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Caleb Cole sits down with Project Church Worship Pastor PJ Pate for a powerful conversation about prayer, intimacy with God, and why so many men settle for performance instead of presence. PJ shares how he once thought prayer rooms were corny, only to discover that God would use that very place to transform his life. This episode is a real and challenging call for men to prioritize prayer, pursue Jesus deeply, and become men who know the presence of God.
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⛪️ Project Church:
Website: https://projectchurch.com
— — — — — — — — — —
- (00:00) - He Thought It Was Corny
- (00:43) - Welcome to Men of Faith
- (01:56) - Why This Episode Is About Prayer
- (02:43) - PJ’s First Introduction to Prayer Rooms
- (04:30) - From Skeptical to Hungry for God
- (06:18) - Why Prayer Matters More Than Performance
- (08:53) - Night and Day Prayer and God’s Presence
- (10:25) - Building a House of Prayer
- (13:42) - Why God Grows What He Owns
- (17:14) - Caleb’s Personal Encounter at a Prayer Conference
- (21:22) - What Prayer Rooms Are Really For
- (26:08) - Make an Appointment With God
- (31:21) - Why Young People Are Hungry for Reverence
- (37:23) - The Call for Men to Prioritize Prayer
- (38:06) - Song of Solomon and Intimacy With Jesus
Creators and Guests
Host
Caleb Cole
Caleb, a Sacramento native, grew up in a pastor’s home and is a third generation minister. At the age of 12, after one of his grandfather’s sermons, he felt a call from God to be a pastor. He consistently pursued that call throughout high school and college. Caleb attended Central Bible College in Springfield, MO where he earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies and went on to the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary where he earned an M.A. in Theological Studies.
What is Men of Faith?
Men of Faith is a Christian podcast dedicated to calling men up and not out.
Hosted by Caleb Cole, each episode equips men to follow Jesus with conviction, character, and consistency—at home, at work, and in every season of life. Through honest conversations and practical biblical wisdom, Men of Faith tackles real issues like leadership, fatherhood, identity, marriage, discipline, spiritual growth, and navigating culture without compromise. This is a podcast for men who want more than inspiration—they want transformation.
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She brought me to this
place called the House of prayer in 2020.
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And I'm gonna be real with you.
00;00;04;17 - 00;00;07;17
I thought this was the most corny place.
00;00;07;22 - 00;00;09;09
Really? Yes.
00;00;09;09 - 00;00;12;09
Because, like, the musicians weren't
really all that good.
00;00;12;09 - 00;00;12;20
Yeah.
00;00;12;20 - 00;00;15;20
You know,
there wasn't a lot of people in the room.
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You know,
00;00;18;21 - 00;00;21;23
being in megachurch culture or, like,
you just look on YouTube,
00;00;21;23 - 00;00;24;00
like the excellence of,
like, worship culture and, yeah,
00;00;24;00 - 00;00;25;05
the lights and all that stuff.
00;00;25;05 - 00;00;28;05
If you walk into a place like that,
at least back then,
00;00;28;14 - 00;00;33;00
you would probably think to yourself,
like, what do they have going on here?
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Like, this kind of looks like
amateur hour, you know? Wow.
00;00;36;19 - 00;00;38;06
They want to
if they want to grow this place,
00;00;38;06 - 00;00;40;17
they're not doing what
they should be doing to grow it.
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You're listening to men of Faith,
the podcast
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dedicated to calling men up and not out.
00;00;47;08 - 00;00;50;16
Join me
as we live a life dedicated to our God.
00;00;59;11 - 00;01;01;27
Hey, welcome
back to the men of Faith podcast.
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I'm your host, Caleb Cole,
and I'm here with.
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You're not really a guest anymore.
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You know, you're, you're a mainstay.
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You've been on a few times,
but welcome back to the pod, PJ.
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Hey, what up PJ.
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What's up guys.
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How you guys doing?
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Welcome back man.
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And Happy Easter.
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We're we're a day removed from Easter.
How are you feeling?
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I feel,
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I'm resting right now.
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But he rose.
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He rose. He's risen, he's
risen. He's alive.
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And we're we're awake.
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We are barely the day after Easter, so
we're putting in work for you guys today.
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But I want to welcome you
if you're new here.
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The men of Faith podcast. Right.
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We're really here to call men
up, not call men out.
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Yeah, and I want to welcome all our moms.
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Thanks so much
for being a part of this journey with us.
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We're in season three and it's been fun.
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But today we want to talk about prayer.
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And, PJ's been on.
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I think the last time you were on,
we talked politics,
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so we keep it in the peace.
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But this is going to be a very different,
conversation.
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And I know that prayer is something
that, you know, you're passionate about,
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that you've been, a part of in terms
of ministry, different prayer room.
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So maybe give the guys
a little bit of your background.
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I know we want to frame this, to challenge
the men to be men of prayer.
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But I think it's helpful
because you have a unique perspective
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on prayer that I, I enjoy.
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I like to hear from you.
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And so, talk to us a little bit
about your background, even in, like,
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your process
through prayer rooms and prayer and,
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and then I think, you know,
I want to talk more about
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just what God is doing right now
too, in our prayer rooms.
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Yeah.
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So, I the first time I ever even heard
about a prayer room was in 2020.
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A fun fact.
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When the Covid down. Yeah.
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When the world shut down.
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And before that you know
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I really thought prayer probably most like
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like a lot of other people
I thought prayer was, you know, you
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get on your hands and knees, you,
but your hands like this,
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and you say the prayer and you know,
and you get up and you move on.
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And I was, you know, obviously,
like trying to pursue
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being a worship leader full time,
you know, at an internship
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at a church, trying to get some skills
and stuff like that.
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Yeah.
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I had some large aspirations for writing
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music and wanted to get signed
and the whole thing.
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Right.
Like I was really trying to go after that.
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And I've had some some successes
and failures in that.
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But, I was really going after that.
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And it was when 2020 when everything
shut down, the church is shut down.
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You couldn't lead worship anywhere.
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You had to do it online.
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Yeah.
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That's when, like,
the prayer room's got introduced to me
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and it was actually introduced to me
by my now wife.
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Actually,
she brought me to my first prayer room.
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Yeah. Were you married at the time.
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We were dating.
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Okay.
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At the time, we had just started dating,
in June of 2020.
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And, she's like.
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She likes to say now
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that it was a huge test
to see if she was going to keep dating me.
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Yeah, yeah.
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She does. This guy want to pray?
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Yeah. You know,
and she kind of. Had this, like.
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Little stigma about me.
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She was like, you know, he's
a megachurch worship leader. Yeah.
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You know, he's not going to like this
prayer room.
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You know, or let's see if he does.
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And if he does,
then we'll maintain a relationship.
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So she brought me to this place
called the House of prayer in 2020.
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And I'm going to be real with you.
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I thought this was the most corny place.
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Really? Yes.
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Because, like, the musicians weren't
really all that good.
00;04;39;18 - 00;04;42;20
And, yeah, you know,
there wasn't a lot of people in the room.
00;04;43;11 - 00;04;45;02
You know,
00;04;46;02 - 00;04;49;05
being in megachurch culture or like,
you just look on YouTube,
00;04;49;05 - 00;04;51;06
like the excellence of,
like, worship culture, right?
00;04;51;06 - 00;04;52;16
Yeah. All the lights and all that stuff.
00;04;52;16 - 00;04;56;05
If you walk into a place like that,
at least back then you would
00;04;56;05 - 00;05;00;15
probably think to yourself, like,
what do they have going on here?
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Like, this kind of looks like
amateur hour, you know? Wow.
00;05;04;03 - 00;05;05;20
They want to
if they want to grow this place,
00;05;05;20 - 00;05;07;02
they're not doing
what they should be doing.
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They grow it like as what I would
as what I was literally saying to myself.
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But, you know, I gave it a shot
and I really wanted to impress
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my then girlfriend, who is now my wife.
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I want to impress her.
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And so I just kept going and
I gave it a shot and it was the message
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that, Jim Stilwell, he's, the leader
of the House of Prayer in Roseville.
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The constant message of prayer was just
something I've never heard before.
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It was like meat in the word
that I've never experienced.
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And then it was always correlated
to how they pursued prayer,
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which was in combination of worship,
which they would call it harp and bowl,
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where they, you know, combine
prayer and, and worship together.
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And they would, you know, do worship
spontaneously out of Scripture.
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I would see this done,
the actual practice of it.
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And it really intrigued me.
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And what I
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found was that
these people really had a deeper intimacy
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with Jesus that I had never seen
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or heard of or even experienced.
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And I was hungry.
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I wanted more, so I kept coming.
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I mean, I think that's so powerful
to think about.
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Everything in our lives is all about
size, growth,
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followers, you know, attendance.
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Yeah. And in Ministry World, even more so.
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Yeah. Right.
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And and I've been guilty of that
so many times.
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And so then to walk into a room
where, hey, the musicians
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may not be as good, and there's only
a handful of people in here,
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and you guys are doing
this, like, every day.
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What are we doing? Like, what's the point?
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People aren't coming to this, right?
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So talk to me about you know, the
the heart and what was being taught.
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Yeah. About
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his presence prayer pursuit.
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Yeah.
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That really like resonated with your,
your soul as you
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shifted from this megachurch.
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Everything has to be big and flashy
and growth to the mindset of,
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oh, this is just unto the Lord. Yeah.
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So it
it really came down to this one thought,
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if I could put it in a nice little box
that,
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your walk with
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the Lord has everything to do
with your prayer life.
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Like to the point where, like,
you probably won't, you probably
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won't make it through the pearly gates
if you don't have a prayer life and,
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you know, usually you would think, well,
I said the salvation prayer,
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I did all that, you know,
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but the but the aspect is, you know,
the whole Matthew seven, you know, not
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everyone who says, Lord, Lord went into,
you know, the kingdom of heaven.
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You know, even people that prophesied
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and all the people who've done all these
different accolades, they won't enter the,
00;07;57;06 - 00;08;00;07
the kingdom of heaven,
but the ones that know me.
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So it's it's the knowing Christ. Yeah.
00;08;03;08 - 00;08;08;25
And you only know Christ by praying,
because praying is talking.
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Interacting.
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You know, it's it's it's
the getting to know Christ even deeper.
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And so it was through
that where I was like,
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I don't know if I even really know God
like that.
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I sing about him.
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I know I said the prayer,
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but really, I think he's
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kind of just my step ladder to my destiny.
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And that that was like the thing
that they, they really talked about,
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like the knowing intimacy with the Lord
and that the Lord wants to know you
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and that the Lord is like,
infatuated with you.
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And this type of language
was just like, what?
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So that's that was the core message
that they would preach.
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And also the fact that, you know,
night and day prayer.
00;08;56;27 - 00;09;00;24
Yeah,
that the Lord is coming in on the clouds
00;09;01;02 - 00;09;05;20
when when the church, when his bride
is calling out to him night and day.
00;09;06;02 - 00;09;06;16
Yeah.
00;09;06;16 - 00;09;09;16
And they're speaking about like,
revelation.
00;09;10;01 - 00;09;12;08
There's a lot of that in the prayer
rooms.
00;09;12;08 - 00;09;15;26
You know, the Maranatha prayer, you know.
00;09;15;26 - 00;09;19;19
Come, Lord Jesus, all that, and that
00;09;20;19 - 00;09;23;19
it's really the heart of David's
tabernacle, too.
00;09;24;02 - 00;09;25;03
That,
00;09;25;03 - 00;09;29;28
you know, I will not find sleep in my eyes
until the Lord has a place to rest.
00;09;30;17 - 00;09;35;05
So it's the heart posture of
like we want the Lord to come.
00;09;35;05 - 00;09;38;05
We want him to dwell here among us.
00;09;38;10 - 00;09;40;03
We want his presence here.
00;09;40;03 - 00;09;42;29
And scripturally we've seen that done
00;09;42;29 - 00;09;47;07
through prayer and worship being combined
in places, being established
00;09;47;07 - 00;09;50;16
where the Lord can literally rest
with his people.
00;09;51;00 - 00;09;51;07
Yeah.
00;09;51;07 - 00;09;54;08
And so they look
through the Old Testament,
00;09;55;03 - 00;09;57;04
you know, they see David's example.
00;09;57;04 - 00;10;00;05
They see, you know,
00;10;00;05 - 00;10;03;11
Moses as example,
all those different things.
00;10;03;11 - 00;10;07;25
And they really just want to establish
a dwelling place for the Lord.
00;10;07;25 - 00;10;11;26
And the Lord loves to dwell in places
where people desire him.
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Yeah, yeah.
00;10;13;16 - 00;10;16;16
I mean, I love that perspective that
00;10;17;15 - 00;10;17;24
it's a
00;10;17;24 - 00;10;20;24
dwelling
place we're creating for the Lord.
00;10;20;29 - 00;10;25;09
And I think in, in our culture,
everything's so individualistic too.
00;10;25;24 - 00;10;27;22
And so
00;10;27;22 - 00;10;31;17
knowing the Lord, obviously we need to
have that individual connection with him.
00;10;31;28 - 00;10;35;01
But I think what you've created,
even at Project Church
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and, God had started to stir.
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And Chrissy's heart
and my heart even before you got here.
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Right.
00;10;42;00 - 00;10;45;14
Was that
his house would be a house of prayer.
00;10;46;01 - 00;10;48;25
And it's so funny that I,
like I went to Bible college,
00;10;48;25 - 00;10;51;03
went to seminary,
have a master's in theology,
00;10;51;03 - 00;10;54;03
and it took me all these years to realize,
like, wait,
00;10;54;12 - 00;10;57;25
oh, it's supposed to be a house of prayer,
you know, like, that's what Jesus said.
00;10;57;25 - 00;10;58;18
All of us, man.
00;10;58;18 - 00;11;00;10
Yeah.
My house will be called a house of prayer.
00;11;00;10 - 00;11;04;21
And I think for so long,
because of just American
00;11;04;21 - 00;11;08;25
Christianity culture,
it wasn't a house of prayer, right?
00;11;08;25 - 00;11;12;20
It was what we pray as transitions
during services.
00;11;12;20 - 00;11;13;12
Right?
00;11;13;12 - 00;11;15;04
But this is a house, a leadership.
00;11;15;04 - 00;11;16;21
This is a house of preaching.
00;11;16;21 - 00;11;20;08
This is a house of,
you know, discipleship.
00;11;20;08 - 00;11;22;13
Like,
and we're supposed to do all those things.
00;11;22;13 - 00;11;23;04
Right?
00;11;23;04 - 00;11;26;29
But ultimately,
the Lord started convicting us,
00;11;27;12 - 00;11;31;00
you know, right before you got here,
actually, that it would be
00;11;31;00 - 00;11;34;16
a house of prayer the Lord was using,
using different people in our lives.
00;11;34;16 - 00;11;36;25
We started praying as a staff.
00;11;36;25 - 00;11;39;18
And, I had this conversation
a little bit with Mark.
00;11;39;18 - 00;11;44;20
My buddy Mark McGovern, who, was
on the podcast and we talked about prayer.
00;11;45;07 - 00;11;47;13
Love that guy. And, yeah.
00;11;47;13 - 00;11;49;03
And I start having conversation with him
00;11;49;03 - 00;11;52;03
while Christy and I
were being convicted in our hearts.
00;11;52;10 - 00;11;55;06
And it was almost like
God was just aligning
00;11;55;06 - 00;11;59;13
people to join us who already had this
00;11;59;13 - 00;12;03;13
same yearning for a dwelling place,
00;12;03;16 - 00;12;06;29
for his presence, for prayer,
to be a part of what we're doing.
00;12;06;29 - 00;12;07;26
Yes. And
00;12;09;03 - 00;12;11;27
I do think, look, God bless our church,
okay?
00;12;11;27 - 00;12;13;16
Through the years we grew.
00;12;13;16 - 00;12;16;16
Yeah, we were able to buy this building
that we're in right now.
00;12;17;23 - 00;12;20;05
But we were stuck there
for a little while.
00;12;20;05 - 00;12;21;20
I felt like stagnant.
00;12;21;20 - 00;12;23;27
Yeah. In terms of growth. Yeah.
00;12;23;27 - 00;12;28;13
And when the Lord started convicting,
convicting Christy and I like to just pray
00;12;28;13 - 00;12;30;19
and and make our church
more of a house of prayer.
00;12;30;19 - 00;12;33;10
Courage. Our staff to be,
you know, praying together.
00;12;33;10 - 00;12;36;02
Yeah. And communally.
00;12;36;02 - 00;12;38;22
It was crazy that once
00;12;38;22 - 00;12;42;00
all that started to happen,
we started to grow again.
00;12;42;03 - 00;12;44;21
And, and I told people like,
00;12;44;21 - 00;12;47;24
when they've asked me more recently
like, man, what's leading to his growth?
00;12;47;24 - 00;12;49;08
Because we're in a great growth season.
00;12;49;08 - 00;12;50;19
I mean, we just had the,
00;12;50;19 - 00;12;56;01
the greatest Easter, you know,
weekend in terms numerically by far.
00;12;56;01 - 00;12;56;10
Yeah.
00;12;58;03 - 00;12;59;05
That we've ever had.
00;12;59;05 - 00;13;02;07
And I'm like, it's crazy to say,
like prayer.
00;13;02;10 - 00;13;05;04
You know,
what's led to you guys growth prayer.
00;13;05;04 - 00;13;07;08
Now, obviously we're doing other things
well, for sure.
00;13;07;08 - 00;13;10;24
But I think what you've helped
create is the communal side of it.
00;13;11;09 - 00;13;13;28
Or it's like we're creating rooms
where we can come together in prayer.
00;13;13;28 - 00;13;16;28
That was the point
I was getting out earlier is that yes,
00;13;16;28 - 00;13;19;05
we need the individual connection
with the Lord,
00;13;19;05 - 00;13;22;14
but I think there's something about coming
together.
00;13;23;20 - 00;13;26;00
Worshiping and praying, but doing it in
00;13;26;00 - 00;13;29;16
community with other believers
and how that strengthens our faith.
00;13;29;16 - 00;13;33;19
And so talk to me about that, and maybe
you know why that's so important.
00;13;33;20 - 00;13;34;02
Yeah.
00;13;34;02 - 00;13;36;29
And what you've seen
even from House of prayer
00;13;36;29 - 00;13;39;03
and even now being a project
for the last couple of years.
00;13;39;03 - 00;13;42;06
And yeah, creating more prayer rooms here
and what that's done for people.
00;13;42;06 - 00;13;42;27
Yeah.
00;13;42;27 - 00;13;45;27
I think the first thing that comes to
my mind is that,
00;13;46;01 - 00;13;49;12
if it's his house, he will grow it.
00;13;49;24 - 00;13;51;02
He will find it.
00;13;51;02 - 00;13;52;19
Yeah. That first has to be his house.
00;13;52;19 - 00;13;56;15
Now we can use, like, man made, you know,
00;13;56;15 - 00;14;00;13
skills and,
you know, things to, to grow our church.
00;14;00;13 - 00;14;04;14
And that will probably work,
but I don't think it's sustainable.
00;14;04;14 - 00;14;07;06
Then if the Lord has his hand
over something, right?
00;14;07;06 - 00;14;07;23
For sure.
00;14;07;23 - 00;14;11;03
And, if you look through Scripture,
00;14;11;03 - 00;14;14;03
the Lord is moved
by the people that pursue him.
00;14;14;11 - 00;14;16;21
So those are the places that he goes to.
00;14;16;21 - 00;14;20;07
Like he went to Bethany because of Lazarus
00;14;20;16 - 00;14;24;01
and, and, and Mary and Martha
because those were his friends.
00;14;24;01 - 00;14;25;14
And he was desired there by Martha.
00;14;25;14 - 00;14;29;17
And so he went they left Jerusalem
to go there before he went on the cross.
00;14;30;03 - 00;14;34;02
Like he he knows intuitively,
like this person is in need of me.
00;14;34;02 - 00;14;36;20
This person over here, desires me.
00;14;36;20 - 00;14;40;03
And then he goes out of his way
to go to those people
00;14;40;03 - 00;14;43;04
to heal, to do whatever he goes
where he's desired.
00;14;43;04 - 00;14;43;13
Right.
00;14;43;13 - 00;14;47;02
And so I think when churches
have that mindset of like,
00;14;47;02 - 00;14;50;02
we desire Christ, like the true Christ.
00;14;50;02 - 00;14;52;12
Yeah. He says, I'm going to go there.
00;14;53;11 - 00;14;54;10
And then when he goes
00;14;54;10 - 00;14;57;12
there, if that's his house,
he supplies it.
00;14;57;12 - 00;15;00;10
So he starts bringing in people, you know.
00;15;00;10 - 00;15;03;08
And to your point,
00;15;03;08 - 00;15;07;08
when we can rally everyone in our church
00;15;07;20 - 00;15;11;25
to understand who Christ is
and why you need him
00;15;11;25 - 00;15;15;14
and why you need to be intimate with him,
then that desire grows
00;15;15;21 - 00;15;19;28
and then that grows the
the heart of, of the father to be,
00;15;20;09 - 00;15;24;02
to sit in a place where he's desired
even more so to me.
00;15;24;02 - 00;15;27;04
I'm like, you know,
there's there's power in like, you know,
00;15;27;04 - 00;15;31;07
one or 2 or 3 people
that really want Jesus to come.
00;15;31;15 - 00;15;35;27
Man, what does it look like
for like a thousand people in your church
00;15;36;14 - 00;15;40;22
to all be on one accord and say,
hey, we desire Christ like we
00;15;40;22 - 00;15;43;21
we want the things of God,
and we will come
00;15;43;23 - 00;15;47;01
and sit in this place and wait for him
and expect him to come like that.
00;15;47;01 - 00;15;52;02
I think that is impactful and can impact
an entire city if it spreads.
00;15;52;02 - 00;15;54;21
And so when it comes to prayer rooms,
00;15;54;21 - 00;15;57;02
when it comes to prayer,
I think that's that's our goal.
00;15;57;02 - 00;16;01;04
We're trying to teach people,
hey, there's a relationship
00;16;01;13 - 00;16;05;06
with Jesus
that you haven't tapped into yet.
00;16;05;29 - 00;16;09;01
There's things about him,
yeah, that he wants you to know.
00;16;09;09 - 00;16;11;12
He wants to know you deeper.
00;16;11;12 - 00;16;13;04
And let's talk about that.
00;16;13;04 - 00;16;17;19
Let's learn how to interact with
Jesus deeper so that we can actually know
00;16;17;19 - 00;16;20;27
who he is and learn to desire him more.
00;16;21;03 - 00;16;24;00
Yeah, because when he comes,
he handles everything.
00;16;24;00 - 00;16;27;07
He handles the evangelism,
he handles the teaching.
00;16;27;17 - 00;16;28;23
He's the best disciple.
00;16;28;23 - 00;16;31;23
Or he like he says, you know,
he draws all men to himself.
00;16;31;23 - 00;16;32;10
Yeah.
00;16;32;10 - 00;16;36;00
I mean, this is a religion that's been
around, you know, hunting that in what,
00;16;37;13 - 00;16;38;01
centuries?
00;16;38;01 - 00;16;38;22
Right? Yeah.
00;16;38;22 - 00;16;42;09
And it has,
it keeps it just keeps growing.
00;16;43;09 - 00;16;46;00
And he does it by his spirit.
00;16;46;00 - 00;16;46;10
Yeah.
00;16;46;10 - 00;16;48;10
By his spirit going into people.
00;16;48;10 - 00;16;51;01
And then, you know, spreading the gospel.
00;16;51;01 - 00;16;53;27
So like, he's the grower, he's he's in.
00;16;53;27 - 00;16;58;02
And so if we desire him, everything
that comes with him will follow.
00;16;59;02 - 00;17;02;25
You said something that triggered
an experience I had.
00;17;02;25 - 00;17;07;07
You said they'll reveal things
you never knew about him.
00;17;07;29 - 00;17;10;19
And I told this story in a sermon.
00;17;10;19 - 00;17;14;27
A, you know, a few prior year ago
now, I went to a prayer conference
00;17;15;09 - 00;17;18;19
that my buddy Mark was having,
and I'd never been to a prayer conference.
00;17;18;19 - 00;17;20;25
I didn't even know those existed.
And they did.
00;17;20;25 - 00;17;23;12
I've been to like, a ton of leadership
conferences, you know,
00;17;23;12 - 00;17;24;25
church growth conferences. Yeah.
00;17;24;25 - 00;17;28;15
Spiritual growth conferences,
but a prayer conference.
00;17;28;28 - 00;17;31;00
So he kept begging me to come.
00;17;31;00 - 00;17;34;04
And they had a good amount of people,
you know, registered,
00;17;34;04 - 00;17;35;07
and I did not want to go.
00;17;35;07 - 00;17;36;17
I'm like, bro, a prayer conference.
00;17;36;17 - 00;17;39;08
Like,
I ain't got time for that, you know? Yeah.
00;17;39;08 - 00;17;42;11
And so I finally was like,
you know what, bro?
00;17;42;11 - 00;17;43;28
I'll come down for one day.
00;17;43;28 - 00;17;45;22
Yeah. And Christy couldn't come.
00;17;45;22 - 00;17;48;03
So is this weird thing where I was like,
I'm going to go down.
00;17;48;03 - 00;17;50;06
I'll come down by myself. Yeah.
00;17;50;06 - 00;17;54;19
And so I went down by myself and, you
know, drove to San Francisco by myself.
00;17;54;19 - 00;17;56;24
I'm kind of like, why am I here?
00;17;56;24 - 00;17;59;11
I got there in the afternoon, like, met
some people.
00;17;59;11 - 00;18;01;15
I went to the first session. It was okay.
00;18;01;15 - 00;18;04;15
When God dinner by myself
00;18;04;21 - 00;18;07;11
because I don't really know anyone
at this conference and Mark was too busy,
00;18;07;11 - 00;18;13;03
you know, and and then I, I came back
for the evening session and I was like,
00;18;13;03 - 00;18;16;16
okay, I'll stay till the preacher finishes
and then I'm out.
00;18;16;20 - 00;18;17;21
Yeah.
00;18;17;21 - 00;18;22;27
Well, the preacher finishes, he has
everyone stand, and I start to leave
00;18;22;27 - 00;18;26;03
and I hear the voice of the Lord
tell me, stop.
00;18;26;09 - 00;18;27;16
Like I don't.
00;18;27;16 - 00;18;29;11
This doesn't happen to me very often.
00;18;29;11 - 00;18;30;27
Yeah, right.
00;18;30;27 - 00;18;34;15
It wasn't an audible voice, but,
I mean, it was very clearly
00;18;34;15 - 00;18;38;17
like a prompting from the Holy Spirit,
like, stop like throws. Me.
00;18;38;20 - 00;18;40;23
Yeah. Stay.
00;18;40;23 - 00;18;42;09
I put my bag down. Yeah.
00;18;42;09 - 00;18;46;04
We start singing this song,
and we're seeing all this for your glory.
00;18;46;04 - 00;18;46;28
Yeah.
00;18;46;28 - 00;18;49;19
And I'm like, God,
what do you want me to stay for?
00;18;49;19 - 00;18;52;15
Like, I got it. It's prayer.
We need to pray more.
00;18;52;15 - 00;18;55;07
I know my church needs a praying
more like we're working on it.
00;18;55;07 - 00;18;56;05
Yeah.
00;18;56;05 - 00;18;59;25
And I'm standing there and all of a sudden
00;19;01;17 - 00;19;04;17
I just start weeping, which I'd never cry.
00;19;04;17 - 00;19;06;19
You know my. Well, my church knows this.
00;19;06;19 - 00;19;11;08
Christy will tell you, you know, like,
I just break down, like, bawling
00;19;11;08 - 00;19;15;09
and and we're just singing normal song,
and I'm like, what's happening?
00;19;15;09 - 00;19;16;28
And I can't stop.
00;19;16;28 - 00;19;19;04
I'm, like, sobbing and sobbing
00;19;19;04 - 00;19;23;11
and I don't know what's happening
because this isn't normal.
00;19;23;11 - 00;19;27;11
I don't get overwhelmed, like with
emotionalism, because I'm not that person.
00;19;27;11 - 00;19;30;03
So it wasn't like the environment
was doing it to me.
00;19;30;03 - 00;19;31;08
Because I was chilling.
00;19;31;08 - 00;19;33;18
I wasn't even trying to stay. Yeah.
00;19;33;18 - 00;19;36;27
And I'm bawling, I'm bawling and I, I,
00;19;37;22 - 00;19;39;11
I like finally finished crying.
00;19;39;11 - 00;19;43;04
We finished singing that song
and the Lord's I hear again
00;19;43;04 - 00;19;45;13
like you can leave now.
00;19;45;13 - 00;19;47;06
And I'm like what the heck.
00;19;47;06 - 00;19;48;17
It was very clear.
00;19;48;17 - 00;19;51;00
Yeah. And I had like an hour
and a half drive home.
00;19;51;00 - 00;19;52;15
So I'm like, all right, I'm going.
00;19;52;15 - 00;19;55;15
So I walk out, get in my car,
this thing's still going.
00;19;55;15 - 00;19;58;09
I'm driving home.
I put on the same song. Yeah.
00;19;58;09 - 00;20;00;25
And I'm listening to it
and I'm like, Lord, what was that?
00;20;00;25 - 00;20;01;23
Yeah.
00;20;01;23 - 00;20;05;11
And I heard the voice of the Lord again,
not audibly, but
00;20;05;11 - 00;20;09;11
he says, you thought you knew everything
there was to know about mean.
00;20;09;12 - 00;20;10;26
Yeah. And he.
00;20;10;26 - 00;20;12;24
And then he says to me,
00;20;12;24 - 00;20;16;17
but you have barely scratched the surface
of what I have for you.
00;20;16;24 - 00;20;17;13
Right.
00;20;17;13 - 00;20;21;25
And it was this, like, humbling
moment of like, dude, I know the word.
00;20;22;00 - 00;20;24;24
I have a master's in theology.
I've been doing church for 20 years.
00;20;24;24 - 00;20;25;28
I grew up in this.
00;20;25;28 - 00;20;28;20
I've built a church,
you know, like Jesus built the church.
00;20;28;20 - 00;20;32;16
But, you know, I I've let it through
all these years and the Lord's like,
00;20;32;16 - 00;20;36;13
you thought you knew everything
and you barely know anything about me.
00;20;37;09 - 00;20;39;15
And you're going to find out
more about me in prayer.
00;20;39;15 - 00;20;41;14
And it was this humbling moment of me
going,
00;20;41;14 - 00;20;44;15
I need to pursue
the Lord more as a pastor.
00;20;44;15 - 00;20;47;21
And I know for the men listening,
it's the same for them.
00;20;47;21 - 00;20;51;03
And so I just want to thank you
because I think the the prayer rooms
00;20;51;03 - 00;20;54;07
that you're facilitating
have given me a space and a place
00;20;54;07 - 00;20;57;07
to just get to know him in a different way
00;20;57;11 - 00;21;00;13
to I've learned to be bored
in his presence.
00;21;00;14 - 00;21;00;27
Yeah.
00;21;00;27 - 00;21;05;15
And it's okay that sometimes I'm in there
and I'm like, all right, Lord.
00;21;05;15 - 00;21;07;27
Like,
I don't really know I'm here today. Yeah.
00;21;07;27 - 00;21;10;15
But I start to enjoy it
00;21;10;15 - 00;21;13;16
in even amidst the boredom and
and experiencing him.
00;21;13;16 - 00;21;17;22
So talk about the parents specifically
and like what you're trying to facilitate
00;21;18;09 - 00;21;21;06
in those that project
what you've learned through the years.
00;21;21;06 - 00;21;22;03
Yeah, yeah yeah.
00;21;22;03 - 00;21;24;25
So, you know,
00;21;24;25 - 00;21;28;18
there isn't really a real formula
to to prayer.
00;21;28;18 - 00;21;29;05
Okay. Yeah.
00;21;29;05 - 00;21;29;14
Right.
00;21;29;14 - 00;21;32;21
You know, like,
you probably hear a lot of people
00;21;32;21 - 00;21;35;27
like Mark and,
and other people in this movement.
00;21;35;29 - 00;21;39;00
You get better at praying
by simply praying.
00;21;39;13 - 00;21;39;21
Yeah.
00;21;39;21 - 00;21;42;28
So I think the fact that we even attempted
00;21;42;28 - 00;21;45;28
to provide a space
00;21;45;28 - 00;21;48;19
where people can come,
it starts with that, right?
00;21;48;19 - 00;21;48;25
Yeah.
00;21;48;25 - 00;21;49;28
Providing the space,
00;21;49;28 - 00;21;52;28
because the most valuable thing
that we can give the Lord is our time.
00;21;53;05 - 00;21;57;16
And so when we when we give that to him,
I believe he honors that.
00;21;57;16 - 00;22;03;04
And so, you know, it's surprising
how many people, once they realize that,
00;22;03;04 - 00;22;07;09
oh, there's a place where I can
just get away from all the noise and,
00;22;07;18 - 00;22;10;24
you know, the rustling and the bustling
of the world and all that stuff.
00;22;10;24 - 00;22;14;26
And I could just sit in the quiet
and like, yeah, seek the Lord.
00;22;15;12 - 00;22;19;12
Like that place is everything right
to like a to like a lot of people.
00;22;19;19 - 00;22;23;02
And some people don't even know that
they even have access to stuff like that.
00;22;23;18 - 00;22;26;12
So first
there's that just creating a place.
00;22;26;12 - 00;22;29;01
I think number two is okay.
00;22;29;01 - 00;22;30;25
So like what do you do there.
00;22;30;25 - 00;22;32;26
Yeah. There is a teaching element. Right.
00;22;32;26 - 00;22;35;27
You know we, we,
we don't just leave people abandon there.
00;22;35;27 - 00;22;39;02
And I think we've tried to do that too
with the acts model and stuff like that.
00;22;39;02 - 00;22;41;11
Different types of ways to pray.
00;22;41;11 - 00;22;44;19
But yeah, we,
we provide people kind of like a little,
00;22;45;01 - 00;22;48;27
little small blueprint of what
to pray, how to pray, you know?
00;22;48;29 - 00;22;51;29
But then what we also do
is bring in worship
00;22;52;04 - 00;22;55;28
at the prayer rooms, too,
because, in heaven,
00;22;56;10 - 00;22;59;02
the prayers of the saints in worship,
00;22;59;02 - 00;23;02;04
they are put together, and
00;23;02;17 - 00;23;06;24
and I believe that that's
when you put all those elements together.
00;23;07;11 - 00;23;11;17
It not only moves the heart of God, but
it also makes prayer enjoyable for people.
00;23;12;13 - 00;23;16;00
The I think the music element
helps people to lock in.
00;23;16;11 - 00;23;19;01
Absolutely. You know, silence.
00;23;19;01 - 00;23;21;04
And we've learned about this
previously. Right.
00;23;21;04 - 00;23;24;11
Silence in prayer is very important.
00;23;24;11 - 00;23;26;02
And we should practice that. Yeah.
00;23;26;02 - 00;23;30;06
But I, I would even say that, you know,
people who are just starting to get into
00;23;30;29 - 00;23;34;14
I, I will call making an appointment
with God and going to the place
00;23;34;14 - 00;23;38;16
and sitting down,
I think worship and songs of worship
00;23;38;16 - 00;23;42;13
and like songs of prayer help
people to lock in when there is boredom.
00;23;43;05 - 00;23;43;24
Absolutely.
00;23;43;24 - 00;23;47;17
So that's something that we practice here
at project, obviously.
00;23;48;01 - 00;23;52;15
And the other thing I would say is, well,
there's two things.
00;23;52;26 - 00;23;55;26
Consistency. Keep doing it.
00;23;56;02 - 00;23;56;10
Yeah.
00;23;56;10 - 00;23;59;17
Even when it gets boring,
even when you lose interest,
00;23;59;23 - 00;24;02;20
even when it seems like
what the heck are we doing here?
00;24;02;20 - 00;24;03;16
Keep doing it.
00;24;03;16 - 00;24;07;12
Because there's something happening
in the spiritual realm, right?
00;24;07;12 - 00;24;11;02
When you're offering up prayers
to the Lord, it.
00;24;11;02 - 00;24;13;20
I believe it sticks to the walls.
00;24;13;20 - 00;24;15;29
And I believe, like when you.
00;24;15;29 - 00;24;19;05
I've been in prayer rooms
that have been established for 20 years.
00;24;19;18 - 00;24;20;25
Nonstop.
00;24;20;25 - 00;24;23;28
The Lord has given me the opportunity
to walk into those spaces
00;24;24;04 - 00;24;25;24
16 years like decades.
00;24;25;24 - 00;24;27;21
And they've been gone 24 hours.
00;24;27;21 - 00;24;31;19
You know, there there are places like that
here in America that have champion that.
00;24;31;27 - 00;24;34;27
And when you walk into those rooms
at like 1 a.m.
00;24;34;27 - 00;24;37;01
like you feel something
even though there's nothing,
00;24;37;01 - 00;24;38;17
there's nobody in the room. Yeah, yeah.
00;24;38;17 - 00;24;41;15
But like, you just like, whoa.
Like something just hits you.
00;24;41;15 - 00;24;42;21
And we've kind of experienced
00;24;42;21 - 00;24;46;21
that here at project two, where people who
walk through the doors and
00;24;47;27 - 00;24;49;16
they, they can't explain it.
00;24;49;16 - 00;24;52;16
They're like, there's just a piece here.
00;24;52;17 - 00;24;56;08
Like they may have comes from some kind of
church or something to happen, you know,
00;24;56;23 - 00;24;59;25
but they walk in and they're like, man,
there's some type of a piece here.
00;25;00;24 - 00;25;05;15
And I think that's that's established
by continual, continual, continual prayer.
00;25;05;27 - 00;25;06;07
Yeah.
00;25;06;07 - 00;25;09;07
And then the last thing
I'd say about, about prayer rooms
00;25;09;28 - 00;25;12;28
is that it is not about making it bigger.
00;25;13;12 - 00;25;15;17
Yeah.
00;25;15;17 - 00;25;18;26
You know, it is unto the Lord.
00;25;18;26 - 00;25;22;04
And even if it's just you by yourself.
00;25;22;19 - 00;25;24;27
Which it has. Been,
which it has been, right.
00;25;24;27 - 00;25;26;06
There's been times it's.
00;25;26;06 - 00;25;28;07
No one shows up. No one.
00;25;28;07 - 00;25;28;18
But you.
00;25;28;18 - 00;25;32;15
Still I'm still there for that hour
because I made that commitment
00;25;32;15 - 00;25;33;24
to the Lord right.
00;25;33;24 - 00;25;36;08
Because that's
that's where it starts for me.
00;25;36;08 - 00;25;38;29
And this is not, like, boastful, but like,
this is just like something that's
00;25;38;29 - 00;25;40;11
I really do believe.
00;25;40;11 - 00;25;44;07
Like when I come to the prayer room,
I've made an appointment with the Lord.
00;25;44;21 - 00;25;46;17
He's going to be there.
00;25;46;17 - 00;25;49;14
Yes. So he is worthy of my hour.
00;25;49;14 - 00;25;52;20
And then while I'm doing worship
or whatever,
00;25;53;14 - 00;25;56;21
anybody that walks in,
you're just walking into the environment.
00;25;57;07 - 00;25;59;27
But I'm really am praying as I'm
00;25;59;27 - 00;26;03;02
playing and singing unto the Lord
in these prayer rooms.
00;26;03;09 - 00;26;06;25
So I think that that's a practical like
00;26;07;29 - 00;26;08;23
tip for these
00;26;08;23 - 00;26;12;20
guys is that you're making an appointment
with the Lord.
00;26;13;00 - 00;26;15;26
Like we have appointments with everyone
and everything.
00;26;15;26 - 00;26;19;12
Yeah, we've got dentist appointments
and then we have work
00;26;19;12 - 00;26;22;12
appointments
and we have, you know, gym appointments.
00;26;22;17 - 00;26;25;17
You know, we go to the gym,
we schedule it. Yep.
00;26;25;17 - 00;26;27;27
We even know when we're going
to watch our show every night.
00;26;27;27 - 00;26;29;00
Maybe.
00;26;29;00 - 00;26;33;15
And yet with the Lord it's like,
oh, I'll pray when it when it happens.
00;26;33;17 - 00;26;34;00
It happens.
00;26;34;00 - 00;26;34;19
Yeah. Yeah.
00;26;34;19 - 00;26;36;05
And I think there's something
about like praying
00;26;36;05 - 00;26;38;01
without ceasing, as Paul told us to do.
00;26;38;01 - 00;26;41;03
Like, yes, you can commune with him
throughout your day, all right.
00;26;41;12 - 00;26;44;11
But there's something powerful about going
00;26;44;20 - 00;26;47;05
7 p.m.
00;26;47;05 - 00;26;48;04
on a Wednesday night.
00;26;48;04 - 00;26;51;22
Yes, noon on a Wednesday or for us, 7 p.m.
00;26;51;22 - 00;26;52;25
on a Thursday, right? Yeah.
00;26;52;25 - 00;26;54;00
I'm setting aside
00;26;54;00 - 00;26;57;28
that appointment with the Lord,
and I'm dedicating that time to him. Yep.
00;26;58;05 - 00;27;01;02
And what that does
and what have you seen that like for you
00;27;01;02 - 00;27;05;06
and for people when they're giving him
making that appointment,
00;27;06;01 - 00;27;07;27
blocking that out for him. Yeah.
00;27;07;27 - 00;27;10;26
What I've seen is the Lord
00;27;11;06 - 00;27;15;20
doing a work in me that builds endurance.
00;27;16;01 - 00;27;19;16
I would say it builds endurance
in my heart and in my spirit, man.
00;27;20;02 - 00;27;22;17
Because my relationship
00;27;22;17 - 00;27;26;07
with the Lord, my dedication to him
is not built on just emotions.
00;27;26;23 - 00;27;31;27
Because there are times where I go
to the prayer room and I don't feel like
00;27;31;27 - 00;27;36;21
I got anything, I don't feel like
I heard anything or experienced anything,
00;27;37;11 - 00;27;42;06
but I know it counts
because I know he's real and I know
00;27;42;06 - 00;27;45;28
I made this appointment and he showed up
00;27;46;18 - 00;27;49;18
even if I didn't experience it.
00;27;49;23 - 00;27;50;14
Like him.
00;27;50;14 - 00;27;55;02
Showing up is not dependent
upon my experience, right?
00;27;55;04 - 00;27;56;18
The Lord up.
00;27;56;18 - 00;27;59;01
So then I learned about this too,
in the prayer room.
00;27;59;01 - 00;28;02;06
The Lord is doing something in you.
00;28;02;19 - 00;28;05;00
Even if you don't feel it.
00;28;05;00 - 00;28;08;00
There's something happening with you
00;28;08;06 - 00;28;11;06
that you that that you're
not going to always be aware of.
00;28;11;07 - 00;28;14;02
Yeah. And consistency.
00;28;14;02 - 00;28;17;14
You don't get good at anything by doing it
one time here.
00;28;17;17 - 00;28;19;05
One time here. Yeah.
00;28;19;05 - 00;28;21;28
You know, like let's talk about weight
lifting right.
00;28;21;28 - 00;28;25;00
You know, like there's times
where like I don't like to
00;28;25;00 - 00;28;28;17
I don't want to go to the gym, but
there's this thought, this belief system
00;28;28;17 - 00;28;31;17
that I have that I've tried to,
00;28;31;18 - 00;28;34;18
you know, grow in my heart with all things
00;28;35;00 - 00;28;39;14
is that if you go, something is happening
00;28;39;25 - 00;28;44;15
in that weight room, if you don't go,
nothing is happening for sure.
00;28;45;15 - 00;28;46;22
That's just the science of it.
00;28;46;22 - 00;28;49;28
If you keep going,
something has to change.
00;28;50;13 - 00;28;53;12
If you stop, the change stops.
00;28;53;13 - 00;28;55;06
So same thing with prayer.
00;28;55;06 - 00;28;58;10
If I make that appointment with the Lord
and I keep going,
00;28;58;10 - 00;29;01;15
something is happening
whether I'm aware of it or not.
00;29;01;22 - 00;29;02;29
Yeah.
00;29;02;29 - 00;29;07;06
But if I don't, then I know for sure,
without a doubt, that
00;29;07;06 - 00;29;11;21
nothing is like there's nothing happening
because I'm not investing any time.
00;29;11;21 - 00;29;15;21
So science says, right,
like nothing is happening.
00;29;15;27 - 00;29;19;25
So I just want to
I want to stay consistent with the Lord,
00;29;19;25 - 00;29;24;02
with what I feel and what I don't feel.
00;29;24;24 - 00;29;27;24
And trust that he's
doing a work in my heart and my spirit.
00;29;28;10 - 00;29;31;10
And the something that is happening,
00;29;31;25 - 00;29;34;07
it could be in you.
00;29;34;07 - 00;29;35;02
It could be
00;29;36;15 - 00;29;37;07
in the world, right?
00;29;37;07 - 00;29;39;10
I mean,
we're we're warring in the secret place.
00;29;39;10 - 00;29;42;25
Yes, we know that the voice and the cries
00;29;42;25 - 00;29;45;25
of God's
people moves his heart and his hand even.
00;29;45;28 - 00;29;49;02
And not that we're
just going there to get something, but
00;29;49;16 - 00;29;52;17
if we're praying not just for ourselves,
which we shouldn't be right,
00;29;52;18 - 00;29;54;20
we should pray for some for ourselves.
Yeah.
00;29;54;20 - 00;29;57;19
We're also praying for our cities
and we're praying for
00;29;57;19 - 00;30;00;27
the loss and we're praying
for our political leaders.
00;30;00;27 - 00;30;01;23
And we're right.
00;30;01;23 - 00;30;05;15
We're we're we're planting seeds of faith.
00;30;06;16 - 00;30;09;02
And the Lord is moving on behalf of that.
00;30;09;02 - 00;30;12;09
You know, we're
we're creating an environment in our room.
00;30;12;16 - 00;30;14;23
That his presence is welcome.
00;30;14;23 - 00;30;16;12
And and it's a dwelling place for him.
00;30;16;12 - 00;30;21;12
And then when people come in on Sundays
he's like no this is I'm welcome here.
00;30;22;03 - 00;30;25;01
And now there's much less walls right.
Yeah.
00;30;25;01 - 00;30;29;22
People feel and sense something different
in the room that otherwise they wouldn't
00;30;29;22 - 00;30;34;01
have if we hadn't been there praying and,
and fighting in the secret place.
00;30;34;01 - 00;30;35;12
And so I think that like
00;30;35;12 - 00;30;38;12
when you say something's happening,
it's always going to happen in us.
00;30;38;28 - 00;30;42;16
You know, too,
but I think we don't realize that
00;30;42;26 - 00;30;46;11
he's doing other things
in the supernatural that we can't see
00;30;46;28 - 00;30;51;21
in the hidden places,
and we are called to partner in that. Yes.
00;30;52;00 - 00;30;56;05
And so I love that you said that
like something's happening
00;30;56;21 - 00;30;59;21
and it's going to be
I think it's both end.
00;31;00;04 - 00;31;00;20
Right.
00;31;00;20 - 00;31;02;05
It's in us and it's outside of us.
00;31;02;05 - 00;31;04;17
I agree I definitely agree with that.
00;31;04;17 - 00;31;07;05
Have you seen you know in all these years.
00;31;07;05 - 00;31;09;22
Right. You, you did the prayer rooms
in Roseville for many years.
00;31;09;22 - 00;31;09;29
Yeah.
00;31;09;29 - 00;31;12;29
Now you're dealing with
and with us like have you seen any.
00;31;13;17 - 00;31;16;21
I don't want to say trends,
but like what feels different
00;31;16;21 - 00;31;20;01
right now
than maybe in 2019 when you started?
00;31;20;11 - 00;31;21;11
Yeah.
00;31;21;11 - 00;31;25;00
You mean what, here,
a project or, like, just with me.
00;31;25;00 - 00;31;25;28
With you?
00;31;25;28 - 00;31;30;16
Oh, I'm thinking even just in prayer
culture in our country.
00;31;30;16 - 00;31;31;11
Our city right. Now.
00;31;31;11 - 00;31;34;01
Yeah, I would say move the mic.
00;31;34;01 - 00;31;39;00
I would say, there
I think when 2020 happened, it like,
00;31;40;00 - 00;31;42;04
it like recalibrated everyone.
00;31;42;04 - 00;31;44;21
Yeah. Because like,
everything had to slow down. Right.
00;31;44;21 - 00;31;47;21
And then when everything slows down,
you kind of have to see
00;31;48;09 - 00;31;51;06
what is real and what is it like,
what sticks and what doesn't.
00;31;51;06 - 00;31;51;18
Yeah.
00;31;51;18 - 00;31;56;02
And I think after 2020, this idea of
00;31;56;16 - 00;32;01;14
like what is actually sustainable
with the Lord past
00;32;01;28 - 00;32;05;25
the euphoria, like really hit people.
00;32;06;02 - 00;32;10;13
And so people like young people especially
started to look for the real thing.
00;32;10;28 - 00;32;13;28
Like we got I all this different stuff,
00;32;13;29 - 00;32;18;15
you know, the hype of like worship
culture, it's still a thing
00;32;18;28 - 00;32;22;10
in some extent,
but it's kind of tapering down.
00;32;22;22 - 00;32;26;10
And you're seeing like people, like
especially young people turn
00;32;26;10 - 00;32;31;19
to Catholicism or Orthodoxy, liturgy,
liturgy, like things of reverence, right?
00;32;32;00 - 00;32;35;00
Things of prayer, things slowing down.
00;32;35;02 - 00;32;38;02
And they're looking for that
even in the Protestant culture as well.
00;32;38;17 - 00;32;41;17
And so I would say that for one,
00;32;41;19 - 00;32;44;15
has really,
00;32;44;15 - 00;32;48;26
if we're talking about trends,
has caused the, the church of the future
00;32;48;26 - 00;32;53;08
to kind of lean more towards, you know,
what's deeper with the Lord.
00;32;53;08 - 00;32;56;00
Yeah. Reverence. Yes. Like what is real?
00;32;56;00 - 00;32;59;12
What can I hold on to
when the world shuts down?
00;32;59;25 - 00;33;00;08
Yeah.
00;33;00;08 - 00;33;03;21
You know, so there's that.
00;33;03;21 - 00;33;09;04
And I would say even in my heart,
it has prayer has changed how I lead
00;33;09;04 - 00;33;13;07
worship 100%, how I view worship
00;33;13;20 - 00;33;16;18
100%, how I see God.
00;33;16;18 - 00;33;18;03
Just.
00;33;20;21 - 00;33;23;21
I would say it's so much more sustainable.
00;33;24;27 - 00;33;25;29
This thing that
00;33;25;29 - 00;33;29;13
that we call worship and we kind of, like,
anchor it to music, right?
00;33;29;26 - 00;33;30;07
Yeah.
00;33;30;07 - 00;33;33;07
It's no longer an identity thing for me.
00;33;33;12 - 00;33;35;08
Like, it's a tool.
00;33;35;08 - 00;33;37;02
Yeah, it like, it really is a tool.
00;33;37;02 - 00;33;39;14
And I try to teach the team
that to hear a project like,
00;33;39;14 - 00;33;41;29
hey, like you've been given
a gift for sure.
00;33;41;29 - 00;33;45;00
Like the gift of singing,
whatever it is, play music, playing music.
00;33;45;09 - 00;33;47;19
But make no mistake,
00;33;47;19 - 00;33;50;09
the stages will end.
00;33;50;09 - 00;33;52;06
Like the platforms will stop.
00;33;52;06 - 00;33;55;05
Yeah,
and you will have nothing but the gift.
00;33;55;15 - 00;34;00;14
And you can still give that gift
to the Lord even in private at.
00;34;00;14 - 00;34;03;20
Home. Like you don't.
00;34;03;22 - 00;34;07;23
It doesn't have to be in front of people
in order for it to be worth anything.
00;34;08;09 - 00;34;11;01
And you use that gift
00;34;11;01 - 00;34;14;16
to show people Jesus,
to point people to Jesus.
00;34;14;16 - 00;34;16;22
That's what the gift is for.
00;34;16;22 - 00;34;19;09
And so when I'm in these prayer rooms,
00;34;19;09 - 00;34;22;12
when I'm, when I'm leading, it's
no different.
00;34;22;19 - 00;34;25;27
If I'm in the prayer room,
if I'm leading on a Sunday, I don't care
00;34;25;27 - 00;34;30;00
if there's a thousand people in the room
or one person in the room, it's under him.
00;34;30;08 - 00;34;33;02
I'm not afraid. When I step on that stage.
00;34;33;02 - 00;34;35;27
I don't have fear of man
when I step on that stage.
00;34;35;27 - 00;34;39;18
Like my overwhelming feeling
00;34;39;18 - 00;34;43;24
that I have when I walk on that platform
is, Lord, be pleased with this worship.
00;34;44;04 - 00;34;44;20
Yeah.
00;34;44;20 - 00;34;48;03
Like, please,
my desires for you to show up.
00;34;48;12 - 00;34;50;08
And we've experienced
this in presence tonight.
00;34;51;18 - 00;34;52;27
Like our presence nights here.
00;34;52;27 - 00;34;54;11
There's something crazy about him.
00;34;54;11 - 00;34;58;19
Like there's something crazy
about when the church says, you know what?
00;34;58;20 - 00;35;01;22
We're going to prioritize
the presence of God today.
00;35;02;04 - 00;35;05;00
We got no agenda but for him to show up.
00;35;05;00 - 00;35;10;05
And when we all rally behind that idea
and he shows up on our presence nights,
00;35;10;05 - 00;35;11;29
it always moves me to tears
00;35;11;29 - 00;35;15;21
because I'm like, Lord,
this means nothing if you don't come.
00;35;16;03 - 00;35;19;03
And when he comes
and he shakes the room I'm like
00;35;20;25 - 00;35;22;13
He came. Yeah.
00;35;22;13 - 00;35;23;11
You know.
00;35;23;11 - 00;35;24;23
Yeah. We've created that space.
00;35;24;23 - 00;35;29;06
I think your, your assessment of
like even the younger generation
00;35;29;06 - 00;35;32;22
and the, the call to liturgy
and slowing down.
00;35;33;01 - 00;35;36;09
I mean we, you did it to end Easter
which I thought was really great.
00;35;36;13 - 00;35;37;14
You know just like
00;35;38;13 - 00;35;40;26
actually slowed
us down and brought it down at the end
00;35;40;26 - 00;35;46;09
after people met Jesus
and we sung some old song, some old hymns,
00;35;46;25 - 00;35;50;25
and I had so many people
like thank me afterwards for it.
00;35;51;04 - 00;35;53;15
I was like, oh yeah, you're welcome.
You know, I took credit.
00;35;53;15 - 00;35;55;22
Yeah, to do it. Like,
yeah, that was all me.
00;35;55;22 - 00;35;56;15
No guessing.
00;35;56;15 - 00;35;59;26
But I think it was a return to something
sacred.
00;36;00;06 - 00;36;00;15
Yeah.
00;36;00;15 - 00;36;03;21
You know, it was a to a turn to
something like real.
00;36;03;21 - 00;36;08;13
It wasn't lights and screens
and, you know, lyric videos and hype.
00;36;09;03 - 00;36;12;03
It was just a hunger
00;36;12;10 - 00;36;14;28
for him, for his presence
00;36;14;28 - 00;36;19;04
with, with words
that were deeply meaningful for people
00;36;19;18 - 00;36;24;20
and even connected them to something
from their upbringing or childhood
00;36;24;20 - 00;36;26;12
or even some of the younger
00;36;26;12 - 00;36;29;29
people were telling me like, oh,
like that song like meant so much to me.
00;36;30;19 - 00;36;33;29
And then last night
I saw this guy who's like my age
00;36;34;21 - 00;36;38;03
and he I didn't even know he played music.
00;36;38;06 - 00;36;39;28
So you said this? Yeah.
00;36;39;28 - 00;36;41;24
I didn't know he played our saying. Yeah.
00;36;41;24 - 00;36;47;24
And he's he posts himself on social media
and he tagged Project Church.
00;36;47;24 - 00;36;48;22
So that's how I saw it.
00;36;48;22 - 00;36;51;05
Yeah. Yeah. And he's playing guitar. Yeah.
00;36;51;05 - 00;36;54;03
And he's singing what can wash away
my sins, you know, nothing
00;36;54;03 - 00;36;55;00
but the blood of Jesus.
00;36;55;00 - 00;36;57;05
And he's singing it and it was like,
so raw,
00;36;57;05 - 00;37;00;19
but like he was pouring out
his heart to the Lord.
00;37;01;02 - 00;37;04;23
And he
he wrote like I was so moved at church.
00;37;05;01 - 00;37;07;02
Easter, I had to come home.
00;37;07;02 - 00;37;10;26
And just, like, pour
the same thing out to the Lord alone.
00;37;11;03 - 00;37;11;26
Yeah.
00;37;11;26 - 00;37;14;02
And so what you were just saying, right?
00;37;14;02 - 00;37;15;01
We can all have gifts,
00;37;15;01 - 00;37;18;00
but at the end of the day,
it has to be about us connecting with him.
00;37;18;00 - 00;37;20;00
You don't have to have a vocal gift
or a guitar gifting.
00;37;20;00 - 00;37;23;02
Yeah, to spend time seeking his face.
00;37;23;02 - 00;37;26;07
And so I think to wrap this up, you know,
we always give a call up,
00;37;26;09 - 00;37;28;09
PJ, for the guys. Yeah.
00;37;28;09 - 00;37;30;11
You know, men of Faith,
thanks for joining us.
00;37;30;11 - 00;37;34;17
But I'll just challenge you
that you would just prioritize prayer.
00;37;34;18 - 00;37;37;04
I know that you have a lot going on.
00;37;37;04 - 00;37;38;19
I know life is busy. Mine is.
00;37;38;19 - 00;37;41;22
I got kids and sports and,
you know, business
00;37;41;22 - 00;37;44;22
and church and work and, a wife.
00;37;45;02 - 00;37;49;11
But, man,
I have to get to know the Lord more
00;37;49;11 - 00;37;52;11
and create that dwelling place
for him in my own life.
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Because when I do that, he changes me.
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I know him better.
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I feel closer to him,
and I walk in step with him.
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And so my challenge guys would be,
you know, just prioritize
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prayer, PJ, call it for them.
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Yeah.
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My call up for men
as I'm thinking about men
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and I am this is something I had to do.
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I encourage all men
to read the songs of Solomon.
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We've known this to be,
00;38;22;07 - 00;38;25;07
a piece of scripture that is,
00;38;25;17 - 00;38;28;03
you know, the kind of love language.
00;38;28;03 - 00;38;28;23
Yeah, you know.
00;38;28;23 - 00;38;29;15
Little racy.
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Little racy,
but the true meaning of it and a lot of
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I think a lot of theologians
would agree with me on this, is
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this is a love letter that,
that that is a love conversation
00;38;40;02 - 00;38;45;01
that's going back and forth
between Jesus and his bride with us and I.
00;38;45;01 - 00;38;49;25
I really challenge men to do a deep
study of that, because you will understand
00;38;50;12 - 00;38;53;12
the love languages
that the Lord speaks about you,
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and it'll tear down these walls
that I think men have about, like,
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you know what masculinity looks like,
it looks super hard and all that stuff.
00;39;02;02 - 00;39;06;21
There's an intimacy with the Lord that
I think all of us men need to tap into.
00;39;07;11 - 00;39;10;11
That is actually true, truly manly.
00;39;10;29 - 00;39;15;24
And it will unlock an a hunger
and a deep intimacy with the Lord
00;39;15;24 - 00;39;20;15
that you would be surprised,
that you'll soften your heart.
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You can be a powerful man
and a strong man,
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but also be very soft,
because that's who Jesus is.
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Jesus pursues his bride relentlessly.
00;39;30;00 - 00;39;33;29
And in that and in and
in those scriptures, you will see Jesus,
00;39;33;29 - 00;39;38;17
who is God, use very intimate language
when he's talking about his bride.
00;39;38;17 - 00;39;39;29
Who is you?
00;39;39;29 - 00;39;40;25
Who is me?
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Who is everyone?
00;39;42;02 - 00;39;44;17
And so I challenge men to do that.
00;39;44;17 - 00;39;45;20
I love it, man.
00;39;45;20 - 00;39;46;04
Thank you.
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I think, we can all learn from PJ.
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He's very manly, manly and masculine
and lifts a lot of weight.
00;39;51;20 - 00;39;54;02
Definitely. Benches
weigh more than me. And weight.
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But he also understands, you know,
the language of intimacy with the Lord.
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And so thank you for your example.
00;40;00;10 - 00;40;04;05
And, guys, thanks for joining us
for another man of faith podcast.
00;40;04;06 - 00;40;05;12
We pray that you
00;40;06;13 - 00;40;08;01
hear this and implement it by
00;40;08;01 - 00;40;11;12
becoming greater men of prayer
and seeking the face of the Lord.
00;40;11;12 - 00;40;14;00
But hey, if you enjoyed this,
share it with someone!
00;40;14;00 - 00;40;19;01
Be sure to follow us on Instagram,
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00;40;19;12 - 00;40;21;09
Didn't even know we got a TikTok.
00;40;21;09 - 00;40;24;09
Mike got set up a faith part on there
as well.
00;40;24;11 - 00;40;29;04
Like and share any of these podcasts
that God is, you know, speaking to you
00;40;29;04 - 00;40;34;20
from share it with another brother and,
let's keep going pursuing the Lord.
00;40;34;23 - 00;40;36;12
Grace and peace. See you guys next time.