Episode 42: Prayer: A Response To God’s Presence

Jacob Paul: Welcome to the truth and love podcast with your hosts Kimberly Faith and John Mack. The truth and love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: Welcome back to the truth and love podcast. I am here with I think my two favorite guests really. My cohost, John McLarty.

John McLarty: Oh, that’s so sweet.

Kimberly Faith: My wonderful, beautiful, wise and kind mother, Lynn McLarty. Thank you Kim. Well, today we have mom here because she really is, she is our prayer warrior in the family. Of all the people that I know, probably among all the people that I know, the greatest prayer warrior I know. Dad, what do you think?

John McLarty: I think amen to that.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, I think that’s true and so when the Lord started speaking to me about prayer being a response to our knowledge of God which is the title of this podcast. He took me to of course, I immediately thought of mom and having her on this podcast because I think her insight is completely invaluable. Her experiential insight is is truly unparalleled and and I mean that when I say that mom. I mean you just have relationship with the Lord that is is is unparalleled in anybody I know and I I think it’s funny we were talking about this yesterday and I think you know I don’t know if prayer is a spiritual gift as in the context of the spiritual gifts but I know that the way you described your very first prayer after you were saved as a prayer for your husband’s salvation and God answered that like the same day. That was such an experience that gave you a foundation in prayer that I think is pretty rare.

And and so your experiential testimony of prayer is just truly valuable and I think any podcast we have on prayer. And so when when God kinda gave me this insight and it’s a new thing for me, maybe not for anybody else but it was for me that prayer is actually a response to our knowledge of God. I wanted to do this discussion, just have this conversation for everybody else’s benefit. So here we are. Here we are.

John McLarty: Well, I think it’d be really neat to start with mom’s testimony of that first prayer.

Kimberly Faith: Well,

Lynn McLarty: it was right after I accepted the Lord and it wasn’t it wasn’t words I said. It was just I heard the gospel. I heard that Christ died on the cross for me. I was raised seeing that cross all my life and I had no idea what it had to do with anything. And and I just heard that he paid for my sins on that cross and it was a gift, a free gift, and I I just needed to accept it.

And I did not say a word out loud. It was all in my heart. It was a transaction with God

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Lynn McLarty: In my heart. And I knew immediately he was there with me and he was real. I just didn’t know how to interact with him. So when I the lady who led me to hear the gospel and get saved asked me if I wanted to go in the in the house into a room and have prayer. And I said, okay.

And so we go in the room and she says, okay. Would you like to pray? I said, well, I don’t really know how to pray. All I’ve ever heard all my life was these, I call them canned prayers. Mean, some of them Praise Latin.

Some of them are God’s word like the the Lord’s prayer, but, you know, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that I didn’t know how to talk to God personally. But what I have discovered in that day and the rest of my life is that God we can come to God as a little child. We don’t have to be so smart.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Lynn McLarty: We don’t have to know. I didn’t know Genesis from Revelations. I didn’t know anything about God, but I came to him as a child with just faith that of who I just trusted. And I and Eva told me, she said, well, you just talk to God like you talk to me. So my first prayer was that my husband who was in the other room and I could tell things weren’t going good.

John McLarty: It was me the sinner.

Lynn McLarty: I could tell that my first prayer to God was just in simple faith of a child. Lord, please let my husband know this relationship with you as I do. And that very day, that very afternoon, the Lord answered my prayer. So my husband accepted Christ as his savior all by himself. He was home alone with God.

So God is real. And we’re talking to not somebody up in the sky, some the man upstairs like some people refer to it. We’re talking to the God of this universe and we can come before Him as a little child And the more we learn about God’s word, the more it’s it’s just like the more you learn about say your husband, the more you can have deeper conversations with him. So I would say that nobody should hesitate to speak to God even if they don’t know anything about his word at this point. You have to start somewhere.

Kimberly Faith: I think mom kinda just summarized the entire podcast.

John McLarty: That was perfect. Yeah, that was Connection and then just talking to God and that’s prayer.

Kimberly Faith: And so that’s great. Dad, thanks for suggesting that because that’s a great segue into the kind of the foundational verse that we wanna talk about. One of the foundational verses which is Romans. This was the verse I was drawn to when the Lord was teaching me that prayer is a response to our knowledge of God and because Romans one nineteen twenty says, what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them for since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood understood by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead. And that’s the portion of that scripture I wanna read.

It struck me. I I use these verses a lot when I’m teaching the basic Bible concepts because people ask questions like, well, what about the people who’ve never heard the gospel? How do they know? And and so always bring them back this. Well, the knowledge of God is planted in every human.

But what’s interesting is that God used this person a different way in the context of prayer

John McLarty: for me

Kimberly Faith: because that means is not only do we have knowledge of God, but we also know that when we need something bigger than ourselves, He is there. The problem is we don’t go on the journey beyond just acknowledging His presence as we know it’s there because that knowledge is instinctive and the scripture is what is necessary to take us into a more mature prayer life. And that’s kind of the crux of this of this that we’re gonna talk about today in this podcast.

John McLarty: That’s exciting because I think Lynn’s first example is almost that innate, she had just connected with God, been born again and she kind of cried out. One of her basic heart’s desires is that I get saved.

Kimberly Faith: Right. And

John McLarty: then by God answering that first prayer, I think that

Lynn McLarty: help With hook, with

John McLarty: a hook. Become a prayer warrior.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

John McLarty: And then, now as the years have gone by, her prayers have been, you know, and you are enhanced by knowledge Right. The word of God, just who God is. Right. You know, more about him. And and so the word adds to that and then that relationship becomes two way.

But to start it off with just that answered prayer that God is real

Kimberly Faith: That instinct

John McLarty: And he answers prayers.

Kimberly Faith: That instinct has become powerful. Yes. It’s like, I like to, you know, it’s kinda we were talking about this. I think that, you know, well, we know that even non Christian cultures, there are fervent prayers, people that pray, they’re just praying to a different God, you know. And but when we, it’s like the example I think about is a person who’s a naturally gifted runner.

They instinctively run, you know? I was talking to a friend of mine who said and her son’s a world class runner and she said, yeah, would run everywhere as a kid. He’d just run all over the house. He’d run out

Lynn McLarty: in the yard.

Kimberly Faith: He never walked. So he had this instinctive desire to run but it wasn’t until he said he was, he subjected himself to the coaching, to the hard work, to the discipline that it became world class. And I think that’s where prayer is. I think we have an instinct to pray. God put the knowledge knowledge of Him as a supernatural being that is bigger than us and so children you know when we, children do that with their parents instinctively ask for help, right?

When we instinctively do that with God like what you described mom, you know when you were born again, then we start off our journey but when we add God’s Word and the knowledge and the maturity that God’s Word, not just reading it, but obeying it.

John McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: Just like the athlete. Then our prayers become weapons of spiritual warfare. I just thought of something.

Lynn McLarty: Well, I wanted to read this verse first but then I’d like to share something real quick. It it This verse is in Psalm one sixteen says, I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplication because he hath inclined his ear unto me. Therefore, will I call upon him as long as I live.

Kimberly Faith: That

Lynn McLarty: is kind of what happened to me, but I just thought of an a good example of what Kim is sharing is that a baby cries out to their parent as a baby, but they don’t know anything about their parent. They just have a feeling they can just cry out and something’s gonna happen good. So they cry out and mom feeds them. They cry out again, mom feeds them. And then as they grow, they cry out.

Now mom might give them a little lecture, but see they’re growing in knowledge that mom’s not just there to feed me, she’s there to guide me. So as we grow, first we’re just crying out to God because we’re just babies.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so good.

Lynn McLarty: And then we’re learning, we might be crying out to God about something we want and He gives us another direction and we go, well this isn’t what I was asking for. But as we mature, we can take more of his direction and he can start, babies only care about their needs. Right. But as we grow, we care, you know, a mother might say, well, go share with your brother And you might not wanna hear about go share with your brother but you know, you’re learning, you’re getting more knowledge and you’re getting that from your parent. And so I just think that’s amazing that as we grow, God can give us instructions like, go reach out to your best friend

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Lynn McLarty: Or go reach out to this neighbor that you

Kimberly Faith: don’t even like. Right. Kinda like when we were kids and and you’d say, go weed the garden. I mean, was it’s a 100 degrees outside or whatever or we’re too lazy to get up early and do it earlier, right? And then we learn, we really enjoy those green beans they’re on the table, right?

And I think that I heard something, this is something the Lord has been teaching me lately is that our suffering is gold. And when we trust God enough to understand that our suffering, the suffering He allows, not the suffering He causes, the suffering He allows is gold. It refines us. You know, picking those green beans and sweating in the sun was not fun but if we do it because we trust our parents that they’re directing us correctly and whether we have the maturity to understand that or not, doesn’t matter. We’re disciplining ourselves to do it.

But when we get to the point in our relationship with God where we even are suffering, we can give thanks for because Paul did. He’s like, I’m thankful for my thorn in the flesh. You know. And anyway, that’s to me, that’s a progression that you’re talking about.

John McLarty: Well, really both what you both said just I have this verse here that just fits in perfectly with that and it’s Paul and his suffering, but it says that I might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. And not to get all Greek on all of us but we’ve just been taught in Bible study that this, that I might know him, is a deeper knowing than just like when I met Lynn, I knew who she was and I liked her and fell in love with her. But now after fifty years of marriage, I know just from a look on her face more about her. Like if we go to a restaurant and I say, well, how was it? She says, it’s okay.

I know that this is not good. But I wouldn’t have known that fifty years ago. So with God, it’s the same way. We know Him and that enhances our prayer life because even though Lynn knew God day one, but now through the word and through life and trials, we know him deeper and through the fellowship of his suffering even. We we develop that relationship.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s so beautiful. It’s so beautiful. I heard an example given about this, kinda what you’re talking about. How two people when they first meet, if they go on a date, they can sit in a restaurant and if they don’t say a word they’re not really learning anything because they don’t know anything. They just know what the person looks like, they know the surface but then if they’ve been married fifty years, they can sit in silence and pretty much know what each other’s thinking.

And that’s so true with our relationship with God. I mean, even just last night, I started to get anxious about a particular situation and I was thinking of all the ways I start going on and Googling stuff and that sort of thing we were discussing this situation and and I was gonna call the person and have this discussion because it needed to happen now. And Lord just I as I sat there, the Lord gave me no peace and he was speaking to me. Mhmm. Yeah.

I knew that he said, just wait. Mhmm. And what happened this morning? Mhmm. Got a phone call, the situation was resolved in a better way than we could have imagined.

John McLarty: Right. Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And that’s the unspoken Holy Spirit communication that I wasn’t even reading His Word. Mhmm. But His Word is hidden in my heart.

Lynn McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: And I know that I can trust Him.

Lynn McLarty: And you know His voice

Kimberly Faith: Yes.

Lynn McLarty: Speaking to you.

Kimberly Faith: Yes. We call it the path of peace around this house Right. You know when you’re about to do something that you’re losing your peace. You know what peace feels like and you know what it doesn’t feel like and oh my goodness, that’s just part of that deeper mature relationship that’s built through reading God’s Word, memorizing God’s Word and applying God’s Word because then you walk in the ways that he shows you. Yeah.

It’s really it Think about the God of the universe. The God who created everything, who sustains everything, who knows everything, who has all wisdom, all knowledge. He knows the how to solve the problem of your next case. He knows how to solve the problem of your bees that are out in the yard. He knows how to solve the grocery list problem.

Whatever it might be. He already lives in the future. He’s been in the past. He has wisdom that’s so high above our ways that we don’t even comprehend it but he says, guess what? I’m gonna share this with you.

All of it. You read that verse about the power of his resurrection. Right. You know, the power resurrection of Christ lives in born again believers. But we we waste it when we refuse to read God’s word.

When we refuse to really have a passion for obeying God because we love him and we trust him. Mhmm. And we don’t take things to him in prayer. Mhmm. It’s like it’s like we have we have the nuclear response at our fingertips Mhmm.

And we never use it.

John McLarty: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: You know? Right.

Lynn McLarty: Something that I was just thinking about that dad read that verse about knowing read that verse again, honey.

John McLarty: It’s Philippians Philippians three ten, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death.

Lynn McLarty: I was thinking about that part, fellowship of his sufferings. And Ken was saying that our trials or our sufferings are like gold. And I was thinking about if you know, if you get if you can relate to God’s suffering on the cross and his separation from his father Mhmm. That gift. And Kim brought up this morning when we were just sitting on the front porch, mom, can you imagine never being able to get any sleep and you’re in hell?

John McLarty: Mhmm. Well,

Lynn McLarty: gosh, I thought about that thought. Well, if you know the power of his sufferings on the cross and you’re not about, you know, this is like a prayer that enhances our prayer life. Praying for the souls of those around you and not only praying, but prayer should give you a desire to respond. So praying for the souls around you, but then a desire to respond and share that gift so that they don’t have to go to hell. You know And experience that suffering with no sleep, no rest.

Kimberly Faith: You know, I I’m gonna ask I think it’d be good for Jacob to interject into this podcast. Some of the part of the Living Waters song, My King’s Apparel. Because

John McLarty: That would be good.

Kimberly Faith: Song, Jeannie talked about that in the podcast. We did Living Waters Group podcast. You know, his The way that that song describes his apparel. I think it would be good to enter That’s a great point mom. That when we enter into a knowledge to the degree that we can in our finite minds Mhmm.

Of the suffering that Jesus went through on the cross. Then our suffering is a small matter. Mhmm. It really is. And we can be thankful because what that suffering is doing for us is refining us.

You know, I I’ve mentioned that was I was sick and that’s one reason I slept ten hours last night because I’ve been trying to recover. But how God has totally changed my my view about sickness because it’s always always always an opportunity to remind me of the first beatitude which is being poor in spirit Mhmm. Which means we are 1,000 dependent percent dependent upon God for everything we do and we cannot let even ministry be something that is done by our own self will, our own power, under our own steam, by our own wisdom. Otherwise, it’s not God’s ministry. And we have to pray.

We have to ask the Lord

Lynn McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: You know, to guide us.

Lynn McLarty: Kib, this verse I just thought of because it was just right here in front of me. The Lord preserved the simple. I was brought low and he helped me. Wow.

Kimberly Faith: What verse is that, mom?

Lynn McLarty: It’s Psalms one sixteen six.

Kimberly Faith: That’s good. And it

Lynn McLarty: says return unto thy rest. Wow.

Kimberly Faith: What a a great I’m talking about Holy Spirit move.

Lynn McLarty: Yeah. I had my bible open to that and I had it highlighted.

John McLarty: And that’s kind of interesting because the word of God stimulates our prayers and that’s a little more my experience. I’d say Lynn had that immediate one on one connection with God, answered prayer. I would say my prayer life early on wasn’t like Lynn’s. It wasn’t as connected and intimate. Same.

But once, when I retired, I just started reading the word more. And I just and this is kind of an interesting path, might say. I was interested I love history. So I started reading the Bible in Acts and just getting the history of the history of the early church.

Lynn McLarty: Mhmm.

John McLarty: So I’d read Acts and then all of Paul’s letters And then I’d go back to Acts and read it again. And I got the Atlas of the Bible and looked at the maps. But as I just read and reread Acts and those letters from Paul, rather than the history, what jumped out at me was Paul’s relationships with people. His intimate relationships with the brethren, and he just calls people out. Like at the end of Colossians, he calls out 11 men that are kind of like his band of brothers.

Mhmm. And it just started making me wanting to pray for the my relationships in the church, my ministry team. And I wrote a list of all the men that I have the potential to have those deeper relations with, started praying for them. Oh, wow. So this the word stimulated my prayer life in a certain way.

Mhmm. And now and there’s errors, kind of errors in our life. Then I started reading Psalms. I mean, I went that was a two year process of me just reading Acts and over and over I remember that. And the relationships and just getting excited about that.

But started, it stimulated a deeper prayer life and it was from the word.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. Well, know, the word, you know, Hebrews four twelve tells us that the that the word of God is quick and powerful and it’s sharper than a two edged sword and and it and it reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart. You know, skipping over a few parts of a little bit of that verse, but it reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart. And you know, in one of my concept study this week, one of the one of the questions that came up is about the heart. Know is the heart part of the soul?

Is the heart part of the body? What what is the heart? And that’s a really big question. I really want to research it some more but one of the things that I know that I think it’s an Isaiah that talks about God replacing our heart of stone with a heart of flesh when we are born again, you know, and I think our soul has a heart, a heart that desires the right things, desires God’s word because it’s Jesus Christ’s heart. Our flesh still has a heart of selfishness, you know, a heart of I want what I want and of course that kind of crosses over to the mind and the desires but when you think about your experience, you just talked about, God was drawing you into his word

John McLarty: His word.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. And you responded to his word in prayer. Mhmm. And it’s, you know, I think that this basic instinct that Romans one talks about that we have to respond to God is made greater. It’s we’re we’re we’re drawn into a greater aspect of the power of that response, you know, because it’s a universal fingerprint by the creator upon every human.

It’s so incredible that God created us in his image.

John McLarty: That is exciting.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s like, it’s a every person listening to this podcast has the ability to respond to their creator at a level that is so far beyond what they can ask for or imagine. Mhmm. And man, you know, this is why we’re doing this podcast. Yeah. Because it’s so exciting that we have the ability.

It’s like, you think of the most powerful person that you know, whether that be a president or someone like, you know, that’s very wealthy. Mhmm. And if you had them as your bestie Mhmm. And you could and they were willing Mhmm. To engage in whatever project you know, you were called to do.

Man, you’d be using that like nobody’s business. We have the God of the universe and we we are in His will, not our Then He you wanna Kim, you wanna build a ministry? Watch this. Mhmm. You know?

Let me just blow your mind. Mhmm. And he just does that constantly. I said that I say that a lot but it’s just true. Mhmm.

It’s not something I could make up. Right. You know? And and I don’t wanna go on and on but we we we were the Lord laid on our on our heart to do this fostering by faith boutique. Mhmm.

We didn’t have a clue. We just wanted to give foster kids a great shopping experience. Mhmm. We didn’t have people to run it. Mhmm.

We didn’t have a very good space. We didn’t have any assets. We didn’t have a five zero one c three. We didn’t have donors. Today, we have a 2,000 square foot building that’s the most beautiful store most people in the Lower Missouri have ever seen.

Yeah. And only foster kids can shop there. And we have employees, and I don’t even know how it all happened except the Lord said do it. And we said, okay. And we have money.

And it didn’t come from me.

Lynn McLarty: Right. You know? God gives us the desires of our heart Right. When our heart is to serve him.

Kimberly Faith: And that is thousand percent. It’s not the desires of our flesh. No. Heart flesh No. Flesh heart.

My brain fog is kicking in again. But the desires of his heart. Yes. Yeah. And our thoughts become more like his

Lynn McLarty: thoughts Right.

Kimberly Faith: And our ways become more like his ways. Right. Yeah. That’s that’s wonderful.

John McLarty: So that just I have to read our our family verse here. Proverbs three five through seven. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes.

Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thine navel and morrow to their bones. Honor the Lord with all thy substance and with all the first fruits of thine increase.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

John McLarty: So it’s just but that acknowledge if if our heart is to do his will, which he gives us that Right. We don’t take that’s all him. They are born again nature. But he will direct our paths.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. You know, when I’m when I’m teaching young Christians how to pray, because it’s one thing that everybody’s afraid to do. Mhmm. I’ve always felt this great burden to be the one who has to teach them. Mhmm.

You know, like I have to do this. And what the Lord’s been showing me is now you need to teach them how to read God’s word.

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And you need to teach them how to develop their own unique way of praying in response to God’s word. Meaning, I’m not talk and I’m not talking about liturgy. I’m not talking about, you know, the the preacher says this and you respond with this Pat response. I’m talking about what we’ve been discussing. We’re in God’s word and we are desiring to have a relationship with him to increase that relationship, then we will respond to that word much like and I I use this example because it’s just I remember when I was teaching one of my children how to say milk, you know.

When you want milk, it that that so Sarah, we’ll say it Sarah. Sarah was not born knowing, identifying the white stuff in the jar as milk. Mhmm. I’d say milk and she’d go milk, you know? Mhmm.

Mhmm. That was in response to what I was telling her that she learned the white stuff in the jar was milk. Mhmm. Right? So when we’re reading God’s word, we don’t know what trust looks like.

We don’t know what love looks like until we read first Corinthians 13. Yeah. And then we say, oh, God. Help me to understand and to desire to have this kind of love that you give me in my life. The love that suffers long and is kind.

Mhmm. The love that is not proud but is servant and selfless. You know, that is the response. Instead of saying, oh lord lord, help me. We’re trying to pull that of our own head.

Yeah. Or help me to love this person instead of hate them. Well, that’s not even Not even love. It’s not even love. Right?

It’s not even it’s just it’s you’re operating on your own steam which never works. We can never love with our own love like God

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: Loves through us with his love.

John McLarty: So I think that’s a great example because you have Lynn’s first prayer. She’d been born again for less than thirty minutes and she prayed, had an answered prayer. Then as we develop and the fellowship of the suffering and getting to know his word and what love really is

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

John McLarty: And me reading, you know, in Acts what what that relationship with the brethren is supposed to be like. Mhmm. We we grow. Mhmm. And then if we I’m thinking of this verse.

He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved to my father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to

Lynn McLarty: him. That’s powerful.

John McLarty: So as we read and then listen and obey, he manifest himself to us, and that’s knowing him better. Right. And then he directs our ways. Right. And as long as we keep following his ways, that that just builds.

Mhmm. You know, and at some point we don’t. Mhmm. We, like, go stubborn on God. Mhmm.

That can hinder our prayer life and our fruitfulness.

Lynn McLarty: Well, just think about a relationship between a husband and wife. If if I’m obstinate, just like that woman where you want her on your roof instead of in your house, you know, just

John McLarty: Wanna wanna go Go on your roof

Lynn McLarty: instead having sex. And, you know, just think how that would hurt our relationship.

John McLarty: Exactly. Good point.

Lynn McLarty: Because I might I might say something to you but you’re in your mind, you’re like, oh, let me out of here. I’m wanting to get up on the roof. This woman’s out of control. You know, it would hurt the relationship and I wouldn’t be listening to you because we wouldn’t have that communication. You wouldn’t be connected.

Wouldn’t be connected. Yeah. So it’s just

Kimberly Faith: It’s kinda like, you know, we have this inborn. I mean, Romans is clear. We have this inborn human instinct

John McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: To pray and it’s based but it’s based on a very general unfocused sense of God. It’s a very, it’s an instinct but it’s very unfocused and but when we’re born again, then I think children know how to pray better than people who are adults are not born again because they’re still connected to God. And they’re just very instinctive. But they can be led astray so easily because they have not matured in that. They don’t have the knowledge.

And yeah and I think about like Tanya. Tanya my sister got saved at a very young age and she went very seamlessly from her childhood innocence into a relationship with God. Much better than I. I mean I was a mess. I was you know, for years and but she took that seamless route where she went from knowing God to knowing God.

Right. And then being able to mature in God. You know, when she was born again. But when we receive the indwelling of God’s spirit because we’re born again, Then we have the capacity to have a real two way conversation. Mhmm.

But it’s God’s word and obedience to God’s word that takes us off the roof and into the kitchen. Mhmm. You know? And then we’re with God and we have we aren’t just shouting to each other through the window and and maybe hearing half the conversation. We’re getting the whole thing.

Lynn McLarty: So it’s kind of different routes back to that prayer life is what I think you’re saying that Tanya who just accepted the Lord with childlike faith and and kinda Natural segue. It was a natural segue.

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Lynn McLarty: Those that say like, that go a different way, the way back is through his word and obedience because they’ve got to they they already know. They’ve already known that but that there wasn’t this childlike faith.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. There’s a lot of crap to undo. There was a

Lynn McLarty: For me anyway. It was it was through obedience and God’s word that drew him back because you know, in that prayer life, it just seems like to me and I’m just thinking about this Mhmm. When you were saying that Mhmm. That there’s one segue that’s real easy and there’s another one that kinda takes a surrendered life to get

Kimberly Faith: back It’s definitely more of a

Lynn McLarty: They’re both surrendered.

Kimberly Faith: It’s definitely more of a disciplined surrender Yeah. For somebody who’s who’s allowed themselves to go so far into the into the mud that it takes a while to understand you’re not in the mud anymore because you think muddy Right. You know, and I think that when somebody is born again at a very young age and they’ve been brought up trained up in the way they should go, then it’s a no brainer for them to continue to grow in the way they should go because the soil feels really good and the weeds are not there. And but then when, you know, we have this other route, like the route I took where, you know, I struggled to make a professional faith and then I when I finally did, then I didn’t understand the relationship and was trying to do things my own way for twenty years.

Lynn McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And that took breaking me, completely breaking me to then make me, you know, pivot and realize, wow, I didn’t really know God for who He was. And even though I had learned all this scripture, that scripture was definitely useful in bringing me back because I already had that basis and knowledge. But what I needed to do was bring that knowledge into the relationship.

John McLarty: Right. I think something exciting and interesting is there’s always a path back to God.

Lynn McLarty: There’s always a path back.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, that’s good.

John McLarty: Whether it’s the direct path or a detour or even,

Lynn McLarty: you know That God’s staying in their lives Waiting with his arms out, stretched Yeah. For us to come. Yeah. Even come. That’s what he’s saying to us.

Come back and he loves us, you know, like the prodigal son.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Lynn McLarty: And the father is just you know, sometimes it’s harder for the person who chose that direct path Mhmm. To to get that deeper walk sometimes because I think that

Kimberly Faith: They don’t see the contrast.

Lynn McLarty: They don’t see the contrast as much.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. I

Lynn McLarty: mean But I I just think that the prodigal son, you know, he was just like he knew Mhmm. That and his father, but God is just so welcoming. Yes. People think that God’s not gonna and they think God’s not gonna welcome him back and they think that people are not gonna welcome him back.

Kimberly Faith: Right. And I think that’s that’s because you know, Christians, we we often give God a bad name. Mhmm. You know, we judge. Mhmm.

We hold grudges. Yeah. We we we hold people to a standard that we don’t even adhere to and and then we we give God a bad name because that’s not who God is.

John McLarty: No.

Kimberly Faith: God says, if you come, if you repent Yeah. I’m here. I want you. I want you back. You know and of course we’re talking about whether you’re unsaved or whether you’re saved.

You know, it’s the same. You know, God wants reconciliation. He paid the ultimate price. Yeah. So we could be reconciled not just in the eternal sense but in the physical sense being reconciled to him while we’re on this earth.

You know, you talked about the the the contrast. It’s so true. When I have When I remember when I got to a point in my in my life, my walk with God in the last 13 or so, There was a point when I start, I recognize that what I wanted more than I wanted sin was I wanted the presence of God. And that was any kind of sin like whether it’s just watching too much TV or whether it’s, you know, just plunging into life or the day on my own steam instead of God’s or whether it was, you know, doing something worse, you know. The price of sin was not worth forfeiting the presence of God.

Right.

John McLarty: And we were created to have a relationship with God. Right. Right. And that fulfills us. And can you imagine Lynn and I having a relationship where we never talk to each other?

That’s like stupid, right?

Kimberly Faith: We never listen.

John McLarty: So that’s what prayer is, is that connection, that relationship and we’re communicating back and forth with God. It’s just what we have that innate we’re born with that.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah.

John McLarty: And then then we lose it.

Lynn McLarty: Talking and listening. Right.

John McLarty: Talking and listening and then obey. And then obeying. Yeah. Following.

Lynn McLarty: Yeah. Following. Uh-huh.

John McLarty: It’s not this just this rigorous school master obeying but it’s God cause God wants us to obey him to lead us into the abundant life, not into a terrible life.

Lynn McLarty: And he just wants to obey him like with our arms crossed and a scowl on her face. I will do your will. Yes, honey, I’ll cook your dinner. But you know, it’s Well, we miss the whole point of relationship.

Kimberly Faith: If we’re living like, you know, the Christian who is obligatory and feels very obligated to serve God as opposed to the Christian who just loves God so much. I mean, love one of my favorite scriptures is Galatians four six which says and because you are sons, God has sent forth his spirit, the spirit of his son where? Into your hearts. Wow. Crying out, Abba, Father.

Lynn McLarty: Father. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: You know, that’s where I wanna stay.

John McLarty: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And and that that security and that safety, you know of the most powerful creation, the creation of most powerful being. He’s not created. Most powerful being ever to exist and this ever has existed. That’s there’s there’s no parallel. I mean, all through the Old Testament you hear in especially the Psalms where the writers talk about the power of horses, power of chariots, power of you know the army doesn’t it’s not it’s not secure.

The power of money is not secure. The power of success or prestige is not secure. Matter of fact, Solomon said vanity of vanities and all is vanity. And the only thing that’s worth having is to know God and to do His will. That’s the only thing I’m paraphrasing.

John McLarty: And that all powerful creator is a loving father.

Lynn McLarty: Mhmm. Mhmm.

John McLarty: I’ve just been noticing in the Psalms how how many times the word loving kindness Mhmm. Is not just love or Right. It’s loving kindness which is just an, oh yeah, I’m gonna pull you out of the mud and stick you up here and hope you do well. It’s a loving kindness Which is I think Which is

Kimberly Faith: love. Equated with mercy.

John McLarty: Mercy, loving kindness. Yeah. He cares for us.

Kimberly Faith: He does and and he enables us to have mercy on others. You know, it’s always amazing to me how when I had a particular case where I was just being completely slandered. And it was just it was it was completely uncalled for. It was completely unnecessary. But for whatever reason, this person thought it was helped his case.

Mhmm. You know? And I mean, of course, your first reaction is to say, are you kidding me right now? What who do you think you are? You know, you kinda get in that defensive Mhmm.

This is my own thoughts, not my words. And the Lord is just like, his presence was so clear. This man doesn’t know me. You need to have mercy in your heart for this person not retaliation. I got you.

You don’t have to worry about it. He’s like he’s like a woodpecker on concrete. You know what I’m saying? That’s That’s

John McLarty: weird but you know.

Lynn McLarty: Bro, that was good.

Kimberly Faith: Break your beak, mister, you know.

John McLarty: Not making progress.

Kimberly Faith: He’s not gonna make any progress because I’ve got you. I’m your father but you know what? Because of the mercy I showed to you, you can show mercy to him. Yeah. You know?

And and that’s and that’s God speaking that two way conversation. Mhmm. You know? When we’re we we can’t be in our quiet time and then thirty minutes later read something and be, know, falling off the the God wall so to speak and and climbing outside the concrete. I’m gonna fight my own battle.

Let me just get let me get him.

John McLarty: Know? So Kim, I’m thinking about when you come to visit and just like sometimes you come in and you’re sleepy and it’s a little past your bedtime but we get you and and Lynn and I get into such a discussion. Right. We don’t want it to end. Right.

And that’s how it can be and should be with God. Mhmm. That relationship is like, oh, this is too good. Let’s keep this conversation going.

Lynn McLarty: But a funny thing about Kim is that we’ll be in a great conversation and it’s almost like the peace of God is so prevalent, she just falls asleep.

John McLarty: Alright, so for all of y’all don’t know, am, my body shuts down about 09:30 or ten, it’s done. That’s why

Kimberly Faith: they’re teasing me because they go until midnight, you know.

John McLarty: We’re all blessed that Kim feels the liberty to fall asleep in her living room chair. But sometimes the conversation is just so good because it’s and it’s about God and the ministry and you want it to just keep going.

Kimberly Faith: Well, and I think That’s

John McLarty: what prayer should be like.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And it’s as instinctive and natural and free flowing and wondrous really as a conversation with your best friend. And what’s really neat to me and and such a blessing is when you enter into that prayer, like I’m talking about just intentional prayer, like we’ve got particular things we wanna pray for with other believers. And then you have this multifaceted blessing because it’s it’s the dynamic of the conversation changes based on the personal relationships of each person involved. So I always use this example because it makes, you know, people don’t understand what I’m talking about when I say it.

So now this is well, if like dad, if you and I are having a conversation and it’s gonna be one dynamic. But then if we engage, let’s say, Hannah comes in, the dynamic of the conversation changes. Then if let’s say Grace comes in, the dynamic changes even further. And if Claire, baby Claire comes in then it gets all silly. Right?

So it’s it’s kind of it’s kind of that’s how it’s really to me that’s why prayer with other believers is so it’s I don’t I nourishing is the word I think of. It’s so nourishing. And I don’t know what do you what do you all think about that?

Lynn McLarty: I agree. And then just hearing the prayers of your brethren, sisters and brothers is a blessing and it is nourishing and it’s encouraging.

John McLarty: So many forms that there’s that just one on one prayer, crying out to the Lord and then I’ve been loving lately kind of praying with the word, reading a little Psalms and then praying. But then, yeah, that’s a whole new aspect of prayers with the brethren. That’s a wonderful dynamic all its own.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, it is and I and again, I don’t don’t wanna belabor this but I I think I guess maybe I do because I don’t want anybody listening this podcast to miss out on this. Mhmm. This is something I missed out on for many many years as a born again believer is dipping into this wonderful tool. I mean, Bible says pray without ceasing.

John McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: That’s not a request. That’s a command. Well, prayer is a conversation. Of course it takes many forms. There’s intercessory prayer.

Listening, right? There’s just like a conversation I can have talking using my words is different when I’m talking to a judge and asking for something than when I’m talking to Claire and being silly. But it’s all words, it’s all conversation and it’s all necessary. Right? Depending on what you’ve been called to do.

So prayer, you know, is is I’m not sure that there’s an an add one adequate study on prayer. I think it’s it’s so big Yeah. And it’s so individualized.

Lynn McLarty: I think God uses all of our senses, eyes

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Lynn McLarty: Ears to listen, mouth to speak Mhmm. Heart to receive, hands to do. So prayer is multifaceted when you think about

John McLarty: That’s a good word.

Lynn McLarty: Has given us all this whole body. Right. And so every aspect of our body is kind of part of those prayers.

Kimberly Faith: Right. It can be instruments of praise and glory or instruments of shame. Right? Yeah. And and something that I was thinking about when you said that was that we have we have this wonderful response to God and I and I wanna just emphasize this because like when I’ve done yoga and stuff with people who are really into the whole Mhmm.

Eastern religion. Mhmm. There’s always this, you know, well, they this kind of, I don’t know what would you even call it. It’s not just a reflex to some unknown God that we’re called to do. Like, you know, they say, well, you know, go and think about the higher power or and I’m probably not getting all the words right, or go within yourself and all these kind of very, you know,

Lynn McLarty: broad, vague. Put a sheet over your head. Well, I don’t. And you’re thinking under that sheet, what am I supposed to be saying?

Kimberly Faith: Well, I’m just saying it’s struggle I think because there’s at least it was always a struggle for me because I’m thinking who am I talking to?

Lynn McLarty: Who you’re talking to.

Kimberly Faith: And and that’s because when I’ve done yoga, I’ve been a born again believer and I know who I wanna

Lynn McLarty: talk to. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: But I think it’s when we start encouraging people to focus on the God of truth. The God who gives us truth. The truth that’s reliable and which is proven to be reliable. Know every culture that has applied the principles of the Bible. And I’m not talking about the crusades, any of that perversion of God’s word.

I’m talking about the principles of God’s word where we love each other more than we love ourselves. We don’t steal, we don’t kill. Right. We don’t you you don’t do all these things that the God says don’t do. Their culture has produced a better environment for just life.

Right. You know, as opposed to, know, some God who says, well if you do this, you’re gonna be crushed or oh and it’s okay to have 15 wives and again, we’ve seen examples in the Bible about people who were born again believers who didn’t obey God’s Word and it really ruined Mhmm. Ruined their lives

John McLarty: Their Relate, yeah.

Kimberly Faith: And their families for generations to come. Mean, Solomon, wisest man who ever lived. Yeah. You know, he chose to do things that were in violation of God’s word. Mhmm.

And it it was an end of destruction for his family. So anyway, I didn’t mean to go off on that tent.

Lynn McLarty: Who was it? Preaching at our church the other day talked about, oh, Abraham. You know, he he not only had Sarah but he lost his faith and then he got another wife and it’s a whole It spawned

John McLarty: a whole Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Warfare. A

John McLarty: whole warfare. Quite a detour.

Lynn McLarty: A detour and still going on.

John McLarty: Mean Still going on.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, absolutely. So any last thoughts about prayer before we wrap? This has been really good, by the way.

John McLarty: It’s been great. Yeah. I would just say multifaceted and my prayer life has grown, you know, it wasn’t just as as quick and immediate as Lynn’s, but it was there. I mean, I prayed Mhmm. Early as a Christian, but it’s it’s really blossomed in the last four or five years and I would credit that to spending more time in the Word just personally for me.

Kimberly Faith: So

John McLarty: people, you know, if your prayer life needs to improve, they’re just well, another thing is I might be in the Word and I’m out, you know, outside praying and the Lord may just show me, you know, you’re you’re just your to do list has become more important than me lately and you we can’t we can’t even have a good we can’t have prayer right now because you’re you’ve kind of closed off part of your life. Maybe you need to Give that over. You need give that over. You need to go visit your cousin George today instead of check off your to do list. So there’s that being right with God.

Mhmm. But then, you know, so that’s listening to him but that’s that’s that relationship and you know that path of peace Mhmm. That you were talking about. And if you’re off of it Mhmm. You have to get that straightened out.

Mhmm. And then but, you know, once that’s there or you know, and then through the word, just the the word has really helped my prayer life. Yeah. I’d end with that.

Kimberly Faith: Ironically, even your prayer list can be can become something that Yep. Is not in line with God’s will for you. And

John McLarty: I I’m so glad you said that because I’ve been praying through this prayer list is a new thing for me this year, 2025, you know Me too. Read, you know, commitment. But sometimes I’ll be praying through the prayer list and the Lord will say, no, stop it. You just you and I need to just have a little conversation here.

Lynn McLarty: 100.

John McLarty: You need to put the prayer list aside and you and I just need to have a little talk.

Kimberly Faith: Well, and and that’s been my experience too. And it and it was, you know, I it it’s funny. We make these commitments thinking this is God’s will.

Lynn McLarty: Right.

Kimberly Faith: I’m praying for this prayer list for every day for three hundred sixty five days. Mhmm. And then we’re torn because this is the my experience. I’ll be going through my prayer list and the Lord will say stop. I’m experiencing for this person right now.

Now I want you to send them a text saying, I am praying these things over you right now.

Lynn McLarty: Yes. And I’ve experienced that a lot. The Lord just stops you in the middle. You know, gotta start off your prayer, not just reading a list. You gotta connect with God.

Right. And then He’ll lead you if if He wants you

John McLarty: to

Lynn McLarty: pray for certain people, he’ll lead you in that.

Kimberly Faith: Well, one of the things that you’re you’re right, mom, because one of the things that that Lord helped me to do to help me get there Mhmm. Is I also have my answered prayers at the end of my prayer

John McLarty: list Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: For like 2025. Yeah. And the list is huge. Yeah. And so a lot of times to get in that spirit of thankfulness Mhmm.

And praising God Yeah. I will review that prayer thank the the answered prayer list Mhmm. And start thanking God Yeah. For all he’s done. Yeah.

And and praising him Yeah. Just for the miracles that he’s done. And

Lynn McLarty: I

Kimberly Faith: and and then then I’m open. I’m wide open to, okay, god. Do you want me to start here, or do you want me to start here? Mhmm.

John McLarty: Do want

Kimberly Faith: me start with lost people I’m praying for or the saved people, my inner ring, or the missionaries? And suddenly, I’m free of the the obligation, and it turns into a conversation.

John McLarty: It’s good.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. So well, mom, any last thoughts?

Lynn McLarty: I think we covered it all.

Kimberly Faith: Alright. Well, you’ve been listening to the truth and love podcast, and I’ll encourage you. If you if you’re struggling with your with your prayer life, if you have a an emaciated prayer life, which I have experienced and I’m sure everybody has experienced from time to time. Mhmm. Get into God’s word and just commit to obey him.

Tell him you wanna have a relationship with him. Yeah. Guess what? He would love that. He says he does and he doesn’t lie.

Mhmm.

John McLarty: And He would not say no to that.

Kimberly Faith: He would not say no to that. And, you know, if if you don’t have a desire, you you might check your salvation. Mhmm. You know? Because when we are when we are in God’s family, we’re born again because we have received Jesus Christ to get to salvation through great by grace through faith.

And we have a desire to be with him and to fellowship with him just like when your children were born, they have a desire to be with you. Mhmm. And while that desire was planted in you, you know, in all of us when we were born, when we chose to sin, that that relationship was severed. And so if the Lord is drawing you to him to to receive him as Lord and savior, don’t hesitate. And if you need to know more about that, you can go to gofaithstrong.com, and there’s a whole section on how to be saved.

Mhmm. And you can come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and experience the truly abundant satisfying life. Amen. Everyone have a great Amen. If today’s episode stirred your heart, we want to invite you to go even deeper.

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