Participants: Jason Bradley (Host), Nadine Joseph-Collins PhD
Series Code: TMP
Program Code: TMP000009A
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00:33 Hello and welcome to The Missing Peace.
00:36 My name is Jason Bradley 00:38 and our primary host for this program is 00:40 Dr. Nadine Joseph-Collins. 00:41 Dr. Nadine hails from the island of Saint Lucia, 00:44 she is passionate about prayer 00:46 and has been empowering the prayer lives 00:48 of people around the world, 00:50 Dr. Nadine is an Author, Speaker and affiliate 00:53 of Sanare Life Ministries 00:55 where she works alongside her husband, Nyse Collins. 00:59 Dr. Nadine is going to make our prayer lives go, "Wow!" 01:02 But before she does, 01:03 let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. 01:06 "Dear Heavenly Father, 01:08 before we begin to open your Word 01:12 and discuss different prayer topics... 01:15 and prayer strategies and tips 01:18 Lord, we ask that you would please be with us 01:21 and send the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct us, 01:24 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:26 "Amen. " 01:27 What is our topic for today? 01:29 Today we'll be looking at the topic, 01:31 "Praying with Purpose" 01:32 because purpose is referred to as that sense of resolve... 01:38 or having some sort of determination... right, 01:41 and purpose is also the reason why something exists... 01:45 why it was created... 01:47 or why something is done 01:49 so, being able to learn how we can actually pray with purpose 01:53 with that kind of determination, with that resolve... 01:57 praying with... with the ideas in our minds that 02:01 "Hey, I am here for a reason 02:03 but I'm also sending up these prayers for a reason 02:05 is something that's important to us. 02:06 Okay. 02:08 I believe... and E.M. Bounds who is a prolific writer on prayer, 02:12 he says that the definite and direct utterance 02:16 of one who knows that they have the ear of God 02:20 and that God has the willingness 02:22 as well as the power to grant the petition... 02:24 that's how he speaks about praying with purpose 02:27 so we know for sure that we have the definite ear of God 02:30 and we know also that God has the willingness... 02:34 and when I look at the Bible, somebody whom I see... 02:37 who went to God... many... 02:39 there are many instances in the Bible 02:40 where we can find really good prayer examples 02:42 but somebody who would fit into that sort of description 02:46 where, you know, that person prayed with determination 02:49 or knew that they had the ear of God 02:51 and God will be willing to answer them... is Hannah. 02:53 Okay. 02:55 And, you know, in her stories in 1st Samuel... 02:57 we pick up her story there 02:59 and if we knew anything about her story... 03:01 just in its basic sense, 03:03 Hannah was married to Elkanah 03:05 but she was one of Elkanah's wives, 03:09 he also had another wife, 03:11 now, the other wife, Peninnah would bear children 03:14 but the Bible says, "Hannah had a barren womb" 03:18 and so, we could imagine at the time 03:21 in Hannah's societal context, 03:23 in fact, in the Old Testament in general, 03:25 every time it speaks of a woman who couldn't bear children 03:28 or a woman whose womb was shut... or was closed... 03:31 or couldn't bear children... 03:32 people would probably look down at that person 03:35 because in the Old Testament 03:36 it was saying, "Woe unto the barren womb... " 03:39 I really thank God though that in the New Testament, 03:41 Paul said something different 03:43 because in the New Testament, he actually says, 03:46 "Woe unto them who have suckling child in this generation. " 03:49 But back then, it wasn't the case, 03:52 just the fact that Hannah couldn't have children 03:54 must have been... something that you're embarrassed for 03:57 she must have felt like a societal outcast 03:59 she may have also had a low self-esteem 04:02 because, here I am, I'm with my husband 04:04 he has another wife, she is having children 04:07 every year she's probably having children 04:10 and I am here, I can't have any children 04:12 so, Hannah may have felt rejected 04:14 and, of course, Peninnah used that to taunt Hannah. 04:20 Oh, oh, that's messed up. 04:22 Well, I'm sure it was, right, 04:23 so she taunted Hannah 04:25 so, every time she'd be throwing words at Hannah 04:27 and, of course, you could imagine her pregnant 04:29 going with her belly and pushing it forward and stuff 04:32 because Hannah can't have children 04:33 and I'm sure, as a woman, 04:36 I'm certain that would hurt Hannah a lot 04:38 and the Bible says, Hannah was indeed hurt 04:40 because Peninnah made her life miserable. 04:42 I don't think there was probably a day 04:44 that Peninnah did not remind Hannah 04:46 that she couldn't have children. 04:48 Wow! 04:49 You see, and so, she was going through that kind of story 04:52 and part of the reason, I think, Peninnah would have even used 04:56 the insult and add injury to it 04:59 is the fact that Elkanah... the Bible says, 05:03 loved Hannah more. 05:04 Oh... so she was jealous. 05:07 She was also jealous of Hannah, so the thing is that 05:12 the Bible says that three times a year 05:14 Elkanah would probably go to the temple, 05:16 that was his custom 05:17 so we see here... a home that seemed to be unhappy 05:20 but yet still it was a Godly home 05:22 because this man was still devoted 05:25 in his practices toward God 05:27 and so, every year when they would go 05:30 and they would have to bring in their lambs 05:32 what happened? They would offer up their sheep 05:34 and then, a goat or lamb whichever 05:37 and the breast and the right thigh would go to the priest 05:40 and then the fat would be burnt to the Lord 05:42 and then the rest would be eaten by the family. 05:44 Now, usually, the Bible says 05:46 the older son would get a double portion of that 05:49 but guess what Elkanah did with that double portion? 05:53 What he did with that chunk of what was brought home? 05:56 What? 05:57 He gave that double portion to Hannah... 05:59 even though the custom was to give it to... let's see... 06:03 the firstborn son... because he did that 06:06 because he wanted to appease Hannah. 06:09 The Bible says he loved her so much 06:12 he wanted to appease her 06:13 and just imagine she still cried and she still complained... 06:16 and she was still hurt... 06:17 so he said to her, "But, Hannah, aren't I enough for you? 06:22 Am I not worth more than ten sons to you?" 06:24 And she said, "No... " 06:25 So you could imagine maybe he himself felt a little bad 06:28 because he does not even know how to appease his wife, 06:31 he's trying to reassure her, 06:33 "I know you don't have kids for me 06:34 but that has not taken away anything from you 06:39 it hasn't made me love you less, in fact, I love you more 06:42 and that's why I demonstrated my love for you 06:44 by giving you that double portion. " 06:45 But Hannah still wasn't pleased 06:47 and I think one day Hannah broke... 06:49 Hannah snapped... 06:50 because Hannah went to the temple 06:52 the Bible says and she began to talk to God 06:56 she was speaking to God for probably such a long time 07:00 that the Priest Eli walked in there... 07:02 he wasn't hearing her words but he saw her... 07:05 her mouth moving... so probably there's lisping and so on 07:09 and he thought to himself, 07:10 "This woman must be a crazy woman... " 07:12 but Hannah didn't care if the priest thought she was crazy 07:16 because Hannah was there for a purpose, 07:18 she had a determination... 07:20 that day she went there to get some resolve 07:22 and she stayed there 07:24 and she spoke to God desperately crying, 07:26 if fact, if you look at verse 10 to 11 07:28 in 1st Samuel chapter 1, you have it there where 07:33 Hannah was in deep anguish and she cried bitterly 07:36 and prayed to the Lord and she made a vow 07:39 and she said, "Lord Almighty, 07:40 if you will only look on your servant's misery 07:44 and remember me, and not forget your servant 07:47 but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord 07:51 for all the days of his life, 07:53 and no razor will ever be used on his head. " 07:56 So, there she made a clear covenant with God. 08:00 So, there are many times, we're speaking to our Viewers, 08:03 there are many times somebody might feel left out... 08:06 I don't know if you know what it is to feel left out 08:08 or to be left behind or to be left alone 08:11 but many people go through these situations, 08:14 I remember, one situation where... 08:17 when I was in my late teens and so on 08:19 after I had graduated from High School, 08:21 most of my friends who graduated that very same year 08:23 went off to college, 08:25 some came back home and I was still home... 08:26 I worked for nine years before I actually went to college. 08:31 Wow! you worked for nine years? 08:33 Nadine: Yes. Jason: Wow! 08:35 So, for a long time, I was there feeling left behind 08:38 because I could not afford to go to school 08:41 and people were going 08:43 and so, Hannah is here in a situation 08:44 and many of our Viewers are there in their own situations, 08:47 feeling left behind 08:48 because everybody in their age group 08:50 seemed to be married but they're single... 08:52 Hmmm... 08:53 Everybody who is promoting marriage seem to be having kids 08:55 but they're struggling to even get pregnant, 08:58 people are struggling probably to get a home 09:00 and they're seeing somebody else 09:02 may have more than one home, 09:03 so we have people who are feeling left behind 09:05 in so many ways and they're struggling, 09:07 and Hannah is one of these people, 09:09 so, Hannah's prayer had purpose... it had direction... 09:13 it had determination... 09:15 she wanted something done... she wanted a boy child... 09:17 Hannah was so bold 09:20 that she risked being called "drunk" by the Priest, 09:23 she really didn't care and if we look at verse 14 there 09:27 he actually asked her, "Must you come here drunk?" 09:30 And he asked her to throw away her bottle. 09:34 That's how much the priest thought that she was drunk 09:38 but the thing is, I think Hannah had reached breaking point... 09:40 Yes. 09:41 She had that experience, 09:42 they say, "The straw that broke the camel's back... " 09:44 I think that day, she had that experience 09:47 and that experience was enough for her... 09:49 she was at the end of her rope 09:50 and she wanted God to do something now 09:52 before she took matters into her own hands 09:55 and so, that's why we see that sort of purpose... 09:57 that sort of determination... that sort of resolve... 10:00 "I need an answer to this prayer Lord... and guess what? 10:02 If you bless me with this boy, 10:04 I'm going to give him back to you. " 10:05 Yes. 10:07 So she was just willing to give God back that child 10:09 and I thought to myself, 10:10 "Wow! was Hannah just trying to get... " 10:13 you know she wanted to get pregnant 10:14 but for it to be a testimony... 10:16 one that God really answers prayer... 10:17 for it to be a testimony, maybe to her husband that 10:20 "I know you love me but maybe you think I can't get pregnant 10:22 but I will show you that God can do it. " 10:25 Or even to Peninnah and people in her society 10:27 to say, "Hey, God does open the womb that is shut... " 10:30 So, she may have had her own reasons 10:32 by the end of the day, 10:33 we see a woman praying with purpose... 10:36 determination... 10:37 so when Hannah and Eli 10:39 eventually got into the discussion, 10:41 Hannah actually explained to him what was going on... 10:44 she revealed her secrets... she opened her heart to him 10:49 and in verse 15 to 16, she said to him, 10:52 I could imagine her saying, "Pastor... " 10:54 He was a priest... but "Pastor... 10:56 I'm a woman who is deeply troubled... 10:58 I have been... I have not been drinking wine or beer, 11:02 I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 11:04 So, do not take your servant for a wicked woman!" 11:07 Right... "But I have been praying here 11:09 out of great anguish and grief. " 11:11 Hmmm... 11:13 So, she's just letting him know the feelings that were inside 11:16 and why she was doing what she was doing... 11:18 she wanted him to know how desperate she was 11:20 for God to bless her 11:21 and many of us... we have situations to pray about 11:24 but we're not desperate enough for God to bless us 11:27 but Hannah's example is saying, 11:29 "Listen to me... I'm, tired, I'm at the end of my rope 11:31 and I want God to bless me. " 11:33 You remember Jacob... 11:34 One thing... I just want to jump in real quick. 11:37 It's okay. 11:38 One thing that I really like is the fact that 11:40 she was saying that if the Lord blessed her with a child, 11:43 that she would dedicate that child to the Lord 11:45 which is important because 11:47 when you look at everything that we have 11:49 these things are entrusted to us... 11:52 they're not ours per se but they're... they're... 11:57 God is entrusting us with kids or with money 12:02 we're called to be good stewards... 12:04 with our kids, we're called to train up a child 12:06 in the way he should go 12:07 and when he grows old... he won't depart from it 12:09 we are to raise our kids to love, honor and serve God 12:13 and so, I really like the fact that 12:16 she wasn't just going to say, "Okay, thanks God for this gift" 12:22 and then go do whatever she wanted to do 12:23 she was going to dedicate that child to the Lord. 12:26 Exactly, and she had the confidence 12:29 that thing that she desired... 12:31 that thing that she asked God that God would give it to her 12:35 so she left God's presence with peace 12:38 and the thing I like about it is that in verse 17, 12:43 after she had spoken to Eli about her situation 12:47 and what she desired of him, 12:49 and he realized that she really wasn't drunk 12:51 but just a desperate woman, 12:53 Eli says to her in verse 17, "Go in peace!" 12:56 He says, "May the God of Israel 12:59 grant the request you have asked of him. " 13:02 And that brings us to an important point 13:05 in our prayer life, you see, 13:07 because Hannah was praying on her own, 13:09 but even though Hannah was praying on her own, 13:12 God used Eli to provide confirmation 13:16 that that thing she was seeking God for will come to pass 13:19 so, she prayed with purpose and the Lord provided confirmation 13:23 and the reason why I would like us to look at that confirmation 13:28 because many times in our own experiences 13:30 we pray about things... 13:32 sometimes we're not patient enough for God to answer us 13:36 and sometimes, we do not even spend enough time seeking Him 13:40 to know what it is that He wants us to pray about 13:43 and I believe for Hannah to have gone to God with such confidence 13:47 God must have placed the dream inside of her heart, 13:49 He must have placed the desire there 13:51 and then He was leading out that desire... 13:53 but the thing about it is that many times, we ask, for example, 13:58 people to pray for us, 13:59 you remember we spoke about passing notes... 14:02 we ask people to pray for us 14:03 but we don't spend time praying for ourselves 14:05 but in this case, sometimes, 14:07 when we ask people to pray for us 14:09 after we would have spent time seeking God 14:11 which is what Hannah was doing repeatedly 14:13 until that breaking day 14:15 is that, He uses people to give confirmation 14:17 of what it is that He will bless us with 14:20 so I remember when I was seeking God, 14:22 for example, to go to school, 14:24 and He instructed me to go to the Philippines to study 14:27 and I didn't know how I was going to make it happen 14:30 but I remember... I fasted and prayed for almost a month... 14:34 for I was seeking God about this thing 14:36 and one day, I left home and the Spirit impressed me 14:39 to take a little notepad that I had 14:40 on that notepad it only had... the story is longer 14:44 but I'm trying to give the abridged version 14:45 it just had a logo on it, 14:47 so I went to visit a friend 14:48 who as a President of an Institution 14:50 and while I was in his office, he asked me, 14:54 "Have you considered the Philippines?" 14:55 And I'm like, "What?" 14:57 Then he said, "There's a really good school there 14:59 it's owned by the General Conference... 15:01 they have really good Lecturers you know, 15:02 but I can't remember the name... " 15:04 and there I went into my purse 15:07 and I took out that notepad and showed it to him, 15:10 and he said, "Yes, that's the one... " 15:12 so there God provided confirmation for me 15:15 that this is where I really want you to go... 15:18 Yes, and another thing with Hannah... 15:20 and that confirmation is amazing, 15:23 another thing with Hannah is the fact that she was persistent, 15:27 we have... you and I have talked about persistence with prayer 15:31 and so, that's one of those things like, 15:36 in the book: Prayer by Ellen White 15:38 she talks about how sometimes 15:41 we can let go of God's arm too soon 15:43 right when God's about to allow something to happen or whatever 15:50 we give up praying... 15:51 If we would just pray and be persistent with our prayer 15:56 He would have blessed. 15:58 Yes, and that's really one of the topics we'll be discussing 16:01 in one of our other programs, "Persistent Praying" 16:05 and it will all come together in terms of... 16:08 even the fact that Hannah was purposeful, 16:10 her prayer had this sort of direction and determination 16:13 that I will not let go like Jacob, 16:15 I- will-not-let-go-until-you- bless-me... kind of prayer, 16:18 because there's a purpose for which I'm praying 16:22 and you know, Hannah had that 16:24 and God through... through Eli 16:26 provided confirmation 16:28 "That thing that you have asked of me, I will do it 16:31 so, go in peace... " 16:32 the thing about is that Hannah 16:34 probably had stopped eating for a while 16:36 because the Bible says... after she left the temple, 16:40 she went home to eat 16:42 and now she was happy and she was smiling 16:45 because her countenance had changed... 16:49 her husband would have seen the difference in her... 16:51 Peninnah would have seen the difference in her... 16:54 the people in the neighborhood would have seen the difference 16:55 in Hannah... because now Hannah was a happy woman, 16:58 she wasn't pregnant yet, 16:59 but she was a happy woman because she knew that that day 17:02 that the Lord would have answered her prayer 17:03 and God would give her what she wants, 17:05 and so, there are many times in our experiences 17:08 where we are praying about things, 17:10 we are not sure, for example, 17:12 what God wants... so, of course, we need to seek His will 17:15 and then we're praying that will... 17:16 and when He places it in our heart, 17:18 we need to do whatever it is that He has asked us to do, 17:20 which is to really just pray and believe 17:22 that God will grant us the requests for which we have asked 17:26 because I remember one time 17:28 after I had finished my Bachelor's Degree, 17:31 the summer, I was seeking God, 17:34 "Hey Lord, what next?" 17:36 And I was also looking for an apartment 17:37 and I remember, one day, 17:39 coming from the city with a girlfriend of mine, 17:40 and God says to me, 17:42 "Go up the road to the yellow house... " 17:43 and I had never really gone up the road 17:45 because it was past campus and I took the Pastor's car... 17:49 I was house sitting for a Pastor... took his car 17:51 and the two of us went up the road, 17:52 we found a yellow house eventually, 17:54 we met an old lady, asked her, "Who owns the house?" 17:57 Then she brought us to the young man 18:00 saying that's her nephew... 18:01 the thing is, in my prayer request 18:03 I did ask God for a new apartment 18:04 I wanted something that was gated... unlimited internet, 18:08 safe area and so on, 18:10 when the gentleman brought us to the house, 18:13 it was a six-building apartment, 18:15 the one that was unfinished was the only one that was left 18:18 and that's the one that I got eventually, 18:21 even though at that time I didn't have the funds, 18:23 I was like, "I want it... " 18:24 but the thing about it was that God answered my request 18:27 because I had that desire... I had that purpose... 18:29 I had it... I had in my mind reason 18:31 because you see in Isaiah 41:21, the Bible says, 18:35 "Produce your cause... bring forth your strong reasons" 18:38 so sometimes when we go to God in prayer 18:40 we need to bring our reasons just like Hannah did, 18:43 "Lord, if you give him to me, 18:45 I'm going to give him back to you... " 18:47 Hmmm... hmmm... 18:48 So she gave her call, 18:50 she gave her reason for wanting that child, 18:51 "I want the child so that he can honor you... " 18:54 and so, sometimes we can go to Him in prayer... 18:57 where He has placed things in our heart... 18:59 we can go to Him and give him the reasons 19:01 for which I want that car 19:02 because I would like to take people to church 19:05 on a Sabbath morning, 19:06 you know, "I want you to bless me with that big house 19:08 so that I can make it a place of refuge 19:10 for people who are in need... " 19:11 so once we can produce these reasons, 19:13 the Lord is, of course, more inclined to hear our prayers 19:16 and so on... and so we see here in Hannah's story 19:19 that she made a promise to God 19:21 that he would... 19:23 "when you give me that son, 19:24 of course, I'd dedicate him to you... " 19:26 they called it "The Nazarite Vow" 19:28 she wanted to bring glory to God, 19:30 it was almost as if she just wanted Him to use her 19:32 and sometimes, you know, 19:33 we have to go to God asking Him to bless us with things 19:38 for our own household's sake... 19:39 because the Bible says, 19:41 "A prophet has no honor in his home... " 19:43 and sometimes, the most difficult people for us 19:46 to be able to convert... to minister to... 19:48 to be able to be effective in ministering with our own family. 19:52 Yeah, that's true... 19:54 And so, that's the thing so God answered Hannah's prayer, 19:57 He gave her a son, 19:59 His name was called "Samuel" which means, "Ask of God" 20:02 and when the child was old enough... 20:04 Hannah kept her promise and brought him back to the temple. 20:07 She gave him back to God and we need to take note of that 20:10 because many times, 20:12 we ask God to bless us with things 20:14 or... He does bless us with things... 20:16 we're educated... we have good jobs and so on... 20:20 He blesses us with these things 20:21 and then we forget Him. 20:23 Hmmm... that's right... 20:25 we need to use the things that God blesses us with 20:29 to bless others and to give God the honor and glory 20:34 and that's what Hannah was doing. 20:35 Exactly, and then in 1st Samuel 2:1 to 10 20:39 then Hannah gives God praise, of course, for that gift 20:42 and what I want us to take note of in Hannah's story 20:45 is that, Samuel was the first of five children 20:48 so that womb that was shut wasn't opened just for one child 20:51 but the Bible says that each year 20:55 Eli would bless Elkanah and Hannah again 20:57 asking God to give them more children 21:00 because Hannah kept the sacrifice 21:02 and brought that child to God so in 1st Samuel 2:20... 21:06 it says, "Before they returned home 21:08 Eli would bless Elkanah and the wife 21:09 and say, 'May the Lord give you other children 21:12 to take the place of the one she gave to Him. '" 21:14 Hmmm... 21:16 So, here we see Hannah honoring God by keeping her word 21:22 because God blessed her with what she asked of Him 21:26 and then, God now, opened her up to more blessings 21:29 that is just a power-packed thing all by itself. 21:31 Yes, yes, because if... 21:34 when God blesses us with something small 21:38 He watches to see what we do with something small, 21:41 if He gives us something small and we abuse it, 21:44 how can He trust us with something larger? 21:46 Yeah, because He says, "If we are faithful in little, 21:49 then we'd be faithful in much... " 21:52 just like in Proverbs 22:29, 21:55 "If you're diligent in your business... " 21:57 in the little things... 21:58 "then He will exalt you... you will stand before kings 22:01 and not mean men... " 22:02 so, God wants us to be able to learn how 22:05 to honor Him in the little things 22:07 so, here a woman praying with purpose 22:09 the desire of her heart was just to have that one child 22:13 because she was feeling so ashamed and everything 22:17 but the blessing of that one child 22:19 and her being honorable enough to give it to God 22:24 knowing, "Hey Lord, that's the only child that I wanted... 22:28 that's the only child that I actually have... 22:29 and I actually have to give back to you... " 22:31 some of us would actually fight with Him 22:32 to take that child back... 22:34 but instead, Hannah brought him to God 22:35 and God says, "Hey, you know what? 22:37 Let me just bless you with four more. " 22:38 Wow! 22:40 "Not double... not triple... let me just bless you with more" 22:42 so, praying with purpose and determination 22:45 is a sure way for us to get our prayers answered. 22:48 For Hannah... to have prayed with such determination... 22:51 I believe God placed that in her heart 22:53 because Proverbs 13:12 says, 22:56 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, 22:58 but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. " 23:01 So, Hannah's blessing really was that tree of life for her 23:04 she was sick at first because, "Hey, I have that hope, 23:07 I want a child... I want a child, I want a son" 23:10 and he wasn't coming... but then the Lord blessed her 23:12 so she had all the vibrancy in that Tree of Life 23:15 and that's why I said, her countenance must have changed 23:17 after she left that Temple, 23:19 the Bible did say, "She went home to eat. " 23:21 So, that says a lot 23:22 because you remember when David's baby died... 23:27 with Bathsheba... you remember, at first he wasn't eating 23:29 but after the child died, he went to eat 23:31 because he knew, "Hey, that's how God answered the prayer" 23:33 in Hannah's case, 23:35 she knew for sure that God was going to give her that child, 23:37 and she went home, she was like, 23:38 "You know what? Let me eat now and relax... 23:40 I'm good now. " 23:41 Sometimes we're too nervous to eat, 23:42 now she wasn't nervous anymore. 23:44 Hannah was mocked and rebuked and she was anxious to prove God 23:49 and I'm sure God was probably saying to her, 23:51 "Hannah, Hannah cool out... just take it easy... 23:54 don't be anxious about anything, 23:57 you remember Philippians 4:6 says, 23:58 "Don't be anxious about anything, 24:00 but instead, by prayer and supplication, 24:02 let your requests be made known to me. " 24:05 And so, Hannah kept on praying and so on 24:07 and God answered her prayer 24:09 for God must always get the glory on our answered prayer... 24:12 all the time... doesn't matter what He blesses us with, 24:15 we need to find a way to ensure 24:17 that all of the glory goes directly to God 24:20 because it's never about us, 24:21 it doesn't matter how educated we are, 24:24 how rich we are, how successful we are on the job 24:26 it's really not about us, 24:28 all of that that we have comes directly from God 24:32 and so, He must always get the glory in our story. 24:35 So, Hannah's weaknesses... her own favoring... unwavering 24:41 trusting God, her faith... her faithfulness... 24:44 being true to her word, 24:45 all of these things gave God glory 24:46 and in our story... these things that give us glory... 24:49 sometimes when we may appear weak... 24:51 God will show up and be strong 24:53 because Hannah was strong... sorry... was weak emotionally 24:57 she was also weak probably physically... 24:59 she was probably tired of just fighting and crying... 25:02 you know what it is to stay and cry 25:04 for weeks and days and nights... 25:06 it really draws you out... but then, God made her strong 25:09 strong enough to say a prayer of purpose 25:11 so that He could answer it 25:12 and we must be faithful to our promises. 25:15 Remember that story of Ananias and Sapphira... 25:17 some people say "Safeera" in Acts 5:11, 25:20 where these two people made a commitment to God... 25:23 they're saying, 25:24 "Hey, we're going to give this amount of money to you... " 25:28 but when the blessing came... when they sell the land... 25:30 saying, "we are going to give all this money to you... " 25:32 but when the blessing came, they didn't keep their word 25:34 and so, both of them died. 25:35 Oh... 25:37 And so, it's really important for us to take note 25:40 of Hannah's commitment to fulfilling the promise 25:43 that she actually gave to God. 25:44 Hmmm... hmmm... 25:46 Yes, and that's really what I wanted us to focus on 25:49 in terms of praying with purpose... 25:51 having that determination to go to God... 25:54 believing that whatsoever we ask in prayer, 25:57 the Bible says... we'll have it 25:58 and so on and... 26:00 And honoring our word with God... 26:02 and, you know, another principle that I see with Hannah's story 26:07 is the fact that... like, when you take tithing, for example, 26:11 you can't out give God... 26:13 all God asks for is 10 percent and tithe and offering... 26:20 and so, when you give tithe which... it's not ours anyway 26:26 God's entrusting us with that and you think, 26:29 "Well, God's letting us keep 90 percent... " 26:31 like, that's huge... 26:33 and He blesses that... 26:34 when you honor God... He blesses your efforts. 26:37 Yeah, and that's really important and it's true 26:41 because, at the end of the day whatever we have... 26:45 whatever gifts that we have, 26:46 whatever blessings that we have, they are from God... 26:48 they're His anyhow, we are simply stewards of it 26:50 and so, whatever we give God, it's only an indication, 26:55 like with Hannah of our ability to trust Him 26:58 so, giving her child back to God is simply saying, 27:01 "God, I know when I give him to you, 27:03 you're not going to be taking him from me, 27:05 in fact, I'm investing him in your work 27:08 so that more people can be blessed 27:10 and through Samuel we see 27:12 some sort of link to the lineage of Jesus 27:15 because that child was a child created for purpose 27:18 and really... we just need to... as you said... 27:21 just remember that everything has to go back to God... 27:23 everything also belongs to Him in the first place 27:26 so we could just pray. 27:27 "Father, we ask you to teach us how to pray... 27:30 give us the spirit of determination when we pray... 27:33 help us to be steadfast 27:35 and believe in your every word and direction... 27:38 so we can come to you in confidence when we pray, 27:40 in the name of Jesus, amen. " 27:41 "Amen. " 27:42 Thank you Dr. Nadine for that powerful information. 27:46 We pray that you were blessed by today's program. 27:50 We need to be intentional about everything that we do 27:53 and that includes our prayer life. 27:56 Be sure to tune in next time 27:57 when Dr. Nadine shares more information 28:00 to supply the missing peace. |
Revised 2018-02-15