The Kind of Prayer God Answers — Part 2

Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I'm so glad you're here. Today we're going to continue our series called Unshakeable. Rick is taking us through the Book of Daniel. And that's so we'll be equipped to handle whatever curveball life throws at us, even the most difficult trials. And now here's Rick with part two of a message called the Kind of Prayer God Answers.

Husbands, let me talk to you for just a minute. I'm gonna give you a marriage tip that will pay great dividends in your life, the rest of your life. You're listening to a guy who's been married 41 years. Here's a big tip for every husband. I have noticed and I've developed this habit that whenever Kay talks to me, I turn my face toward her physically. Whenever she starts talking, I literally turn, turn my face toward her. And you know what I've learned? She likes it. In fact, she loves it. Because when you turn your face to somebody, it's a. You have my undivided attention. I'm totally focused on you. You like this? Yeah. All the wives are clapping right now. Okay, great, great. Yeah. Okay. Everybody likes this. When you talk, you want people to turn their focus to you. Pity the poor substitute teacher who stands up in class and she's trying to teach and nobody's looking at her. And it's like in the old Peanuts cartoons. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. And she's just blathering on. Nobody's tuned in. Nobody's listening. Turning your face shows attention. When my kids were little, they used to grab me by the face, say, look at me, Daddy. You're not paying attention. Look at me, Daddy. They wanted eye to eye contact. That is the highest gift you give anybody is your attention. It's more important than chocolate, roses, or money. Giving your kids, your wife your attention is the highest gift. Cause your attention is your life now. Did you know that you can actually do this with God? You can turn your face to. To God in prayer. How? Physically? Just look up, God. I'm here. I'm ready to talk. I'm checking in for my three times a day conversation. You can go outside and look up at the heavens. You can stare up at you just look up. There's nothing in the Bible says you have to close your eyes to pray. Nothing in the Bible says you have to bow your head to pray. That's one of the ways to pray. It's a good way. But many times in the Bible, people didn't close their eyes. They Actually looked up and they talked aloud. I like to pray aloud to God. When I close my eyes and think, I go to sleep. I don't pray with my eyes closed. And I don't pray in my mind. When I'm praying, I'm praying aloud and I'm driving the car or I'm looking up or whatever. You could get in your La Z boy chair and lean back, look up, God, I'm turning my face to you. Okay, look at straight. But it's a physical reminder that I'm refocusing my attention. Okay, this is what Daniel did he physically notice Verse three. In the New American Standard Version, it says this. So I gave my attention to the Lord to seek him by prayer circle. The word seek. This is the second step of prayer. The first is listening. The second. The second step of prayer is seeking. And now we're gonna talk a lot about this. I'm gonna teach you. I'm gonna train you how to do this. You're gonna get really good at seeking God. But let me just show you some of the benefits. If you'll learn how to do this, it'll change your life. Your whole life's just gonna get a whole lot better. Let me just show you three or four or five promises. How about this one up here on the screen? Amos 5, 4. God says this, seek me and you will live. In other words, you're not gonna just exist, you're gonna really. You're not living life to the fullest. Some of you just existing. He says, seek me and you will live. You're gonna learn how to really live. Proverbs 8, verse 17. God says this. I love those who love me, and those who seek me will what? Find me. Find me. You say I can't find God. You're not seeking. You gotta seek in the right way. Those who seek me will find me. Let me show you another one. Jeremiah 29, verse 13 says this. God says, you will find me when you seek me. What, with all your heart? That's serious. That's emotional seeking. We'll talk about that in a minute. You're gonna find me when you really wanna know me. Not like, oh yeah, I kinda like to know God in my spare time. Between the football game and work, maybe. No, when you seek me with all your heart, then you're gonna know me. Now, Hebrews 11:6 says this. God rewards those who earnestly seek him. Would you like God to reward your business? Seek him. Would you like God to reward your finances? Seek him. Would you like God to reward Your marriage. Seek. Would you like God to reward your children? Would you like God to reward your relationships, your boyfriend, your girlfriend? Would you like God to reward your future? Wherever you seek God, God is gonna reward. Wherever you don't seek God, God says, you're on your own. You're on your own. Let me show you another verse. This is a very familiar one. Luke, chapter 12. Jesus says this. Seek. There's that word again. Seek first. God's kingdom before everything else. God's kingdom is his priorities, not your priorities. His priorities before everything else. And all the other things you need will be given to you. Another one of those blanket promises. He says, don't seek wealth, seek God. He'll take care of what you need. Don't seek fame, seek God. He'll take care of what you need. Don't seek pleasure. Don't seek a husband. Don't seek all these other things you're seeking. He says, seek first me. And if I'm in first place, he goes, I'm gonna take everything else into consideration. You put me first. I bless the people who put me first. You have probably never realized this, but a lot of the pain you're in right now, the difficulties, the stress, the pressure you feel, the troubles you're facing, the mess that's all tangled up in relationships, almost all of that stuff that you're facing right now is the result of you not seeking God. Because you didn't ask God first. You didn't seek his guidance. You didn't seek his wisdom. You didn't seek his help. You didn't. You didn't seek his permission. You just made a decision. And so you went out and you bought something without even asking God, God, should I buy this house? Should I do this job? Should I do this car? Should I get in this relationship? You didn't even ask God. You didn't seek God. You just did it. And now you're reaping the consequences of it. And that causes so much of the problem in your life. Because you made a decision without talking to God first. You weren't having that daily conversation with God, God, God, I'm getting ready to go to Costco. Help. Cause I don't wanna come home with four giant jars of pickles that I really don't need. In every area, you ask God, you see God, he'll bless your shopping. Now, here's a very important point. Anytime we ignore God, we don't ask for his help. We don't ask for his guidance. We don't ask for his blessing. We don't ask for his permission. We don't ask for his wisdom. You know what God does when we don't ask for those things? Don't ask for his direction. God just backs off in your life. Fine, I only go where I'm invited. So God says to you, burger King, have it your way. Go right ahead. Okay, you didn't ask me if you should buy that. You didn't ask me if you should date her. You didn't ask me if you should accept that job. You didn't ask me if that was a good goal. You. You just did it. So, fine, have it your way. And God just backs off. I'll just go back to heaven, hang out there and let you reap the results of your dumb decisions. And then you got all kinds of chaos and problems and trials and troubles in your life. And then you cry out to God, say, God, I'm seeking you. He goes, okay, I'm coming back. And that's what happens when we reap the consequences of our sin. Let me show you this. On Hosea, chapter five, God says this. When I don't seek God in every area of my life, he says this, okay, I will return to my place on high. And I'll just wait, and I'll just wait until they, that's you and me, acknowledge their offenses. We didn't seek God. We didn't ask him his opinion in this decision. And they feel their guilt, and then they seek my face. And then in their troubles and distress, which is always getting our attention, they will earnestly seek me, saying, let us return to the Lord so that he may heal us. Friends, that is a description of what's happening in America and in the world right now. Because we have not sought God. We didn't ask God's permission. We didn't ask God's wisdom. We didn't ask God's help. We didn't ask God's guidance. We just did whatever we wanted to do. And. And we're in trouble and distress. And that's in our lives, in our marriages, our families, in our work. And finally, it gets so bad, you know, we don't change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat. And we say, let us return to the Lord so He may heal us. What needs healing in your life? God, I need you to heal me of my depression. I need you to heal me of my anxiety. I need you to heal me of my secret fears that scare me to death, that I'm panicked about. God, I need you to heal my body God, I need you to heal the finances that I messed up because of my own decisions. God, I need you to heal my marriage. I need you to heal my relationship. God, I need you to heal my nation. America needs healing. I need healing. My job, my career needs healing. I don't know where you need it, but he says it starts with. With focusing my attention on God and seeking him. So let me ask you a couple questions here. Is it possible that the pain you're going through right now is because you did not seek God, but you just went ahead and made a decision without checking in with him? Highly probable. And now God said, I could have saved you a lot of effort if you just sought me. Just have a conversation with me two or three times a day and I'll go, ah, red light. Danger, Will Robinson. That's danger. Don't go that direction. Is it possible? Yes. That pain is cause you did not seek God in the past. You made a bunch of dumb decisions and now you're paying the results of it. Question, Let me rephrase it in a more positive way. What are you really, really looking for in life? What are you really looking for in life? If you were to paint out next year and say, this is the way I want my life to be next year, this would be the ideal year for me. This would be the perfect year for me. I'd like to see these things happen in my life. I'd like to see these changes in my life. If you painted out that picture, what would it be? Okay, here's the third step. The third step in prayers that get answered is express my desires with emotion. Express my desires. When I wanna ask God for something, I'm praying about it. God, I need this. Whether it's a physical need, a material need, a spiritual need, an emotional need, whatever you're asking for God in prayer, you express my desire with emotion. So many of our prayers are just cut and dried. We just say these words and we don't even know what we're talking about. We have these little, you know, things we've memorized. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. You know, and if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. That means nothing. It's just little thing, or you sit down, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. The bless the gift and the giver. And it's not. There's no emotion, there's no authenticity. It's just things you've learned. God doesn't care how beautiful your prayer sounds. In fact, God doesn't even care as much about the words as he cares as much about the emotions. Have you learned that you can say the right words and the wrong emotion and your spouse doesn't get it? Yes, you can say all the right things, but you didn't. What do you mean by that? Because of the tone of your voice. And so he's saying, God is an emotional God. The only reason you have emotions, the good ones and the bad ones, is because you're made in God's image. Human beings have emotions that none of the animals have. We have a whole panoply of emotions because God is an emotional God. The Bible says God gets happy. The Bible says God gets sad. He's sad when he sees a rape, when he sees a molestation, when he sees a war. God is sad when he sees what people do to each other out of selfishness. The Bible says God gets angry. That's why you can get angry. You're made in God's image. The Bible says God gets jealous. Why? Because. And that's why you get jealous. Because when God sees you giving your love to something else instead of him that belongs to him, he gets jealous. The Bible says God gets frustrated. He looks down and he sees all of the stuff we're doing. He goes, I told you not to do that. And you're doing it anyway. It's gonna mess you up. It gets frustrating. Now, could God change it? Of course, he could turn us all into puppets. But. But God's gonna just back out of your life. Have it your way. I'm not gonna force you to love me. I'm not gonna force you to do the right thing. So you and I make selfish decisions every day, and people get hurt. That's why there's sin. That's why there's evil in the world. Cause God gives us the freedom to choose. And so God just says, okay, I'll just back off, let you reap the results of your own decision. But God says, I'm an emotional God. Jesus dying on the cross was an emotional scene. Highly emotional. Jesus dying on the cross was emotionally agonizing to him. It was agonizing to God the Father watching his son die that way. But doing it for your benefit. It was agonizing to the people who were watching. It's an emotional thing. And God is very emotional about you. Do you realize this? God didn't just go, oh, I love you? No. God loves you passionately, emotionally. God has deep, deep, deep feelings for you. How much he loves you. If you don't know how much he loves you, look at the cross. I'm willing to die. I'm willing to die for you. That's how much God has emotion for you. And so God says, when I have such emotion for you, I want you to talk to me emotionally. Don't just do these little prayer things where you read a prayer and there's no emotion in it. Let me ask you, does tone make a difference when you make a request? Of course it does. You know, I mean, how about guys, if you had said to your future spouse on a date, you go, I'd like you to marry me. I don't know. Please, I want you to marry me. She'd go, buddy, if you can't say it with a little bit more passion than that, forget it. That ain't gonna happen. Do any of you remember when you were little and somebody was tickling you, and it was fun at the start, and then it got too much? Okay, and when you wanted them to stop tickling, you go, please stop tickling me. No, you go, please stop tickling me. I can't handle it anymore. And you are passionate. Passion, intensity shows how much something matters to you. Now, if you ask God about something, God, I really like this, but you're not passionate about it. God goes, well, how do I know it's just a. If you only pray about it once, you're not willing to pray about it more than once. And you never talk to God about God. I really need this. I gotta have this, you know, I've gotta have it. Then God goes, what is this? A wish or a whim? Or is it really a true desire? And so the Bible says, this here's the third thing Daniel did, verse three, the second part of it, he says, I began pleading with. With God earnestly in prayer circle. The word pleading. Pleading means to ask with emotion. It's not cut and dry. It's more than a mundane request. I'm asking with emotion. I'm pleading. The Hebrew word there is bakash, which means an emotional request. It's a serious seeking. It's searching with all your heart. It's earnestly begging. It's. I'm begging you. I'm begging you. I'm begging you. Please, please, please. I'm begging you, please. I'm down on my knees. I gotta have this. That's pleading. God listens to pleading. Makes me think about a story I heard a while back where there was a kid, a young kid, who at Christmas time, he Wanted a Star wars watch. And it was a really cool watch, had Yoda on it. And so he was bugging his parents. Mom, I want this Star wars watch for Christmas. Dad, I want this Star wars watch for Christmas. It just keeps on and on and on. Every conversation, every meal, he, he's mentioning the Star wars watch. And finally his dad goes, johnny, we got it. If you mention this one more time, you're not gonna get the watch. Smart kid backs off, doesn't do anything. About a week later, the whole family's sitting at dinner and the dad says, hey, you know what? It's good for us to, to talk about the Bible. So everybody just share your favorite Bible verse, anything or Bible verse that you know, you could say. And so one of the kids goes, John 3:16. Cause everybody knows that one for God so loved the world. And the teenager goes, John 11:35, Jesus wept. Shortest verse in the Bible. Anybody can memorize that two words, Jesus wept. So, okay, John 11:35, Jesus wept. That's his verse. So they're going around the room and they come to Johnny and, and Johnny goes. So they said, johnny, what's your favorite verse? He said, well, my favorite verse would be Mark 13:37 where Jesus said, I told you once. And I say unto you again, watch. Smart kid, okay? That's what you get for going putting your kid in saddleback. Kids ministry. They're gonna learn Bible verses like that watch. And so, you know, he was already. Look at this verse in the message, paraphrase Daniel 9:3 says, I poured out my heart to God, bearing my soul to God. Have you ever done that? Have you ever poured out your heart to God? Have you ever bared your soul to God? This is not wimpy, weak praying, this is gutsy praying. This is gut wrenching praying. I, I'm pouring out my soul to God. God, I gotta have your help in this business. I gotta have your help in this marriage. I've gotta have God. I am telling. I'm pouring out my heart. I am being authentic. I'm bearing my soul. It's kinda like Jacob wrestling with the angel. I'm not gonna let go until you bless me, God. Now when was the last time you ever prayed like that, pouring out your soul to God about emotionally, I can tell you, you may have forgotten, but I can tell you the last time you prayed like that. As your pastor, friend, spiritual coach, the last time you prayed like that is when you were in deep, deep pain. Because we don't pour out our hearts to God like that. When Things are going great and we're skipping the hills of Jerusalem, picking flowers and just have a happy day. Smiley face. No, you pour out to your God when you are in deep pain. Is that the only time you pour out your heart to God when you're in deep pain? Can you do it any other time? This is called praying with emotion, called crying out to God. Someday you might want to do a study of this in the Bible about all the times God talks about crying out to God. There are many, many examples of people of all sorts who cried out to God and God heard their prayer. There are many, many promises in the Bible about crying out. God does not listen to just complaints. He listens to crying out in emotion to God saying, God, I really need your help now. It says Daniel, he said he was pleading. He's crying out, what is he pleading? What is Daniel pleading with God about? He's going, God, I wanna go back home. I'm an old man. I'm 85 years old. I spent my entire life serving pagan kings. I've done good. I stayed true, kept my integrity in a pagan world. I didn't deny my faith and I kept getting promoted. I'm pretty influential guy in the whole kingdom here. But God, I wanna go back home. I really. I'm gonna die in my home country. Now. Jeremiah, the other guy, at the same time, had predicted that after 70 years, Babylon would fall and that then the people of God in Babylon would start praying and pleading God, let us go back home. Here's what it says. Jeremiah, chapter 50. This was his prediction. He says, then my people will join together in tears. That's emotional praying. They'll join together in tears to seek the Lord and they will ask the way to Jerusalem. Why? Cause it had been 70 years. They didn't even know how to get back home. They will ask the way to Jerusalem and then we'll start back home again. That's one of the most touching and hopeful verses in the Bible. They don't know the way to get back home, but they're gonna ask God in tears and they will start back home again. America needs to pray that prayer. We have gotten so far off from where we started. We need to go back home again. You need to pray that prayer. You need to pray that prayer for your own life. God, I've gotten so detached from you. I've gotten so bus. I've gotten so distracted. I don't even know the way to find my way back home to you. I haven't the slightest idea how to get Back home to you. I don't know how to get home to Jerusalem, but I wanna come back home. You need to pray that prayer for your life. Some of you need to pray that for your family. Our family's so out of whack. We need to come back home to you. Some of you parents need to pray that for your kids. I got kids who are out there on the limb. I need to pray they'll come back home. Some of you need to pray it for your business. All of us need to pray it for our nation. It's a message of hope. Now, when does God answer that kind of prayer? Well, notice that verse, it said, when my people join together in tears. You might circle that. When my people join together in tears, God says, then I'm gonna answer.

Hey, thanks so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I hope you were as blessed as I was from today's show. And now here's Rick to tell you about today's offer.

I know many of you use the Daily Hope Devotionals as part of your regular Bible study. And so I want to share some exciting news. We've put 365 of the best devotionals into a brand new book that we're calling the Daily Hope Devotional Purpose Peace and Promise for Every Day. This devotional book is designed with clear, practical biblical teaching to help you make knowing God your number one priority. And what does that mean for you each day? It means you'll be able to conquer your fears and overcome temptations. You'll be able to let go of your worries and to shake off stress. And by starting your day focused on God, you'll be prepared to face any conflict as you build healthy relationships within your family, your neighborhood and at work. This book is a great way to share the hope you have in Jesus with your friends, co workers and relatives. I hope you'll get a copy for everyone you know.

Just go to pastorrick.com to get your copy. That's pastorrick.com or just text the word hope to 70309. Again, the word hope to 70309. And thanks so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope means so much to us because it helps us share the hope of Jesus Christ to people all around the world. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.