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A faith-forward podcast for people who love Jesus but also love being honest about how weird and wonderful life can be. Hosts Kerrye and Jill tell stories about the Bible, talk about their faith, and dig into what it looks like to follow God through the ordinary chaos of everyday, imperfect life. Real conversations. Real stories. No pretending to have it all together. Pull up a chair, turn the page, and let's go.
Welcome to Chapter and Verse, where people
tell real stories about faith, failure,
redemption, and those "Lord, I'm gonna
need you to explain this one" moments.
Some stories are inspiring, some
are messy, some are miraculous,
and some probably should have
come with a warning label.
But through every chapter of
every story, God has a plan.
And He's never been
afraid of a little chaos.
We're Jill.
And Kerrye.
Let's turn the page
Okay.
Well, we're here with our friend,
new friend, Laquita Newport.
I'm excited to have you on today.
Me too.
We don't know you very well.
We just, I just know you're, you
know, you're friends with Alex,
and I've heard you speak, and I'm
like, "She's an awesome speaker."
So can you just tell us a
little bit about yourself?
Yeah.
So my name is Laquita Newport.
I married my high school sweetheart.
I'm not sure if I can say that.
So we were at two different schools.
Mm-hmm.
So he went to Hector, I went to Dover.
He was two years older, but I met
him whenever I was 14, he was 16.
And then we got married the September
after I graduated high school.
Aw.
So now I'm 40, so it's,
we've- What's his name?
Michael.
Okay.
So we grew up together.
So anyway.
Okay, that's cool.
That's fun.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So weâ¦
And we have two babies.
I call them my babies.
Lane's 21.
He serves in the, in the military.
He lives in California.
He's just, he's an awesome,
awesome, awesome guy.
And then we have Drew.
He's 18, and he started
college in the fall.
And so, yeah, so- Mm ⦠we're
in a different season.
He's awesome as well.
We're justâ¦
We have two incredible boys.
So anyway.
Yeah.
Just, we're, we're the
youth pastors at our church.
Mm-hmm.
At Scottsville.
We've been there forâ¦
We've been youth leaders for 13 years.
Wow.
Yeah, so there was a, there was
a, a little stint that we left to
go help rebuild at another church,
but came back, and then Iâ¦
And then full-time position opened
up, so now I'm the associate.
Oh, cool.
Um, and then we're both youth pastors.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
So- That's a good church.
Yeah, it's- I hear a lot of things,
and I watch y'all online sometimes.
Yeah.
It's very powerful services.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah, God, God is really moving.
We had a incredible service on Wednesday.
We had salvations and healings-
Oh, awesome ⦠and just miracles.
Yeah.
Wow.
God is really moving.
Yeah, so.
All right.
Well, what- If you're shopping around.
You're shopping around.
Sounds like a good place to go.
It is a good church.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And what chapter are you
gonna share with us today?
Okay.
So there was a time in my life that it
w- it was, it was just very difficult.
My brother got very sick.
This happened literally three years ago.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
He got, he got very sick.
We, we, we grew up together, obviously.
Mm-hmm.
But, but just, we were very close.
I'll say that.
Yeah, yeah.
And he got very sick, and it, it,
it became a time in my life when I
desperately began to seek the Lord.
Mm.
And that's where I found my identity.
Mm.
And that is where I found true
revelation of my calling, not a title,
but a calling and of my purpose.
Mm-hmm.
And so that'sâ¦
The Lord just, through prayer,
you know- Yeah, mm-hmm ⦠the
Lord just began to reveal himself
and who he's called me to be.
First of all, before I can ever
bear a title, I need to know that
he calls me daughter, you know?
And I knew- Yeah ⦠I knew that,
but there just, there comes-
When, when you really become a, a,
a dwelling place, a secret place
of and for the Lord, there's such
revelation and such depth that, that
comes in, in just dwelling with him.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And so that, that, that is a place
of, of just a chapter of my life
that I'm just so appreciative of.
It was very shaky, very
rocky for our family.
Mm-hmm.
And we didn't know from one day
to the next how it was gonna be,
actually one moment from the next.
My family nominated me, and I, I took the
responsibility on as myself to be the,
to be the poster, you know, for, forâ¦
'Cause everybody was bombarding my
sister-in-law, my, my parents- Right.
Oh, yeah ⦠you know, "How's Matt?
How's Matt?"
Yeah.
And so- Meanwhile, but- Yeah.
Yeah, and so to take that load off
of them and, and to, to help kind
of just I don't know, help them in
some, some sort of way that I could.
I just became the, the person who would,
who would handle the responsibility
of just letting everyone know.
And, and I don't like dishonesty,
and I don't like- Mm-hmm ⦠you
know, feeling like I'm being
dramatic or being untruthful,
but that's how it felt, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Because it was like one moment we
were hopeful and things were, you
know, ch- looked up, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And then the next hour or the next
day, things just bottomed out.
Mm.
And the doctors didn't know, you
know, and Matt ended up spending
a stint of six weeks in ICU.
Wow.
And, uh- Goodness ⦠yeah, they
completely removed his large intestine.
Whoa.
And he was sick for a while.
Mm-hmm.
But he was, he's a man, you know?
He didn't go to the doctor.
Ugh.
Oh, yeah.
You know, and so he put it off and
put it off until the point to where he
couldn't anymore, and they, the medicines
were too late, you know, all the- Yeah.
Yeah ⦠fluids.
And so when they, when they
removed his intestine, it actually
exploded, I guess you would say.
And so there were so many words, so
many scary things, you know, that we
endured in, in this whole process.
We heard all kinds of words, you
know, that, that makes you shudder.
And so you just, you didn't know
from one moment to the next.
Mm.
The doctors really didn't
even know, you know?
And now after, after all of this, my
brother went back to the doctor and
he, he asked him, he said, "Well,"
he said, "I figure this is gonna
be the last time that I see you."
And he said, "Can you, can you tell
me what your honest opinion, you
know, of, of just the, the reality
of, of someone surviving this?"
And he said, he said, "Only because
that you were," I think he was 34 at the
time, "Only because that you were your
age," he said, "a 10% survival chance."
Wow.
He said, "If you were any older,"
he said, "There's no way."
You know, and we saw things, heard
things, went, you know, just, just
experienced a lot of things that no
wife and no parent and no, you know,
sibling should ever have to- Mm-hmm
to, to go through.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But, you know, in, in all that,
I would go, you know, and I,
I, I was a person of prayer.
We grew up, my brother and I,
we grew up in a house of prayer.
My dad was, you know, he was a
contractor, and so our phone,
our landline, you know, rang- Mm.
Yeah.
⦠continually.
Yeah.
You know, of, of people needing
my dad to build their house
or this and that, whatever.
And it was a normal thing for me
to be like, "I can't, you know, I'm
sorry, can't take a message, you
know, he's, he's praying right now."
Like, we- Aw ⦠like, the, our house
truly- Wow ⦠was a house of prayer.
Or he would have a sleeping bag in
his office, 'cause he would go and
he would just lay out- before the
Lord, and I would- wouldn't hear
anything coming from his office.
I'd knock on the door and open his
door, and he was asleep because
he, he fell asleep in prayer.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
So we, we grew up knowing prayer.
You know, we grew up- Yeah ⦠ha-
it was, it was nor- it was normal,
you know- Yeah ⦠in our family.
And so I was a person of prayer.
I was, you know, a m- a
minister as well, you know?
And, and, but this drove
me to a greater place.
Yeah.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
With, with my brother j- I was terrified.
Yeah.
I was terrified.
I didn't know if he was
gonna live or die, you know?
And we, we had a building.
It was, it was our old fellowship
hall that we had converted into
a nursery, and then we converted
into our youth room at the time.
And, and I would go, and I would
just lay prostate before the Lord,
and I would just cry and cry and
cry, and just ask the Lord, "God,
heal Matt, heal Matt, heal Matt."
And because not only was Matt
sick in his body, but Matt wasâ¦
He, he, he wasn't saved.
Oh, okay.
You know?
Yeah.
And so it was, it was just a, just a time
of just, "Lord, if you don't intervene."
Mm-hmm.
You know, "If you don't intervene."
And so f- in, in, in this whole time, you
know, I, I knew what intercession was.
Obviously, my dad modeled that very well.
Mm-hmm.
I've heard of groaning.
You know, you read it in the
scripture, you preach it.
You know, you, you teach
it, you know, or whatever.
You hear of ailing, you
know, and things like that.
Just old, you know, old,
old- Yeah ⦠churchy words.
Yes.
You know, you hear them.
Yeah.
But it was there that I
learned it for myself.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
It was there that I truly learned theâ¦
And, and the word
honestly came alive to me.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And, and where my, my prayers shifted
from, "God, heal Matt, God, heal Matt,
God, heal Matt," and then it became
a place of just confidence, you know?
And then I allowed the Lordâ¦
I, I, I s- I said, you know,
"Lord, just search me."
You know, and I, I, I allowed not onlyâ¦
I think honestly that our That
our list that we bring before the
Lord, you know, our prayer list.
You know, "God, save Timmy."
Mm-hmm.
"God save Grandpa, and heal,
you know, Aunt Betty," and all
the, all the kinds of things.
And, and I, I think that sometimes
that can get in, in the way
of our intimacy with the Lord.
Mm-hmm.
Uh-huh.
You know?
Yeah.
Our agenda.
Our agenda, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And then we, we say amen, and we move on.
He never speaks to us-
Yeah ⦠'cause we never slow down.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
We, we, we never hear what
He's saying back to us.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
You know?
Or, or what He's wanting to do even in us.
And I say that because the secret place
to me was actually literally a building.
But I, I, I literally ask and let the
Lord reveal ugliness in me, you know?
There was a gentleman in our
church, he was an older man.
I would say he's pro-
he's at least in his 60s.
I'm not sure from that point where he is,
but he, he also got very sick a- sometime
in the timeframe of when, of when we
were dealing with this, with my brother.
Now, this went on with my
brother for over a year.
And so, and so this gentleman got sick in
our church, and I'm talking like he was
the color that no living person should be.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, he was gray, just very sick,
just- Yeah ⦠losing weight just rapidly.
And the doctors from, from
my understanding that I can
remember, didn't even know what
was wrong with him, you know?
And so he was just, just
trying to figure it out.
He came to church, and we had
one of our, one of our friends.
He's a powerful pastor in Florida.
He came, and he was ministering that
morning, and he prayed over this
man, and he fell out in the Spirit.
And when he got up,
y'all, his, his wholeâ¦
Like, he had life, you know?
Wow.
Wow.
Like, literally a, a literal resurrection-
Wow ⦠you know, that morning.
And I, and I was fake, you know,
like, "Praise the Lord," you know?
Mm-hmm.
But inside me, I was like, "Lord,
why him and not my brother?"
Mm.
Yeah.
You know?
Why, why, why him and not Matt?
He's lived a good life, you know?
Mm-hmm.
He's a believer.
He's a believer.
He'll, he'll at least go to heaven.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know?
Why, like, you know, and, uh, if
we're not careful, I think also,
like, we'll become offended at God.
Mm.
You know, I kinda got to that place.
Mm-hmm.
"God, I tithe.
God, I'm this.
God, I come before you.
Iâ¦"
You know, in almost like a
pharisaical spirit, you know?
Ooh, yeah.
You know, like, "God, I'm this."
Or the prodigal son's brother.
Yeah.
Yep.
I find myself in that place a lot.
Yeah.
Like, yeah.
Whatâ¦
I'm, I'm serving.
Exactly.
Exactly.
You know?
"God, this is who I am.
God, I'm, I'm bringing
my resume before you."
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
And not that, not that this gentlemanâ¦
He's a powerful man.
He's a wonderful man of God, you know?
But at least he was born again.
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And he was older, you know?
My brother's 34, you know?
Mm-hmm, yeah.
And, but the, the Lord began to reveal,
"Quita, you have ugliness in you.
You have ugliness in you."
And, and I allowed Him to, to speak
that to me, and for Him to reveal
that, that thing to me, you know?
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And what I couldn't see.
What I couldn't see and what I
couldn't remember in my ugliness was
that not just a year before, that
man had lost his son to an overdose.
Oh, geez.
You know?
Yeah.
And left him and his other, his w-
aging wife raising their vibrant, very
vibrant two-year-old granddaughter.
You know, and so who am I to
say that his life wasn't worth
reviving- Yeah ⦠you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so I, I did, I allowed
the Lord to reveal that to me.
And so I went to that man and I said,
"Hey, I have to ask you to forgive me."
And he was like, "You don'tâ¦"
He said, "You don't owe me an apology."
And I said, "No, yes, I do."
And I told him everything
and, and he said, "Rita," he
said, "I accept your apology."
He said, "But you don't owe me that."
Mm.
And I said, "Yeah, I do."
You know, and so I would like to
say from that point, that's where
the Lord, you know, completely
transformed my brother, but He didn't.
He, He, He was healing me.
You know, I was offended by my friends,
you know, who I thought should be
there, that they didn't check in enough.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
That I thought that nobody else-
cared as much about the situation, you
know, as what I thought they should.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Yeah.
And but the Lord revealed that, you
know, it's, it's here in these places
that I, that it's in the valley of
the shadow of death that I don't,
I'm not surrounded by my friends,
I'm surrounded by the shepherd.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And that, that's all
that I need, you know?
And the, the, the Lord revealed
to me it, it was, it was in
this place that you felt alone.
You know how whenever you're
reading a kid's book and, and you
turn the page and it becomes 3D?
Mm-hmm.
I had a one-dimensional
understanding of who the Lord was.
Mm.
But it was because of this chapter,
you know, of my life that, that the
Lord became 3D- Mm ⦠to me, you know?
Wow.
That, that He became more than
a savior from sin and of sin.
I'm so thankful, obviously, for that.
Yeah.
But He's a savior for myself you know?
Yeah.
He's a savior because, you know,
I, I, I realized that it wasn't my
friends that I needed, it was Him.
Mm-hmm.
The, the constant friend.
Right, yes.
You know?
And, and He was showing me, "Quita,"
like, "You, you, you can'tâ¦
I, I need you to, to
depend upon me, you know?
I, I need for you to, to know me in
this way, to really know that I'm
a friend who won't forsake you."
Mm-hmm.
"I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm really a,
you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a friend
who sticks closer, you know- Yeah
than a brother."
Yeah.
And I'm, I'm justâ¦
This is where the Lord just
began to become more real to me.
Mm-hmm.
And more real to me.
And it was just, it w-
it was in this place.
And, and I'm not saying that my
brother obviously got sick because
the Lord- Right, right ⦠needed
to show me these things.
Mm-hmm.
And I think that if we're not careful,
and if we don't slow down sometimes, that
we will, you know, kind of just choose
to offense, choose to be offended at God.
Mm-hmm, yep.
Offended at others, you know, instead
of letting the Holy Spirit reveal, you
know- Mm-hmm ⦠God to us in this moment.
Because it- Mm-hmm ⦠it was because
of this difficult season, it was because
of this chapter- Mm-hmm ⦠you know, of
my life that God became even more real.
You know, it, it was like I was you
know, in, in, in, in prayer, it, I,
I, I, I couldn't wait to get there.
Mm.
You know?
I, I couldn't wait because,
"God, what, what else are you
gonna reveal to me today?"
Even though it- Mm-hmm ⦠it
sucked, you know?
Yes.
And it hurt.
Yes.
You know?
Yeah.
It hurt because I thought I was
doing everything right, you know?
Yeah.
But He's like, "Girl, I
put my finger on this.
Girl, you gotta fix this."
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
Or, or, "Just let me
love you here, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Let, let me reveal."
But it, it's in these moments that,
that I just feel like I'm a, a student
at, at the school of Holy Spirit-
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm ⦠and He just reveals.
Well, he'll use what he didn't cause.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
Like, he'll take it and he'll use it.
He didn't cause it.
Yeah.
But he'll use it.
Yeah.
That's ⦠Yes, absolutely.
And, and so he, he just
revealed himself to me.
He revealed, you know, "Kerrye,
I'm constant in your life.
You know, you don't have to do
all the ⦠You don't have to
bring your pedigree before me.
I know who you are."
Yeah.
You know?
Yep.
"I know who you are, and I, I just need
you to be w- w- with me," you know?
Yeah.
"And I know who you are-" Yeah.
I know ⦠"so we're gonna work-"
Yeah ⦠"through this part of it."
Yeah.
Like, "We're gonna clean this up so that
you can function more to my liking-" Yeah.
⦠"in these other ways."
Yeah.
You know, it ⦠I, I, I think of
the scripture that says, "Conduct
yourself as a citizen of heaven,"
and that, that's, that's what I, I
truly desire to, to do, is to- Mm-hmm
conduct myself as a citizen of heaven.
And as far as I know,
there's no offense in heaven.
No.
No.
No.
No, I'm pretty sure the
Bi- There's none of that.
Yeah ⦠Bible's pretty clear,
choose not to be offended.
Yeah.
And if the instruction is that,
then you can kind of assume.
Yeah.
There's no bitterness.
Yeah.
Probably not.
There's no bitterness, and so, you
know, as, as, as much as it hurts your,
yourself, your pride I guess you'd
say- Mm-hmm ⦠your ego, you know?
Mm-hmm.
You know, it's ⦠When the Holy
Spirit begins to reveal things like
this to us, get it o- get it out.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Let him do the surgery.
Yeah.
Let him do it.
Yes.
Take it out.
Yeah, so we can bear much
fruit and glorify- Yeah ⦠our
Father, which is in heaven.
Mm-hmm.
That's, that, that's my only goal.
That's my only agenda, my only hope.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
Like, my Lord, he laid
down his life for me.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
That's, that's all I ⦠And I
know what kind of dirty rotten
scoundrel that I've been.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And I- Yeah ⦠and I, I wanna
bring him something good, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But he's like, "Kerrye, just lay down your
life, and that's all I want," you know?
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And so that's all I have to give.
Yeah.
I mean, the, the part you said, the
school of the Holy Spirit- Yeah.
I like that ⦠that
sounds like a fun thing.
Oh.
But ⦠And it is in the end.
Sometimes it is.
But the school is hard.
Yeah.
Like, and I, I've h- I've, you
know, had a prophecy over me about
that, and I was like, "Oh, yeah."
You feel like, yay.
But then, you know, once you go
through it, you're like, "Oh."
Yeah.
"This is hard."
Man.
Yeah.
You know?
It's worse than any other ⦠Or not
worse, but, like, harder than any other
school and training I've ever been in.
Yeah.
But it's so worth it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like, what would you take for any of that?
No, nothing.
Yeah.
Nothing.
You know?
I've, I've learned ⦠You know, because
it, it, it ⦠My brother's completely
healed, body, soul, mind, and spirit.
Like, God- Amen.
God done a miracle in
my brother, you know?
And it didn't happen right
after I apologized to the man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And it didn't happen because of
anything that I did, but the Lord was
working the entire time, you know?
But, but- That, that building
is gone, I guess you would say.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
But what the Lord started in me
because of this, this chapter in my
life- Mm-hmm ⦠ha- has just, like,
my, my prayer time is non-negotiable.
Right.
Yeah.
Non-negotiable.
I don't care if I have 84,000 things
on my to-do list for the day and
I have a, I have a time crunch.
I have learned, I have learned through
not doing it- Mm-hmm ⦠you know,
that, that if I, if I, if I say no
to the Lord, "Oh, I'll do it later,
I'll pray later," you know, I don't
get everything done on my list.
Yeah.
I'm chaotic, I'm grouchy, I'm
full of anxiety, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And just because I didn't
put the Lord first.
But I, I've learned through
this God, you come first.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You know, you, you are truly the
one thing I seek most, and I can
get eight- eight- 84,001 things done
on- Yeah ⦠on my list, and I'm
just as peaceful and just as calm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And, and truly, like, I,
I love, I love to pray.
Mm.
I, I do.
I love to pray.
I, I feel like that my calling is
to be, you know, an intercessor.
Mm-hmm.
You know, long before I wear the
title of a pastor of, of any sort,
I'm called to be an intercessor.
And I, I, I, I do truly feel
like that every, every believer
is called to be an intercessor.
Mm-hmm.
You know, because if we're not
contending for souls, what are we doing?
Right.
Right.
You know, if, if we really believe
that, that in heaven and hell, and if we
really believe of just the, the, the, the
snippets, you know, of what, of what the
Bible reveals and what Jesus talks about
o- of what is happening in hell- Mm-hmm
then if we're, if, if we're, if we're
only contending and, and we're content
with, well, my family's born again,
and we're not contending for the
souls of mankind, what are we doing?
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
What, what, what are we doing?
You know, we- We have to ⦠we
have to have a burden.
Yeah.
The church has to have a burden for souls.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
You know?
And anyway, but I, I do feel like
there are other people who were called
to a, a deeper place of intercession,
maybe for countries or- Yeah.
Yes ⦠you know, things like that.
Yeah.
But I, I, I, it, it is my great conviction
that every person, no matter their age,
is called to be an intercessor- Yeah.
Yeah ⦠you know, as, for,
for the souls of mankind.
I mean, if, if the church is
not ⦠I, I, I think maybe it
might be Smith Wigglesworth.
If the, if the church is not praying,
then they're playing, you know, and- Yeah
⦠it's, it, it's, it's just the truth.
And, and more than ever in, in
the Church of America, good Lord.
Mm-hmm.
You know, a, a nation that was
founded on the Lord, you know, we,
we are our greatest mission field.
Yes.
Yep.
You know, send, send missionaries
from Africa to America.
I mean, that's, that's the- Yeah
⦠that's the crisis that we're in, y'all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so.
I mean, I agree, the souls are
the only thing you can take- Yeah
with you, so- Yep ⦠why
not take all of them?
Yeah.
You know, so what would you ⦠Like, with
people who are ⦠You know, I teach kids,
so a lot of times when I'm talking about
prayer, in fact, I think it was last week
or the week before, we were talking and I
said it's hard to train yourself to pray.
Yeah.
Because you wanna just, like what
you said, rattle off your agenda.
Yeah.
I want, I'm saying this,
this, and this, and this.
But you cannot become friends with
somebody unless you listen to them talk.
Yeah, yeah.
So how would you tell, g- what advice
would you give to whoever's listening?
How do you start doing that?
Like, how do youâ¦
'Cause it's, it's a training.
Yeah.
It really is.
It, it reallyâ¦
And I, I think that first that we need to
understand that number one, that I, my,
Laquita does not like to pray, you know?
Right.
It's boring sometimes.
Mm-hmm.
It's awkward- Yeah ⦠sometimes.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And so if we could just get that out
of the way and just, because I think
that, that sometimes that we have this,
like, super Christian mentality that
if we don't love to pray, then- Right
then we're, we're doing something wrong.
There's, there's something wrong with us.
There's something wrong with us.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's just not for me.
Well, n- no, but our spirit is crying out.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
The, the, the depth in th- the,
the depth in us is crying out to
the depth in God, and vice versa.
You know, as- Yeah.
Mm-hmm ⦠deep calls out to deep.
Yeah.
And so, and so just
establishing that fact.
It's al- it's always awkward.
Sometimes I feel it, and
sometimes I don't, you know?
Mm-hmm.
But I press, you know.
Sometimes it's easy,
and sometimes it's hard.
Mm.
You know, sometimes it's awkward and
sometimes it just flows, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And so just establishing that, you know?
But, but just, just, just start praying.
Just start talking.
Mm-hmm, yeah.
You know?
And, and then also, just sit for
some time and just, you know, let
him, let him speak back to you.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Ask him to reveal things in you.
Right.
Ask him to show you things.
God, speak to me.
God, b- before I even do anything
today, God, before I even get
on social media, God, and, and
they tell me how I should be.
Yeah.
They, they tell me how I should think.
You tell me, Lord.
Yeah.
I w- I wanna hear from you.
Yeah.
You know?
I think another tricky part that Americans
in particular seem to have is none of
us seem to be comfortable in silence.
Yeah.
Oh, that's so true.
So- Us Pentecostals.
Yeah, right?
For sure.
Oh.
So when we're in our prayer time, and
it is time to shut up and listen- I
know I'm speaking for Jill Tucker here
Yeah ⦠it is difficult for me a lot
of the time to be quiet long enough to
really hear everything He has to say.
Yeah.
'Cause I'm like, I mean, it's
been three whole minutes.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, exactly.
And, like, sometimes I'm like
I've, I do have things to do.
Like, here I am, I'm putting my prayer
time in, but you know all of the
things I have on my to-do list today,
so are we, are you just, are we good?
Yeah.
Are we good?
And I'm so ready to be like, "Okay, cool.
Good talk."
Yeah.
And then that's it.
And I just, I think that that is
something that, I mean, I know I
personally need to work on, is just
being comfortable in the silence
and allowing Him to be like, "Okay."
Yeah.
"Now that you're ready- Yeah ⦠to
receive this, here you go."
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, and then there's
sometimes that the Lord does, like
He, He will speak to me- Mm-hmm
in the, in those quiet moments.
Mm-hmm.
And then there's sometimes as I'm praying,
like recently, you know, I'm praying and
I'm, there was just a certain situation
that happened in my life and, and we
were facing this, this, this situation.
And the Lord spoke to me as I'm praying
to Him, and He said, "Quita," He said,
"You were hype but you weren't holy."
And I was like, "Okay."
You know.
And it, it wasn't because I, I
wasn't just sitting, but I, I-
Right ⦠actually, I was talking to him.
Right.
And, and Holy Spirit just
spoke back to me, you know?
Mm-hmm.
So I think also having an ear to hear what
the Spirit of God- Correct ⦠is saying.
Yes.
You know?
And then also, when, like when,
when Paul, when Paul said to
pray without ceasing- Mm-hmm
to me that means b- be a walking,
b- be, be a walking secret place.
Be, be a walking- Right ⦠prayer
closet, you know what I'm saying?
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Like all, like don't
just shut up with amen.
You, d- or- Right ⦠shut off with amen.
Yes.
Right.
Yes.
You know, but, but all day long, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Invite Him into everything
that you're doing.
Everything.
Yeah.
I can be doing laundry and I'm, I'm
hearing Holy Spirit speak to me.
Yeah.
You know?
But I, I, I think just keeping that,
that, that mindset, having that, that
ear in tune with Holy Spirit, you know?
Right.
My, you know, and my latest
addiction is whatnot.
You know, I love whatnot.
You know?
And if I'm not earful, I'll sit there
and I'll watch whatnot while I'm
folding laundry or doing whatever
instead of, you know, wa- in- instead of
getting my, my ear in tune with - Yeah
heaven.
Right.
You know?
And so I, I, I think it's just that,
being a walking prayer meeting.
Mm-hmm.
Not shutting it off.
Right.
Yes.
We say amen and get up
and go on with our day.
And then just having an ear to hear.
That's so important.
Yeah.
To have an ear to hear.
But we are, we, we are
s- I think we're awkward.
You know, that, that word is so
prevalent in this generation.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
And they, it's almost like
a, it's almost like a crutch.
Like it's- Yeah.
Well, it's awkward- ⦠so awkward.
Yeah ⦠but also I feel
like some, sometimes it's
treated as a badge of honor.
Yeah, it is.
Like- I don't have to ⦠I don't,
like, "Oh, I don't have to."
Mm-mm.
'Cause- It's awkward ⦠I- it's awkward.
I'm just really awkward at that.
And so you don't have to try harder.
You don't have to get better.
You don't have to persevere.
Yep.
You can just- Just walk out.
Yeah.
You can just be like, "Okay."
Yeah, just walk out.
And then never attempt it again-
Yep ⦠because the, the one half
attempt you made didn't go exactly
how you pictured in your head.
Right.
Okay?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
And I'm just like, oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
But also, I mean, guilty.
Well, and when you're- Absolutely
⦠it's, when you're saying, you know,
make yourself a walking prayer closet.
Yeah.
It's like having your friend,
you know, on the phone with
you in your ear the whole day.
Yeah.
Yep.
Like, it's not necessarily you're
having these deep conversations
all the time, and- Yeah
I feel like people think that's what
you have to be in prayer all the time.
Yeah.
No, you have your friend right there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like, you can say anything, like,
"Oh, where, where's my keys?"
Yeah.
You know?
It's almost like, well, if the, if
the music's not right or- Right.
Right ⦠you know, if the- Like,
all of the conditions have to be met
everything.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so we were at Cole's ministry a couple
weeks ago, and the, the man, Aaron Cole, I
believe is his name, powerful man of God.
Anyway, he was, he was ministering
and he said, he said, "When, when the
Lord, when God spoke to Noah to build
the ark-" He, he told him to build, and
then for 100 years, there's no record
of God ever speaking to Noah again.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like ⦠And then he, he made
the point of how many of you guys, you
know, jump around from youth group to
youth group, you know, if you don't hear
the Lord speak to you in two months?
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm going- Yeah ⦠"Lord, help me."
Yeah.
You know, is, is one word that
you speak to me my daily bread
to go on for 100 years- Yeah.
Yeah ⦠you know, or s- so to speak.
Yes.
You know?
Yeah.
His, his word, not only his, his actual,
the, the Holy Bible, but his word
that he speaks to us has got to become
our living bread, the substance- Yes.
Yeah ⦠you know, that, that, that
we live on and that we thrive on.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Yeah.
And, you know, when you get a w- when I
receive something from God, I'm like, "Oh,
God," it's so comforting, so peaceful.
Yeah.
And the next day, I mean, I,
I want to talk the next day.
I'm like, "What else?"
Yeah.
'Cause sometimes he's
like, "I s- what I said."
Yeah.
You know, is still, is
still relevant today.
Not that he doesn't talk
to me every day, you know.
Right.
Yeah.
I try to hear from him every day,
but I wanna hear more, you know.
Yeah.
Exactly.
It just makes me hungrier to hear
more and spend more time with Him.
Absolutely.
And it is addicting, just like you said.
It is.
Like, it's something,
once you start, it grows.
Yeah.
Like- Well, God will, m- mm, God
will have you fall in love with Him.
Yeah.
Like- Absolutely ⦠I mean, if you open
yourself up to Him, h- how can you resist?
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's it.
Yeah.
You can't.
That's it.
Yeah.
He is love.
He's- So when you fall in love with
Him, and you spend more time with
Him, like, just like your spouse or,
you know, whatever- Yeah ⦠you're
going to want to spend more and
more and more time with Him.
Yes.
Yes.
This, this is the, the, the very
big place between religion- Yes Mm
and, and the, the passionate.
Yes.
You know, because the
passionate can't get enough.
Yeah.
Right.
And the religion says-
"I checked that box."
"I did."
Yeah.
"I went to church."
"I went to church."
"I said my prayer."
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
So God give us passionate people.
Yes.
Give us passionate people.
And that's elementary, like the first,
you know, how you start out as a kid,
like, or even just as a new Christian.
"Okay, I did this."
Yeah.
You know, that, that is elementary.
We're supposed to push on.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Grow, you know, in that, so.
But, you know, even, even the, the most
radical encounter with the Lord, if I had
it yesterday, there's still more today.
Yeah.
Exactly.
There's still more today.
There's always more.
There's always more.
And I, I never wanna be a person who sits
down, you know, and who crosses my arms
and is like, "Thank you for what you did
40 years ago," or even four months ago.
Yeah.
That's enough.
I, I, I want there to be a press in me.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
I want there to be press,
just because, man- Huh.
Whenever you, uh, whenever you, whenever
you experience the Lord in, in suchâ¦
When, when there's just a revelation
of His love, how can you stop?
Exactly.
How, how can you grow?
Okay, how can you grow satisfied?
Mm-hmm.
You know?
I just, I, I, I wanna know Him more.
Yeah.
You know?
I just, I, I do.
I- And you can never
get there, like, enough.
No.
You can never get there.
So do you mind sharing how your
brother, like, accepted God?
Yeah.
How did that happen?
Yeah, so actually he just testified
Wednesday night o- of this, and he
was actually on another podcast,
um, and so I got to hear, like, the
full, the full everything of it.
So my brother was an alcoholic
and lived on alcohol.
And so once, you know, he'd,
he'd done the, the whole six
weeks of ICU, and once- Mm-hmm
he seemingly got better, I
guess you would say, he ended
up having a, a, a colonostomy.
A colostomy?
Yes.
Thank you.
Yep.
And so but there was gonna be a reversal.
Mm-hmm.
So, you know, my brother thought
that as soon as, you know, he kinda
got better, when he got out of the
hospital, he went back to drinking.
Mm.
And my sister-in-law was
like, "Well- You know?
Yeah.
And so he said, I, I heard him last
night on this podcast, but he said,
he said to him it was, it w- his
excuse was it's a healing agent.
You know?
I don't know.
I guess maybe like the, I
don't know, diseased healâ¦
I don't, I'm not sure.
I mean- I don't- ⦠who knows Who knows.
Yeah.
But anyway, that, that was how he
kinda justified- Mm-hmm ⦠what
he was doing, you know?
Yeah.
And so it was either medications or
it was alcohol, so he chose alcohol.
Anyway, and so then things
got worse, you know?
Mm-hmm.
But he had so much anger and so
much hatred and so much whatever,
just ug- just darkness- Mm-hmm
you know, in him.
Mm-hmm.
And he said he went back to the
hospital, and he was laying there,
and he had the bag, and so there
were some things that had happened,
you know, with, with all that.
Mm-hmm.
And so he needed a nurse.
So he, he's a very easy patient,
but this time I think maybe like,
I think he said like six hours had
passed before, when he rang the,
the buzzer and then when he- Mm-hmm
be- before he had seen anyone.
Wow.
You know?
Y- yeah, this hospital.
Mm.
Anyway, so that's a whole 'nother thing.
Another chapter.
My goodness, I gotta pray about that one.
Uh, so anyway, so when the nurse
finally came in, my brother said
things to him like he hasâ¦
He, he s- he honestly said, "I
said things to him that no human
being should ever have to hear."
He said, "I just"- Laid
into him ⦠laid into him.
And when the guy left, he said
that such great conviction hit him.
Mm.
And- Wow ⦠yeah.
And so he's, he, he just, he felt
the presence of God- Mm ⦠for
the first time in years.
Maybe like six years, fi- five or
six years, something like that.
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
And so he felt the presence of God.
My brother honestly thought that he,
that he was too far gone for God.
Mm.
Yeah, he, he did.
He- Wow ⦠he testified this.
He thought he was too far gone for
God, and then when the presence
of God came in that room, and he,
such great conviction hit him.
He repented.
Wow.
And, and just, he said immediately
all the bitterness, all the rage,
all the anger immediately like
lift, like broke off of him.
Wow.
And, and the Lord said, "You're mine.
You're mine."
Mm.
And so yeah, so the Lord
transformed him there, laying
there- Wow ⦠in the hospital bed.
Wow.
That's amazing.
And when did you find out?
I came actually later on that
afternoon, and he was like, "Hey,
I have something to tell you."
And I was like, "Okay, what is it?"
And he didn't tell me then.
I think I went home, and he texts me.
That little stinker.
I know.
I was likeâ¦
So anyway.
I was just there.
You couldn't have told me
so I could give you a hug?
I mean, come on.
I know.
I, anyway, I, I don't know if he
thought that it's not gonna work.
You know, if he had the, the- Mm.
I don't know.
Yeah, maybe he was just a little-
But, and- ⦠afraid, you know?
Yeah.
But he- Wow.
So how long has it been
since he's been saved?
Like how m- I, I wanna say,
okay, so I know that he was
healed physically last October.
Wow.
So that was probably
August or July last year.
Wow.
Wow.
Yeah.
And- Well, happy birthday.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I'm telling you, he is a
completely different person.
How long had y'all been praying for him?
Oh, since I was 27.
Wow.
Don't give up, people.
Don't give up.
I mean- Don't give up.
Don't give up.
And that, that's another thing, like, my,
my brother and I, you know, we were raised
obviously in a very religious- Mm-hmm
home, and both of, we
both backslid, you know?
And, and the other night we
got to go to revival together,
just me and him, you know?
Aw.
And I post- Yeah ⦠I posted it as
just a, don't you dare quit praying.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, don't you dare
quit, pray for your babies.
Yeah.
For anyone.
Yeah.
You know, it's gonna happen.
Anybody you're praying
for- Yeah ⦠just keep on.
S- I know, like, I have a couple of
people I'm praying for, and I'll go
through seasons where I'm like, "I just-
Sure ⦠I don't know what else to say."
Yeah.
You know, I'm tired.
Give this burden to somebody else.
Yeah.
I can't, I can't.
I'm tired.
But then I always think, what
if nobody else is praying?
Yeah.
You know, don't stop praying.
Yeah.
Because that's what the
devil wants you to do.
And what's so beautiful is that the
Lord hears the prayers with tears,
and he hears the worn out prayers.
Yep.
You know, when- whenever we just
think that this ain't doing no good.
Yeah.
You know, it's not going anywhere.
Mm-hmm.
He stores them up.
He's storing them.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know?
And I've said to him, like,
"This is the same prayer."
Yeah.
This is the same one, you know?
But I think, just keep on.
But it, but it was the woman
who got on the king's nerves
with her constant nagging.
Yes.
Yep.
And he gave it to her.
In Luke- You know?
what is that, Luke 18
or something, I think.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because of her constant nagging.
Mm-hmm.
I love that.
It's the NLT version.
Yeah.
You know?
She w- she wouldn't leave the man alone.
I know how to do that.
Yeah.
I do too.
So I will keep on.
I think, I think, yeah, we do.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's so good.
That's just powerful.
I'm so glad you shared about prayer
today, because I feel like that's a
very timely thing- Yeah ⦠right now.
People need to- Yeah ⦠pursue
and pursue and pursue.
Wake up.
Yes.
The church has got to wake up.
Yes.
We- we've been- Very ⦠doing
cute church too long.
Yeah.
We've been doing selfish church.
Yeah.
We have.
You know, we, we sing about the Lord.
Mm-hmm.
We preach about the
Lord, and He's outside.
I mean, He- Yeah, yeah ⦠He's
not even in, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
I- I ju- I just say swing
wide the gates, you know?
Yeah, yep.
The king of glory could enter.
Yeah.
You know?
It's His, it's His agenda
that we need to be following.
That's it.
That's it.
Whoâ¦
Our programs are good.
Mm-hmm.
They're, they're fine.
Mm-hmm.
But if Holy Spirit, if He wants to
move- Right ⦠get out the way.
Yeah, exactly.
Get out, get out of the way.
Yeah.
Yep, so.
This was awesome.
And I don't know if you have
anything else, but I was gonna
ask you our question if you don't.
Sure, no.
Okay.
So if you could go back in time and, uh,
experience any, you know, just be watching
or be in it, the, any Bible story, what
would you want to live through and watch?
So one, one person has a grip
on my life, and that's Hannah.
You know?
Oh, nobody's talked about Hannah yet.
I haven't.
No.
Yeah.
Yeah, so Hannah And she was desperate.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And I, I think this is
what it's gonna take.
Yeah.
This is what it's gonna take.
We, we need a, a revival of desperation.
Yeah, yeah.
You know?
But Hannah was a woman
who wasn't satisfied.
Mm.
She ⦠There was something that she
longed for that was not a reality for her.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Her husband, we'll call him
Religion, her husband was like- Mm.
Mm-hmm ⦠"Hey, just
be satisfied with me."
You know?
Yep.
"Am I not enough for you?"
Oh, that's so good.
You know?
Yeah.
"Did I, did I not do something for you?"
Yeah.
You know?
"Come on, just, just be
satisfied with me, Hannah."
And- It's okay.
It's okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm.
Whatever.
But there, there was a, a, a holy
discontentment on the inside of her.
Yeah.
And she interceded and she
pressed- Yeah ⦠you know, until
she got the word of the Lord.
Yep.
And once she got that,
she went away confident.
And I, I, I don't know if it
was ⦠Because the, the Bible just
says that, that she went home to her
husband and the Lord remembered Ha-
I, I don't know if it was two years.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
I don't know if it was 10
years or if it was two.
We, we, we don't know.
No, we don't.
Right.
We, we don't know how long the
process was, but I just have a
firm belief that Hannah never gave
up, and she, she kept pressing.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
But that I, I, I feel like that when she
broke through, that, that she knew that
the Lord heard me, the Lord heard my cry.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And, and she, she brought
change to her life.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
She brought change to her
family, and she brought change
ultimately to the, to the nation.
Yes, she did.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
So yeah, she ⦠Her, her
life speaks so great to me.
You know, I, I, I, I wanna birth revival.
Yeah.
You know, I, I wanna
birth a change, you know?
Yeah.
Let my prayers be a labor, you know?
Maybe I won't live in it, but my kids
will, my grandkids, should the Lord tarry.
Mm.
You know?
Yeah.
Let, let somebody- And that's
unselfish to pray like that.
Yep.
Like, even if I don't live the,
live in it- Yeah ⦠or see it.
I want to.
Yeah.
Lord, let me see it.
Well, yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
But even if I don't, I'm not gonna stop.
But if I don't, you know, let,
let the ⦠My Lord, let me pass
something on to another generation.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, that they know how to labor.
Yep.
You know, that they can
b- also become a Hannah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, for, for, for their, for their
kids or their, their generation, you know?
Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
That's very good.
So good.
Yeah, that gave me chills.
Oh, this was very good.
And I'm gonna be thinking
about this one for a while.
Yep.
Yeah, like listening and listening.
Ooh.
But thank you so much, and
for the challenge you've given
to us all, all the listeners.
And yeah, just people, start,
start getting in that closet
and pray and pray and pray.
Yeah.
Don't get out.
No.
And be desperate-
Yeah ⦠and bold about it.
And- Yeah, yeah.
And honest with God about what you want
and what you- And watch this world change.
Watch- Yes ⦠it wheel.
Starting with your world, and
then- Mm-hmm ⦠affecting others.
You know, I think that sometimes that
we look for the, the grand- Bang.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
All, I mean, all of a sudden this.
Yeah.
But it's just, it's little.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
You know?
It's little.
Re- remember Hannah.
Remember Hannah.
God remembered her.
Yeah.
Yeah.
God remembered her.
And, and then she began to live
everything that she had prayed for and
cried and, and, and, and hoped for.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know?
Wow, that's good.
I like it so much.
So good.
Well, thank you so much for coming
on- You're welcome ⦠and anytime you
wanna come back- Yeah ⦠and share
anything, just be like, "I got something."
Come on.
You have an open invitation for sure.
Yep.
Thank you guys so much.
Absolutely.
I like it.
It's such an honor to be here.
Thank you so much.
Well, thank you.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, until next time.
Yep.
Bye.
Bye.