Tami Winkelman: Fighting Thru Prayer, episode 124

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000
If you have a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right here at when you love a prodigal.

2
00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,000
And also help and hope for your own life journey.

3
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:21,000
My guest today is Tami Winkleman, who helps all of us fight for our prodigals.

4
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,000
Tami, welcome.

5
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,000
Thank you. Good morning. It's nice to be here.

6
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000
Good morning. It's going to be great.

7
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,000
Let me tell them a little about you.

8
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:39,000
Tami and I first met, though we still haven't met face to face, because we both have a ministry named Prayer for Prodigals.

9
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:48,000
We have loved getting to know each other and to see that we have the same heart for prodigals and those who love them.

10
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:56,000
And we both know who it is who will seek out, pursue, rescue, and restore our wanderers.

11
00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000
Here's a little background about this amazing woman.

12
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,000
She is the founder and leader of Prayer for Prodigals, which has a worldwide following.

13
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:11,000
She leads an online prayer time most weeks on Facebook or pretty much every week.

14
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:21,000
And she is the author of Fighting for Your Prodigal Through Prayer and also another book, Encouragement in the Waiting.

15
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:29,000
Her third book, which is coming out soon, is called Trust God as I really love this.

16
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000
It's about his names and attributes for your journey with a prodigal.

17
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000
And when will that be out?

18
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000
You know, we don't have a final date. I'm waiting on some variables.

19
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000
But not too long.

20
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000
Yeah, maybe a month.

21
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,000
Wow. That's quick then.

22
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:58,000
She is passionate about encouraging and helping people who love a prodigal to pray and rest in God's promises until their prodigals come back to God.

23
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:05,000
She and Kevin, her husband of 41 years, make their home in Alabama.

24
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,000
And my daughter is not too far away.

25
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:13,000
Next time I'm there, I'll come see you.

26
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:26,000
And they have two amazing grown children, two wonderful people married to those grown children, and one magnificently brilliant grandson, and one marvelously clever granddaughter.

27
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:31,000
And I certainly understand why you feel that way about your grandchildren.

28
00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,000
Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

29
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:44,000
So Tami, why don't you tell us why and when and how you got involved in prodigal ministry?

30
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:50,000
I've always prayed for prodigals, but it was never a focus category. Does that make sense?

31
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:56,000
I have always loved people who were not serving God, and I prayed for them.

32
00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:02,000
But one day, somebody I loved dearly came to me and told me they no longer believed in God.

33
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:09,000
And I knew there were problems already, and I'd been praying, but that set some things in order that set things rolling.

34
00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:16,000
It started a process of walking around my breakfast room table begging God to do what I wanted him to do.

35
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,000
I'm usually telling him how to do what we want him to do.

36
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,000
How to do his job, and then I would help him.

37
00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,000
And since Cripp's used to this person, argue with them and do that kind of thing.

38
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:33,000
One day God just started pouring things into me, and I started sharing them, and that's where it started.

39
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000
And it has grown organically. It's just as it comes.

40
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:48,000
As it comes. Well, my first thought when anybody moves into prodigal ministry is you must have some deep spiritual roots

41
00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:58,000
because you are entering into fighting with Satan and the one who thinks he has those prodigals that they belong to him,

42
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:03,000
that he's captured them. And so it's a fierce battlefield.

43
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,000
And what do you think has prepared you to engage?

44
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:17,000
Well, I have a very rich spiritual heritage. My dad's dad was a bishop and a pastor and evangelist.

45
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,000
My mom's mom was a licensed minister, and my dad actually pastor for 49 years.

46
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,000
He just retired a couple of years ago when he was 81.

47
00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,000
And my mom, of course, minister, run along beside them.

48
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:37,000
I watched them fight for prodigals they love, and we've seen those prodigals say.

49
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:45,000
And so I not just that, but at an early age, the Lord helped me love his word and that's important.

50
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:51,000
And I loved prayer early, almost prematurely for what some people would think.

51
00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:57,000
Does that make sense? I just I loved God and he just prepared me.

52
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,000
That's all I know. And it wasn't on purpose. I wasn't saying, here we go.

53
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,000
Let's do a prayer for prodigal ministry. Let's fight for prodigals.

54
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,000
But God kept me close and he's helped me every step of the way.

55
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:12,000
So I love that verse, but it's greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world.

56
00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,000
Yes, I like that verse, too.

57
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,000
Yes, very lovely.

58
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,000
Well, you've been doing this for how many years now?

59
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,000
I think about 11. I started a blog probably. No, it's been longer than that.

60
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000
I started a blog.

61
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000
Well, it has been 2012 was when I first started my first very rough, very, very rough.

62
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,000
I'll just put it that way. And then it grew from there.

63
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:43,000
So and then the books came and the ministry came and when we moved back to Huntsville 11 years ago,

64
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,000
our church didn't have a prayer for prodigal's group.

65
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:52,000
And I asked about that and someone asked the pastor, we'd only been there a few weeks and he said,

66
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,000
yes, lead a prayer for prodigal's prayer time.

67
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000
And that's how it started.

68
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000
That's how it started. I would write out prayer starters.

69
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,000
I prayed with moms in touch. It used to be called moms in touch.

70
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,000
No, I know that actually really well.

71
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:14,000
And now they're moms in prayer, but you know, they subscribe to almost a formula for prayer.

72
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,000
There's always a praise and there's always a special prayer.

73
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,000
And there are other things that they do in that, but those three things really change the way I prayed,

74
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,000
even at that early stage of this journey.

75
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,000
And so I would write out prayer starters for a prayer time and it just went from there.

76
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,000
That's how it all came to pink.

77
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,000
And how did people find out about it?

78
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,000
Was it mostly then at first at your church and they called their friends?

79
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:48,000
Yes, we actually had 30 something people show up at that first prayer meeting and it stayed like that for a long time.

80
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,000
And we've some of the people that are praying with us still were at the very first meeting and they've seen so many miracles in their families lives.

81
00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,000
But one day somebody couldn't be there and they still wanted the prayer starter.

82
00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,000
So they said, would you send it to me in an email?

83
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,000
So I did.

84
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:12,000
And then a few weeks later, another person and so an email prayer starter list came to be and now I'm seeing them all over the world.

85
00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:19,000
Every week I send out a prayer starter and I share raindrops, praise reports that people send in and let me know about and allow me to share.

86
00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,000
Anomously, of course, because we don't want to ever embarrass a prodigal.

87
00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:31,000
We don't ever want to create an atmosphere where they're subconscious to come back into our group, into loving court.

88
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:38,000
And so that's and then the blog I created a new blog and because God just kept pouring things into me.

89
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:44,000
He just allowed it to be a focus where I saw prodigal promises and almost every verse I read in the Bible.

90
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,000
You know, you know how it is.

91
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,000
It's just right in your face when God has called you to this.

92
00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,000
It's everywhere.

93
00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:57,000
And so I just started keeping a list and and so that's how all of this came about.

94
00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:10,000
Well, I am so glad, but I know that it's not just been the wonderful results of lives of prodigals, but God's worked in your life as a result of this ministry.

95
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000
So what are some things that you've learned in this process?

96
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:23,000
I think the thing I've learned that has affected me the most is I can really trust God.

97
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:29,000
From that person who walked around around the breakfast room table begging God to do what I wanted him to do.

98
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,000
That was really from a place of not trusting him.

99
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,000
I didn't give him control.

100
00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000
I didn't think that he was going to take care of it the right way.

101
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,000
Frankly, I'm being honest.

102
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,000
And I think we are all there at some point in our life.

103
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:48,000
Yeah, and prodigal loving a prodigal will bring those kinds of things out in you.

104
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:54,000
But I have learned that he does hear my prayers and not just mine.

105
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,000
He hears all of his children's prayers and he has answered some huge prayers for me.

106
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:10,000
And so I think the main thing I've learned is I can trust him and when I find myself on my knees frantic again and begging him to do something and trying to tell him how to do his job.

107
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:16,000
The Holy Spirit will say, Tami, you're telling me how to do my job again and I have to apologize and tell him I'm sorry.

108
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,000
And then this piece will come over me, Miss Judy.

109
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000
And I will remember I trust God.

110
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,000
I truly trust him.

111
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:29,000
That's really I hope my listeners are hearing you say that.

112
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,000
That is really an important thing to understand.

113
00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,000
We get to trust God.

114
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,000
We pray and we should.

115
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,000
It's God someone who's going to do it.

116
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:43,000
Right.

117
00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:49,000
So but I do have a question in this process.

118
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,000
That can take a long time.

119
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:52,000
Yes, ma'am.

120
00:09:52,000 --> 00:10:05,000
And and how does how do you maintain relationship when there's misunderstanding and disagreement and and they know you're trying you want them to change?

121
00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,000
How do you do that?

122
00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:12,000
I found that love is the key.

123
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:20,000
I mean, you just have to love them unconditionally and, you know, you speak life to them.

124
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,000
You just receive them when they come around.

125
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,000
You receive them because they're fearfully and wonderfully made.

126
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,000
They're a gift from God to you.

127
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:36,000
They've been put in your life for a reason and you instead of looking at what they've done.

128
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,000
And what they're doing and the darkness that you see in their face.

129
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:47,000
And you can see the marks on their body sometimes from the sins they've committed and the lifestyle they've chosen.

130
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,000
And you look past that and to who they are to you.

131
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,000
And you just love them.

132
00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,000
I never I don't condone sin.

133
00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,000
I do my best not to enable it ever.

134
00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,000
Not knowingly ever.

135
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:09,000
And so you just draw a line, but the line has to be drawn from love.

136
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,000
And I've had a prodigal tell me one time.

137
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,000
I can explain everything away about God, but I can't explain love.

138
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,000
And I've had other moms tell me the same thing.

139
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:31,000
Their children said, I just I'm reconsidering a relationship with God because of the way you've loved me, even in my even though I've caused you so much pain.

140
00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,000
And so I think that's the key.

141
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,000
I do.

142
00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000
That's that's one of my main messages.

143
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:45,000
Yes, that not push away, but pull in close.

144
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,000
In fact, your book is titled when you love a prodigal.

145
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,000
Yes.

146
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,000
And so that's to me, that's what it's all about is loving them.

147
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,000
Yes, you have to have some boundaries and and that's important.

148
00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,000
But sometimes those are hard boundaries.

149
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000
I mean, sometimes you literally have to make them leave your home.

150
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,000
Yes.

151
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:22,000
And sometimes you have to be very careful about even seeing them face to face, you know, because but God will help you make sure those boundaries are where they need to be and that they're done from a place of love and not from a place of anger.

152
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,000
Always from a place of love.

153
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,000
Always from a place of love.

154
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,000
So we're going to talk about the two books you've written.

155
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,000
Okay.

156
00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:32,000
So far and the one that you're in finishing up.

157
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,000
But I have a question.

158
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,000
Okay.

159
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:40,000
What prepared you to write these books?

160
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:45,000
Well, that's, you know, I went to school for music.

161
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:51,000
I taught music for 23 years and band for four piano for 23.

162
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,000
I worshiped on stage.

163
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000
I led the choir was minister music, all that kind of stuff.

164
00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:00,000
And I never expected to lead a proper a protocol ministry or to write books.

165
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,000
I just never.

166
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:08,000
But when I look back on it now, I was published when I was 16 at a poem published at a worldwide magazine.

167
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,000
And I was thinking, well, that's kind of cool.

168
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000
You know, and then I never did it again.

169
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,000
But the, the reason I mean, I did well in grammar.

170
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,000
I had great teachers, you know, that explained all of that stuff to me.

171
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:28,000
And it just clicked and I look back on it now and God really was preparing me to do this kind of thing.

172
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000
I, he's taught me to organize thoughts.

173
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:37,000
He's given me, you know, everything I've needed to do this and even put people in my path to help me know how to publish.

174
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,000
And, you know, everything just came together.

175
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000
I didn't have to seek it out.

176
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,000
It was, it was just anointing and it was a calling.

177
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:52,000
And my whole life I can look back over it and see that God brought me here through a process.

178
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:56,000
And so that's how all that came to be.

179
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,000
And I love that he does that.

180
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:04,000
You know, he's got his path for each of us, the good works that he's already prepared for us.

181
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,000
Exactly.

182
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:12,000
And sometimes he surprises you with a new kind of good work that he's prepared for you.

183
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:19,000
For me doing a podcast was like, at that time I had never even listened to a podcast.

184
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,000
And I said, why would you want me to do this?

185
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:31,000
And the person from the podcast network said, because you have the message that we want to give.

186
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,000
Yeah.

187
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,000
I said, Lord, and he said, yep.

188
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:42,000
And every year when I'm supposed to kind of re-up, I say, am I supposed to keep doing this?

189
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000
And so far he said yes.

190
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,000
And I got, okay, okay.

191
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:52,000
And I talked to my son, our former prodigal, about it every time.

192
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000
And I say, are you still okay with this?

193
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,000
And he always has the same answer.

194
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,000
He says, I hope it helps a lot of people.

195
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,000
So he's, for him, it's kind of his ministry now.

196
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,000
And so, no, don't quit.

197
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,000
So, all right, let's talk about your books.

198
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,000
Each one we'll kind of look at.

199
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:22,000
The first one is Fighting for Your Protocol Through Prayer, 365 promises, praises, and prayers.

200
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,000
Oh, I love that.

201
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:29,000
And I know that the fighting part is real because it is a battle.

202
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:42,000
We have an enemy and I love the promises from God, the praises that we can, and oh, how important it is that we can praise and the prayers and what we need to do continuously.

203
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,000
So talk a little about that book.

204
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:52,000
First, let me just say it's kind of a misnomer because there were actually 366 because I included February 29.

205
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,000
And I just go, I thought about that about a year ago.

206
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000
I was like, but it is too late anyway.

207
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:03,000
You remember the email list and people asking me to send the email list and one day a woman who was receiving it said,

208
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,000
Tami, you need to be saving these somewhere.

209
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000
And I had never considered that.

210
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,000
So I started a list.

211
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000
And then one day somebody said, this really needs to be put into a book.

212
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,000
And I was like, you know, that's probably not a bad idea.

213
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:24,000
And so I started looking at what I had and found that they fit in 12 months.

214
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,000
I'm a cry thinking about that because God just it organized itself.

215
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:30,000
Basically, I mean, it was work.

216
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,000
I mean, you have to.

217
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000
But it was crazy how they fell into place.

218
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:41,000
How they went, you know, every one of them fit into a theme.

219
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,000
And then I could do a devotional for the beginning of the month.

220
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,000
And then every promise, praise and prayer fit.

221
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:56,000
And so, of course, you have to curate, make sure your promises match your praise and your praise matches your, your, your scripture.

222
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,000
But that's how that book came to be.

223
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000
The I love about the promises.

224
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000
Build your faith because you can trust what God said.

225
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000
What he says he's going to do bottom line.

226
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:17,000
And when you and I always put a praise in there that explained or shared or revealed his propensity to answer the prayer we're about to pray.

227
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:26,000
So the scripture prayer, you know, for asking him to, to manifest and stuff to them, you know, you can praise him for Jehovah's Shama, the Lord is there.

228
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:34,000
He's already there with them, you know, and so it builds your faith to believe that what you're about to pray, God really will do.

229
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000
He really can do that.

230
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,000
And so that's how that book came to be.

231
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,000
Just it just, it was organic.

232
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:50,000
It just kind of flowed from prayer starter for life for prayer group to somebody wants it on email to an email list to somebody saying, you know, you need to keep these.

233
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,000
And then somebody saying you need to put a book and that's just how it happened.

234
00:17:53,000 --> 00:18:00,000
And so how has it have you gotten it out to people or how has God gotten it out to people?

235
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,000
I, you know, I actually, I have a note in my phone every Wednesday to market the books.

236
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,000
I never market the books.

237
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000
This is probably the closest I've ever come to marketing the book.

238
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000
Well, I help.

239
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,000
God just basically puts them, I have people come to me and say, how do I find your book?

240
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,000
And it's on Amazon, of course.

241
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,000
And so that puts it out there to people all over the world.

242
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,000
But is a lot of us word of mouth.

243
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:33,000
I, I don't really know what I'm doing except to follow what God tells me to do.

244
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:41,000
And so far it's been the best thing that can happen, you know, and I lean not into my own understanding because there's not a whole lot of it.

245
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:49,000
Do you find yourself quoting from it or reading from it when on your prayer time or on your Facebook page?

246
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,000
You know, I've prayed through the book probably.

247
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
Well, I can't tell you how many is a prayer.

248
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000
I started, I started making tally marks at some point and I think I prayed through it three times.

249
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:04,000
And about a year ago, the Lord said, stop praying through it and start doing the praises only.

250
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,000
And I mean, not only there are days he says the prayers important today are the scripture.

251
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,000
You need to pay attention to that scripture promise because you're going to need to hold on to that.

252
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:23,000
But it became a whole thing of just praising him for who he is and realizing that the things we prayed are still before the throne.

253
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,000
And he still visits those prayers and they're still answerable.

254
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,000
And so I do quote them.

255
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:36,000
One of my favorite quotes is I'm walking in victory while praying through circumstances.

256
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:47,000
What I see in front of me is not always wonderful, but I can always take it to the father and I'm walking in victory because he's promised to hear my prayers and answer them.

257
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000
So that's a victory.

258
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000
We're fighting from a place of victory.

259
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:52,000
What we're doing.

260
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000
That's that's great.

261
00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,000
Your next book is called Encouragement in the Waiting for Your Protocol to Return to God.

262
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:11,000
Now, probably what I hear almost more than anything is how long, Lord, when is this going to happen?

263
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,000
How long do I have to live through this?

264
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:19,000
How long will this person I love keep on making these decisions?

265
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:24,000
And and then you can apply it in life as well to everything else.

266
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:29,000
How long, Lord, how long is fighting going on here and here and here?

267
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:37,000
So whether it's fighting in our, our family or our friends or the whole world, how long, Lord?

268
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,000
So what encouragement do you have as we wait?

269
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:50,000
Well, the thing I first off, we're not waiting in a waiting room like we do in a doctor's office where you take out your phone and you fiddle and fiddle because you're just waiting.

270
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000
There's nothing restricted you can do.

271
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:58,000
In this waiting, we wait actively and we are waiting from a place of victory.

272
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:04,000
We are waiting because God has given us amazing spiritual weapons to fight in this battle.

273
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000
We're not left in this battle alone.

274
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000
And that's incredible to remember.

275
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:19,000
When you focus on God and who he is, we know that we're not waiting in the waiting room alone with nobody to talk to, no help, you know.

276
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:26,000
And so I find that in the waiting, I made a list of them in my second book in a encouragement in the waiting.

277
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:31,000
There's a whole chapter on the weapons and I'm so surprised.

278
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Not.

279
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:44,000
And when I was surprised when I started digging into the weapons God had given us, of course, they're the obvious ones, prayer, fasting and staying in the word.

280
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000
Those are obvious ones.

281
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,000
I am going to find that chapter.

282
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,000
Here we go.

283
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,000
But what I didn't realize that truth is a weapon.

284
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:57,000
Yes.

285
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,000
Truth by definition never changes.

286
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,000
So you never have to worry where it stands.

287
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,000
You know, you can always stand on truth and that's a weapon.

288
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,000
It's a purpose to stand.

289
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,000
The names of God are a weapon.

290
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Because the more you know about God, the more you know what he will and will not do.

291
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000
And the more you can pray in his perfect will.

292
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000
And then the less you're disappointed.

293
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,000
Because sometimes I don't pray in God's will.

294
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,000
I just don't.

295
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,000
I'm human.

296
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000
And then I'm disappointed that God didn't do things my way yet again.

297
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,000
And we have a theme.

298
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,000
The names of God are a weapon.

299
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,000
And then the name of Jesus.

300
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,000
Absolutely.

301
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,000
I always, and you do too.

302
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:42,000
I don't know how many thousands and thousands of times I said in Jesus name, I pray.

303
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:48,000
And when you do that, it's because the father pays attention because Jesus paid the price so they could be saved.

304
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,000
Yeah.

305
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
And it's a powerful thing.

306
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,000
Of course, the word is a weapon.

307
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,000
There's a weapon.

308
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:54,000
Praise is a weapon.

309
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000
Faith is a weapon.

310
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:05,000
And it is not only an offensive weapon, but a defensive weapon because it in you, the shield of faith, which is every fiery dart of the evil one.

311
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:11,000
And then it also is something that you project because you're hoping for things unseen.

312
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,000
Anyway, let me go through a piece.

313
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:14,000
Is a weapon.

314
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:19,000
Because when you're frantic, you're not getting a whole lot done.

315
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,000
At least I don't.

316
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,000
Fasting, of course.

317
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,000
And then the last one that really surprised me, righteousness is a weapon.

318
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000
And righteousness is a gift from God.

319
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,000
It's something he gives us when we confess our sins.

320
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,000
You know, we can nullify his righteousness a little bit when we sin.

321
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:40,000
And we're not as effective in our prayers because he only says he hears only the righteous when we pray.

322
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000
But the thing you've got is he gives us righteousness so that he can hear us.

323
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000
And I just think that that's an amazing thing.

324
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:52,000
And when we come and confess that sin, then he restores.

325
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,000
That's right.

326
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,000
He sure does.

327
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,000
He's faithful and just to forgive us.

328
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:57,000
That's what the Bible says.

329
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:01,000
So we're not just waiting in a waiting room with nothing to do.

330
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:06,000
And we're not just waiting in a waiting room thinking that the outcome is going to be horrible.

331
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,000
Because you never know sometimes when you go into a doctor's office what you're going to be told.

332
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,000
But we have God's word.

333
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,000
We have his promises.

334
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,000
And we know that everything he promised, he will do.

335
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000
And so we're not waiting with no hope.

336
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000
We're waiting with amazing hope.

337
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,000
And I heard a definition one time about hope for a Christian.

338
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:33,000
You know, when a non-Christian talks about hope, it's almost with they don't expect anything.

339
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,000
I hope that would happen.

340
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:39,000
It's almost like there's already a resignation that nothing good's going to happen.

341
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,000
But when a Christian says, I hope, Jesus backs that hope.

342
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,000
The word backs that hope.

343
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,000
And it's a whole different ball game.

344
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,000
It's like, it's a hope for things unseen.

345
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,000
That's what faith is.

346
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,000
It's the substance.

347
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,000
Yes.

348
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,000
And hope is what people need in this long journey.

349
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000
So that's what your book is about.

350
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,000
It's why and how you can keep going with hope.

351
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:13,000
Because God is able and faithful and true to his word.

352
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,000
So, yes.

353
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:16,000
Yes.

354
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:21,000
The, the encouragement in the book, I'll tell you where that came from.

355
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,000
You know, I have a blog, I have two blogs.

356
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,000
Actually, one is kind of dormant, but it's still available.

357
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:31,000
God has just poured some beautiful things into me to help me in my journey.

358
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:36,000
And sometimes he tells me, um, this is for you to share.

359
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,000
And so it came to a point where I thought those things need to be out there.

360
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:49,000
And so God, it was once again, it just kind of organized itself into chapters and, and, um, it just, and so I will tell you a story.

361
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:55,000
A few months after the book was published, I was talking to a friend about a really hard time I was going through and she told me, she said,

362
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,000
Tami, I know somebody who wrote a book about encouragement.

363
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000
You know, you're right.

364
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000
And so a few days later, I guess I was telling my, my dad about it.

365
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000
And he said, well, Tami, I know somebody who wrote a book about encouragement.

366
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000
Maybe you should read it.

367
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,000
So I did.

368
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000
And God encouraged me through even that situation.

369
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,000
And I don't even know that anything to do with the prodigal.

370
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,000
I can't remember what it was.

371
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:24,000
I just remember thinking, thank you God, you know, for their gift of friends and family who reminds you, but also, you know,

372
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000
for the things that he, he's shown me through his word.

373
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:32,000
It's just, it's an amazing thing and an honor to be used in that way.

374
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000
You know how that is, Miss Judy.

375
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:38,000
It's, it's, it is a remarkable thing and the lives that get changed.

376
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,000
And you're right.

377
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:48,000
We're talking about those with prodigals that they love, but it's, there are a lot of circumstances in our lives that are waiting times.

378
00:26:48,000 --> 00:27:01,000
And that is when God really grows our trust when he, before he shown up to take care of it even, he's, he helps us to trust him.

379
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000
And waiting is a huge part of that.

380
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,000
Because if we didn't have to wait, we keep going kind of.

381
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:22,000
And, but when we're waiting, it's like, Lord, and he, and my experience has been that often he's actually doing more work on me than what I'm praying about.

382
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:27,000
And that that's what the situation is, is you need to let go.

383
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,000
You need to let me have this and trust me with it.

384
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:37,000
So, yeah, waiting is a really wonderful thing, even though most of us hate it.

385
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:45,000
The outcomes are usually with God, they're amazing because what's on the other side is always a victory.

386
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,000
You asked me a while ago, I do like that Alabama term a while ago.

387
00:27:49,000 --> 00:28:01,000
You asked me a while ago what has changed in me and I talked about trust, but everything I've learned in this journey of loving prodigals and praying for them.

388
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:07,000
Even praying with you guys on June the second, that's an incredible thing too for all of those names.

389
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:12,000
And what I've learned is that all of this doesn't just apply to prodigals.

390
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,000
It has changed my life. It has changed my walk with God.

391
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,000
It's changed how personable we are with each other.

392
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,000
It's changed my being able to hear his voice more readily.

393
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:30,000
It just changes so much about you as a person, not just as a leader of a ministry or somebody who prays for prodigals or a mom of a prodigal or a dad of a prodigal.

394
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,000
It changes everything about your life.

395
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:50,000
Yeah, that's one of the things that I try to convince my audience of the listeners here is that as much as this is about the prodigal one or ten or however many you are engaged with or love,

396
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,000
it's about what God wants to do to make you more like Jesus.

397
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:59,000
He's all about conforming us to Christ.

398
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:07,000
And if that were an easy thing, we wouldn't probably need to go through all this, but we don't mold very well.

399
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:12,000
So, yeah.

400
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,000
So let's talk about your upcoming book.

401
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000
This is intriguing to me.

402
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,000
I get it, but it says, I love it.

403
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:29,000
Trust God as his names and his attributes for your journey with the prodigal.

404
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000
How does that happen? What do you mean by that?

405
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:42,000
Well, I've learned for myself that as I know more about God, and I said this earlier, the more I've learned to trust him,

406
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:47,000
it's like when I met my husband, you know, I thought he was the most handsome thing ever.

407
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,000
You know how that is, Mr. Yoon.

408
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:57,000
But if I had never spent time with him or learned anything about him, I would not trust him.

409
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000
I trust this man with my life.

410
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,000
I trust him with my days.

411
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:07,000
You know, I trust him to be in the same house with me and not feel threatened or anything.

412
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:08,000
You know, we just trust him.

413
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000
The more we know about God because God is perfect.

414
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,000
Kevin's close, as my pastor says about his wife.

415
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,000
I hope he listens to this.

416
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000
I'm going to make it.

417
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:24,000
But God really is perfect.

418
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:33,000
And but anyway, so the more we know about God and I actually wrote a manuscript.

419
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:44,000
Probably, I would say in the mid-20th, like 2000, let's see 2009, something like that.

420
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,000
I don't remember when it was and I tried to find it and I've got to find my manuscript.

421
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,000
But it was called the names of God.

422
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:57,000
But there have been so many books written about the names of God, really good books, powerful books, informative books.

423
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:04,000
And my book wasn't ready yet because I didn't yet have this ministry and God prepared me for that.

424
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,000
I got so much research done for that book.

425
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:15,000
But it needed a focus and when life experience and life experience.

426
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:19,000
I was quite young and I didn't trust him like I do now.

427
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:25,000
And just frankly, and I hope tomorrow I trust him even more than I do today and I believe that will happen.

428
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:35,000
But anyway, I started looking at that book and I was thinking there are so many names and attributes and every time you call one of God, it makes me smile because there's something about it that's just wonderful.

429
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:44,000
Every name, you know, but I got to realizing that every name of God that I knew.

430
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:49,000
I reflected something, reflected his heart for prodigals and for those who love them.

431
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,000
When I was a teenager, this is how I praised God.

432
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,000
I would always open my prayer with God.

433
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:59,000
I think you say you're perfect and good and holy and just and righteous and pure and kind.

434
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:07,000
And I had that memorized and that's what I use all the time because that's what I knew about God, that he was perfect and good and holy and just and righteous and pure and kind.

435
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,000
You know, but I've learned so much since then about who he is.

436
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:19,000
And I felt like God wanted me to share in this time if it's okay with you, Miss Judy, three particular names that have just really changed.

437
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,000
They stick out to me and they comforted me.

438
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,000
And so let me share.

439
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:29,000
I think there are 39 names and attributes in the book which is are nowhere near how many there are.

440
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:35,000
God is so complex and we will never know everything about the infinite God until hopefully when we see him face to face.

441
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,000
Some of that will be, you know, even added.

442
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,000
I can't imagine if I knew before him now and how much I love him.

443
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,000
I can't imagine how much for him going to love him there.

444
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:45,000
You know what I'm saying?

445
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:46,000
Yeah.

446
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,000
First, El Shaddai is a name that means Almighty, All-Sufficient God.

447
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:57,000
And I realized that that covers all the bases for this prodigal journey.

448
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000
He covers all the bases.

449
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,000
He's almighty.

450
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:06,000
He doesn't like any ability or power to do anything needed to save a prodigal.

451
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,000
He has all of it and he's all sufficient.

452
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,000
There's not a person that he doesn't have that he needs to use.

453
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,000
There's not a situation he doesn't have that he can use.

454
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,000
There's not an item he needs.

455
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000
They might need that would bring them to remembrance about who he is.

456
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,000
He has everything needed to save a prodigal.

457
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,000
And I just, it's all encompassing and I love that.

458
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:35,000
And I felt like that would be some, that one kind of just spoke to me personally about,

459
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000
well, it's about everything.

460
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,000
He has everything about everything.

461
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000
About everything, yes.

462
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:40,000
About everything.

463
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:45,000
And then the second name, I didn't really know this name and I found it in some,

464
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:51,000
I didn't even have it in the first book, the first manuscript, but Elohei Yishi,

465
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,000
the God of my salvation.

466
00:33:53,000 --> 00:34:00,000
And when I started researching that book, I realized I'm not the God of salvation.

467
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,000
That person who was praying for that prodigal walking around and around that breakfast

468
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,000
dinner table was trying to be the God of salvation.

469
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,000
That person who was sending scripture text and arguing with them and doing all that

470
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,000
was trying to be the God of salvation, trying to save that prodigal.

471
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,000
I was trying to save that prodigal in my own abilities.

472
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,000
But when I found out, which I knew this already, I did, you know,

473
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,000
I didn't always live next.

474
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,000
But when I realized, when I saw this name, it just hit me.

475
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,000
I have parts to play in this journey.

476
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,000
I do.

477
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000
I have to use those weapons that we talked about a while ago.

478
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,000
I pray every day.

479
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:42,000
I thank God every day for the things he's done.

480
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000
And there are many miracles.

481
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,000
Well, I mean, if I'm real sick, I might not actually remember to thank God.

482
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,000
You know, saying that's the focus of mine.

483
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:58,000
And I try to use these weapons every day, but I have to do my part in obedience to the Lord.

484
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,000
And that was the problem with that person walking around that breakfast room table

485
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000
and doing all those things.

486
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:12,000
I was doing them out of my own mental ability, my own intellect, my own knowledge without the Holy Spirit saying, use this nail,

487
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,000
which meant that prodigal's heart was not prepared to receive that at that moment.

488
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,000
And it only served to push that person away more and more.

489
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,000
And so God is the God of salvation.

490
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:30,000
And that's really say that again, that people, I want people to hear what you just said, that it's not your job.

491
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:37,000
It's his job. But the more you say that, the more you're actually pushing them away because he's not ready yet.

492
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,000
They're right.

493
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:43,000
The Holy Spirit is the only one who knows the work he's doing in an individual's heart.

494
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,000
Bottom line.

495
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:49,000
And I believe that's one of the reasons we're not supposed to judge each other because we really have no clue.

496
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:54,000
Even people who die, we preach them into heaven or hell, you know, but we don't really know their heart.

497
00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:00,000
Only the Holy Spirit knows a heart and it's not our job to know a heart.

498
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,000
But he knows when they're ready.

499
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:10,000
He knows when, if you told them today, God is real and he loves you and they might cast you out to your face.

500
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:19,000
But if the heart is prepared and you tell them God loves you and he's real, then they can receive that and it can make a change.

501
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:24,000
And so I just try really hard not to do anything of my own will.

502
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:35,000
In fact, one day I was doing the circuit around the breakfast room table and begging and crying and probably screaming at God and not mad, just demanding and well, and hurt probably.

503
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,000
But he spoke to me.

504
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:44,000
He said, Tami, withdraw your hand and let me be God in his life.

505
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:52,000
And I, it just stopped me cold and I said, okay, God, I'll do my best.

506
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000
I'll, you know, I'll try to relinquish control.

507
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000
It may be a process and you'll have to help me every moment of every day.

508
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:03,000
But then I went to the church that I think it was the next Sunday and I felt like God told me to have my pastor pray for me.

509
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,000
His name is James Vaughan, which I think is really cool.

510
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:10,000
But I'm past the time.

511
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:20,000
But he came and prayed for me and the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said, withdraw your hand and let me be God in his life.

512
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:25,000
Almost word for word what God had spoken to me around that breakfast room table and I realized I had no choice.

513
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:30,000
If I wanted that protocol to be saved, I had no choice because I was hindering.

514
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,000
I was in the way.

515
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,000
And so anyway, God of salvation.

516
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:50,000
And there's one more, and this is for the parents and those who love a prodigal who have been canceled or isolated from their prodigal because the prodigal doesn't want you to see the sin in their lives or because you don't even know where they are.

517
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,000
Addictions have taken them to a place you have no clue where they are.

518
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,000
I even had a mom run you one time.

519
00:37:55,000 --> 00:38:02,000
She said, I'm not, I don't know where my prodigal is and I haven't for 10 years, but I have heard that he's alive.

520
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,000
I'm sorry, that broke my heart.

521
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:10,000
But, but this this name right here is for that person who loves that kind of a prodigal.

522
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,000
You've been canceled.

523
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:17,000
The pain is so intense when I can't imagine being separated like that from my child or from somebody else.

524
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,000
I love not knowing where they are, what condition they're in.

525
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,000
But God is Jehovah's shaman.

526
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000
The Lord is there.

527
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:31,000
And even if you can't be there, you can trust him to never leave them or forsake them.

528
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000
He will always be there and Psalm 139 tickles me good.

529
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:43,000
It just makes me giggle and I smile big because, you know, I take it as a as a song for us.

530
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,000
Everybody is a song for everybody, but it tickles me because of prodigals.

531
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,000
This is I'll just read a few verses.

532
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,000
Where can I go from your spirit?

533
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,000
Now, imagine they're trying to get away from the spirit of God because they don't want to be condemned.

534
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:55,000
They don't want condemnation.

535
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:58,000
You know, or where can I flee from your presence?

536
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:02,000
If I send into heaven, you're there. If I make my bed and help, they hold you were there.

537
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:08,000
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hands shall leave me.

538
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000
And then it says, and your right hand shall hold me.

539
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,000
If I say, surely the darkness shall follow me.

540
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,000
Even the night shall be light about me.

541
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,000
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you.

542
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:22,000
But the night shines as the day, the darkness and the light or both alike to you.

543
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,000
And that just tickles me.

544
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:29,000
It is such a good promise because the Lord has promised to never leave them alone

545
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:35,000
and not just lead them by themselves, but to leave them alone and not pursue them.

546
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:38,000
He's aggraved them pursuing them.

547
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000
He's working on them.

548
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,000
But Jehovah's shaman is a very good thing to hold on to.

549
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:50,000
Tami, I hope my listeners are just saying, yes, I can do that.

550
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:59,000
I'm going to try that because God is giving you lots of insight and understanding of Scripture

551
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:04,000
and life experience to see how it works in real life day to day.

552
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:12,000
And so I think that the wisdom and the admonitions that you've given us that God gave you

553
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,000
are going to be a great help to our listeners.

554
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,000
And I think that's just great.

555
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:22,000
So one last thought, question.

556
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:23,000
Yes.

557
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:30,000
So what that you haven't said or just to amplify in what you have said has been most important in your life

558
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:34,000
that you've learned through this.

559
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:38,000
I just think one day I was praying, I'll just put it this way.

560
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:44,000
And well, actually I was reading the Bible and it was Psalm, I think it was 150 years at 100.

561
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,000
It says, praise him in his mighty firmament.

562
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,000
That's a King James word.

563
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,000
That's Bible I grew up on.

564
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:51,000
It's what I've memorized.

565
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:57,000
And I mean, anyway, so I've always been intrigued by that word.

566
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:05,000
So I realized that there was a little thing in the center column of my Bible and it's a reference and it said, expand.

567
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:10,000
And being from Huntsville, or not from here, but I've lived here from us in my life, being from Huntsville,

568
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,000
the Space Center is very important.

569
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,000
NASA's here, you know.

570
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:20,000
And there's the Hubble telescope and I was praying about this and God showed me, he said,

571
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:24,000
Tami, my creation reveals who I am.

572
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,000
And I realized that the Hubble telescope showed us things we had no clue were out there.

573
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:32,000
And then they built a bigger telescope and I can't remember the name of that one.

574
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,000
And it showed us there's even more.

575
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,000
Even more.

576
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,000
And what I know about God is he is infinite.

577
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:47,000
And the more I see more telescope, the more powerful telescopes I build to look into what he is and who he is and what he will and will not do,

578
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:52,000
the more wonderfulness I find and the more I find that I can trust him.

579
00:41:52,000 --> 00:42:03,000
And that is that I guess that's I praise him in his mighty expense because all of he who he is, all of who he is is in the mighty expand.

580
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:04,000
There's not a piece.

581
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,000
It's not like a puzzle.

582
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:10,000
Love here and a piece of peace here and a piece of Jehovah's shaman there and a piece of El Shaddai over here.

583
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,000
All of him is in all of him.

584
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:19,000
He's a huge big, almighty, all sufficient God and we can trust him.

585
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,000
That's what I've looked.

586
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,000
I feel him here in this room.

587
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,000
I love him so much.

588
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:30,000
And I think he's definitely in our conversation.

589
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:38,000
And I think that God's going to just touch hearts because you've given such good insights and wisdom.

590
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:44,000
So I would like to ask you before I close out to pray for them.

591
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:54,000
The listeners father, our father, first, let me praise you because you are you are El Shaddai, Almighty, all sufficient God.

592
00:42:54,000 --> 00:43:01,000
You are Jehovah's shaman, the Lord who is there with them and here with us and you are God of salvation.

593
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,000
You're the God we can trust with them.

594
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,000
You're the God who gives us peace.

595
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,000
You're the God who takes the yoke with us.

596
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,000
God, you're the God who never leaves us in this journey.

597
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:14,000
You're here with us and I just give you praise.

598
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,000
I thank you God for our protocols.

599
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:22,000
I thank you for who they are to us and I thank you for the good you're bringing through their difficult journey.

600
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:26,000
Not only in our life, but I don't believe you're going to waste anything in their life either.

601
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:37,000
Lord, and so I'm grateful for who they are and I grateful that you've kept them, that you've done miracles in their lives, that you've protected them, that you're drawing them.

602
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:47,000
But Lord, let me pray for those who love a prodigal and have been in this journey, some not for very long, the news is still fresh and your heart is broken.

603
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:59,000
Their heart is broken. God, so let me just pray for that person that you will give them a promise on which they can stand so that when days are really hard and what they see in front of them is not okay.

604
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,000
That they can stand on that same.

605
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:06,000
What I see is not real, but what God has promised, that's what's real.

606
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:14,000
God, and I pray that they'll have, that you'll help them more heal their hearts, heal their hurts, help them to do every decision.

607
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:19,000
Some of the hard ones, God, even from a place of love, give them that wisdom, God, that only comes from you.

608
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:22,000
Holy Spirit, you're the only one who knows that heart.

609
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:28,000
So we're asking you to bless those parents, those grandparents, the spouses, the siblings, the friends.

610
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:33,000
God, whoever loves a prodigal enough to receive the burden and pray for them, God bless them.

611
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:41,000
And God, for the parents that have been canceled, this horrible cultural thing going on more about canceling your parents, that they don't support your sin.

612
00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:48,000
God, I pray for those parents too, that you'll heal their hearts and that you'll give them strength to go on when the days are very hard.

613
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:54,000
Remind them of who you are and that you're working even when they have no clue where their prodigals are.

614
00:44:54,000 --> 00:45:02,000
God, just give them that peace every day that you've not forgotten, that you're aware of their prodigal every moment and you're aware of them.

615
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:07,000
Give them, as my friend Darly says, make them aware of your awareness.

616
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:16,000
And Lord, I pray not only all of these things, God, but you've given all of us a ministry, a calling, a purpose.

617
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:29,000
And so I'm asking you Lord, even in this difficult time, that you will anoint them with fresh oil every day, not only to serve their prodigals and to stand and fight for them, God, using the mighty weapons you've given them.

618
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:35,000
God, but I pray that you'll also anoint them with fresh oil every day for their personal ministry.

619
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:48,000
Help their ministry to still be effective, God, and help it to be even more effective because of what they're learning about you, about your word, about what you will or will not do, about how much you love them and their prodigals.

620
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:50,000
God, I ask you just to bless them more.

621
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:55,000
And God, may we all see every prodigal saved soon.

622
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:58,000
God, I have parents ask me to pray for suddenlies.

623
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:06,000
God, but I know that what seems like a sudden to us is something you've been working on from the beginning because you've had a plan from the beginning on how to save prodigals.

624
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,000
Your word tells us that you're not willing that any should perish.

625
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:21,000
And so let me just ask you Lord, if you would save them, sanctify them, fill them with your spirit and anoint them for their ministry and calling, fulfill your purpose and calling in their lives.

626
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:28,000
And God, I pray that while they're in this prodigal journey that they will not do anything that will hinder their future ministry.

627
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:41,000
God, they will not one decision will do anything against what you call them to do, but instead that you'll be able to use all of it to help them to do and to fight in your kingdom and be a blessing in your kingdom more.

628
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:46,000
God, we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

629
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:49,000
Amen. Thank you, dear. Thank you.

630
00:46:49,000 --> 00:47:04,000
So to my listeners, what has captured your mind and your heart that you can apply in your journey that you can claim practice as you keep on praying?

631
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:13,000
I just really encourage you to grab one thing at least that you can apply in the days ahead.

632
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:20,000
And I'm offering to give you, I may give away two of each of her books that are out.

633
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:26,000
And if you'd like to be in the drawing for them, check in on the show notes.

634
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:32,000
You can get those at my website, JudyDouglas.com or on Apple.

635
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,000
They have show notes. Some of the other places don't.

636
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:40,000
So that's where you can sign up to be in the drawing.

637
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:50,000
So God bless you and may what is often a very hard time at Christmas for those who love a prodigal,

638
00:47:50,000 --> 00:48:03,000
that you would give each of us, each of those listening your peace and just a sense that just as you love us, you love our prodigals and you're always, always working.

639
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:11,000
Thank you Lord.