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Hello, and welcome. I’m Chris Lepine, and this is the fourth podcast of the series for December the third, 2022. How to get answers to your prayers every time. Again, welcome. It’s great to have you here. And if you’ve been listening to the podcast so far, I appreciate all your support. My goal today is to help you get a new perspective on prayer, and the best way to get answers to your prayer. I think once you get done listening to this podcast, your prayers will be more effective. And you’re gonna find that you’re going to get more answers and more powerful answers to your prayer. So those are the main benefits that you’ll see today.
Prayer is a topic that’s quite universal. We know through polling that most people pray, in some form. Their conception of God may differ: Your idea about God may differ from mine. But usually, when we’ve got challenges in our life, especially if it’s a crisis, or we’re going through great pain, we are asking for help from some extra human source, from God, from angels, from the universe, from fate. That’s usually how people think about it. And when you look at it, that’s pushing us toward prayer.
Most people do not pray on a consistent daily basis, at a consistent time, with a consistent amount of effort. Most of us pray when under pressure, when we’ve got some great challenge . . We just kind of cruise along most of the time. And the things that really push us toward prayer (whether we pray regularly, or whether we pray once in a while), are of course, the challenges in our lives. In general, we’re faced with a lot: we’ve got a lot of uncertainty; we have very little control over external events that are going to impact our lives, the lives of our family. We, of course, can make many choices that are going to limit the types of things that can get us. But in the end, there are always random events that can happen. And you know, when you look at even just our physical health, that’s one where you can have a lot of impact on it. Ultimately, things can come in that are unpredictable that are that are going to hurt us or eventually lead to our deaths. So our lives have great, great uncertainty.
Even if you look at, especially, when we make decisions, when we’re making choices, it’s not always going to turn out the way we thought or evolve the way we thought it would. Those are many of the challenges and just the the ordinary garden variety challenges. But, many people are dealing with extremely stressful, terrifying challenges. You may be in an abusive relationship (you may be in a situation like this); you may be in a war zone, literally getting bombed; you may have been threatened by someone; you may be dealing with some type of addiction; you may have just lost your job; you may have a death in the family; you may have lost a child; you may be going through a divorce. There are many, many challenges that are extreme; it’s intense.
Usually these things lead us to seek for help outside of ourselves. Because, in the end, most of us recognize that we are limited and need the help. No matter how proud we are, at some point, if there is enough pressure, most people are going to ask for help. And I think that’s not a bad thing. It’s good to keep the attitude that you’re going to excel . . . you’re going to move forward. That’s not only the challenge to us: It’s when we’re looking at things that are happening to our family, to our friends, our co workers (we pray for them as well).
And just just look out into the world. We have extreme challenges everywhere. You can think about political stability, climate change, gun violence, education, et cetera . . . it’s vast there, very vast. So it’s not surprising that with all of these challenges, we’re praying for things to turn out differently. And an example of a prayer like this might be, “God, look, my friend has suffered enough. Please get him a good job. Heal him; get him better health.” We’re praying for outcomes over and over: make this happen; God, make this happen, God . . . over and over. I’m not saying we do this exclusively, but I think a lot of us do. And it’s not surprising because we want these things to change.
I think it’s a good thing that we want these things to change, it’s a good thing that we don’t accept many of these outcomes. But when we don’t see the change. When we pray, when we don’t see the changes, when we don’t get the things we’re praying for, when the things we want to happen don’t happen, even though we’re sincere, even though we’re trying to live good lives, we can get frustrated that our prayers are not getting answered, or that our prayers aren’t answered in the right way, or that the answer is taking forever.
So these kinds of things, I think, lead many of us to frustration in prayer. I’ve had a few frustrations myself, and I’m sure you have to. And that’s why this is a real important topic. So you look at it, and you think, “Well, if God is such a good, loving, giving, caring God, if God really cares about us, why aren’t we getting answers to our prayers? What’s the problem here?” And when you start to ask these questions (when many people ask these questions) it starts to sow the seeds of doubt about God, about the universe, about your place in the universe. That’s an important thing to understand that when you go through this, and you ask these questions, it can lead to these doubts, and it’s not surprising at all.
Even if your conception of God is a good one, it can lead to a lot of frustration about why prayers aren’t being answered, especially if you’ve been through disappointment, after disappointment, after disappointment. So, our reaction, our frustrations are really dependent . . . They’re really born from our conception of God and the purpose of life, and the nature of life and freewill. It’s that combination of things: You could have the best conception of God possible, but if you don’t understand what this means for life, what it means for free will, and the purpose of life, then you’re going to be disappointed.
I’d like you to please, no matter what you’ve been through, open your mind. And just contemplate this podcast for the next few days. And just trust that the Spirit of God within you is going to reveal the truth, is going to help you grow. Please understand that your God, our God, is the best possible God you could imagine, that God is perfect. God cares about you; God loves you as if you were the only being in the entire universe: complete, unconditional love. God wants the best for you. God has an astounding, amazing destiny for you. God wants you to be happy. God wants you to grow. God is always there for you, despite the disappointments, the frustrations, the pain, and perhaps, the agony that you’re enduring. Please understand this.
Let me take a few minutes to try to explain and walk through this, this whole question about how we can get answers to our prayers. It’s going to take some reframing; it’s going to take you thinking about this in a different way and giving yourself the permission to do that.
It starts with trust.
Let’s let’s look about our ideas, our conception of God. God is a perfect, loving divine parent. God is a perfect Loving, Father; God loves as a father loves. God is always there for you. Period. And so God is always seeking to give you everything you need to find the greatest degree of happiness and fulfillment in this life and the next, and for you to help others. This is all based on the idea that God is a perfect loving God, far beyond what we can imagine. You are a child of God, and we are all children of God. The pathway, the pathway to happiness and growth and an eternal life . . . that pathway is number one, that you accept and follow the leading of God. And number two, that you’re serving others: It’s the acceptance of the reality of God, following God’s will, in perceiving it, and doing it. It’s all of those things. That’s the foundation.
Just realize that the greatest happiness and satisfaction is based on what God wants for you, not what you want for yourself. This means that we’ve got to trust God: God can see around the corners. God placed you in your life, in your circumstances, for a reason: You have a unique place in his plan in this universe. And the things that are happening to you right now may not bring you the full benefits until years, decades, or centuries later. Because God wants you to have an eternal life, right now is a tremendous opportunity to exercise faith to accept God and move forward. It’s an astounding opportunity, especially with what’s going on in the world today.
When we think about that, the purpose of life, the purpose of your life of my life, is to grow and help others grow in an eternal relationship with our loving Heavenly Father, with the Creator-upholder of the universe, protector of this universe. That should change our outlook on the things that are hitting us. So once we realize that the conditions of life are really there as a gift, however painful they may be, then challenges, pains, frustrations are all opportunities to grow. And that the inner citadel of the Spirit, the soul, the inner experience of God, is impregnable and can never be touched. No matter how much pain and suffering we may need to go through, ultimately, we can find the deepest levels of satisfaction and happiness in doing the Father’s will, in serving others.
That means that the way we pray, the purpose of prayer changes: Instead of praying for a certain outcome, what we should be praying for are things that help us grow. We should be praying for things that help other people grow. Because true ethical praying means that I or you have done everything we can to meet the challenge. And when you’ve done that, when you are really, really trying, then God is going to step in and give you more power, more strength, and help you to grow even more, and help you to face that challenge. Now God does step in and change events once in a while to do special things; that’s true, but that’s not the rule.
We are really the instruments of God and we have more power and strength than we can imagine. Few of us use the faith that we really have. So when you pray, you should go in with an attitude of total trust, seeking growth and being willing to put out the effort. First, try to solve your problems as best you can. Seek energy and guidance and strength from God and then go and follow God’s guidance: This will lead to the greatest happiness–the greatest growth. And so when we pray, when you pray, pray for attitudes. Pray for qualities. Pray for strength. Pray for all the ingredients that will help you grow. Pray for what will help others grow. Don’t pray for an outcome. Pray that you can act on the Father’s will. Pray that you can perceive the Father’s will, and then act on that will. And then we just leave the rest of God.
I’ll give you an example. I have a strong desire to write books and share them with the world, as you may have guessed from my website. So I’m out there trying to do the best and I want to reach as many people as I can. That’s an outcome that I’m pushing for (and it’s okay to push for that outcome). But when I pray, I’m trying not to pray for a specific outcome. But I am praying that God gives me the strength to do the best I can. Then how many people I reach . . . when I reach them . . . that’s up to God: It’s not up to me.
I would love to do this all day long, full time: You can ask my family and friends. But right now I’ve got a full time job. It’s a very intensive job, very demanding. So I do this when I can. So even though I want to reach a lot of people, even though I want the outcome of being able to do this all day long, I can’t right now. All I can do is listen to the leading of God, pray for strength and insight, and act on that leading. And that will contribute to what I’m doing. I have to trust. So the outcomes, the consequences, the repercussions of what I’m doing, are all in God’s hands. I can’t control that. I can just seek to be of service to as many people as I can and do it.
This applies to all aspects of our prayer life.
What does it mean when we shift the focus? If we have a focus that the purpose of prayer is to grow, is to help others grow, is to contribute to our universal Father’s plan–if that’s the purpose–then when we’re hit with challenges in our lives, for ourselves, our family, our friends, things that we see in the world, then our shift is to, of course, get the strength to meet the challenge . . . get the insight, get the guidance from God, get the courage, the security, the peace, the confidence, the energy–whatever quality you’re lacking . . . God is going to give that to you. That’s what we’re looking for. So the purpose of prayer is to get those things.
The more you accept, what you’re experiencing inside, the better your choice, the better your chances. So our attitude when we go into prayer is one of trust, of growth of effort. The words that you’re saying are not nearly as important as your attitude. And that attitude as we learned a couple podcasts back, is the foundation for all growth or all belief. The attitude is one of sincerity, a sincere desire to know the truth, to know growth, to know God to serve others, to be selfless. To serve others is the true religion of Jesus; his was a religion of service. And we know that our loving God is going to give us everything we need to do that. And once we spend time in that, once we when we pray when we listen (there should be a pause), we begin to feel the confidence, the strength coming.
When we pray after we pour our hearts out. We should be listening. And when we do that, when we pause like in any conversation, we are going to feel the embrace of our Heavenly Father, of God We’re gonna feel it all. And that will only grow. It won’t be easy at first, because, like anything else, prayer is based on a technique. And we’ll just get better and better at it. You can pray anytime, anywhere, that’s true, but the more time you spend alone with God completely isolated–the better–on a regular basis, like anything else we do. That consistency will will pay off for you.
When you pray for things, if you pray for outcomes, you’re not going to get answers; you’re not going to get what you want. And the reason is that God is focused on your growth–period. You may get what you think is an answer from God once in a while, where something comes through, and maybe it was a direct answer to your plea. It might be. But I would say most of the time, the prayer that always gets answers is the prayer for growth, is the prayer for energy for the qualities to grow in this universe to do God’s will. People get frustrated, get doubtful, get discouraged, if they pray for things if they pray for specific outcomes. Remember that our purpose is to grow.
Our loving God has given us the privilege of self consciousness, and free will choice. I know who I am, and I can make choices in the world. And these choices have impacts. I can see I can co-create with God. I can do things. And so when we go through and make these choices, sometimes we get what we want: Usually we don’t get what we want. And that’s why the true answer to prayer, the true answer to any prayer we utter, are the qualities that help us grow and help us serve others. I could go in and pray to God in a very selfish way for certain outcomes for certain things. And God is still trying to get through to me; God is still bathing me as best he can, as best I will let him . . . he’s bathing me with the truth, and with the inspiration to do the right thing. He’s going to tell me what the right thing is.
The more I have the attitude of growth, of listening to God of openness, the more I’m gonna see. Your beliefs are doorways. If they’re the right beliefs, if your belief is about growth, truth, acceptance of who God is, that’s a doorway to what he wants to give you. If your belief about God is a very, very fearful one, not trusting . . . if you want God to just be a Santa Claus and give you gifts, then that’s a wall–not a doorway. When you pray in a selfish way, you’re just not going to get the answers: You’re gonna get frustrated. Really, if you look at it, the only answer to prayer that God can give you is a spiritual answer, because God is a spiritual being.
You’re going to get total immersion in God, in God’s Spirit that lives within you, and what better experience and what better gift could there be than that, to completely energize you, amplify you, and inspire you to action, to growth. And in doing that, you’re going to realize the most fulfillment and joy and success. When you pray for growth, when you pray for others for their growth, when you pray for spiritual qualities and insight, inspiration, when you pray for knowledge of God’s will, and the truth, when you pray, to be more cooperative, to have a better attitude, you are opening the doorway to let in the light to immerse yourself in the presence of God. And this very immersion in God with your open heart will begin to transform you every time.
When you pray, the answer to your prayer is going to be the presence of God, the inspiration of God ,and the transformation of you: You will be growing your soul. Sometimes a God is going to bring in a resource you need in your life, right at the right time. God can do anything. God might change and events, just to help you on your spiritual quest. I can’t say how often, I can’t say when, but it does happen. But most of the time, it’s about growth, it is about cooperating with God. The ultimate answer to prayer is growth, the joy of life and helping other people have the joy of life. And as you pray for those kinds of answers, you will always get answers to your prayer, every single time you’ll get an answer to a prayer. Sometimes that answer is immediate. Sometimes that answer is delayed for a time when you can actually benefit from the answer.
Think of it this way: Let’s say you’ve got a three-year-old who’s praying for something that the three-year-old could not even excel interpret or make use of until they were much older. That three year old might be praying for the ability to drive a car, if she sees her mom driving the car. Well, we know that probably, she’s going to have to wait till she’s 15 or 16, to have driver education and have access to a car to drive the car. So the answer to your prayers might need to be delayed. But trust God to give you the answers at the right time, and in the right amount in the right way. God always answers prayers, oftentimes not the way we think he would or when he would. But he will give you the best answers to your prayers, every time if you go with total faith and trust in your loving divine parent.
And that will lead you, it will help lead your family and friends, into the future they were meant to have. You are meant to have an astounding destiny: You just need to choose it and let God’s Spirit show you that path. And as more people do this, this will truly transform our world.
We will get answers to our prayers every time. It is the ultimate astounding adventure. Just think of it. You are a child of God. I am a child of God: We are brothers and sisters. We are the children of the very creator of all reality of the entire universe. And he has placed in each of us a unique spirit presence to guide us–is Spirit. His spirit is teaching each of us individually. He’s teaching us just what we need to know, to move forward. And we’ve got the best possible teacher if we just listen. We’re going to get everything we need. When we make the decision to listen, when we make the decision to pray in the right way, he is going to lead us.
Remember who God is: God is your loving Divine Parent; God is your loving, Divine Father. He has unconditional love for you and knows what you need. He can see around the corners. He knows every decision you’re going to make for eternity. And in eternity, He has already arranged everything you will need from a spiritual perspective. It’s all there. We just need to cooperate and listen and take the incredible ride to our destiny. And that’s really what prayer is about . . . giving the only thing we can give to God: The only thing we can give to God is our cooperation with his will.
Even when we’re off the path, when we’ve got the wrong attitude, even when we get angry or make mistakes, even when we’re lazy or inconsistent or selfish or self centered, He is still there. He does not abandon us. He’s gently coaxing us, helping us along to get a better and better attitude to realize our destiny. So my friends, please, as you go forward, realize that God is ready to give you the best answers that you can handle, when you need them, in the amount you need them, for as long as you need them.
So join me in this stupendous journey of prayer: You will get the answers you need every day. Every time you ask. Remember to pray for growth, or inspiration for strength. Pray for qualities. Don’t pray for things. Pray for the benefit of others. Forgive others. Pray for your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. Have faith when you pray; believe that the prayer you’re making will help you feel that divine power within. Accept it. Say “Yes, I feel that.” And that means that my prayers will be effective. When you believe that, you are really releasing the power of prayer within yourself. And when you release that power of prayer within yourself on a regular basis, you will truly begin the eternal journey and feel the very depths of the Father’s love for you. And you will begin to live your destiny and be on the greatest adventure of your life–the Adventure of the answers to prayer.
Every time you pray, you will get an answer.
So, thanks, everybody, for joining me on this podcast today. How to get answers to your prayers every time. Next week, I’ll be doing another topic. I don’t know what it’s going to be. I just often go as the Spirit moves me, but I really hope to see you again next time. Please remember on December 10, my new book, Profound Prayer is coming out. You can get it on amazon.com and it’s available in audio, ebook, paper, and hardback. Thanks again for your support, and if you have any questions, just let me know on my website. I wish you guys a great week and profound praying. Take care. Bye bye.
–Chris Lepine
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