An Ancient Arrow Prayer

[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the Erickson Covenant Podcast. We are so glad that you've joined us today. We confess that we don't have all the answers, but as a community, we seek to find and follow Jesus and to discover daily the life he has always wanted for us. We hope this message will be encouraging and will inspire you to take the next steps on your spiritual journey. If we can help you in any way, please connect with us. The easiest way is through our [email protected] let's get started. [00:00:38] Speaker B: We're in our Ancient Prayer series where we're intentionally digging back into the Old Testament to unearth some real treasures to polish them up and see if they might be useful for us today. And I think we're finding that there's a lot there to glean for us. Today's ancient prayer is a bit different than what we've explored so far because we don't really receive new words to pray per se. Rather, this ancient prayer we're looking at today, it models a kind of snappy prayer for us to pray in those moments just before something big is going to happen, just before you're entering into something confusing, just before you have to do something hard. A short, plain, quick prayer. It's maybe desperate, usually a bit messy. Sometimes it's barely audible and other times it just bursts out loud from you. It's a prayer that shoots out like an arrow from a bow. Have you ever blurted out a prayer just before you got out of the car to meet with someone like, oh, Jesus? You know that kind of prayer? Anyone? Just me. Or maybe you remember crying out help before you had to face something hard. You ever find yourself murmuring under your breath, lord, do something when you feel really stuck? I sure have. Have you ever been in that kind of place? Ever found yourself murmuring out some kind of prayer? That's why I was so encouraged to discover this ancient arrow prayer that is found in the book of Nehemiah. It's found in Nehemiah chapter 2. Nehemiah is in the first half of the Bible, first half of the Old Testament, in fact, and it's right toward the end of the historical books, a few books before the Psalms, if you want to find it. There's Bibles scattered around the room. The text is not going to be on the screen today because it's quite a larger section. Just this little bit will be though. But we're going to be exploring this Arrow prayer from Nehemiah. Here's the Arrow prayer from Nehemiah 2, 4, 5. That will be on the screen. Here it is. The king said to me, what is it you want? Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king. I love how succinct that is, how punchy, don't you? I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the King. I prayed to the God of Heaven and I answered the King. Now, we don't know what Nehemiah said, but we glimpse in this tiny moment, this little pause, this quiet arrow prayer shot emerging from deep within, right in that fraction of an instant that it takes to grab a breath and give an answer. I prayed to the God of Heaven and I answered the King. Now, there's more to explore there, but before we go any further, let's just name and see how simple this arrow prayer is and what it tells us. First, it tells us that prayers can be short, direct, to the point, and in the moment of great need. Prayer does not need to be fancy. It doesn't need to have a formal introduction and some flowery vocabulary and then the proper kind of sign off to be prayer. You don't need to shut your eyes or fold your hands. Prayer can be as instinctual as a baby's cry, as visceral as a painful grunt, as natural as breathing. Never downplay the power of a punchy prayer. Second, God hears these prayers. God is so available to us, we often forget that. But he's as close as our very breath. And these kinds of desperate prayers are of special importance to him because it's in those moments that we realize our inadequacy and we express our great need for Him. And arrow prayers like this can be prayed at any time. You know that moment when you're rolling over from your left side to your right side in the middle of the night, right then, or just as you're going to go into that big meeting at work, right then, or in that fraction of a moment before you're about to lose it on your kids, right then, Father, I need you. Jesus, help Holy Spirit, fill me. Or just simply God help me. And the eternal compassionate God who loves you. He hears your cry. When you cry out to him, he hears you. One of Tennille's favorite scriptures highlights this. She had this posted above our sink, stuck to our window for a few. Well, for quite a while, during a particularly difficult season of our lives. It was proverbs or not Proverbs. Psalm 34, 17, 18 from the Message translation. And this is what it says. Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you if Your heart is broken. You'll find God right there. If you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. That's how good our Father is and how ready Jesus is to hear us and help us anytime anyway, so shoot your arrow prayer and know that it always hits its target. Our triune God is listening, will find God right there. I hope you hear that today. Well, this story of Nehemiah, when you dig into it, it drives this truth even deeper. The backstory to this little arrow prayer that we heard where Nehemiah says, pray to the God of heaven and I answer the king, it lays out a broader context and I think it enhances our understanding of how these kind of short, punchy prayers fit into our lives. And as followers of Jesus, and as I dug into it, I was fascinated by what I discovered and I was really encouraged and I wanted to share that with you today. So let's walk through the opening of Nehemiah's story of the story of Nehemiah. That's why if you want to turn to it in your Bibles, do so. But I'll be reading it out loud as well. But before we get any further, who was Nehemiah? A little bit of historical context. Nehemiah, he was one of the Jewish exiles who grew up far away from the land of Israel, generations after God's people were ripped away from Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This is now years later, and the Jews had already received permission through Cyrus to return to their homeland. And many of them had done so. They've been living back in the land now for quite some time. But Nehemiah had never returned. Nehemiah stayed in Persia and he had done really well for himself. He was in fact, an upper level Jewish bureaucrat in the court of the great Persian king, Artaxerxes. And as such, he was a wealthy elite accustomed to power and privilege and influence. Nehemiah was the royal cup bearer, we're told. And it meant that he was not only in charge of sort of the. The food and beverage industry of the king's court. You know, the hospitality guy, kind of like the head butler, he was that. But also that he would quite literally taste the king's wine, little sip before he'd give that same cup, you know, swap and spit with the king of all kings at the time, Artaxerxes. And he would do that to ensure that the king's cup wasn't poisoned. Bad luck for him if it was, but he would be the first one to drop dead. But more than a butler. Nehemiah was also a very close companion of the king. He would have been privy to state and family secrets. And he would have acted as a gatekeeper to the king and enjoyed a place of trust and confidence. That's Nehemiah. So let's pick up the story in Nehemiah chapter one. I'm going to read from chapter one and a bit in into chapter two. And you'll hear the arrow prayer that I already read. You'll hear it come up in the story, but this will lay out the larger story. So hear this. Just listen along or read along. I'm reading from the new international version. Here we go. The words of Nehemiah, son of Halakiah. In the month of Kislev in the 20th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa Hanani, one of my brothers came from Judah with some other men. And I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire. When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said, lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer. Your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses saying, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizons, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling place for my name. They are your servants and your people whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was cupbearer to the king in the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. So the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid. But I said to the king, may the king live forever. Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? The king said to me, what is it you want? Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king, if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it. Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, how long will your journey take and when will you get back? It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time. I also said to him, if it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans Euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy. And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. And the story goes on to detail Nehemiah's extraordinary leadership feat of pulling together this ragtag, beaten down group of exiles and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Tremendous local opposition. I encourage you to read it on in your own time. Well, as I reflected on this opening story, I couldn't help notice but notice how Nehemiah's arrow prayer shot in that tiny moment between the king's question and Nehemiah's answer. That arrow prayer was not an isolated event. It wasn't a one off prayer that sort of came out of nowhere. The prayer that he prayed, that we don't even know what exactly he prayed, but that arrow prayer, it emerged from a much larger story and it reveals much about how our own arrow prayers can be enhanced and amplified. What makes these arrow prayers so meaningful? How can our arrow prayers be maximized? What makes our short bursts for God's help even more significant? Well, three things emerge for me from this story. Let's look at them. First, I noticed that arrow prayers are best shot after informed investigation by the time Nehemiah is sipping the cup. And then, you know, Shooting up his quick prayer to God as he answers the king. He already understood what was going on. He already had a clear idea of what God wanted him to do. How well, Nehemiah showed a deep, heartfelt interest in the condition of his people back in Jerusalem. He's questioning his own brother Hananiah, about it. He's finding out what the real situation is. Nehemiah finds out that these people are in great trouble and disgrace. And what's more, they're defenseless. The wall of Jerusalem broken down and its gates burned with fire indicate these people are vulnerable and exposed. Nehemiah lives in the lap of luxury, but the people, they're just hanging out there. Nehemiah, he's privy to power and privilege, but these people are harried and disgraced. And Nehemiah does a significant amount of investigation to understand exactly what was happening there, exactly what's going on, exactly who are the players and what needs to happen. And we know this because later, if you read on the story, Nehemiah proves to be extremely informed about what exactly is going on in a city that he's never been to. And he's able to make requests and decisions based on his good investigation. Well, what does that all mean for us? Sometimes when we think of arrow prayers, God help. We can wrongly imagine that these are just foxhole prayers, that these are just grunts for help from someone who rarely prays, doesn't often think of God, but is desperate enough to try anything, Right? And that can be the case. I want you to know God does hear those kinds of prayers. He's that gracious. And if you've never tried praying, I challenge you to give it a whirl. Throw up a few. What do you have to lose? Think of your most desperate situation and try praying about it and just watch and see what God might do in response. But in the case of Nehemiah, the arrow prayer that we discover it comes from informed investigation. He did the hard work of finding out what. What exactly was happening there, what needs to be done, exactly. Nehemiah attentively listened to his brother Hananiah and probably others. And when we're facing difficult situations, we're navigating stressful seasons, when we're trying to share the good news of Jesus with a friend, or we're taking on a massive project that could potentially fail, or we're trying out how to best guide our children in the ways of Jesus. We. We need to follow the example of Nehemiah and do some serious investigating. Think of a situation that you've been facing maybe at work, or maybe in a relationship, friendship or family. Or maybe it's around a troubling question that you're trying to understand. Like Nehemiah, dig deep, do your part. Investigate, you know, what's actually going on here. What do I know about this and what do I not know? What does the Bible have to say about this? Go to God's Word and find out. Who could I go to for wise counsel so that I could be better informed and have a better understanding of how to navigate this particular thing? Are there books that I could read or podcasts that I could listen to or things that I need to consider? There will be times in our life, for sure, when we'll face surprises and we won't see it coming and we won't have any advance prep. I understand that Jesus promises to help us in those moments when we're not sure. But that doesn't mean that we ignore good investigation or that we spurn good information. We seek to understand and allow the situation on the ground to be better understood, to inform us so that we can effectively respond. In my life, I enjoy the great privilege of helping people discern how to live, how to follow Jesus, how to navigate, sometimes within some pretty distinct pressures. Family pressures, ideological pressures, social pressures, pressures in particular that are challenging the truth of God's word and maybe even common sense and how they're supposed to live. In the midst of that, when I'm meeting with people to discuss what it is they're wrestling with, they don't always give me advance warning. I really like it. If they do, though, I always get advance warning. So it's on me to be well prepared for a variety of things. But when I'm meeting with people that discuss whatever it is they're wrestling with, sometimes they're wrestling with gender ideology, stuff that may maybe their kids are here in the school, or they're wrestling with an anti Christian bias at work, or maybe they're helping, trying to help their kids navigate technology, or they're evaluating political platforms, or they're trying to wrestle through a theological answer to something, whatever it might be. I know how much I need God's help to provide good, solid biblical guidance. I know that. And so I don't just show up thinking, well, I hope God will help me in the moment. Download for me whatever I need so that I'll be able to say whatever needs to be said. No, I do pray for help right before I meet someone. I do. But I don't show up completely uninformed I actually do my best to understand beforehand what God's word says about a particular thing or issue or struggle or question. I try to understand what's going on in the broader culture, what's going on historically, how do I understand these things? And I try to have some grip on how it is that we as the church can respond faithfully as followers of Jesus in a world that rejects Christ and rejects his rule. So my short prayer for God's help, which I definitely pray, is being shot from the best informed investigation I can give to it. The most effective arrow prayers are best shot after informed investigation when we've taken responsibility, the responsibility God has given us to grow in understanding, to ask him for wisdom, to do the hard work of learning, to seek godly counsel, to understand what it is that we really need and how best to to meet it. This doesn't minimize our need for God. It's actually our way of participating in what only God can do. Because we understand as we dig in that it's only through a work of the Holy Spirit that we're going to be able to do what he's called us to do, that the hearts and minds of people are going to change, that this situation is going to be covered. It's only after informed investigation that we can really understand how much we need God to be at work. Well, by the time Nehemiah prays to the God of Heaven and answers the King, he is as informed as he can be. Second arrow prayers are best shot from a bent bow. It's striking to me how Nehemiah in chapter one moves from investigation to confession. Did you notice that when I heard these things, the investigation part, I sat down and wept for some days. I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. That's the confession part. And Nehemiah launches into a long prayer of humble repentance, recognizing that they're in this place of disgrace not because God has been unfaithful, but because they have been unfaithful. He says, we have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. But notice, Nehemiah also infuses his confession of sin with a profession of hope, a hope that is rooted in God's promises, the hope of return. When he says, if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to this place. Nehemiah interprets the sorry state of his people. In the shadow of their sin, yes, but also in the light of God's promise. And he comes out at the end asking Yahweh twice to give ear, to listen, to be attentive to the prayer of his servants so that he will give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. Well, this prayer and this fasting this morning, it went on for months. The little today at the end of the prayer might make us forget or think that all this is happening within a few hours. That Nehemiah, you know, he heard about the plight of his people and he's just wrecked and devastated. And he goes into work the next day and the king noticed how sad he looked, right? You can kind of collapse it a bit if we're not paying attention, but that's not how it was. We're told that it actually took a minimum of four months, certainly in the Hebrew calendar, four months. But it might have actually spanned five or six of our calendar months for all this to play out. Could have been up to a half a year. Hannah and I came to Nehemiah in the month of Kislev, which would be kind of late fall, early winter, maybe November, December in our calendars. And then Nehemiah doesn't ask the king for help until the month of Nisan four months later, which would in springtime, maybe May, even June. What does this tell us? Well, Nehemiah's arrow prayer fired off in that instant before the big moment when he asks the king for help to restore the wall of Jerusalem. This little grunt for help as he drew his bath to speak. That prayer emerges from a long season of prayer and fasting, a multiple months long reckoning with the guilt and sin of his family and of his people and a recognition that God would be faithful in response to their repentance. Arrow prayers are best shot from bent bows, from a life that is shaped by this humble, consistent practice of prayer. Intentional times of communion, honest reflection, scripture reading, heartfelt worship that stretches over months and even years. These short, bursting prayers that we all experience and see and hear, they bubble up from a much deeper spring. They're like surface ripples of a much stronger current underneath. Now, people often tell me that they pray all the time. I hear this quite a bit. I talk to God all the time, I'm told. And that's great. I'm glad to hear it. But here's the sad truth that often lies underneath that statement. What they often mean is that they might talk to God all the time. They might say things or have a conversation with God, but they hardly ever. And they maybe never actually slow down their lives enough to just sit and only talk to God. What they're often confessing is they never have times of focused prayer. Now, I don't say that to make anyone feel guilty. I struggle with this too. But I hear it and recognize that often when people say, oh, I talk to God all the time, it's because they're busy, busy, busy. And they're too busy to stop, to sit, to reflect, to worship, to just simply spend time with God and do nothing else. And sometimes we. I will include myself in this. We will use our I talk to God all the time spiel as a way of kind of feeling better about the fact that I actually never do pause enough and spend any time paying attention to only God. Now, talking to God, of course, talking to God all the time is great. I'm not taking away from that in the slightest. I encourage you to do it. I encourage you to make your neighbors think. You just mumble to yourself all the time when you're working around your shop or your yard because you're chatting with God. That's great. Make them think you're slightly crazy. But you know what really makes this constant prayer conversation more beautiful and more meaningful and more significant is when these short prayers are, are an extension of a life that is shaped by this prayerful attentiveness. It's an ongoing conversation with God. And when those arrow prayers that are shot are shot from a bent bow are a continuation of this regular communion and prayer, maybe fasting and disciplines, these slowed down moments of quiet time spent with God and God alone, then that's when they become really powerful. And this kind of intimacy and trust and understanding and assurance that it's grown during those times of regular connections, it makes those pressured prayers for help even more meaningful. Because not only do we know that we're not just praying when we need something, because I do think there's a little part of us that feels slightly guilty by that. Right? Oh, here I am again. God. Sorry. Yeah, but I need something, so I'm going to ask. That's fine. Okay. But also we can become more confident that our prayers, when we're shooting up those prayers are actually more aligned with the heart of God because we've been in closer communication with him. Regular communion with God, regular confession of sin with an open Bible on our laps and with listening hearts. It helps keep our minds and hearts in tune with the Lord's will so that we can pray at any Moment thy will be done, even if it's at the last moment that something big or difficult is about to happen. Arrow prayers are best shot from a bent bow. Third, I noticed that arrow prayers are best shot with a practiced plan. You know, it's after informed investigation, so that Nehemiah understood the situation best he was able. And after this humble confession of sin and profession of hope that Nehemiah also makes a plan. He does not wait until the moment the king notices that he's sad and then figure out what it is he's going to ask the king for. Did you notice that he doesn't rely on his obvious leadership instincts or his gut feeling or his personal charisma? When the king asks him, what is it you want? Nehemiah prays to the God of Heaven and then he answers the king with a very detailed plan. Nehemiah knew exactly what he needed from the king right down to a certain royal letter to a particular official for specific items, including his own house. I like that one. He wasn't caught off guard by the king's questions. As the king leans in with his queen to ask a few more questions, he was prepared for them. Backwards and forwards. How is that relevant for us? Sometimes we try and offload our responsibilities that God has actually given us to fulfill. We think, oh, God will lead us. So I don't need to plan anything, which would be my bias, of course. I like to fly by the seat of my pants and just trust God, particularly on trips and stuff. My wife loves it. Or we think God will help us. We want to trust in Him. Therefore, I don't really want to think too far in advance. You know, we trick ourselves into taking responsibility that God has placed on our shoulders. Back off and trying to. Hoping to give it to somebody else, maybe back to God. God has asked us, though, to use our wisdom and use our prudence, use the gifts he's given us to do the task he's commissioned us to do. And what's more, it's through the prior prayer and investigation that God often reveals to us the part that he wants us to play in. Get this being an answer to our own prayers. Like, we're praying that God will shift the situation. We're praying that God is going to, you know, bring my friend to salvation, help my friend to know Jesus and God, saying, yeah, I'd like to now you need to tell your friend about Jesus. You know, follow me. We start praying for something and realize in the prayer time, in the investigation that we're a part of how God is going to answer that very prayer. Now, we still need God's power to do what he's called us to do, both the preparation and the execution of it. But we need to lean in and take responsibility for the work he's given to us. We need to be prepared to the best of our ability, with the wisdom that God has given us for the task, or the conversation or the work or the ministry that he's given us to do. So think of a tricky situation, a tricky conversation that you need to have with someone in your family. Everyone has it in their minds right now. None of you have tricky conversations that you've been putting off in your family. Well, I know some of you do. Think of it. Think of what you need for that. Think of what you need to say. Maybe you need to write it down. You need to pray it through. But I encourage you to take time to develop your plan in prayer through investigation. That way we when you do sit down to have that conversation, you at least have some clarity on what it is that you need to say, why you need to say it, and how you need to say it. Yes, you're going to be asking desperately for the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you, but you will have taken your responsibility to prepare or as I already alluded to, consider how you've been praying for that friend to follow Jesus. Well, how is it that you need to be prepared for this? Do you know a simple way to share the good news about Jesus with someone? Do you know how to do that? Have you learned a simple gospel presentation that can be done in 2, 3, 4 minutes to explain who we are, who God is, what Jesus has done, and why, and what we need to do to respond to him. Because when that moment comes and the opportunity arises for you to share the gospel and you pray, Jesus help. You also want to be prepared, as we are told in the scripture, to give an answer for the hope that we have. Are you prepared? Arrow prayers are best shot from a practiced plan. Nehemiah prays to the God of Heaven and he asks for for the help of the king. And the whole rest of the book of Nehemiah shows how he then executes that plan. So to sum up, by the time Nehemiah launches his quick arrow prayer, we see it there in chapter two, he completely understands the situation on the ground. He has humbly prepared himself spiritually through prayer and fasting and confession. And he has a plan, so he knows what it is he's going to ask from the king. And so what you might ask then, is the point of the arrow prayer? Well, what do you think it is? What do you think is the point? This tiny little breath prayer just before the plunge. What's it all about? Arrow prayers do reveal our natural posture of prayer. As I already said, it emerges from a habit of longer conversation, a habit of communion with God. It includes things like confession and reflection and fasting. It really comes from a life that's been shaped by this. Even as we struggle with that, we do. There's a sense in which arrow prayers become just natural. They're what happens. That's what comes up from a person who is already spending lots of time talking with God and they know how much they need God. And now as they're thrust into situations that God has put them in, they know they need God's help. And the second thing is, just to Cheryl's point, arrow prayers really reveal our conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit. We know we need the Holy Spirit to fill us, to empower us, because we can't rely on our own strength, our own connections, our own good looks and street smarts. We express our need for God and we're consciously depending on God and. And particularly in those situations and times when we know we don't have what it takes. And then third, this is Taval's point. Arrow prayers reveal our confident conviction that our triune God is sovereign. You know, in the case of Nehemiah, he knew that it's Yahweh that influences the heart of kings. It's Yahweh who would enable him to have favor with Artaxerxes in our own lives. Our little prayers for help, for guidance, for wisdom, they reveal the same thing. We know that we're not in control. We can't shift the heart. We can't change the situation. And our little prayers of guidance demonstrate that though we know we're not in control, the God who is with us is. He is sovereign. We can trust him. All our investigation, all our confession, all our preparation, none of that means that we don't need God to do what only God can do, that without him it's impossible. But with him, all things are possible. And so, as we close, I want you to consider as you go today, some of the ways in your own life that you might need to be shooting up some of these prayers. Maybe you have been praying for an opportunity to share the good news about Jesus with a friend and the chance suddenly presents itself. Shoot that prayer. I suggest you be prepared to. But shoot that prayer. Maybe you need to ask someone for help and you haven't been sure how to approach it, but the opportunity suddenly comes up. Pray, Ask for help. Ask for wisdom. Maybe you have been wondering what to do about a family situation and now you're in a position to ask someone who might offer you helpful, confidential wisdom. Or you've been planning something big, an event, a trip, a party, and that thing is just about to happen and it looks like it's going to crash and you cry out for help. Or maybe you do find yourself nervous or anxious about a work thing or a school thing, and so you shoot off a prayer just before the meeting. Or perhaps you want to broach a sensitive topic with your kids, maybe sex. Or you want to broach a sensitive topic with your parents aging or your sibling anger or a friend gossip. And you've been praying about what to say and how to say it, and now you finally are showing up at the coffee shop to meet with them. Lord Jesus, help you fill in the blank. But I hope today you hear you've got a God who hears you, that you can shoot that arrow prayer and know that you'll always hit your target. Because we've got a God who hears our prayers. Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you if your heart is broken. You'll find God right there. If you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. [00:40:37] Speaker A: Thanks for listening in today. We hope you feel encouraged and challenged. If you know someone who would benefit from what you have heard today, please share this podcast for more information or if you have questions, you can connect with us through our website, Erickson Covenant Ca. You can also find us on Facebook by searching for Erickson Covenant Church.