Ridiculous Answers to Prayer (Part 2) | Francis Chan

[music] Welcome to the Crazy Love Podcast. How much confidence do you have that God hears and will answer your prayers? In today's episode, Francis concludes this classic message by calling us to a life of faith and believing that a biting in God is all that we need. [music] Do you still believe? I mean, we know, right? James 1 says, "You doubt." That's why you don't receive it. You're not going to receive anything. You're a double-minded man and stable in all that you do. If we lost the faith in our God that can do anything, you know, James 5 was mentioned last night too. That's my favorite. I never even understood it, but it was my favorite. You know, I never saw that. The way you mentioned, I can't even explain it now, but that idea, I just always loved that thought that Elijah was a man just like us. Elijah was a man with a nature just like us. See, as a kid, I lifted up David. I lifted up Elijah. I lifted up Moses as these superheroes. That's why I fell in love with that verse. I go, "Wait, he's a man just like me. I love that." That means Elijah has nothing on me. I'm going to pray like that. That is, "Cc, I believe if Elijah were in this room, some of you would just be in awe." You know, you're the prophet Elijah. And for me to say, "Well, big deal. I'm France's chance." You know, he's just a man. I'm just a man. We've got the exact same nature. But the way he prayed, he had this fervency about it. And I could pray like that. I've got a nature just like us. You could pray like that. It's quit putting these guys up on a pedestal. That's why they're verses there. He prayed fervently. That's why I didn't reign. I had a friend call me in tears one time. Because he prayed for reign in Southern California in the middle of August. And it rained. And he's on the phone as the waters. I didn't know what was wrong with them. You know, just he couldn't even talk. He amazed by the grace of God. He never believed what I prayed last night. Because of this fire and everything's coming on. He's like, "I'll tell you the whole story later. I just can't even believe it." The water that's hitting my windshield. I just nodded in the forecast. This is supposed to happen. Why did he hear this? I'm just amazed. Wow, even now. He's just a man just like us. Do you believe that? I mean, honestly, you got to really look in your soul and go, "Okay, do I really believe that I could pray? And if need be, if I win that situation, I could just call down fire from heaven. Could I have that type of confidence, God?" That if David was here, he's like, "No big deal. He's just a man with a nature just like mine." In fact, I could maybe even argue that I have won up on him with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I mean, will we say we believe that whoever believes in him will have eternal life? But do we also believe that when he says, "Whoever believes in me will do the things that I do and even greater things than these?" Because it comes back down to that belief. Man, it's still there when you pray. I mean, there are times now when I'll pray for someone who's sick and I'm just blown away because I go, "God, I don't get it. Why didn't you heal them?" Wait, how come you didn't hear that one? I think I confessed everything. I think he confessed everything. We're now, I'm just so, I'm getting more and more just used to him answering prayer. That one something doesn't get answered. I got, "That is really weird. I'm going to really have to think about that one Lord." Do you believe in the prayers? I mean, it's true. The Bible says there are times when, you know, maybe it's doubt. Other times, you're like James 4. You know, that was mentioned earlier today. How maybe I'm praying with the wrong motives and there's a selfishness there. I'm praying in the wrong way. Maybe it's a first Peter 3 thing that I'm not honoring my wife as a fellow heir of the grace of life. So that my prayers may not be hindered. And I go, "God, if I've been treated, Lisa, okay." You know, I'm a Chloré. I love you. You know, let me go pray again. Let me, I want to think these things through. But I want to point something out to you. I know you're familiar with Isaiah 58 where God, you know, because the Bible says sometimes your prayer and fasting is a waste of time, right? He says, "I'm not listening to that." Your motives are wrong, whatever else. You're not showing your wife the right way. You're doubting. Isaiah 58, it's like you're not caring for the poor. You know, you have there, Isaiah 58 verse 5. Is such the fast that I chose. I choose a day for a person to humble himself. Is it a bow down, his head like a reed, and a spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose to lose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppress go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the naked to cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up speedily. Your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. I love verse 9. This is what I want to point out. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am." There were people who were pleading with God for certain things, but because of their disregard for his commands to have this concern for the poor, God said, "I'm not even listening to that." In fact, you're oppressing the poor. Of course, I'm not going to listen to you. Then he says, "When you start doing these things," it's like he says, "I'll just. " "Here I am, here I am." It's like this quick response. I look at this passage, and I've got to say, there are times when I marvel at the Lord because I say, "God, I don't pray as hard as some people." I know people that will spend hours and prayer, and God almost feel bad, but it's like, "I'll just throw something up there, or I'll just say something in passing, or sometimes I don't even have to pray it." And you just answer, you just do, and I feel spoiled. And then I look at this passage, and then I look back and go, "Wow, it is the times." It's like when we just pour ourselves out, and just obedience, and go, "God, I see this in your word." I'm going to go after this, and God says, "God, I see you doing that." You just say the word, and I'll say, "Here I am." "Here I am, what did you want?" You just crowd to me. I'll take care of it. It's very similar to John, John 15, verse 5, when he says, "I am the vine, you are the branches." If a man abides in me, he will bear much fruit. You just abide in me, and you're going to bear a bunch of fruit. Verse 7, when he says, "If you abide in me, I abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it'll be given to you." It's again, it's this idea that it's not necessarily because I'm the one that prayed the hardest, it's because when you're abiding in Jesus, when you're just pouring yourself out for the poor, there's just this sense in which, what do you need? What do you want? Because you're abiding in me. My words abide in you. And as a pastor, I will have to say that this has probably been my biggest failure. Times when I get so busy in ministry, and those times when a million thoughts come into your mind at once, and you have so many good ideas of what you can do for the Lord that immediately your prayer life goes to, "Okay, God do this, God do this, God do this, God do this." "Okay, bless this, bless this, bless this, bless this, rather than that relationship that's just abiding in him." Rather than me just pursuing God Himself, I'm pursuing these things and these actions. And Jesus says, "You just abided me. You want to bear a lot of fruit? Just abiding me?" It takes faith though, huh? It takes faith to say, "I'm just going to sit here, I'm just going to abide in God." And so many of my prayers, 90% at times, or just God do this, do this, do this. Of course, for your glory. But do this, do this, do this. And I neglect the most important thing, which is prayer as a way of walking in love. And just communing with my God. And just being with Him and abiding with Him. And just saying, God, you're so good. Look at everything you do for me. Look at my life. Look at who you are. You're wonderful. You're wonderful. You couldn't pay me enough. To stop speaking to you. As we learn less, I just-- no amount of money. I just-- I love just being close to you. My guess is many of you guys struggle. So focused on the work of God that you neglect the person of God. So much pressure, so much criticism. And there's periods we forget that, you know, in this pursuit of all of this fruit, we forget that if I would abide in Him, it's a guarantee there. I'm going to bear much fruit, but it takes faith. Because it does feel like it was mentioned-- or they're like, I'm doing nothing when I just pray. And yet look at your ministry. Look at your life. The greatest things that have happened. Did you really plan those out? Was that your strategic planning? And those hours and hours of planning that you put into it, or are they just something fell in your lap, right? And you just go, all right, couldn't have done that. But then you'll write a book about it and pretend you came up with it. But you know, but the truth is, gosh, Lord, I know what I was doing. It's just abiding in you, trying to be faithful. Of what you did, supernatural. On the greatest things in your life, you know, unplanned by you. And the greatest things in your ministry were unplanned by you. Just abiding him. I've been camping out on this one verse the last couple of weeks. Psalm 27 verse 4. One thing have I asked to the Lord, that will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Psalm 27 4. One thing have I asked to the Lord, what's the one thing you keep asking of the Lord? If I could read a transcript of your prayers for the last few weeks, what would I see is the one thing that you just keep asking for? Would it be? God, just let me dwell in the house of your Lord all the days of my life. Let me just gaze upon your beauty and inquire in your temple. Let me just meditate in your temple. Let me just gaze upon your beauty. God, it's you. Is that what your transcripts would say to me? I love the quote, I forgot who you quoted last night, Joel, but when you said you want to humble a man, ask him about his prayer life. You know, let's look at these transcripts. What have you been praying the last few weeks? One thing, one thing have I asked the Lord, that will I seek after? I had last couple of weeks I've been saying, okay, let me just try this for a week. Can I do this? Can I just pray for this one thing? Can I just desire this being in your presence, this gazing upon your beauty and can't, can you just let me see how beautiful you are today? Can you show me more of your beauty? I just want to stare at your beauty. I just want to brag about your beauty. I just want to sit here and adore you for your beauty. That's all I really want. That's the one thing I ask for that I will seek after. I'm just going to ask for, I'm going to pursue this, I'm going to go after this. Here's this one thing. It's just that I would dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. And when you look at this verse in context, it's in the context of danger. It's in the context of a man living a crazy life at that moment. And this is his one request. See, the enemy wants us to get afraid. He wants us to start looking at all the things around us and all the things that might scare us and all the things we have to do. To take away our peace, he wants us anxious about the future. But because I believe one reason is because in Philippians, one verse 28, he says, not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation in that from God. He says, when we're not frightened in anything by our opponents, this is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation in that from God. See, when we can walk around striving side by side for the gospel, then, unafraid, just not frightened by anything. He says, then, out there, they're gonna know, wow, you really are saved, and I really am gonna be destroyed. So if Satan can get us fearful, anxious, worried about the things around us, guess what? It's not much of a testimony to anyone. And so he says, that's why I want you guys wascribed and signed by side together for this gospel. And I don't want you to be afraid of anything, okay? Your country, that's the context of Psalm 274. That's the context is verse one, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid." He says, "He is my stronghold." And I gotta ask you, is he the stronghold of your life? Is that where all your confidence is? Is you can look back in your life and go, "God, you've always been there for me. You've taken me through so many ridiculous situations. Nothing I have to be afraid of because I found that at other times, maybe my staff becomes my stronghold." Okay, we can pull this off 'cause I got a strong staff. I, we can pull this off. We had a good offering. We got a good budget. And other things become our stronghold. Or I'm in a feeling weak right now, but I got a day off coming up. There's my stronghold. Or, or, or, you know what? I'm gonna, I'm gonna have a vacation showing up in a couple of weeks. I'm gonna go to Hawaii, everything, you know? And these things become our stronghold, rather than God Himself. Or, or maybe it's even this conference. I'll get reliant and my stronghold will be in other things and my excitement will be in other things. And, and they're good things. They're fine things. I mean, I enjoy the fellowship. I enjoy people praying for me. I get encouraged by these things. I get encouraged by the messages I've heard, but there's nothing compares to like, when you're alone with God. And, and you, and you just bury your soul to Him. And you just enjoy being in His presence. And you just say to Him, I don't wanna leave here. I just wanna be here. And, and there's a fearlessness. When you look back in life and go, "God, you took me through that." So, what am I gonna be afraid of? You're my light. You're my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? I love verse two. He says, "When evil doers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who will stumble and fall." He goes, "People try to tear me up. They're the ones that are going to get tore." It's, it's, it's a great funny just goes, "You know what, you, it's kind of that go ahead make my day type of attitude. You're gonna come against me. Go ahead, come against me." It's, but it's gonna be ridiculous. 'Cause my God's protecting me. You can't do anything to me. It's got my God. He's always taken care of me. And even when it gets worse, verse three, though an army can camp around me, my heart shall not fear. The war rise against me, yet I will be confident. Why? It's in that context that he says, one thing I've asked to the Lord. Why, why? Because he, because of the one thing he's asking of the Lord, just that I could be in his presence, that I, that I would just dwell in his house because they're safety there. As I'm just gazing upon him, he's not gonna let anything happen to me. I'm in the house of the Lord. I'm in his presence as, you're gonna try to attack me while I'm communing with the Lord. Are you crazy? That you know, get me apart from him. Yeah, then attack me. But really you're gonna try to attack me as I'm communing with the Lord right now. You're ridiculous. You're gonna come up against us. And that's why he says, Lord, just let me do it with you. I mean, it's simplistic, isn't it? He just says, God, I just need to be with you and everything will be fine. It's simplistic, but do you see the obviousness in it? Like, well, of course, if I believe that there is only one sovereign being, like right now, I believe in existence on this planet, there's one being who is in charge of everything, everything, the only ruler, the only sovereign, then isn't it obvious that as long as I am close with him abiding in him. That's all I want. really need to do. The fruit will come, the protection will come, everything else will happen. It's obvious. But it takes a faith, doesn't it? Okay, let me just get close to him. Let me just get close to him. See, we believe in his sovereignty. I love that circle drawing you did. I mean, we would say we believe in the sovereignty of God. This is the desiring God pastor's conference. Right? We believe in the sovereignty of God. We believe in one being who's in control of everything. The question is, is how does that flesh out in your life? Does it give you a piece that surpasses all comprehension? Because you go, you know what? It's a social come against me. My God has suffered. Does it flesh out? I mean, that's so sad to see that that's staff 90 percent. It doesn't flesh out to that point where you go, okay, I believe in the sovereignty of God. Okay, but what does that look like in your life? Does that mean that you have this piece that surpasses comprehension? People go, man, I want to have what you have. You're so sure. You just because of God, that's it. Doesn't seem like you got anything else going for you. You go, man, that's all I need. I mean, I've seen what my God's down in my life. And so, you know what? I'm just going to sit here. I'm going to dwell in the house, the Lord, all the days of my life. You ever have those moments when you just don't want to leave. You have that intimate time with God. Just just a couple of days ago, you know, I'm sitting, it doesn't have to be at the beach or on a mountain top or anywhere else. The other day I was alone at IHOP. It's having pancakes. Just there with my Bible, just studying, reading and praying. And I just didn't, I was there for probably two hours. I just come, God, I don't want to go anywhere else. I know they need this table. Can't eat anymore pancakes. That's all you can eat too. But that's not why I stayed. I just had one helping. But you know, you know, those moments where you go, God, I don't want to leave the spot. I'm having these impulses. I'm enjoying this time with you. I love your word. I just want to stay here. So I look at this first, I go, yeah, that's what he's talking about. I just want to dwell in your house, Lord. I just want to sit here and gaze upon your beauty. That's what I meant by the time the word of God just stirs my affections. And you just go, wow, God, you're so beautiful. You're so wonderful. How could I love anything else? Why do I long for these other things? I have those moments. You know, moments where I remember one time just a couple of months ago where I'm praying in the middle of the night. And I'm thinking about first Timothy 6 where we're talks about how God is the only sovereign as we talked about. And the one, the only immortal and how every breath comes from him. And I just, I couldn't sleep. So I just started breathing and going, I started breathing. I was, I was, that always helps me sleep. I started counting my breaths with every breath. I go, God, thank you for that one. Wow. There's a being in heaven that gave me that. God, you gave me that. That wouldn't happen without you. God, thank you. You're in total control. God, you gave me that one too. And just started thinking and just realizing how in the grasp of someone's, you know, and someone's grasped my life is and just thanking him. And then I started thinking, and you love me and you're the one that answers my prayers. You're the, you know, I start looking at life and I go, wow, we're in love with each other. You know, I'm in love with God. I'm in love with God. And I felt those giddy feelings I used to feel when I first met my wife, you know, in your first feeling love, you can't even sleep because you're beside yourself. I said, I can't believe this person loves me. And I start feeling that toward God. I go, God, this is wonderful. I want to be giddy the rest of my life. I want to just gaze upon you and just go, I love what Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is in love with me right now. I mean, the God of the universe, I mean, isn't it just the most amazing thing when he answers prayer and you just think, I just spoke to God. God, just listen to me. And he answered me, is there anything better than that on this earth? Man, what's better than that? Like, I, this little human, this little screw up, this one that is praying as hard as the other guys, that one that doesn't know as much theologist of these guys, I'm trying everything else, but I fail and I fail and I fail. But then God, you heard me, you listen to me, you love me. So the one thing I ask, you guys, there's so much pressure to perform as many you know and as Pastor John mentioned, I really believe the Lord was wanting me to move on from my ministry in Seamy Valley last May. I really believe he wanted me to go to another city and just start another work and let the elders who were there, you know, take the church and Godly, Godly men. And I thought, you know what, this could even cause people to focus more on God than Francis. And so this could be good for the church, it could be good for whatever new work the Lord is leading me into. And three weeks ago, I moved to San Francisco, believing that's where the Lord wanted me. And everyone has been asking. So what are you doing there? What's, what, what ministry you doing there? What's, what's next for Francis Chan? Not one person has asked about my prayer life, not one. And I have a, I have a guess of why. I think people assume, of course you pray, be silly to ask that. Of course, I don't need to ask. You know, of course you're not going to start a ministry without walking the streets and praying and begging God to direct you and lead you. So I don't need to ask that. See, so then suddenly because all the questions are like, what are you doing? Did you do this yet? Did you do that? You got a church, you got a building, you got this, you got that. And then suddenly you start feeling this pressure, oh man, so I'm three weeks, I better have a building. I better have a pretty serious ministry going on because everyone's expecting this. I guess I wish more people would just go, yeah, I hope you haven't started anything yet without seriously praying. But I don't mean, I don't think that's a, I think a lot of it is because they assume that I am and and people may feel silly asking the author of crazy love, whether he prays and seeks God and is still seeking God. But I know better than to assume of people. We've done that right of congregation members that we just assumed they're doing fine. And then you're shocked aren't you? You've assumed it of staff people. You've assumed it of elders. And in hindsight, you go, why did I not probe? Why did I not get into his life deeper and really ask these questions? Why did I not share my own struggles and say, come on, let's do this. And so this morning I assume nothing of you. I know this is the Desiring God pastor's conference. I don't assume you're walking with the Lord. I don't assume that you know of this love that I'm talking about. In fact, I'm just praying back there going, God, please, I want them to know how good it is to walk with you that they don't find their strength in being a part of a conference, a denomination, having the right theology, but that their boast would be a knowing you, understanding you or boast that they would just, that they would just be dwelling in your house gazing upon your beauty, meditating in your temple. So are you about him and do people see that in you? That you're a man or a woman who you just can't get enough of God or have all the expectations, the criticisms, and all those pressures, and I feel like we're a broken record saying it over and over again, we've got all those things coming around us and they're there to distract us and get us afraid, get us discouraged. And we think the answer is working harder and faster and hiring the right people and everything else. And it takes so much faith to just dwell in the house, the Lord, just to abide in Him, just to walk in love. and say, "Jesus, I'm just going to invite in you and form myself out for those who are in need and fruit, everything else." You're going to have to take care of that and to trust that and to believe in that. Man, I'm just praying that you get there because that's what people want to see when they come to your church. They don't care how slick your message is. They don't care how intelligent you are. Maybe some of them a little bit here or there. Bottom line, people want to walk in and they want to see a man of God. That's connected. I mean, do you want me to love to talk to Elijah? Wouldn't that be cool? I mean, just to say, "How are you so confident?" You just knew. You knew the whole time? You know what you want? You just want to talk to him? Don't you want to talk to Moses and go, "Man, okay, tell me. Okay, what was that like on that mound? You got to be kidding me." See, we want people to react that way to us. Okay, help me understand something. You talk to God and he just does these things. Yeah, let me help you with my journey. I want to be one of those men. Elijah was a man just like you, just like me. Let me pray for us. God, again, right now I acknowledge that I am breathing and speaking only because of you. You are sovereign God, Almighty God, the only immortal one, the only true ruler. You dwell in an unapproachable light that no one has ever seen or can see. Help us, Lord, to see the foolishness of our running and stirring apart from you. Help us to see the brilliance of abiding in you and just dwelling in your temple and not wanting to leave. Of gazing at your beauty. God, it's our foolishness that causes us to look at these other things. We just gaze at you right now, Father. You're so beautiful. You are so wonderful. You're all powerful, merciful, loving. The angels are adoring you. You sent your Son, He left all of that glory, came down here, emptied Himself, made Himself nothing for us. The kind of God is that. You are amazing. When you're going to return one day in all of your glory, all of your angels to judge this world, and I'm speaking to you right now, God, you are beautiful, majestic, wonderful. May you be the stronghold, our light, our salvation that we would fear nothing. Help us to strive side by side, together not afraid of anything. What do we have to be afraid of? We're talking to you right now. It's we rest in you. Help us to abide in you when your words abide in us. Have this all sink in, Lord. There are affections for you. Thank you for listening to the Crazy Love Podcast. Join us next time for a new episode, but until then for more resources from Crazy Love Ministries or to support the work of Crazy Love, please visit our website at crazylove.org. [BLANK_AUDIO]