because he would have acted in disobedience

00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:38.389
and therefore God would not. Right. You are 100

00:37:38.389 --> 00:37:41.329
% right. Obedience brings blessing. I deal with

00:37:41.329 --> 00:37:45.849
that in the book Deuteronomy 28 because we need

00:37:45.849 --> 00:37:49.789
to individually obey him, and then collectively

00:37:49.789 --> 00:37:53.550
obey him. And you're right, we can't just sit

00:37:53.550 --> 00:37:57.150
back and wait for it to happen to us. He works

00:37:57.150 --> 00:37:59.849
through us. You brought up Henry Blackaby earlier.

00:37:59.969 --> 00:38:03.190
He used to say, as goes the church, so goes the

00:38:03.190 --> 00:38:06.750
nation. And de Tocque fell. would have, de Tocqueville

00:38:06.750 --> 00:38:08.969
basically, when he came over from France and

00:38:08.969 --> 00:38:12.769
saw America and saw how America thrived, he was

00:38:12.769 --> 00:38:15.650
most impressed by the churches. He was most impressed

00:38:15.650 --> 00:38:18.389
by the heart of the people for God. So when God

00:38:18.389 --> 00:38:22.710
is prompting prayer, do it. And when God is prompting

00:38:22.710 --> 00:38:25.610
action out of that prayer, it's also imperative

00:38:25.610 --> 00:38:27.840
that we do it. One of the things we've talked

00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:29.900
about, and I really appreciate about you, is

00:38:29.900 --> 00:38:31.579
your desire to hear God's voice and see what

00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:33.340
He's doing and join Him in it. And that's what

00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:35.320
we're talking. I mean, when we're praying, God's

00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:36.880
speaking to us just as much as we're speaking

00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:40.320
to Him, right? So we have to then... That's a

00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.239
key point, what you just made. What you just

00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:45.280
said is really the key point of prayer. God already

00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:49.139
knows what we need. We need to hear what He wants.

00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:53.480
Yes. So share a little about your journey of

00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:57.349
learning to hear the voice of God and... Acting

00:38:57.349 --> 00:39:00.050
in obedience because that's a hard scary thing.

00:39:00.489 --> 00:39:03.309
I was just talking to our small group last night

00:39:03.309 --> 00:39:05.369
We had that we were talking about, you know when

00:39:05.369 --> 00:39:09.130
Abraham when God told Abraham to leave and Just

00:39:09.130 --> 00:39:10.710
wander around in the desert and he would take

00:39:10.710 --> 00:39:12.389
him to a place and you know, the question was

00:39:12.389 --> 00:39:14.489
would you have done it? Well, that's a scary

00:39:14.489 --> 00:39:17.130
thing to take that first step of obedience to

00:39:17.130 --> 00:39:20.250
God and even along the way Sometimes we miss

00:39:20.250 --> 00:39:23.300
it. So how did you learn? How did you learn to

00:39:23.300 --> 00:39:25.699
discern? That's an interesting question. So I

00:39:25.699 --> 00:39:28.039
guess the prayer piece started when I thought

00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:30.380
to myself, if I'm going to take my relationship

00:39:30.380 --> 00:39:32.659
with God seriously, I need to put him first.

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:34.380
And if I'm going to put him first, I need to

00:39:34.380 --> 00:39:37.400
put him first in my day. So that started a time

00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:39.730
of personal... you know, devotion in the morning,

00:39:40.230 --> 00:39:42.170
prayer, reading the scriptures. Sometimes I would

00:39:42.170 --> 00:39:45.610
read a book about God and it started with five

00:39:45.610 --> 00:39:47.429
minutes and there would be times when two hours

00:39:47.429 --> 00:39:50.349
later I had to pull myself out of my chair because

00:39:50.349 --> 00:39:52.289
I, you know, I knew I needed to go to work and

00:39:52.289 --> 00:39:53.929
do whatever I needed to do that day, but I would

00:39:53.929 --> 00:39:55.309
much rather have been sitting in his presence.

00:39:55.329 --> 00:39:57.489
So there is a time to be in his presence and

00:39:57.489 --> 00:39:58.909
then there's a time to get out of his presence.

00:39:59.250 --> 00:40:01.190
Not that he ever leaves us and go do the thing

00:40:01.190 --> 00:40:05.130
he's called us to do. I guess It was in the study

00:40:05.130 --> 00:40:07.550
of the scriptures, you know, prayer and scripture

00:40:07.550 --> 00:40:11.570
go together and we get to know God. You know,

00:40:12.130 --> 00:40:15.110
I wouldn't call it religion, but faith is a relationship

00:40:15.110 --> 00:40:17.170
with God. It's a personal relationship. It's

00:40:17.170 --> 00:40:19.429
not this thing over there and neither is prayer

00:40:19.429 --> 00:40:23.030
this thing over there. Prayer is the means of

00:40:23.030 --> 00:40:25.590
that relationship. So basically in prayer, we're

00:40:25.590 --> 00:40:27.929
getting to know God and we get to know him through

00:40:27.929 --> 00:40:30.530
his word. He never contradicts it. But I also

00:40:30.530 --> 00:40:33.449
loved to see how he how he acted in other people's

00:40:33.449 --> 00:40:36.230
lives. So you would see how David maybe heard

00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:39.510
from God or Abraham as you brought up. And there

00:40:39.510 --> 00:40:43.030
were times when he told them just to go, you

00:40:43.030 --> 00:40:45.969
know, and they had to sort of just listen. But

00:40:45.969 --> 00:40:47.389
then there were other times when he told them

00:40:47.389 --> 00:40:49.510
specifically what was going to happen, but they

00:40:49.510 --> 00:40:52.610
had to wait on him to provide all the circumstances

00:40:52.610 --> 00:40:55.250
for that to happen. So I think it began really

00:40:55.250 --> 00:40:58.269
in this chair in my house in a quiet place in

00:40:58.269 --> 00:41:00.869
the morning before everybody else got up and

00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:03.920
when I would read books about the life of Peter

00:41:03.920 --> 00:41:08.739
or David or Paul or Abraham and I realized at

00:41:08.739 --> 00:41:11.099
one point that out of the scriptures was arising

00:41:11.099 --> 00:41:14.139
who God was. I was actually getting to know God

00:41:14.139 --> 00:41:17.380
and you know you have to sort of practice hearing

00:41:17.380 --> 00:41:21.280
his voice and sometimes he gives you little assignments

00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:23.969
that are unusual and I'll give you an example

00:41:23.969 --> 00:41:27.210
of that so one morning I was praying and I sensed

00:41:27.210 --> 00:41:28.630
him and you think you're you think to yourself

00:41:28.630 --> 00:41:30.570
at the beginning you think well still I mean

00:41:30.570 --> 00:41:32.869
is that really God saying it we always want to

00:41:32.869 --> 00:41:35.869
double check right one morning I heard God say

00:41:35.869 --> 00:41:40.110
to me in my spirit not audibly I want you to

00:41:40.110 --> 00:41:44.070
call this woman and tell her how much I love

00:41:44.070 --> 00:41:47.480
her This woman was not in my close circle of

00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:51.760
friends. She was a bit of a socialite in my area

00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:57.119
and Not somebody I would have ever called period

00:41:57.119 --> 00:42:01.639
or I mean I knew her just casually and I thought

00:42:01.639 --> 00:42:04.619
I've got to do this and I picked up the phone

00:42:04.619 --> 00:42:08.920
and I said Carol I want you to know that I was

00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:12.179
praying this morning and told her I was and the

00:42:12.179 --> 00:42:14.980
Lord laid it on my heart to call you just to

00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:17.519
tell you how much He loves you. So I'm calling

00:42:17.519 --> 00:42:21.199
you to tell you that I did what God said. I didn't

00:42:21.199 --> 00:42:24.099
say anything more or anything less. She said,

00:42:24.280 --> 00:42:28.559
thank you. I have no idea what that meant to

00:42:28.559 --> 00:42:31.780
her really. We didn't discuss it further. I just

00:42:31.780 --> 00:42:35.579
knew that I needed to do that at that moment.

00:42:35.980 --> 00:42:39.619
That morning, I wasn't supposed to wait, think

00:42:39.619 --> 00:42:41.440
about it, decide whether or not I was going to

00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:44.030
do it. And I did it. And so that was an act of

00:42:44.030 --> 00:42:45.909
obedience. And like you said, in some cases,

00:42:45.949 --> 00:42:48.269
we get to see the results of those acts of obedience.

00:42:48.309 --> 00:42:51.329
In other cases, we don't. But we should be obedient

00:42:51.329 --> 00:42:55.429
nevertheless. And those little promptings, you

00:42:55.429 --> 00:42:57.489
know, we try, you know, you have to sort of follow

00:42:57.489 --> 00:42:59.989
them. I call them nudges or promptings of the

00:42:59.989 --> 00:43:05.690
Holy Spirit so often. And sometimes God, in my

00:43:05.690 --> 00:43:08.150
life, for example, I'm thinking about doing something

00:43:08.150 --> 00:43:10.130
and I think, no, no, no. And then all of a sudden,

00:43:10.210 --> 00:43:12.429
one day I think, OK. And you know, I feel like

00:43:12.429 --> 00:43:15.449
the Lord sometimes holds us back until a certain

00:43:15.449 --> 00:43:19.449
moment, as was the case with this book. I had

00:43:19.449 --> 00:43:21.530
thought about maybe a book, but there was never

00:43:21.530 --> 00:43:25.670
any open door. It wasn't until I heard him and

00:43:25.670 --> 00:43:28.449
with a scripture that was very familiar to me

00:43:28.449 --> 00:43:30.849
and he had used that scripture in my life before.

00:43:31.260 --> 00:43:33.940
so that I knew it but I would say it's just like

00:43:33.940 --> 00:43:36.260
getting to know anybody else's voice like if

00:43:36.260 --> 00:43:38.719
you think about talking on the phone if you meet

00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:40.800
somebody and they say oh this is so and so and

00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:42.679
you didn't know them you would not have recognized

00:43:42.679 --> 00:43:44.900
their voice but if you'd spoken on the phone

00:43:44.900 --> 00:43:47.579
to them four five ten times you're going to know

00:43:47.579 --> 00:43:49.699
their voice and that's the same with God we just

00:43:49.699 --> 00:43:51.820
have to keep talking to him and keep testing

00:43:51.820 --> 00:43:53.579
those little nudges and those little prompts

00:43:53.579 --> 00:43:57.280
that we get and always take everything back to

00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:59.340
the scriptures because he will never say anything

00:43:59.340 --> 00:44:02.019
to us that's contrary to his word. He would never

00:44:02.019 --> 00:44:04.059
have said, call this woman and tell her that

00:44:04.059 --> 00:44:06.320
I don't love her. You know, that was contrary

00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:09.179
to his word. And that is so key. That is so key

00:44:09.179 --> 00:44:12.179
because, you know, when we're in emotional turmoil,

00:44:12.460 --> 00:44:16.940
sometimes our own ideas or even Satan will put

00:44:16.940 --> 00:44:19.139
ideas in our mind about what God might be saying.

00:44:19.239 --> 00:44:21.460
And we always have to check it against the word

00:44:21.460 --> 00:44:24.440
of God. Always. That's why it's critical to not

00:44:24.440 --> 00:44:28.880
only be in prayer, not only be in church, but

00:44:29.530 --> 00:44:32.590
always be in the Word of God. Yes, yes. And the

00:44:32.590 --> 00:44:35.250
book that I've written is packed full of the

00:44:35.250 --> 00:44:39.449
Scriptures because you can't know what God is

00:44:39.449 --> 00:44:42.309
saying. You can't know Him. You can't even recognize

00:44:42.309 --> 00:44:44.670
who He is in something if you don't know Him

00:44:44.670 --> 00:44:47.809
from His Word. And when we pray, we should always

00:44:47.809 --> 00:44:50.570
pray in conjunction with the Word so that we're

00:44:50.570 --> 00:44:52.610
praying it in conjunction with His will. So are

00:44:52.610 --> 00:44:55.030
there any other life lessons that you want to

00:44:55.030 --> 00:44:59.360
leave with our listeners today? I would say push

00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:02.840
through the doubt. Because so many times we think,

00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:06.159
who am I to get this message out? You know, who

00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:09.099
am I, Lord, to, it's kind of like what Moses

00:45:09.099 --> 00:45:11.940
said, right? You know, I'm not a well -known

00:45:11.940 --> 00:45:14.199
author. I'm not this and I'm not that and I'm

00:45:14.199 --> 00:45:16.579
not a lot of other things. But one thing is that

00:45:16.579 --> 00:45:21.300
God picks unlikely people to do his work. And

00:45:21.300 --> 00:45:25.059
so just push through the doubt. You know, I think

00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:27.300
that that is something we all have to do. And

00:45:27.300 --> 00:45:30.280
it's really important. Moses pushed through the

00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:32.900
doubt. David did. Peter did. Paul, you know,

00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:34.860
they all pushed through the doubt. Jesus was

00:45:34.860 --> 00:45:36.380
the only one who didn't have any doubt because

00:45:36.380 --> 00:45:40.059
he was the son of God. So I would say that when

00:45:40.059 --> 00:45:43.159
you are in the will of God, when you are obeying

00:45:43.159 --> 00:45:45.059
him, when you are listening for his voice and

00:45:45.059 --> 00:45:47.860
you hear him say something, double check it,

00:45:47.940 --> 00:45:51.170
triple check it. I always do, but then push through,

00:45:51.369 --> 00:45:53.829
because things may seem impossible, but they're

00:45:53.829 --> 00:45:56.510
not. And here's what I would like to believe.

00:45:57.210 --> 00:45:59.869
With men, it's impossible, but not with God,

00:46:00.010 --> 00:46:03.469
because with God, all things are possible. This

00:46:03.469 --> 00:46:07.030
nation was impossible by any standards of men.

00:46:08.329 --> 00:46:12.150
We vanquished the greatest military in the world

00:46:12.150 --> 00:46:15.429
at that time. And we were a bunch of ragtag colonists.

00:46:15.789 --> 00:46:19.289
It was God who did it, and God will do it in

00:46:19.289 --> 00:46:21.130
your life, he'll do it in mine, and he'll do

00:46:21.130 --> 00:46:23.730
it in the lives of your listeners. And maybe

00:46:23.730 --> 00:46:25.849
somebody needs to hear that today. That is powerful.

00:46:26.010 --> 00:46:28.389
That is very powerful. So one more question,

00:46:28.550 --> 00:46:31.130
Cynthia. Is there a woman in scripture that's

00:46:31.130 --> 00:46:33.829
really inspired or encouraged you in your walk

00:46:33.829 --> 00:46:36.250
with the Lord? Yes, there are a couple. So first

00:46:36.250 --> 00:46:37.929
of all, the first Bible study I ever wrote was

00:46:37.929 --> 00:46:40.340
on Deborah. and how she was sort of called into

00:46:40.340 --> 00:46:44.019
service in a man's world where the leaders in

00:46:44.019 --> 00:46:47.980
Israel were only men. There wasn't somebody that

00:46:47.980 --> 00:46:50.940
God found adequate, so he called Deborah. And

00:46:50.940 --> 00:46:53.139
what did she do? She rose to the occasion. She

00:46:53.139 --> 00:46:55.400
didn't let anybody else define who God wanted

00:46:55.400 --> 00:46:58.619
her to be or what the role was. And I found that

00:46:58.619 --> 00:47:02.840
very inspiring. I also find the woman at the

00:47:02.840 --> 00:47:06.340
well. very inspiring because here she was just

00:47:06.340 --> 00:47:08.639
a regular woman. She was a sinful person like

00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:12.239
we all are. And yet God loved her. He went out

00:47:12.239 --> 00:47:15.320
of his way to find her. And what did he do for

00:47:15.320 --> 00:47:18.780
her? He told her that rivers of living water

00:47:18.780 --> 00:47:24.619
would flow out of her as she came into relationship

00:47:24.619 --> 00:47:28.360
with Jesus. And they did. He used her to bring

00:47:28.360 --> 00:47:32.039
a whole town to revival, Samaritan town. So this

00:47:32.039 --> 00:47:35.340
is just who Jesus is. I love him. And he works

00:47:35.340 --> 00:47:39.019
through women. I know that many people say, well,

00:47:39.019 --> 00:47:41.079
it's the best. it's the men okay yes it is the

00:47:41.079 --> 00:47:43.500
men and I love men and I they have a role in

00:47:43.500 --> 00:47:47.579
a place and I honor that but God will use women

00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:50.679
he has he did in scripture and he continues to

00:47:50.679 --> 00:47:53.500
and that's very exciting he'll use all of us

00:47:53.500 --> 00:47:55.760
yeah right from the very beginning women have

00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:58.369
played a prominent role in all of God's plans.

00:47:59.610 --> 00:48:02.010
And Satan tries to twist that so women get offended

00:48:02.010 --> 00:48:04.730
with God, but it's not true. Right. God has always

00:48:04.730 --> 00:48:06.570
loved and used women. That's exactly right. And

00:48:06.570 --> 00:48:08.769
we just have to be, we just have to be obedient.

00:48:08.909 --> 00:48:11.750
We just have to be willing. Really, just willing.

00:48:12.190 --> 00:48:14.769
He'll do the rest. Yeah. Cynthia, thank you so

00:48:14.769 --> 00:48:16.909
much for sharing your story and the ways God

00:48:16.909 --> 00:48:19.449
has been guiding your steps over the years. You

00:48:19.449 --> 00:48:21.579
know, what stands out to me is that simple but

00:48:21.579 --> 00:48:23.460
powerful truth that God's always at work and

00:48:23.460 --> 00:48:26.119
he is inviting us to do it. I mean, it's astonishing

00:48:26.119 --> 00:48:30.199
that God invites us to be part of his work. He

00:48:30.199 --> 00:48:33.679
doesn't need us. He wants us. If we don't do

00:48:33.679 --> 00:48:36.599
our part, something is missing or he has to make

00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:39.739
some sort of adjustment. Every person matters.

00:48:40.300 --> 00:48:43.110
You know, you can touch people that I will never

00:48:43.110 --> 00:48:45.869
see. I will touch people that your readers or

00:48:45.869 --> 00:48:48.449
your listeners won't touch. God has a role for

00:48:48.449 --> 00:48:51.250
every one of us and for the fullness of his purposes

00:48:51.250 --> 00:48:54.130
to be fulfilled. We all need to step into it.

00:48:54.389 --> 00:48:57.130
Amen. Yeah. You know, sometimes, like we mentioned,

00:48:57.150 --> 00:48:59.909
he invites us to serve in one area, one assignment

00:48:59.909 --> 00:49:02.349
for a time, and then he redirects us to another

00:49:02.349 --> 00:49:05.489
area. And that key we've talked about over and

00:49:05.489 --> 00:49:08.110
over is learning to recognize his voice and respond

00:49:08.110 --> 00:49:11.880
when he calls. Ephesians 2, 10 tells us, for

00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:15.639
we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus

00:49:15.639 --> 00:49:18.980
to do good works, which God prepared in advance

00:49:18.980 --> 00:49:21.679
for us. Think about that for a moment. God's

00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:24.500
already prepared works for each of us to step

00:49:24.500 --> 00:49:27.679
into. We simply need to listen to his voice and

00:49:27.679 --> 00:49:30.039
walk in the direction of his leading. Cynthia's

00:49:30.039 --> 00:49:32.000
story is a beautiful example of that. Moving

00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:34.639
from business to prayer initiatives to writing

00:49:34.639 --> 00:49:37.500
a book to help believers rediscover God's hand

00:49:37.500 --> 00:49:39.980
in the story of our nation. Critical time. for

00:49:39.980 --> 00:49:43.420
us to do that on our 250th anniversary. You know,

00:49:43.420 --> 00:49:45.960
if today's conversation stirred your heart about

00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:48.719
recognizing what God's doing around you, I encourage

00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:51.840
you to go back and listen to an earlier episode

00:49:51.840 --> 00:49:54.840
of this podcast entitled Embracing God's New

00:49:54.840 --> 00:49:58.579
Move. In that episode, we talk more about how

00:49:58.579 --> 00:50:01.280
we can develop spiritual eyes to see what God's

00:50:01.280 --> 00:50:04.179
doing and the courage to join Him in it. Because

00:50:04.179 --> 00:50:06.619
when we begin to see life that way, we recognize

00:50:06.619 --> 00:50:09.519
something wonderful. God is inviting each of

00:50:09.519 --> 00:50:13.420
us to take part in the story he is writing. Cynthia,

00:50:13.500 --> 00:50:15.880
would you take a moment to lead us in prayer

00:50:15.880 --> 00:50:20.159
for our nation? Yes, I would love to. Thank you.

00:50:20.400 --> 00:50:23.179
Father, we come before you on behalf of this

00:50:23.179 --> 00:50:28.340
nation, which you founded and shaped over Hundreds

00:50:28.340 --> 00:50:32.179
of years, Lord, you have brought us to this momentous

00:50:32.179 --> 00:50:36.880
occasion of celebrating 250 years. And so Lord,

00:50:37.019 --> 00:50:40.340
we ask you, please turn the hearts of Americans

00:50:40.340 --> 00:50:43.880
to you. Help us to rediscover and in some cases

00:50:43.880 --> 00:50:46.699
for the first time, discover what you have done

00:50:46.699 --> 00:50:50.260
to place us in this nation for such a time as

00:50:50.260 --> 00:50:52.800
this. We ask Lord that you would be with our

00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:54.659
leaders, that you would guide them, that they

00:50:54.659 --> 00:50:56.619
would hear your voice behind them saying this

00:50:56.619 --> 00:50:59.289
is the way. walk in it that you would lead us

00:50:59.289 --> 00:51:02.630
as a nation in paths of righteousness and Lord

00:51:02.630 --> 00:51:06.190
I pray for every American citizen to have an

00:51:06.190 --> 00:51:10.010
encounter with you as they as they celebrate

00:51:10.010 --> 00:51:13.989
our 250th birthday and ponder the great things

00:51:13.989 --> 00:51:18.510
that you have done in Jesus name amen amen and

00:51:18.510 --> 00:51:20.449
you know I also want to encourage our global

00:51:20.449 --> 00:51:23.329
listening audience use Cynthia's prayer as a

00:51:23.329 --> 00:51:25.860
template to pray for your own nation That prayer

00:51:25.860 --> 00:51:29.599
is not just for us. You can use God's word to

00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:32.420
pray for your nation as well. And now, dear friends,

00:51:32.619 --> 00:51:35.119
before we close, let me speak a blessing over

00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:38.440
you drawn from Ephesians 1, 17, and 18, and Isaiah

00:51:38.440 --> 00:51:42.400
30, 21. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

00:51:42.739 --> 00:51:45.639
the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom

00:51:45.639 --> 00:51:48.340
and revelation so that you may know him more

00:51:48.340 --> 00:51:51.900
fully. May the eyes of your heart be open to

00:51:51.900 --> 00:51:54.719
recognize his hand at work around you. When life

00:51:54.719 --> 00:51:57.260
feels uncertain and the path ahead isn't clear,

00:51:57.639 --> 00:52:00.119
may you hear his gentle voice behind you saying,

00:52:00.360 --> 00:52:03.480
this is the way, walk in it. May the Lord give

00:52:03.480 --> 00:52:05.619
you a heart that is attentive to his spirit,

00:52:06.119 --> 00:52:09.079
eyes that see where he's moving, and the courage

00:52:09.079 --> 00:52:12.320
to step forward and join him in his work. And

00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:15.179
may you walk with confidence and peace, knowing

00:52:15.179 --> 00:52:17.960
that the God who calls you is faithful and that

00:52:17.960 --> 00:52:20.659
the story he's writing through your life is good.

00:52:21.360 --> 00:52:23.989
Thank you so much for joining us today. If you've

00:52:23.989 --> 00:52:26.630
been encouraged, please like or share this episode

00:52:26.630 --> 00:52:29.130
and consider subscribing to the podcast so you

00:52:29.130 --> 00:52:31.809
don't miss any of the God stories shared by my

00:52:31.809 --> 00:52:34.469
wonderful guests. I also invite you to visit

00:52:34.469 --> 00:52:37.670
HerGodStory .org for the show notes and to learn

00:52:37.670 --> 00:52:40.010
more about Cynthia and her book. While you're

00:52:40.010 --> 00:52:42.170
there, you can also become part of the growing

00:52:42.170 --> 00:52:44.469
company of men and women who are joining God

00:52:44.469 --> 00:52:46.349
in his work for caring for widows and orphans

00:52:46.349 --> 00:52:48.570
around the world through our Widow and Orphan

00:52:48.570 --> 00:52:51.369
Fund. And if you find yourself needing prayer

00:52:51.369 --> 00:52:54.150
today, Please don't hesitate to reach out. You

00:52:54.150 --> 00:52:57.690
can call or text our 24 -7 prayer line anytime

00:52:57.690 --> 00:53:03.989
at 855 -459 -CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares

00:53:03.989 --> 00:53:06.789
.org. We would be honored to stand with you and

00:53:06.789 --> 00:53:08.869
believe God for his leading and provision in

00:53:08.869 --> 00:53:11.769
your life. Until next time, remember, no matter

00:53:11.769 --> 00:53:14.650
what chapter you're in right now, God is gracious.

00:53:15.010 --> 00:53:17.969
He is faithful. and he's still writing your story.

00:53:18.409 --> 00:53:20.510
Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares

00:53:20.510 --> 00:53:23.409
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