What Causes God to Listen After Hours

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Sam, I didn't get a good one in the regular show New Hampshire's phone call and I was really he was in his room.

Call really so anyway that the topic seems like what God always listens. Of course, if course he does. But I really struggle actually every single morning to be transparent of my life in prayer, trying to get to the place where I feel like I'm in the relationship.

I want to be in with God and so I'm trying to discover my heart, where where is that place to where I feel that I'm connecting with God. I feel like were in a move in the same direction where I can get a sense of where he is and those kind of things well I hope I really do hope that you had a chance to watch the TV series the chosen Dallas Jenkins absolute genius in my opinion of of showing you'd like it to Don Shandy. It took us a long time to get Robby to come around to the chosen, but now he's all I really am.

So here we were coming into season two and Jesus has been working on the sermon on the Mount in the beautiful cool thing about it is if you watch the chosen is the Matthew character is autistic and quite a different person but he he is the one whose writing everything down and doing all of Stephanie's happening helping Jesus with right that the sermon at and so you know what a cool set up gives you do you do now the big sermon on the Mount is in the book of Matthew and you can see there's insights that sermon that are only in that book and you can't help but wonder what the relationship was there and so they do a good job of illustrating this but here is you hear the set up to this, you heard two voices. They both speak of little bit of an act since you can't tell who's who. But it's Matthew is been given a chance to comment on certain Jesus is sermon so just think about this for a minute, Jesus comes even says what you think.

But what about the sermon on the mount. Are you serious symptoms of my Matthew actually has some thoughts comes at the point that Matthews hearing the sermon. It starts out with you the salt of the earth, and so Matthew thinks we need a little different. It insiders Jesus and so they have this discussion then you hear a bit of a time lapse when Jesus wakes Matthew up and says I got it. I have the perfect opening and then you get a sense of of Jesus's heart when I feel like is a sense of God's heart is into the question that I'm really trying to ponder this the beginning and the end of the month. We can let the beginning is my logistical, I think the sermon needs some sort of introduction imitation into as you have rightly pointed out to be a complex times, challenging set of teachings. Matthew is it a map. What actions people should think me about the poor in spirit for things is the kingdom of Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted by Siddhartha Meek for they shall inherit methadone. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied with them as they shall receive mercy, methadone, the efficiency God. If someone wants to find me.

Those are the groups so to me, you know. Here we have several you know as Wayne pointed out live, but here are some other attitudes actually be attitudes of feelings that some attitudes of the heart of where to go looking right in prayer and as you're trying to get that connection, and so to put some legs on that I have a story that kinda incorporates for me. Almost all of those attitudes. I was at one point, car dealer for those who don't know, I was a dealer in Marksville, North Carolina Chrysler dealer and when I took on that dealership.

There was a salesman there by the name of Johnny Hendrix and Johnny Hendrix was the guy just classic Davie County car salesman the nicest guy in the world. Everybody in the County knew him in a ball Friendly as he could, possibly, D. B.

But you could not really get into any type of deep discussion with Johnny as it would go anywhere. He was he was definitely wonderful to be around.

But the relationship was was an inch deep and so I've known him for some time invited into the Bible study we had at the dealership I invited in the Christian business men's committee he paid for the first business Christian business men's committee meeting.

The breakfast, and all yet he wouldn't come. So I never really knew where he stood nor had I ever ask where he stood. But I do know he seemed to get teared up. Sometimes when we do things a Christmas he seemed to have something there but there was never any real obvious relationship with Christ. Well, after I've known him for about five years. One day there came this knock on my office door and it was Johnny and he said Robby we need to talk, and I actually was very overwhelmed with things are going on at the time. Not that there was any excuse but I totally blew it so I was worried about building a new building a lot of things and he came in and he said Robby I need to let you know that I have pancreatic cancer and being a cancer survivor.

It didn't really hit me I was like what you will be fine. I will pray for you. Oh, what a horrible thing. It was what it was and he got this look on his face like remember him turn around, and leaving and I could tell that I'd left this giant opportunities sitting in my office that day and but yet I didn't really know how to get it back in. There wasn't. He left well.

Two weeks later Tim and I were actually going to another funeral and we got a call from Geraldine, his wife and Johnny had lapsed into a coma. Almost immediately, and he was in terrible shape. By the time we get the hospital. His family was there as best friends there. The whole scene up there. You know in intensive care and the doctor comes in and says, well, he probably only has about an hour or so to live. Geraldine, who you want to go in with me because only one person can go in his whole families. There you know his wife Ollie's people and she says Robby all man I could not felt any lower, like, really. I had a chance to really share some with Johnny.

Now they want me to go in there with and in the regional and she had said that when she knew I would pray and wanted me to pray, and I certainly wanted to pray, but I can't say that that prayer in Johnny's room that night, I felt it.

Let me know. Did much and so is a came out of the nitrous seen Johnny for a few minutes walk back in the waiting room and I said Geraldine I just got a note to does Johnny know Jesus and she said I don't really know. That's his wife I would to discuss friend Bruce Rollins bruised Johnny know Jesus versus I really don't know Robby. He used to go to return time Baptist Church. They got mad.

The pastor and he never would come back.

I really don't.

And oh my goodness, all the sudden I was face-to-face with this man that I had worked side-by-side for I really did respect and really did love he might be spending eternity in hell because I never had the discussion. So when I got my car and I began to pray right here, right. I could've been more meek.

I couldn't of been morning.

In other words, all those things came into worm.

This was a contrite heart. Believe me, and I was like God. Clearly I have blown it clearly. I had a chance to talk to this man and I that is just please, please, please, if there's any way in the world that you could just give them some more time, whatever that might look like a promise promise promise I will either introduce them to you or help them to get to know you better as a nor'easter and I could sense that prayer did not have the same now I can send some of my heart that he heard that I get any real verbal answer, but is had a sense of faith like okay with. There's plan here and so I got back to the hospital and I did.

They would talk about we go to pull the plug considers no brain activity list is that I said no, no, no, please don't. Please, please, to sense that something else is going on here. Leave give him another day or two all that was on Friday. Saturday we got more insistent Sunday they got even more insistent and Monday night when I got to the hospital… He had delivered David Kennedy to fully appreciate this well walked into Johnny's room. He was sitting up in the bed like nothing had happened and he was completely in his right mind and talking and just Johnny and everybody was just like, well, you just thing a believer Robby so I get in there and as soon as I do realize all who God fulfilled his part of the deal. But I have no idea how many shirt because it was a proud man, I just did not know how to enter into this conversation with Johnny actually went back out. Got my car went back to the same place.

Again I said okay God. Clearly, you have come through for me in this, you really really done it and were to work go how to write share you with and can you give me so I know it's a fairly low and all God said to be a very, very clear the start it was and it was clear that the prayer hit and it was clear that he had answer for me and he says to me, Robby, Johnny is a car salesman and immediately I knew what he meant, especially the baby chatting car salesman and I'll explain.

So I go back in Johnny's room and sit there looking at me is just me and Johnny Nessa, Johnny, I can say somewhat. Robby, I made a deal with God, deal did you make with God. Robby well I told him if you if he would give you any more time that I would either introduce you to him or I would help you get to know them better and Johnny looked at me but David doesn't sit well you better get to it and the reason that he said that was because to her car salesman, especially Johnny a deal is a deal like you make a deal and yes it's honor among thieves. Whatever you want to call us okay, but to a car salesman, a deal is a deal and I've made a deal with God and that resonated with Johnny so I began to take Johnny through the book of John. And as we went through it, you know, he was very interested, very engage. They were good conversations but still not very deep so we were going through the IM statements. I am the bread of life. You know I am in no.bright light of the world. All these things and so we get to know he finally goes home from the hospital. I'm going out to his house and I go to talk to him about.

I am the resurrection, which is where he raises Lazarus from the dead, and so we have a nice little discussion and I believe when I come back the next day the whole block is covered with cars and I'm thinking I'll know the goodies he's passed away is when you see all those cars and was only thousand when I get in there is like a party and you know Jimmy Lancaster's good friend and pastor mine and Johnny and all of Johnny's family is there and they're all like the end and Jimmy Lancaster. The pastor says to Johnny. Johnny got a tell Robby what's happened. He said well when you walked out yesterday after talk about Lazarus. My sister came in right as you walk them out and she had a whole stack of Gaber CDs and the first very first CDC slides in the player is four days late, but right on time and I realized that I was in this coma for four days and that God had brought me back to life of the very thing that I to show me life and so they had called Jimmy Lancaster.

He prayed to receive Christ and and if I noticed is no explaining what it was like to have discussions with Johnny, he only lived two weeks after that home but there was much fruit. In those two weeks much. That had to do in an much mercy that I received as a result of all those things you know that were talking about. And I've always thought that you know here I was at one of the lowest points of having blown such a clear opportunity and put God had other plans so Harold will just go little bit of a paraphrase of nursery rhyme Harold Harrell but contrary because guerrillas love times may seem as a contrarian. And I do have a little bit of a different take on this thing I have on a T-shirt and daughter-in-law game and says no, stop listening, so why are you still talking and my thought on it is that God listens when we're in tune with his plan. I don't think that God listens when were praying for selfish prayers. I don't think Janis Joplin got that Mercedes-Benz by praying to God if she got it she butted on her own.

Her friends all had portions so anyway that I think that God is always listening. But if we are trying to pray for selfish things to use our own benefit that he probably stops listening because that's not what he's interested in.

No, to pray for your friend and his situation. That was not a selfish prayer on your part. Even though I'm sure it meant more to you than you can express what you were praying for something that was a benefit someone else.

That's when God hears us.

He has his plans and he wants us to fall in line with him. Not that were going to give him the plan, let him follow us in Estes my little contrary take on it. I wondered if Wayne is the longer because I want cost ball up for slamdunk walls listening that we talked about humble, contrite heart, being necessary for God to listen, but Wayne when asked earlier said it's love that was your love for a friend that brought that miracle about narrowing. I am sorry that I don't there.

There is nowhere else to go other than absolutely that something about why Jesus came for each one of the Rico love the world that he knew all of you all the thing. It was because of that, but it was it was more than just to keep us out of hell. It was to bring us into a right relationship with her father God, and even even Jesus to do, even if it is for the work that you how can you say that you love God was in heaven when you don't love those who are your talk a minute ago.

I was actually thinking about that Harold talk about praying for others. Praying out of out of the heart of love for others rather than for yourself.

Not thinking about my mother and my sister and and you know the like, have been living last year and 1/2 they don't understand the date they can't comprehend why I'm doing the things I'm doing and that that thought crossed my mind and start date praying for me or or or they judging me and not even too much about them because were all guilty. I'm as guilty as anyone.

We spend so much time judging one another rather than love rather than its greatest number for Danny's clip on the same really is when it really is and so you know Danny has such a beautiful story unfortunately got called away one thing to come of the topic and that he was actually games the clip was sit in the studio and got called away on on a service call so we didn't get the benefit of the story that we do have is clip which is from a movie that I dearly love called. It's a wonderful life. And for those of you who may not be that familiar with it. It's the story of George Bailey who lived a very sacrificial life for everybody in the community.

I mean, he'd saved his brother through the eyes. You know, he'd given up his hopes and dreams to build this building alone and help people build houses that didn't have money and and and given to everybody and then through no fault of his own his uncle's little different and he misplaces a large deposit.

Now it looks like George is going to jail and he's got a makeup, a crazy amount of money and George's decided his only way out is to cash in on this life insurance policy but before he does that he's got a little prayer book you know you need a little back story here that when he was so upset about having lost all his money his daughter had come home with a sore throat in the teacher is who George blamed and he bawled her out on the phone. Now he has an opportunity to meet her husband and after his prayer, not only was taken on Bailey and I and our gone.

Nobody praying becoming reasonably so there was George's prayer in his prayer was responded by punching the drywall which you know you might've heard there from teachers, husband, but you gotta watch the movie really to see how much God really did show George the writer took a punch in the jaw and how many of those that I need anonymity because we say that's what I give her brilliant but with the beautiful part of the of the movie and the genius of the thing it is that he's taken on the you know a very difficult road to find out what life would be like if Katie had not existed to find out really the value of wealth is in exactly what Wayne is describing that because of the love that he'd shown for this entire community. Now they love on him and they all come to his aid by porting all this money and even his brother who would now as a reward to you know that saved all these people in the war and and he came back on the plane.

You know all of them is quite a scene. Not to mention Clarence gets his wings and if you don't shed a tear. You know, is just not Christmas, I was already crying was this reminded me of well start with who it is, my wife and I in the 90s were Henry black B groupies and a time he was anywhere close to listen to it meant he had a lot to do with my developing a real relationship with God. From that and that he would not claim any credit for it. He said God, I'm glad he's begun to think he's that humble guy, but we listen to a tape of his last week and it reminded me of something that Wayne reinforced Larry's talking about love and yet Henry would road experiencing God is so hot I experience God and he said well it's with the people you encounter. Whether true spouse or your children or your worst enemy or pagan stranger every time God put someone in your path. That's an opportunity for experiencing and experiencing him, and having a dialogue with them tell you, like he did Robby O'Reilly.

It's such a beautiful story and that of Baume. I don't think anybody here remembered here yet will I great story along those lines and you said that I can help you remember when I was a baby Christian like you were learning about like I had just begun to pray in all these things will Tammy and really frustrated. Tammy's my wife if you don't know and you know I'm a young father and she said some stuff that is fried my bacon and I am I go downstairs in the basement and I'm screaming got did you hear what she just said are you going to just sit here and take this.

Are you going to let all this happen you that I'm shaking my finger God Mrs. you want me to hold her accountable. Is that what you're saying and what the last belay that order will never ever forget that God is now. I think accountability is not good here. I think grace unthinking braces. And yes it is is is thank you Wayne for joining us on the phone and Rodney in India, my friend Harold and of course is been a wonderful time with you, but it would be the same without you listening so you podcast listeners are so grateful. We'd love to meet you at the boot camp is coming up November 18 to the 21st.

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