-
This comes from Leah.
-
She says, "I don't have
one specific question for you.
-
It's more of a situation
that my husband and I
-
are just really becoming
very discouraged by."
-
Now, you've got to follow this one.
-
"We've been Christians for about 7 years.
-
We've seen God work
so much in our lives
-
and has brought us
through many difficulties.
-
We made many financial
mistakes in our early 20's
-
that we are now paying for.
-
My husband works 50 plus hours per week
-
and we are paycheck to paycheck.
-
I stay at home with our three boys,
-
ages 2 and 7 month old twins
-
who were born 11 weeks premature
-
and have some extra needs.
-
We're struggling both with time and money.
-
Soon my husband may need to
-
get a second job.
-
I spend the entire day
bouncing back and forth
-
between different kids' needs,
-
trying and often failing
at minimally keeping up
-
with the house, laundry, and cooking.
-
But the biggest problem here is that
-
we have less and less time for prayer,
-
reading the Word,
-
going to Bible studies,
-
evangelism, our marriage, etc.
-
We've cut out all
luxuries like television,
-
going out to dinner,
-
and other things for both time and money.
-
We've been praying for a very long time
-
for help in paying off debt
-
and for an income source
-
for my husband that doesn't require
-
quite so much time away from home
-
at both the job and the drive time.
-
While in all other areas
that we've prayed for
-
we have felt His presence
-
and have seen answers in
one way or another,
-
this is one area that
we just feel He is quiet.
-
I struggle with praying for issues
-
related to money because I spent years
-
in a megachurch that focused
too much on money,
-
in addition to other major flaws,
-
so I am very apprehensive in praying
-
for this area of our lives.
-
We don't want our prayers answered
-
so we can add luxuries
back into our lives.
-
We see how God is using this time
-
to strip us of things that have brought
-
sin into our lives and
hindered our walk with Him.
-
We just want more time to spend with God
-
to grow spiritually,
-
to grow in our marriage
-
and to be able to pour into our children.
-
Right now, I just feel like
we are simply existing.
-
We use the time we have to put
-
a sermon on in the background
-
while taking care of the kids,
-
and my husband uses his drive time
-
and his lunch hour to pray.
-
But we don't have the time to
-
cry out to Him for all
that we need to pray for:
-
for our family, for church needs,
-
for this nation, for missionaries,
-
for our children's salvation,
-
and to be spending uninterrupted time
-
learning and memorizing His Word.
-
We just need some encouragement,
-
direction and prayer.
-
I want to be sure that I
understand the difference
-
in His Word about
praying for spiritual things
-
versus supernatural things.
-
I've listened to sermons and read
about prayer many times,
-
but I want to be sure to be praying
for these things in a way
-
that is honoring to God.
-
Thank you, Leah."
-
So, you kind of get the gist?
-
Anything jump out at you?
-
(from the room)
-
Maybe experientially, it sounds like
-
listening to sermons,
-
or maybe even reading books -
-
it can be very hard,
-
especially for a mother
-
to be hearing a pastor
talking about praying
-
and long times of praying,
-
and then a mother trying
to assimilate that
-
into her life with three children
-
and kind of feel like I'm not doing it.
-
I can't do what they're saying,
-
and feel like she's not doing enough,
-
which sort of sounds
like that's the problem.
-
It sounds like she's pressing on,
-
but she has this high standard
-
that maybe has been created by
-
hearing of great missionaries in the past
-
or some sermon.
-
Tim: Yeah, it's interesting.
-
She says that her husband
uses his drive time.
-
Now, she first said that her husband
-
is working 50 plus hours
-
plus the drive time,
-
which makes you think that
the drive time is fairly significant.
-
And then she says he's using
his drive time for prayer
-
and his lunch hours,
-
but she says that she lacks -
-
"we don't have the time to cry out to Him
-
for all that we need to pray for:
-
for family, church needs, nation,
-
missionaries, children's salvation..."
-
And you know the reality is,
-
(incomplete thought)
-
if you use - I don't know how
much of the lunch hour,
-
but if you use the majority of
an hour at lunch for prayer -
-
let's say you bring your lunch;
-
you pack it, you bring it with you,
-
you take some time to eat it.
-
You could easily give a half
hour to devoted prayer.
-
And let's assume he's driving
a half hour each way.
-
I suspect that Christian men
-
who give an hour and a half
-
to dedicated prayer is
probably the exception.
-
And so, yeah, I think you're right.
-
I think her standard -
-
she may desire something
-
that she feels like she's
not able to accomplish,
-
but the truth is we do often
get into certain chapters
-
of our life where there are needs -
-
especially when there's children.
-
What we all have to do is prioritize.
-
And life is changing all the time.
-
You talk to R.L.
-
R.L. getting a mechanical
engineering degree.
-
This portion of his life looks different.
-
You talk to my wife.
-
From about the time that
we had the four children
-
until the youngest child
got to five or six years old
-
where the oldest was actually
-
significantly able to
start really helping out,
-
that time in her life is far different
-
from this time in her life.
-
The thing is, there was a time
-
when I was seeking to plant a church
-
down in Stockdale, TX,
-
and I was the primary guy down there.
-
I was doing the preaching.
-
I was leading the prayer meeting.
-
I was leading the evangelism.
-
I had a full time secular position.
-
And I had a full time family.
-
And so life looks different
-
in different chapters of our life.
-
That's just the way it is.
-
And what you have to do is prioritize.
-
Many of you know about Susannah Wesley
-
and all the children she had.
-
What? Upwards of 20?
-
And this lady has three.
-
And I'm not diminishing the
difficulty of having three -
-
especially twins, but when you have 20...
-
There are ladies historically
-
who have walked with Christ
-
and what would she do?
-
She would put her apron over her head.
-
She would choose those choice times.
-
One of the godliest men
you could read about
-
is John G. Paton's father.
-
He would go into an inner
room in the house.
-
He had a business right there
-
in his home,
-
and at lunch time he would go in there
-
and he would pray.
-
And they would hear him just crying out
-
on behalf of their souls.
-
You know, we have to prioritize.
-
The Lord doesn't expect us
-
to do what we can't do.
-
But He does expect us to do
-
everything we're supposed to do.
-
And you need to capture that thought.
-
If God has given you ten responsibilities
-
in your life, He expects you to take care
-
of those ten responsibilities
in your life.
-
But the thing is,
-
prayer may be one aspect of that.
-
The time you spend in the Word
-
may be one aspect of that.
-
But at that certain time in your life,
-
you also have to balance
the other 8 things.
-
He doesn't expect you
to pray 24 hours a day.
-
He doesn't expect you to
pray all your waking hours.
-
In fact, there is a time
-
when praying would be wrong.
-
You can go to work for somebody.
-
This very man, if he thought,
-
I need to pray more,
-
and so you know what I'm going to do?
-
Aside from my lunch break,
-
I'm going to sneak away at different times
-
and find a secluded closet somewhere
-
that I can go pray,
-
and his boss would not
think that's a good thing.
-
And I don't believe God would
think that's a good thing.
-
You say, he needs to pray.
-
We need more prayer.
-
No, not at that time you don't.
-
If you do need more prayer,
-
then there needs to be
proper prioritization.
-
One thing is you need to sleep too,
-
and if you're not well slept,
-
you're not going to
give your employer
-
the kind of time that you need
to be able to give to him.
-
So, I would also say this.
-
There seemed like this woman
-
had a hesitation to pray
-
because of some experience
she had at a megachurch.
-
She had a hesitation to pray for money.
-
It's almost like, we
pray for spiritual things,
-
and God answers us,
-
but we're kind of hesitant
to pray about this.
-
It's kind of like coming
out of a background
-
where you have this
mindset that sex is dirty.
-
And now suddenly you're saved,
-
and you want to cast that off.
-
God created that.
-
Or you have this idea, you know,
-
miracles or whatever - that's charismatic.
-
But wait a second, what we have to do
-
is we have to look again at Scripture.
-
Scripture has to guide us.
-
Would Scripture ever indicate to us
-
that praying for financial things;
-
asking God to supply our needs
-
is carnal or secular or unspiritual?
-
It's interesting this lady's saying
-
we know lots of answers to our prayer,
-
but it just seems like this area -
-
she's admitting we don't really pray.
-
We're not getting the kind of answers
-
that we want, but we're
not really even asking.
-
And I would say to somebody like that,
-
well, you need to ask.
-
Why would you not ask?
-
Especially when she's emphasizing,
-
well, look, it's not that
we want luxuries.
-
It's that we don't want my husband
-
to be working 50 plus hours
-
and now maybe even have
to find a second job
-
for us to make ends meet.
-
I would say this,
-
you definitely want to pray.
-
I think they ought to be praying about -
-
she didn't say anything
about their giving,
-
but I do know that Scripturally,
-
I'm often drawn to the text
-
that says there's one who
gives more than he ought,
-
and the thing is it seems that he only
-
becomes all the more richer.
-
Then you have somebody that withholds
-
what they shouldn't withhold.
-
And it tends only to their penury
-
as the KJV says - poverty.
-
And so I would say this,
-
give sacrificially and then pray.
-
Here's the reality.
-
In fact, I would encourage this woman.
-
I've found great help and I know many have
-
in our church, especially
in the early days,
-
often quoted from Isaiah 53.
-
But in Isaiah 53, there are promises there
-
about you pouring yourself
out for the hungry;
-
you giving to the needy,
-
(chapter 58, not 53)
-
Isaiah 58.
-
And the promise there is this:
-
that when you cry,
-
God's going to say, "Here I am."
-
And I have always found that to be
-
a great argument in prayer.
-
Lord, we've given.
-
Lord, we've given. We've
sought to be sacrificial.
-
We've sought to pay our debts.
-
We've sought to help the needy.
-
We've sought to support the family.
-
After all, if you don't
support your family, what?
-
Worse than an infidel.
-
So, God wants you to support your family.
-
God wants you to give to
the needs of the needy.
-
God wants you to pay your debt.
-
I can show you texts that
say all three of those.
-
And so if you're doing what God
-
wants you to do with the money
-
and now you're running out,
-
you have every reason to come and say,
-
Lord, You promised to supply all my need.
-
You've promised.
-
And You've promised
that if I would be merciful,
-
that when I cry, You'll say, "Here I am."
-
And Jesus talking about storing up
-
treasure in heaven.
-
And see, I don't want to stretch this
-
where it ought not to go, but listen.
-
I think because of texts like Isaiah 58,
-
I have reason to believe that this fits
-
into the words that Jesus said.
-
When He talks about storing
up treasure in heaven -
-
not storing up here.
-
So my mindset is this.
-
I'm going to strive to
not build empires here.
-
I'm going to strive not to
build up huge savings here.
-
I'm going to strive not to build
up huge retirement here,
-
but rather I'm going to store it there.
-
And then when I come to have needs here,
-
I'm going to look and say,
-
Lord, I stored it all there.
-
I don't have anything here
-
and I have a need over here.
-
When I'm thinking about storing up
-
treasure in heaven, I'm not just
-
thinking about when I die,
-
I'm going to go to heaven
-
and there's going to be treasure there.
-
Now, obviously, that is a primary emphasis
-
of what Jesus is saying there
-
in the Sermon on the Mount.
-
But, I also believe that storing up
-
treasure in heaven carries the reality
-
that that's where my surplus is.
-
That's where my supply is.
-
And I'm storing it up there
-
just kind of like putting it in the bank,
-
but I'm storing it there.
-
I'm giving it to the Lord.
-
I'm trusting Him.
-
Not just that there's going to be
-
treasure there when I die and get there,
-
but that there's treasure there
-
to be drawn on anytime
that I need it here.
-
And like I say, I take that from promises
-
like, "You'll call and
I'll say, 'Here I am.'"
-
I take it from the promises of God
-
concerning finances,
-
that both are a reality.
-
That what I'm doing is
-
I'm storing up and there's a promise
-
in my storing up there that when I
-
come to have need here,
-
God's going to meet it.
-
When it's a need,
-
and He sees it as a need -
-
not just when I want my
standard of living increased.
-
Not when it's something that
He doesn't think I need,
-
but I think I need.
-
See, that's one of the problems.
-
We like to put it in the bank
-
because see, then I can tap that
-
when I think I have a need.
-
Sometimes it has to do
with trusting the Lord.
-
If we give it all to Him,
-
well, what if I'm in need
and He doesn't give me.
-
But you know what I have found
-
is He always does.
-
He always does.
-
(incomplete thought)
-
I have typically found,
-
even when it's things that seem
-
really practical - like
that just makes sense
-
that we should have that -
-
He provides for it.
-
Even though I had no
funds there before that
-
or very little.
-
I mean, yes, I'm 52 years old
-
and I live paycheck to paycheck.
-
But, we are seeking to store up
-
treasure in heaven,
-
and I really have confidence
-
that the Lord is going to provide
-
whenever there's need,
-
even if that's retirement.
-
And the thing is, I can tell you this,
-
that I've walked with
the Lord for 26 years
-
and He hasn't let me down once.
-
He hasn't failed me.
-
So I would say that to this lady.
-
One of the things that
you don't want to do
-
when you're in financial difficulty
-
is stop giving.
-
Now, look, I'm not saying,
-
well how much did they give?
-
I would just say this.
-
Let the highly praised,
-
highly commended Macedonians
-
be your example when you're in straits.
-
They gave liberally.
-
They amazed even an apostle.
-
I would say that.
-
Go to 2 Corinthians 8-9.
-
Right there in 8, you've got the example
-
of the Macedonians.
-
Let them be an example.
-
Give something in the spirit of that.
-
Take care of your family.
-
Take care of your debt.
-
And look to the Lord
-
and call upon the Lord
-
and ask the Lord to provide.
-
She's admitting that she hasn't prayed
-
because of this megachurch mindset
-
that's been pressed upon her -
-
something like the love of money
-
is the root of all evil,
-
and sometimes we get it in our heads
-
that money is the root of all evil.
-
Well, we need money.
-
There's a place for money
-
so that dad can be with the family more.
-
There is a place for that.
-
Any other thoughts on that?
-
(from the room)
-
I think one thing that stood out as well
-
is that she said that through this time
-
and season in their life,
-
that it's made her more like Christ;
-
or at least, it's shown
her and her husband
-
their sin in their lives.
-
And I think there's a certain aspect
-
of thinking about just
embracing the suffering.
-
And I hope I don't sound
apathetic in any way,
-
but I think there's room
to embrace it in some way
-
where texts such as James and 1 Peter,
-
and just seeing that our suffering
-
makes us more like Christ.
-
And it helps us not to
settle in here on earth.
-
And it really just fixes our
mind on heaven, basically.
-
That's just my thought.
-
Tim: Right. Embrace it.
-
And there may be a place for that.
-
Because the reality is working 50 hours -
-
even though that might
not be what you want,
-
and you might want more time with dad
-
being with the children,
-
especially when they're at a certain age
-
and you know having
devotions and everything.
-
But you know what?
-
Working 50 or 60 hours a week is not bad.
-
And it sounds to me like they are
-
giving up some of the non-essentials
-
in their life, and that they do
-
actually have reasonable time.
-
She said it feels like
they're just existing,
-
but perhaps that's because certain things,
-
certain endeavors that
they would like to have
-
in their life that God's just
now allowing them right now.
-
Maybe they're putting too much
-
of a high priority on.
-
And very often, we do get into situations
-
where things are tight.
-
When our children were small,
-
the amount Ruby had to spend on food
-
was extremely tight.
-
But you know, there are seasons like that.
-
And certain Christians
in certain countries,
-
we might say there's lives like that.