In this sermon, Pastor Steve Mays emphasizes the importance of having a song in our hearts and praising God in all circumstances. He uses the example of Silas and Paul, who praised God even after being beaten and imprisoned, and experienced a miraculous release. Pastor Mays also highlights the strength of Jesus Christ, who endured beatings but remained steadfast in his purpose. He encourages believers to approach God with joy, thanksgiving, and praise, and to cultivate a deep relationship with Him through prayer and dialogue. The sermon emphasizes the need to hear and know the voice of God in our lives.

It's the 2012 Summer of Sermons with Steve Mays. Let your requests be known to God. Tell Him you need help. I don't need help. Tell Him you need counseling. I don't need counseling. Why is it so hard to have someone help you? Pastor Steve Mays says, Requesting help from God is not a deficiency, it's a wonderful benefit of our relationship with the Heavenly Father. You have not because what? You ask not. Light of the world, light of the world. Hope shines in darkness, so follow the light of the world. Okay now, raise your hand if you've ever felt reluctant to ask for help. I think we can pretty safely assume that most of us have a hand up right now. There are many reasons people fear requesting assistance, primary among them not wanting to seem weak and needy, if you will. But as Pastor Steve points out today, those are some of the very reasons we ought to bring our requests before God through prayer. Today he takes the word pray and turns it into an acronym, P-R-A-Y. Praise, Request, Accept, and Yield. Four great reasons to spend time in God's presence. The lesson is called, Help Me Start Talking. Here's Pastor Steve to get us started. Let's listen. I don't think there's a greater time to live, a greater moment to be part of this life, and to make a difference than right now. But I do believe with all my heart that God is calling the body to rise up and to begin to love the Lord with all their heart, and to really make a witness. And so this morning we are in the area of talking to God. How can I learn to talk to God more? And I do believe with all my heart God is speaking. And you say, well, I never hear God speak. Well, just read the Bible out loud and God's spoken to you. You know, I mean, it's that real and that unbelievable. But we are not tuned in to really hearing the voice of God. And I think that more than anything in your whole life, you need to hear and you need to know the voice of God. And it's either that you're hearing the voice of the enemy or you're hearing the voice of God. Either you have come to a point in your life that you can discern between the two because of the maturity of your life or you haven't. Or there's one other possibility that you have been so hurt that you have just checked out. And that's okay. We can check you back in. That's the whole key. And so we want to encourage you in a very powerful way this morning to really take a good hard look at this, what we're going to be looking at. Would you turn with me if you have your Bibles? We're going to be in a couple of different places. But in 2 Chronicles, in Chapter 20, we're going to be there. And it's an interesting passage. And it's really how to survive. It was a moment that we see that Jehoshaphat was on the wrong side of the game. He was called to be the king there in the southern kingdom. And everything was fine. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. But he had one bad problem coming up in his life quite a bit. He kept going over to the north. And he kept hanging out with the different kings. And they were teaching him some pretty bad things. In fact, he was there when all of a sudden one of the prophets came and said to the king, don't go out. And he mocked that prophet and beat him up. The king of the north beat the prophet up. And Jehoshaphat did nothing. So finally, one day, they went out to war. And it wasn't the king of the south, but it was the king of the north. He went out to do battle. And so he said to Jehoshaphat, hey, you are a friend. Would you hold my garment? I want to dress like everybody else so I don't get killed. And you hold my garment and I'll be really happy. I'll go out and fight this battle. And so as he's holding this garment, the king of Syria said, now, whoever has the garment, kill him. And Jehoshaphat realized everyone was coming after him. So he dropped the garment, ran for his life. By the grace of God, the Bible said, and the Spirit of God intervened. And he was able to get back into the southern kingdom. As he was walking back in town, no one knew anything. No one had said anything. But the man of God, another prophet, met him. And said, because you have sinned against God in this unholy alliance, you are now going to be dealt with. And now Moab and Ammon are going to come and surround you. And they are going to bring destruction to your life. So he runs inside, he grabs the children, grabs his wife, they run to the temple, they stand before the temple, and they make this statement, an unbelievable statement, which redeems him in a very powerful way. It says in chapter 20, verse 12, O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon you. This is one of the great verses of the Bible. And boy, if you have your Bible underlined, we don't know what to do. There is a sentence that is absolutely hard to believe. Most people would never come to that moment. We know exactly what we have to do. In fact, we are overconfident in who we are. We never seem to be looking to God enough, because we have come to realize we can do it all. And here is a man that knew that he was in trouble. And when he was in trouble, he stood before God, stood before the children of Israel, and said, Listen, we need to repent, and we need to get right. And all of Israel, the northern kingdom, did it. And God, once again, turned it around, and God destroyed the army, and there, by the very praise of Jehoshaphat, God gave him the victory. And I believe that can happen in your life. I believe with all my heart that God is going to do something that great. We don't know what is going to happen. We don't know where we are going to be. We don't know if an earthquake is going to come in L.A. No doubt, probably will. Probably overdue. But we don't know exactly what and how much damage is going to be done. We don't know anything about a nuclear bomb or anything. And what's tragic is oftentimes the church has to have something drastic happen till we finally wake up and realize this is not heaven. And you would think that over the years we would come to a better place that we would just be on fire for Jesus Christ. But like so many, we begin to kind of drift back into our old ways. And what do we do when all of a sudden something does happen? We're going to panic and go crazy and get mad? Well, that doesn't do anyone any good. In fact, that's probably where a lot of people are today. They've been hurt by God, devastated, overwhelmed, and so they've made a decision not to really make a commitment to God. So they really don't want to worship. They really don't want to trust Him because they really don't know Him. And sooner or later, I need to get rid of all that stuff. Because if I'm not worshiping and giving God my very best, like I did in the world, I gave Satan my very best, then it's not going to work. And if I'm bitter and resentful, it's not going to work. God desires for me to lead. And to do that, I must be right with God. And if things fall apart, I need to be able to go across the street and help people. Or go next door and help people. Or figure out what we're going to do. Or be part of the solution and not just blaming everybody else. It doesn't make a difference. And I believe no matter what happens, we ought to be that type of people. But we let things get to us. And things bug us. And we can't seem to let them go. And so here, Jehoshaphat does something very wise. He says, I'm going to get right with God. And God's going to turn it. And I believe that every time you make a decision for God, you're going to see God work in and through your life in a very profound way. And so he says here that we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. And yes, I do believe things are going to get worse. I don't think things are going to get better. I think things are beginning to turn. And I believe that the Lord is coming. Now when, I don't know. But I tell you what, when I look around and see the different countries, see things lining up, realize what Russia's doing with Iran, look at all the different things of Turkey now leaving, and what we're doing to Israel, I don't give us a lot of hope at this point. And I realize two things are definitely going to happen. And I can say with absolute authority, either judgment or revival. And I personally would like to see revival. Because it would take and just sweep through the body of Christ and through the world in a very profound way. But revival is not for the church. It's for the church, but it's for the community. The Welsh Revival, don't forget, 70,000 people were coming to Christ in the Welsh Revival. And they shut down the soccer. They shut down rugby. They shut down Parliament. They shut down the bars because no one wanted to do it. They wanted to hear the Word of God being preached. And that's not where we are today. It needs to go into the church and out into the community. And that means I have to be affected. Billy Graham said it so well. There is no doubt that we are in serious trouble today. We are caught up in a stream of history that is beyond our ability to control. If there ever was a time that we need to be on our knees and pray, asking God to help us, it is now. God, we need help. And boy, I'll tell you, we need to be absolutely responsible. It says in 2 Chronicles 14, verse 11, And check it out. God, we don't want anyone coming against you. Well, he's talking about himself, but he's actually saying, God, if they come against us, they're coming against you. God, we need you to fight for us. And God enjoys that. He wants to be part of our life. And then we read in Isaiah, chapter 62, verse 6. This is what I'm to do. And I believe that not only should pastors do that, but I also believe men in homes should begin to do that. And we should do that with women should do it. And women and men should start holding their voices strong and saying, in a sense, let's say to the Lord, God is coming. And we are going to be a watchman. And our life is not pleasing to God. And what we're doing is not right. And this is not right. And we need to turn back to God. But the problem is, too many of us are in that situation. But God wants to get us out of it. He goes on to say, So listen, no rest, no time for vacation. This is it. The Lord is coming. What are we going to do? And then this is what God said. This is what really breaks my heart. In Isaiah 59, verse 16. His arm brought salvation unto Him and His righteousness sustained. In other words, God's looking out. And He doesn't see a watchman and doesn't see a people watching. And He's beginning to say, I looked. I was searching. I was diligent. I could find nobody beginning to stand up and saying, hey, that's wrong and this is right. Or no one saying, hey, you really shouldn't do that. Unequally yoked situation. Because even the pastor said about Jehoshaphat, he was unequally yoked. And we say, we don't want to get involved. We've got enough problems in our own life. And that's the whole problem. Happened in Germany. No one wanted to get involved and it was too late. Someone's going to have to get involved. Schools are going to have to stand up. People are going to have to stand up. Nations are going to have to stand up. Otherwise, the Lord is going to keep saying in Isaiah 59, I found no man. Then in Isaiah 63, verse 5, it says this. And there is none that call upon my name. In other words, there's no one to stir it up. I couldn't find anybody. And so here in Isaiah chapter 59, verse 16, I could find no man. And then in Isaiah 63, verse 5, I looked and there was no one to help. And one last one in Ezekiel chapter 22, verse 30. But I found none. I'm looking for a man or a woman that will simply say enough is enough. I'm going to be righteous. I'm going to stand for God. I'm going to have a backbone for God. I'm not going to compromise my life. And God said I couldn't find nobody. And that is where we are as a nation, like it or not. We are a nation that doesn't believe in prayer. We've turned our back on Israel and things are going to get weird. But what are we going to do? As for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. That's what you should be saying. As for you as a man, you should be making a stand like you've never made a stand before. I'm going to raise my kids. I'm going to go after my kids. I'm going to go after my community. And as women, the very same thing. I'm going to speak my mind and once again hold righteousness, the standard of our home. And when we do that, I believe God has a saying. But the problem is, if I'm too mad at God, I'm not going to praise Him. I'm not going to love Him. I'm not going to pray. Because I feel like, where were you God when I needed you? Well the bottom line is I left Him. He has never left me. He'll never leave me nor forsake me. But my sins have separated us from each other. And four things I want to share with you. Little tiny things this morning. And I thought about this. How can I teach this in such a way that you would remember it and try to share with you how important it is? And I came up with this idea about the foundation is prayer. Last week, the foundation was power and a purpose and a plan in your life. Well today, really what God is asking is for you to be able to talk to God. That's my heart this morning. Can you talk to God? Can you really have a great fellowship and dialogue with God? Can you reason with God and share with God without getting mad and walking away and chucking it? Or are you willing to stand up like Job? And that's what God said to Job. Stand up. And all of a sudden, Job begins to get a little bit self-righteous. And God says, where were you when I made the crocodile? Where were you when I made the giraffe? Where were you when I flung the stars into existence? Seventy-seven questions later, two chapters, He says, I'm going to fall down on my face and suck dirt for a little bit, okay? If you don't mind. In other words, I've added, Isaiah, the very same thing. You touched my lips and woe is me. When God touches you, it changes your life. You can't be the same way. You're not arrogant. You're not prideful. And that's the problem here. If I'm prideful and arrogant, why do I need to ask God for help? I can do it myself. I can balance the book. It only takes a month. Or I can fix that car. And so you begin to fix that carburetor. But you don't really think about it. You kind of feel maybe you ought to pray about it, but you don't. Then you drop the screw down the manifold. And then you realize now you've got to take the whole engine apart. Or you're going to turn it one more crank. Just one more little crank. And you hear that voice, don't stop. Just whop-bam, you snap it. And you realize, oh man, now you have to take the manifold off and take it down and get it bored out. Or then you're sewing and you think, I know what I'm doing. Well, sure you do. You've been doing it all your life. But now you sewed the pocket upside down. Why is that? Because you're under so much stress. Well, ask God to help you. Or you go out and you go shopping. Do you ask God to give you a deal? No. Have you asked God to stretch your gas? No. I have. Why not? I mean, he gave manna. Oh, pastor, we're going to have to blog about that. Well, I'll tell you what. If he can do fish and multiply it and have 12 baskets, why can't he do a little bit with us? You know? Oh, I want to stress out. Let me stress out. Let me stress out. I like stressing out. I don't like stressing out. Chill out. I stress out. No. That's stupid. I'm not going to do that. You're going to ask God to keep you safe. Why? Then you get in an accident. Should I ask God to keep me safe? You know, we just are so prideful, arrogant, stubborn. Not you, me. I'm just going to make sure. Okay. Number one. Lord, teach me how to pray. An acronym is something like the word goth. G-O-T-H. Right? You know what it means? It means gentlemen only, ladies forbidden. Now, I did not say that. That's what it means. It means in the old days, women were not allowed to play golf. That's very common history. I took the word prayer, P-R-A-Y, and this is what I want to try teaching you. If all of a sudden there's an earthquake and your house is down and your family is okay, what are you going to do besides panic and cry and everything else? Well, you're going to have to make some decisions in your life. First of all, your family is alive, so let's praise God. And let's start making some great decisions. So let's take this attitude of prayer. No matter what happens. If I'm in a mall, something blows up, I need to go to God. You have to get back to God. No matter what happens in your life. You hit a tree, a tree falls on your car. Doesn't make a difference. You need God to help you. You need God to get you through this life. Don't ever be afraid of that. You say, well, that's a crutch. It is a crutch. But other people have alcohol and guns and everything else. I have a crutch, Jehovah. He's a rock and he'll take care of my life. That's great stuff, you know. So here's what he says. Number one, P. First of all, Lord, teach me how to pray. The first letter P represents praise. You have to start praising God. Not that you praise God for the earthquake. Praise God for the earthquake. Praise God for that car that just ran over my kid. No, that's crazy. But you praise God because he's God. Because he's there. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. Because he knew at this moment in your life that you would be able to handle whatever happens in your life because of the providence of God. Because God is going to help you. And you begin to realize things happen. We used to think things were a bummer until we lost our son-in-law. He was murdered. That's a bummer because he never comes back. Everything else is an obstacle. That becomes a problem. But everything else. My house falls down. My cars are crushed. I have Gail and I. And we're alive and the kids are alive. That's all that counts. We can build again. So I can praise Him for that. Job. It says that in one moment he lost everything. And he said, naked I came in. And naked I go out. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He was able to praise God. His wife came to him and said, Curse it be God. And he said, Honey, don't you know that good and evil come from God? He was able to minister. The same thing happened with Naomi. Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara. I'm bitter. And they said, No, you are Naomi. You're not bitter. You're back here where you should be. No matter where you go in the Bible, people go through difficult times. But they make it. And the reason why? They let God into their life. So first of all, it says in Psalm 100 verse 1, Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. His truth endures to all generations. So number one, as I'm sitting next to my house or next to my car or I'm sitting in the hospital, I can't praise God for all that. But I can praise God that in the midst of what I'm going through, God has always been there. And God has always been good. And listen to what he's saying in verse 1. Make a joyful noise. Well, I'm going to come to church. I'm not going to worship today. Well, that's fine. That's cool. But just once again, why should you worship? How about this? God made you to be the praise and the glory of him. He gave you the ability to worship. Why? It brings pleasure to God. So you don't have to, but you're being disobedient. So by faith, let it go. Let that thing go. Let the attitude go. The chip on the shoulder. Why? If you cannot worship, you can't pray. If you cannot look to God, you're not going to be talking to God. If you're mad at God, you're not going to want to get right with God. You have to have a song in your heart. When Silas and Paul were beaten at midnight, they began to praise God. That's the jailhouse rock right there. And all of a sudden the place rocked and they got out. But again, once again, over and over again, we see God ministering by his power and his anointing. And Jesus Christ, he was beaten. But once again, we find it's the strength of his life. And so make a joyful noise in verse 1. And verse 2, serve the Lord with gladness. So be happy. I don't want to. Okay. Come before his presence with singing. I'm bummed. Don't want to. Don't you know that he is the Lord? He is over your life. You are the sheep. He is God. He's going to take care of your life. And so he says in verse 4, enter into the gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful that you have a life. And so when things happen to me, I need to understand that things are going to happen in me. And then things are going to happen through me. So when big things happen to me, big things happen in me, and big things happen through me. So I see that God works in and through my life. So I have to have an attitude of praise. I don't know why I came down with prostate cancer, but I did. But blessed be the name of the Lord. It's in remission. I don't know why all these surgeries, but I know a lot of people have had surgeries since I've had them. So praise God. And the possibility of going down that road and not having a song in my heart is not worth it. So I'm going to praise him. I'm going to worship him. So that's it. Are you going to worship? No, I'm not. I lost my job. You're never going to find a job until you change your attitude. Maybe God has something better. In fact, the Bible says he withholds that he might be more gracious in the end. And God says again, his thoughts for you are not evil, but good to an expected end. God doesn't want to hurt you. In other words, God does things in your life to get you because you're not listening to him. And so yeah, there are storms in my life. But I don't know what's going to happen this time. I don't know if we might all be living together. So I'm going to have you listen to this Bible study so you're nice to each other. So pray. Worship. Praise him. So number one, Lord, teach me how to praise you. But number two, Lord, teach me how to pray. But notice the R. And the R stands for request. And this is the tough one. It means you're going to have to ask for help. You're kidding me. I'm not going to ask for help. I think the cutest story in the Bible is why it took the guys two years to find Jesus. The wise men. Jesus was two years old when they found him. Probably if they would have had the women go, they could have found him when he was still a baby. They wouldn't get direction. You know, I don't know. But it's crazy. We will not ask for direction. I know exactly where I'm going, honey. I've been with Pastor Rob, and the GPS is running. He doesn't believe it. I said, Rob, are you a satellite? I just know this area. Like it doesn't? I mean, the thing's hooked up to the world. I know it better than that thing knows it. And we get lost every single time with him. So he doesn't. But I can't yield to that. I don't understand it. I can't figure it out. I can't figure out this woman, so I'm not going to talk to her no more. You better talk to her. It can get a lot worse. So all of a sudden you realize there's a request. And that means you're asking. And so what it means is share with him. If he enjoys your worship, he enjoys talking with you. And can you talk with him? Can you have a decent dialogue and have a heart-to-heart talk with God? Can you tell God how you feel? How things have not gone right? How you feel about certain things? Martha did. Where were you when my brother died? If you would have been here, he would have never died. Jesus was not upset. He said, come, let us reason together. It says in Philippians 4, verse 6, Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Ask Him and tell Him. Hey, tell Him you need help. I don't need help. Tell Him you need counseling. I don't need counseling. Tell Him your marriage is up in the pits. It's not bad. I can fix it. Oh, God help us. Look at it. Why is it so hard to have someone help you? And sometimes I need to ask for help. When I had back surgery, I had to ask for food. Otherwise I wasn't going to eat. Bring food, please, quick. And so you guys helped out. But I was helpless. And I had to do it. Did I like it? No. Did it humble me? Yes. Was it good for me? You bet your life. Because it gave people a chance to love me when I wouldn't let them do that. I don't need it. Don't want it. Everybody else. What are you really saying? That you're above everybody else? When you know in your heart you need it and you can't bring yourself to ask it? So if you can't ask us, you're not going to ask God for anything. Well, I tell you what, you ought to start asking God. You have not because what? You ask not. When you go shopping, do you ask God to give you the best deals? No. When you go buy a car, do you ask God to get you the best deal? No. When I go out with my wife, I ask God to please make it quick. I do. She doesn't know it. I think she's come for service. I hope she's not here. I hope I'm not even going to look over there. But anyway, I just say, God, make it quick. Because she has one thing in her heart charged to the mall we go. And sometimes I'll pray, God, put on her heart to go to the thrift shop. Because I know that you can't only spend so much money there. But man, to go in a mall with that store and have me by her side, then it seems like she remembers everything 20 years ago that she needs to get now. Lord, get me out of here. The request and the peace of God. And so are you asking God? Have you asked your wife, how are you doing? No. You stupid. You think I'm going to ask her how I'm doing? She's going to tell me exactly how I'm doing. Well, that's good. If you're a man, ask her. I feel like Don Knox, not John Wayne right now. I don't think I can ask. Ask her how you're doing. You might be surprised. Ladies, ask your husband. Am I still that drippy faucet complaining all the time? Or am I getting better? I'm not going to ask that question. See, we're too afraid. So, P, I'm going to praise him. R, I'm going to begin to request. Then we come to third. Teach me how to pray the A. Accept. Oh, this is a killer. Suffering with him. In Hebrews 11.6. But without faith, it's impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. Yes, you're going to suffer. You might lose everything. You might lose a child. You're going to suffer. You might lose something that you have no ability to stop it. It's going to be painful. But if I can accept it, if I can by faith live it, I don't have to like it, don't have to understand it. But do I believe that God is in charge? Yes, I do. Do I know why he's doing it? No, I don't. Do I wish I would know? No, I really don't know. I just want to get over this moment of my life. That's fair. But to reject it, to get bitter towards it, is to turn on God. In Habakkuk 3.17, Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vine, or the olive shall be fallen on the field, or the meat in the flock. What he's really saying is though your garage is empty, and your cars are broken, and your icebox is not working, and there's no food at all, I will jump around, verse 18, I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will jump for joy in God, my salvation. In the Hebrew, it means I'm going to jump up and down, and spin around, because I know that I am in God's perfect will. Now wait a second. Habakkuk. How can you do that? God just told him that he's bringing Nebuchadnezzar down to destroy everything. It's okay. Because God told him, and God's going to get him through it. You see, all I need is for God to speak. All I need is one word that you're going to make it. You too are going to make it. Your family's going to make it. We're going to make it. And lastly, it says, Lord, teach me how to pray. Notice the Y. It means the yield. Surrender to Him. And so the first one, very simply, sing to Him. The second, share with Him. Third, suffer with Him. And lastly, he says here, surrender to Him. And Luke 22, verse 40, When He was at that place, He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. That ye enter not into temptation. He was withdrew from them about a stone cast. Knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if Thou wilt remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but Thy will be done. And instantly the angels came. And what that tells me is the last and most important thing. I'm going to yield to God. And what He says is, Listen, God, if there's any other way, I don't want to do it. If this is the only way, I'll do it. And God said, This is the only way. And Jesus said, For the joy that is set before me, I will do it. And so what I'm saying to you this morning is very simple. Prayer is simply talking with God. But it's talking to God when you don't feel like talking to God. There's nothing in you except you're moody and angry and uptight. I can't come to God. You come to God just like you are. The Bible says, Let's reason together, saith the Lord. And if you could sit there for a moment and just let God touch you, everything would begin to work out. But Satan has to lie to you. Don't go to God. Don't ask Him for a thing. You know what he's done in your life. And so people don't talk to God. So when the crisis comes, they're going to fall apart. But I think just the opposite. We need to stand. You need to fix your house and then you need to go across the street and fix your neighbor's house. You need to feed your home, then you need to go down the street and feed somebody else's home. You need to bandage up your kids and you have to go down and bandage up somebody else's. You can't do that if you have an attitude with God. Change my life. Help me to praise you. Help me to request from you. Help me to accept the things that are so hard in my life but mostly help me to yield what you've always wanted myself. I give you my life right now. P-R-A-Y Praise, Request, Accept and Yield. Pastor Steve Mays with four powerful reasons to spend time in God's presence. On March 11, 2011, a nine-point earthquake hit Japan. An earthquake so strong it literally shifted the Earth's axis. Then a few hours later, a tsunami swept in, causing death, destruction and nuclear meltdown. A large tsunami engulfing the port of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture. With more than 20,000 dead or missing, millions struggled with loss, trying to make sense of it all. Today's events remind us of just how fragile life can be. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the people of Japan. What if this happened here in America? Would you be ready? Would you survive? Would your faith? Pastor Steve Mays shares how you can spiritually prepare for disasters in life. It's a series called How to Survive. In it, he focuses on strengthening the foundation of your faith so that you'll be able to withstand the kinds of storms that have caused many to pull away from God. Go to our website and get more details and order your copy of How to Survive. Go to lightoftheword.org. That's lightoftheword.org. Or give us a call at 1-800-339-WISE. Again, that's 1-800-339-WISE. You prepare for it, but you never hope you witness it. Don't allow the personal earthquakes to bring you to your knees. Strengthen your faith today with Pastor Steve's new lessons on How to Survive. When we continue, Steve shares more encouragement from God's Word for the difficult moments in life. More from SOS 2012 here on Light of the Word. Light of the Word Light of the Word Hope shines in darkness So follow the light of the Word