Joyce Meyer - Asking God for Bigger - Part 2
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Ginger Stache: Hi friends, welcome to, "Enjoying Everyday Life". Today we continue our discussion about praying big prayers on our talk it out podcast where Joyce discusses some very important aspects of prayer together with me and Erin Cluley. Have you ever considered there may be one major thing blocking your prayers from being answered? Well, it may be easy to overlook it or even make excuses for it, so you don't want to miss this discussion. It's encouraging, it's inspiring, and it is going to help you to pray even bigger prayers and see God work in big ways in your life. I hope it will encourage you.
Ginger Stache: You think of how some of the things that we pray that we take for granted really are miraculous, big prayers. Just something as simple as, "God, forgive me". I mean, what kind of power that took, all that God went through to send Jesus, to be on the cross, to die, to take our sin, to be resurrected. And it's so hard for us sometimes to accept that forgiveness. And I think that's part of it too. It's like, we don't feel worthy, we feel guilty. And it's not about our feelings anymore. It's about God is so big that he already has taken care of it. So, we pray some things that we kind of shrug off and don't realize what a big important prayer that it is. "God help me to see people the way that you see them". Wow, what a miracle that is for God to help us to do! It changes things.
Joyce Meyer: "Help me love that person the way they are, not the way I want 'em to be".
Ginger Stache: Yes.
Erin Cluley: I was making a list of the things that I thought were like, "Big prayers". Like, if Joyce is gonna tell me to pray big ones, I'm gonna write down what they are. And so, I had that thought too. Like the things that I think are big are probably not the things you're talking about. It's not to, I mean, there's some serious things. Like a friend wrote in, she said, "I've been so anxious lately and have been having panic attacks, and whenever I pray, I feel as though my anxiety is too big for God to hear my prayers". That's a big prayer to pray to God. But some of the things you're saying are so big that I don't give the credit to, and the work that God is doing in me and in others, I see as small, but it's the biggest of them all.
Joyce Meyer: Yeah, and you know, a good thing for people to pray for is that they will receive the forgiveness of God and not live under condemnation.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, not feel it. I love that you said, "Receive it".
Joyce Meyer: Yeah, receive it.
Ginger Stache: Because it's not about, "Let me feel it". That's great.
Joyce Meyer: I know I keep saying, talking about things that God spoke to my heart, but that's how you learn over the years. You know, God speaks through his word, but he also speaks in our heart. And he said, you know, "You've used your faith for everything imaginable. Now, if you want to use it for something really big, use it to live free from guilt and condemnation".
Erin Cluley: Oh, wow.
Ginger Stache: Wow. Yeah.
Erin Cluley: What did you say to him?
Ginger Stache: What freedom that brings?
Joyce Meyer: I mean, God's taught me a lot about that over the years. But when we ask God to forgive us for something, if we really believe he did, then the guilt has to go. Because when the sin is removed, there's nothing to feel guilty about.
Erin Cluley: Yep.
Joyce Meyer: So, if I continue to feel guilty after I've asked God to forgive me, then really what I'm trying to do is add to what Jesus did. I think that his sacrifice wasn't enough, so now I gotta feel bad for three days.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Joyce Meyer: And be mad at myself and hate myself. It takes a lot of faith when you've done something wrong to just ask God to forgive you, to receive it, and go on.
Ginger Stache: Why is it easier for us to believe that for someone else? We have no question that God will forgive them or work in their life. It's more difficult to pray those big things about things in our own life.
Joyce Meyer: I think the enemy comes against us with doubt when it comes to, you know, things about ourself. And, you know, I think it's in Hebrews 12, it says, "To get rid of everything that's a hindrance to us," and get rid of all the weights. And "Looking away from all that will distract unto Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of your faith". Well, nothing distracts me from God more than feeling bad about myself...
Erin Cluley: Oh, so true.
Joyce Meyer: Over something that I did wrong that I've already repented for. I can't go back and undo it. I can't, I mean, I can repent 20 more times, but, you know, the Lord forgives you the first time you ask, if you ask in faith. And so, how about that as a goal for this year? To live free from condemnation and not...
Erin Cluley: That's huge.
Joyce Meyer: You know, not feel guilty for days and days every time you make a mistake. To believe that God is big enough to wash away that sin. I mean, I've got a message prepared that I haven't preached yet, called, "Once and for all". And, you know, if I said to you, "Wouldn't it be great if you could clean your house today and when you get done, say, 'it's done once and for all, I never have to do it again'".
Erin Cluley: Yes!
Ginger Stache: I'm in.
Joyce Meyer: Wouldn't that be great?
Erin Cluley: Sold!
Joyce Meyer: Shall I wave my magic wand to make that happen? But...
Ginger Stache: Wave over this direction, too.
Erin Cluley: You made all the ladies very happy right now.
Joyce Meyer: But the Bible says that as concerning the forgiveness of our sins, he did this once and for all, completely and forever. Jesus has really already forgiven every sin that we're ever gonna commit. I mean, he already paid the price. He already shed his blood. It's already a done deal. All we have to do is repent, admit our sins, and then receive what he gave us. But we really haven't received it if we continue to feel guilty.
Ginger Stache: You know, I think about the way a lot of little kids are and still many, many adults who are like, "Every night I've got to go through the whole list, and if I miss anything, you know, if I don't ask for this one sin to be forgiven, then I may not go to the right place," you know? And it really is a big God who can look at your heart and know all those things. And one of the big things that God has me praying you know, "Lord, search me and know me and take out everything in me that does not bring you glory". And everything, I mean, that's...
Joyce Meyer: Ew, you're gonna be so much better to be around when God answers that prayer.
Ginger Stache: Joyce is like, "Thank you, Lord, that you're talking to her".
Joyce Meyer: "Thank God Ginger's prayin' for that," no.
Erin Cluley: Working on her for you.
Ginger Stache: But that's a big prayer because "Everything," there's a lot of gunk in there. You know, that...
Joyce Meyer: Well, now that you've prayed it, get ready for God to deal with you.
Ginger Stache: I know, it's a little scary when you pray some of those things.
Joyce Meyer: It's like praying for patience, it's like, "Oh, God".
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: That's why these big prayers are kind of scary.
Joyce Meyer: "I'm gonna pray for patience, I don't really want to 'cause I know I'll get a problem".
Erin Cluley: He'll give it to you. One other area of this that I think is kind of on a different perspective of why we don't ask God for big things, is because we don't actually believe that he'll do it. In past experience...
Joyce Meyer: We don't believe he'll do it for us.
Erin Cluley: Correct. I know for sure he's gonna do it for you and you. I don't sometimes believe he's gonna do it for me because of past experiences with him, where I thought he was gonna for sure come through the way that I asked for and he didn't. So, therefore, I just don't think he's gonna do it. So, why would I ask and put myself out there?
Joyce Meyer: Well...
Ginger Stache: She's looking at you for the answer.
Erin Cluley: You tell me why. And how to fix it.
Joyce Meyer: It's funny how you guys are on this program. It's like, you ask all these big questions and then you sit there and look at me.
Erin Cluley: We do. But you usually know the answer.
Joyce Meyer: Well, you know what? The answer to every bit of this is trust.
Erin Cluley: Yeah, for sure. If you ask God for something way back here and you didn't get it, it was because it wasn't right for you.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Joyce Meyer: God never withholds anything good from us that we ask for unless we're not mature enough to handle it. It's not right. Or many times we're asking for things that we feel in our heart, and what we feel is really right, but we're asking out of God's timing. You know, like...
Ginger Stache: It's hard to understand that sometimes.
Joyce Meyer: I mean, I think about when I tried to go on television, a long, I mean, years before God put me on tv, and it was a total disaster. In six months, we got one piece of mail. And I was trying to have a talk show, which gotten a little better at, you know. But I was gonna bring people on like you and i, we were gonna talk. Well, I'd ask a question and then answer the question I asked 'em.
Ginger Stache: That's why we ask you questions.
Joyce Meyer: I wouldn't let anybody else talk. So, I'm not always the best interviewer, but that timing thing. So, see, maybe you asked God for something, and you didn't understand that he had something better he wanted to give you, or that if he would have given it to you then, it might have actually hurt you. And so, that should not deter you from the next time.
Erin Cluley: So how did you come back around? So, you asked him, he says, "No". And then in six months, it's different. Did you ask again? Or did he just, did the old prayer count?
Ginger Stache: Has that one expired yet?
Joyce Meyer: Oh boy!
Erin Cluley: Do I renew it? I just... You laugh, but that just shows the faith that you had that it didn't work the one time.
Joyce Meyer: You're asking some stuff that i...
Ginger Stache: Sometimes you don't want it anymore. You know, when God begins to work in your life...
Joyce Meyer: I don't think there's a biblical answer to that. Does the old prayer not...?
Erin Cluley: I stumped her! Write this down!
Joyce Meyer: That... That... That... Does the old prayer not work anymore, or do I need a new one? Where do you even come up with this stuff?
Erin Cluley: Joyce, I got a bag of 'em. You gotta wait. You wait for me to pull out.
Joyce Meyer: Yeah, you're gonna be interesting to talk to over the next few years, I can tell.
Ginger Stache: It is so much about the way our minds work. We try to put God in a finite box.
Erin Cluley: We do.
Ginger Stache: We try to make God be like our human understanding. Boy, I have done that for years. And you do find that you change and don't want the same thing, because God is working. But let's be honest, you also have things that go wrong that there just is no answer for, that we don't ever understand all of God because he is so big, and why the hard things happen and all of that, but it comes so much down to, "At some point, I have to have peace in the fact that I'm not going to be able to figure everything out".
Joyce Meyer: Well, I got an answer from God to your question while you were talking.
Erin Cluley: I knew it.
Ginger Stache: I'm glad I rambled for a while.
Joyce Meyer: I had to be quiet for a minute. Like Jesus, when he wrote on the ground, you know, for a minute...
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: "Lord, help me answer, erin".
Joyce Meyer: Tell him what to do. You know, it's never gonna hurt to pray again. God won't get mad if you pray again.
Erin Cluley: That's true. That's a good point.
Joyce Meyer: You don't have to worry about "Does the old prayer still count"? That's so funny.
Erin Cluley: Okay, let me throw you another one.
Joyce Meyer: Oh boy, here we go.
Erin Cluley: You just get ready. Okay, so in culture today, a lot of people talk about having a scarcity mindset. So based upon maybe what they've experienced, there was lack. So, there isn't enough for us to all have enough. So, you can't take, because if you have it, I can't have it.
Joyce Meyer: I didn't even know that that was a thing.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: It's a thing.
Ginger Stache: Whether it's love or success or money.
Erin Cluley: Yes.
Joyce Meyer: But that's all fear-based.
Erin Cluley: Very much.
Joyce Meyer: That has nothing to do with faith.
Erin Cluley: No, but I think that translates into the church. And I think our view of how we see God can sometimes be through that same lens. Because if I ask and he doesn't give it to me, or if you're asking, "Did you take it all and he can't help me too? Is there a limit to what he can do"?
Joyce Meyer: No.
Erin Cluley: And I think we wrap him in a box.
Joyce Meyer: There are no limits to God, you cannot put him in a box. He is, I read it in Paul's prayer, here. Apparently, nobody listened to me.
Ginger Stache: I love that.
Erin Cluley: So, sorry: try again.
Joyce Meyer: "So that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of his power in and for us who believe".
Erin Cluley: And I think we leave that out because I have a limit. And I put that limit on him.
Joyce Meyer: Well, see, there's your answer.
Erin Cluley: There's my problem.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Joyce Meyer: You know, I know this sounds simple because I've been at this for 40 years with God. So, you know, you learn a lot over that period of time. But the whole thing that God wants from us is he just wants us to trust him, in everything. No matter what it is, "If I didn't get it, trust him". Ask for anything you want, but if you don't get it, trust that there's a reason. You know, I do think sometimes, if something keeps coming up in you and keeps coming up in you that that maybe is indication that God does want you to have it. But maybe, you need to change the way you pray a little bit. It's like, "God, this is still on my heart, and I prayed about it before and didn't get it, so I'm just asking you when the time is right..."
Erin Cluley: That's really good.
Joyce Meyer: "To give it to me, and to get", you know.
Ginger Stache: "And help me understand what you want".
Joyce Meyer: Yeah, "Maybe I'm trying to get it in a way that is not the way you want me to go about it". Sometimes we get, you know, like, God doesn't give us a blueprint for our whole life. He gives us manna for one day at a time. And so, you can only deal with what you know. And there's so much more that we don't know than what we do know. But I think if we focus our prayers this year on, "What can I do for other people"? This week, in particular, every morning when I've woken up, I go out, I get my coffee right away, and then I go for my chair, spend my time with Jesus. And then, I would just purposely think about and pray for all the people that are gonna wake up this morning and have nobody. The woman that's gonna wake up this morning be afraid that when her husband wakes up, he's gonna abuse her. Or all the people who are gonna wake up in a hospital, racked with pain from cancer. You know, we don't, yes, we can ask God for anything that we want or need. There's nothing so big that you cannot ask God for it. But it's just important to me that people don't just do that and not care about the things that are more important to God, which is not necessarily me getting what me wants. See, I've found out, if I do God's will, he'll take care of me. So, have you ever thought about the fact that you can have a problem that you can't solve, but at the same time, God will anoint you to help somebody else and solve their problem?
Erin Cluley: Yes!
Joyce Meyer: Doesn't that make you mad?
Erin Cluley: It's baffling. Yes.
Joyce Meyer: Why does God prevent you from helping yourself while he lets you help somebody else? Because he doesn't want you...He wants you to help other people, then you're sowing seed for him to bring a harvest in your life. He doesn't want you doing it for yourself. He wants to do it for you.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: Which we could so easily miss 'cause we're so focused on ourselves getting...
Joyce Meyer: Works the flesh.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: Here's a verse that I think is a great one as we kind of wrap this up.
Joyce Meyer: Oh, are we done already?
Ginger Stache: Well, we've got a few more minutes. We can talk about more.
Erin Cluley: I got questions.
Ginger Stache: But this is a beautiful...
Joyce Meyer: We can talk about prayer for months.
Ginger Stache: More questions. Luke 1:45 says, "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises for her". And so...
Joyce Meyer: But it doesn't say when.
Ginger Stache: Exactly, and it's not about just everything you ask for, it's his promises for her. His promises for you, whatever it is that you're praying for, that if you're asking for God's promises, it's different than just those things that we want, and maybe even what feels really important at the time, it's hard to understand, but I think that's a really beautiful one to stand on. When we're talking about asking God for big things, this is about having the faith for the big things that are in line with God's word and his will for us.
Joyce Meyer: Well, the Bible says in Mark 11, anything we ask for, even up to move that mountain, that God will give it to us, but it does not say when. And it says, and "When you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, loose it, and let it go".
Ginger Stache: Yeah, go do that first.
Joyce Meyer: We cannot talk about prayer today without saying if you're holding unforgiveness against somebody, that's probably why your prayer's not getting answered. And this has been really on your heart too. This has been really important.
Joyce Meyer: I am astounded. Eighty, ninety percent of people when I ask, you know, if they're angry at someone or mad at someone. I mean, you saw it at the women's conference, that we had not too long ago. I mean, 90% of the people stood up for prayer. First of all, I'm glad that they're bold enough to say, "I need help in this area," but...
Erin Cluley: Yeah, good for them.
Ginger Stache: With forgiveness specifically.
Joyce Meyer: There's so much strife in the world today. And forgiveness, when we don't forgive people, it hinders our prayers. My daughter said yesterday, she said, "You said something on your program this morning that was profound". Well, I didn't watch my program, but she said, "You said, 'that God forgives...' and there's a scripture, 'that God forgives our sins for his own sake'".
Ginger Stache: How's that work?
Erin Cluley: Say more.
Joyce Meyer: Say more.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Joyce Meyer: Okay, then why does he ask us to forgive other people? It's for us.
Erin Cluley: Oh, wow.
Joyce Meyer: God forgives us for his own sake. He doesn't want that in him. He doesn't wanna be mad at us. He doesn't wanna have something against us. So, he forgives us for his own sake. And so, when he's asking me to forgive somebody that's hurt me, it's not for them. It's really not for them. I'm not doing them a favor. It's for me. I don't have to have that burden. I don't have to have that misery inside of me, that bitterness, that poison on the inside of me. And if we don't forgive people, the Bible does say plainly, that God will not answer our prayers.
Ginger Stache: Wow. Yeah, that really teaches us so much on two levels. The fact that God is just waiting to forgive us. He's gonna do it. He wants to do it. So, if we give that to him, it is gonna happen. But we do have some responsibility in this, as well.
Joyce Meyer: God never asks us to do for anybody else what he has not done for us. And he never asks us to do anything that we can't do. And a lot of people with unforgiveness, they think, "But I'm justified in my unforgiveness," but we are never justified in our unforgiveness. God is the only one that can justify us.
Erin Cluley: It just makes us feel like we have the power.
Joyce Meyer: And he does that by his blood.
Erin Cluley: Sure.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: I have a question just as we're finishing. This one's good. It's not hard, or silly.
Ginger Stache: No question's silly.
Erin Cluley: Thank you.
Joyce Meyer: I'm still trying to get over the last one.
Erin Cluley: So, I've worked for you for a long time and there's, it's not every year, but sometimes you'll have a thought for the year or just something God has put on your heart for the year. So, for this to be the thing that has been put on your heart for 2024, what is it that makes this so special to you and so important to you, at this time?
Joyce Meyer: Well, I feel like that we are in a time, in the world and in the church, I'm just gonna say this plain because we don't have a ton of time left. There's a lot of mixture in the church and in Christian's lives. You know, they believe in God. Things are getting' kind of lukewarm, you know. It's like, go a little bit with the world, and go a little bit with God. And I really want people to go full-on with God and really be bold enough to take a stand in the world, and say, "That's not right and I'm not gonna take part in it. I don't care if I never have one friend in the whole world, I'm gonna go with Jesus. I'm gonna stand with what he wants". Jesus said, and it's recorded in Revelation and it's really kind of scary. "I would rather that you be hot or cold. Because if you're lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth". I mean, when we really stop and think about some of these things, and I've been thinking lately, so many people don't realize, and this is not to scare anybody, but it's just reality. The day is gonna come when we're gonna stand before God and give an account of our lives. And so, now, right now, is the time to make a decision to be a full-on, fully committed Christian, not just one who's a Christian on Sunday and back to being like the world on Monday. And that's gonna take a lot of prayer in your life. It may not be prayers for things. And I'll just, I mean, I know this, I know that I know, that I know, that I know, if you do what God asks you to do, he will reward you. The Bible says that he "Rewards those who diligently seek him". And he gives us, if we put him first, he gives us the desires of our heart. You don't have to worry about not gettin' your stuff. You know, your things. God will give you whatever you want that's right for you. And it's okay to ask for...
Ginger Stache: So much more than you ever knew you needed.
Erin Cluley: Absolutely.
Joyce Meyer: And it's perfectly fine to ask for them. But don't just camp on top of that and make that the only thing. You know, like, let's just take, for example, maybe a single woman who wants to get married. Okay, well, it's perfectly fine to pray that God will bring you a husband. But then go on about your business and serve God with your whole heart, don't just make it a thing where, "I can never be happy if I don't get what I want". You know, we gotta, let's put God first.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Erin Cluley: That's good.
Ginger Stache: I don't think anything else needs to be said. Just thank you so much. And we just wanna encourage all of you. A big God is loving you in such a big way that he can handle everything about you.
Joyce Meyer: Yes!
Ginger Stache: And that when you give it all to him, he will take care of every need. You can go to joycemeyer.Org/talkitout. You can watch all of our other episodes. You can find out more about the podcast and us. And you can find out a whole lot of really great stuff at joycemeyer.Org about what it means to walk with Jesus in more of Joyce's teachings. So, thank you all so much for being with us. Thank you, friends. It's been fun. Good questions, good answers.
Joyce Meyer: Yeah, I can't wait for you to pick on me again.
Erin Cluley: Oh, Joyce, you don't know what's comin'.
Ginger Stache: Well, see you later.
Erin Cluley: Bye.