Prayer & Hearing God
1003 conversations across 16 years of the show. Try a few, or go by subject.
A few to try
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'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Discerning impressions: the exact phrase, obedience, and daily decisions
- Did God give you the exact phrase?
Mike shares a fifteen-year-old unresolved memory of someone saying "God told me," then frames the practical question: "did God give you the exact phrase?"
From No. 593 · Do You Hear What I Hear
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Feeling spiritually meh: causes, experiences, and ways through
- Have you ever felt spiritually meh, what does it feel like, and how do you get out of it?
The main discussion: what it means to feel "spiritually meh" — not rebelling against God, but not wanting to do the prayer, Bible reading, and other connecting practices you know are good.
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How do you know what's trustworthy? Dan, Mike, and Boova answer
- How do you know which supplemental Bible resources are trustworthy?
Ben asks each host in turn — 'Dan, Mike, Boova in that order' — how they vet supplemental material. Dan describes a 'sniff test' built on forty years of reading: checking a teacher's kingdom view, past errors like his early enthusiasm for Rob Bell, and the publisher.
From No. 541 · Why Not The Second Heaven
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Is Jesus always the example?
- Is Jesus always the example? Is there anything Jesus does that we are not meant to emulate?
Ben poses the series question: is there anything Jesus does that we are not to exemplify, whether from inability or lack of intent?
From No. 407 · Can We Always Be Like Jesus?
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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.
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997 conversations
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Mike frames the question: are more people hearing from God?
- Does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God — and is that real or a lie and a huge distraction?
Ben asks Mike for a two-sentence framing; Mike says listening to the book of Job while mowing made him furious when Bildad 'received a word from the Lord,' turning a bad human argument into an unarguable divine claim.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Holy Spirit experience: healing, cessationism, and testing the spirits
- Is there a normative experience of the Holy Spirit in the world today?
The central hard question: is there a normative experience of the Holy Spirit in the world today, and what does it mean for a follower of Jesus?
From No. 593 · Do You Hear What I Hear
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"Fall like rain": does inviting the Spirit imply he is absent?
- Does asking the Holy Spirit to "come" into an event misunderstand our relationship to the Spirit?
Ben raises his second question: prayers and worship songs that ask the Holy Spirit to "fall like rain" and "come into this place" sound like an invitation to someone not yet there, when the Spirit is indwelt the moment you acknowledge Jesus as king.
From No. 580 · Not Sure | Old Testament Law, Holy Spirit Guidance, Christian Discernment
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Mike's Berean pushback: can you check your way out of the Spirit?
- Can you "Berean" your way out of the Holy Spirit — canceling genuine direction because the scripture cited for it was wrong?
Ben turns it on Mike: can you "Berean" yourself out of the Holy Spirit — take genuine direction and cancel it because the scripture cited was wrong?
From No. 580 · Not Sure | Old Testament Law, Holy Spirit Guidance, Christian Discernment
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Helping vs enabling: three things that must be in place
- How do I know whether I'm helping or enabling someone making destructive decisions?
Asked how to tell helping from enabling, Jared gives three keys: (1) a real personal relationship — not a drive-by; (2) 'be prayerful... and be in step with the holy spirit,' not just the person; (3) know whether it's a heart issue or a wisdom issue.
From No. 569 · Up Late
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Is Job literal or a parable? Prophecy discussion
- Is the book of Job a literal story or a parable?
- What is prophecy, and can it be infectious or physical?
The hosts dig into the hard question of whether the book of Job is a true story or a parable-style teaching, noting it may be the oldest written book of the Bible.
From No. 504 · Saul, Naturally
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Sidebar: spiritual gifts you would not want
- Is there a spiritual gift you would not want to have?
- What is the difference between preaching and teaching?
The second sidebar: which spiritual gifts would you refuse? Tongues and prophecy top the list, with Ezekiel's watchman ('his blood is on you') terrifying one host; Boova says he…
From No. 494 · 500-ish
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Is it more holy to sing only the Psalms or only scripture?
- Is it more holy or valuable for a church to sing only the Psalms or only scripture in worship?
The hosts take up the man whose church sings only Psalms (and a harder variant: only exact scripture, citing Ephesians' "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs").
From No. 487 · Sing What You Want
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Combating spiritual-authority abuse: friends, prayer, and responsibility vs. ownership
- Can spiritual authority be abused, and what do you do about it?
The hosts ask what to do when you suspect you're under abusive spiritual authority. Their counsel: get solid Christian friends outside that church to check your read, pray…
From No. 465 · Cults May Be Wonderful
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Is yoga spiritually dangerous for Christians?
- Is yoga spiritually dangerous for Christians?
A host notes that self-help books borrow the Sparta elements and that he prays during yoga, which raises the old objection that yoga is an eastern spiritual danger.
From No. 453 · Whispering Diesel
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Twelve stumbling blocks, part eight: triumphalism and authenticity
- In the New Testament do we see triumphant, conquest-style posturing in the spreading of the good news?
Numbers eleven and twelve: triumphalism — prayers about 'taking cities back for God' sound like conquest, and the hosts contrast 'we're gonna tear this town up for Jesus' with…
From No. 444 · Fake Persecution and Tripping Millennials
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Hosts respond: boldness, the Fust household's encouragement struggle, and powers-and-principalities prayer
- What would a week look like if you went all in with bold faith?
The hosts respond to Boova's message, musing on what a week would look like if they went 'all in' with bold faith — the same mundane week, but with the fruit of the Spirit.
From No. 426 · Confidence in the Holy Spirit
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What is church for? Sunday gathering versus Monday discipleship
- What is the purpose of the weekly church gathering?
- What should discipleship look like on Monday when there is no Sunday gathering to mirror?
The hosts work through basic discipleship: the Sunday gathering exists for community, teaching, Sabbath rest, and celebrating salvation, a pattern God set out.
From No. 400 · Ineffective Conspiracies and Monday Morning Christians
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How much do we involve God in daily decisions?
- How much should we involve God in everyday decisions?
The hosts wrestle with how much to involve God in daily decisions: holding 'loose plans' before the Lord, delighting in whatever God delights in, whether reluctance to ask reveals who sits on the throne, and Enoch as the model of an ordinary faithful walk.
From No. 392 · More Generous Than Las Vegas
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Dear LFTP: rejected for the job, lost my vision
- Dear LFTP: After a humiliating job rejection and losing my sense of direction at 25, how can I find my way again?
A 25-year-old writes that he was rejected for a job that would have become a career after telling everyone it was in the bag; humiliated and shaken, he says he knew what he wanted in middle school and has lost his vision since.
From No. 339 · Kenny Got A Plane
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'What would I fight God on?': buildings, pews, and the zero-fruit youth group
- What would I fight God on — and would my heart go along with following him?
Ben shares what he ran into in the last couple weeks: 'what would I fight God on even if I knew it was him?'
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Is modern Christianity biased toward a personality type?
- Is modern Christianity (its sermons and worship music) biased toward a certain personality type?
A host asks whether what churches teach, focus on, and sing is biased toward a certain personality type — prompted by emotive worship lyrics (the 'sloppy wet kiss' line in a…
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Do accountability partners actually work?
- Do accountability partners actually do anything?
Mike raises his accountability-partners question: the standard dude-circle advice to get a buddy to hold you accountable for Bible reading, porn, church attendance, and drinking.
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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The big question: high-point experiences and everyday faith
- Why don't high-point religious experiences translate into everyday faith, and should they?
- Does everyday faithfulness ('sheep in, sheep out') go together with actively listening for what God is doing, or is it a change?
Ben frames the night's big question: why don't high-point religious experiences — camps, Promise Keepers, big conferences — translate into normal everyday life, and should they?
From No. 596 · Mr. Prayer Closet
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Dawson's question: what to watch for in a new church
- What should you pay attention to when stepping into a church community for the first time?
Dawson, a third in-studio voice, asks what to pay attention to when stepping into a church you've never visited.
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify
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Evaluating the event: Elijah, Josiah, the sign of Jonah, the donuts test
- How do we tell whether a church element has become the thing itself rather than pointing to Jesus?
The hosts work through evaluation tools for curated experiences: Elijah didn't ask God to repeat the fire, and Jesus refused to repeat signs for the Pharisees ('you get the sign…
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Dear LFTP: Martha, John, and Jerry
- How should a woman in love with her ex's brother tell friends, family, and his parents?
A host reads the first Dear LFTP letter: Martha dated John for two years, then he kept living with her six months after the breakup; John is an emotionally and verbally abusive alcoholic who burned every bridge.
From No. 584 · When Vanek Was Here | Cambodia Testimony, Church Mission, Josiah Queen