(193) “Contend in Prayer and Watch God Transform a Life!” with John and Linda Thomas

0:00 they had a pen pal program where I got a letter from a nun who was in a convent, and she was assigned to me. And I was in that home for six months, and I would get these letters from this person I'd never met, and she would tell me how much God loved me. Wow! She would speak my identity over me. She would tell me things I'd never heard. Chloe and Dove. Those were so life-changing for me. I literally still have those cards at this point in my life, having moved 45 times, or 35 times, or whatever, a lot. And she was contending for my salvation and for my life at 15. Beautiful.

0:48 God promises in Joel 2.28 to pour out His Spirit on all humanity. Welcome to global outpouring. Will we contend for that promised outpouring? Will we equip for that outpouring? So that we may engage in that very outpouring. I'm Philip Bus. And I'm Sharon Bus. Welcome to the podcast today. We have with us again our dear friends and co-workers, John and Linda Thomas, and they're going to continue with their story. And this is about seeing the power of God to redeem and set free and launch into outpouring.

1:32 Thanks so much for joining us today. We want to encourage you, if you haven't already done so, to go to our website, globaloutpouring.net, and make sure that you have joined our email lists so that we can stay in touch with you and we want to hear from you. If you could fill out a feedback form or send us an email at feedback at globaloutpouring.org. We would love to hear from you. Tell us where you're listening from and tell us what the Lord is doing in your life. And maybe you've got a prayer request that we can pray into, or maybe you've got an idea that you want to hear us talk about on this podcast. Let us know what the Lord is doing in your life. And don't miss our bookstore and don't miss our blogs and the things that we have recorded on our YouTube channel and our Facebook page. Join us on all these places and get connected with us on Friday nights. We're always recording something special from the Lord on our Friday night live worship. So John and Linda, thank you so much for joining us again today.

2:33 We want to continue with your story. It is so good to be here. We are, we are so blessed. Yeah. Thank you so much for having us. We love you guys. We love being around you and we appreciate the opportunity to share our stories. Oh, it's, it's, it's just wonderful. You know, you were sharing with us on our last episode about John, how you started to pray in tongues for your household and for God to do whatever it was that he wanted to do and so on. Yeah. Um, was, was there some kind of a backstory about that, that like Linda, were you already praying something? Was there a book involved? Yes, actually there was. I had started to read the power of a praying wife right after John and I got married. It was really important to me to make sure that I had a godly marriage and I was honoring my husband and I was protecting his heart and using that book, power of a praying wife really brought me closer to the Lord and it also taught me how to pray for my husband. Okay. And then John, what happened with you, with a book? Yeah, well, Linda told me she was reading that book and praying for me pretty early on.

3:53 And I could see over the years the Lord was changing me and just looking back on it, I know that a lot of that came from the contending that Linda was doing for me. And so, you know, I started out very, very worldly in our marriage. And even though up to just a few years ago, I was still a lukewarm Christian, I could still see the fingerprint of the Lord in my life working, changing me, changing the way that I was loving Linda. And I know that really a majority of that came from those prayers that she was praying over me. Those prayers are so powerful when you're praying for somebody, your spouse, your children, your loved ones, whoever it is, those prayers are so powerful.

4:38 And so I just encourage people don't ever give up praying, keep praying for people because it works. Amen. Amen. Was there also a book that you were reading at some point? At some point? Yeah. So about power of a praying husband. Yeah, I actually didn't pick that up until recently. Oh. And yeah. But you were exhibiting the power of a praying husband when you started praying in tongues, even if you hadn't read the book yet. Yeah. It's the principle. The principle behind it. Yeah. Like I think Linda had said when we were talking yesterday that I asked Dean Braxton, I asked him, how do I get closer to the Lord? And Dean said, if I want to get close to the Lord, start praying for your wife. Start praying for your wife.

5:25 And he recommended at that time that I pick up that book, Power of a Praying Husband. Wow. But I was still so lukewarm that that answer kind of frustrated me. I wanted a much more spiritual answer. But yeah, I realized the importance of praying for Linda. And so we have really developed a strong prayer for each other, separate and together. And I know that that has been very powerful in our marriage. Oh, that's wonderful. Amen. That's wonderful. Well, let's go back and talk with you, Linda, about a little bit more about your background and where you came from. And like, were you raised in a Christian home or what's your background? I actually was not. I was raised in, unfortunately, typical for these days, a broken home, not in a Christian lifestyle. My mom grew up in a broken home with a controlling stepdad. And so I ended up growing up in a broken home with a controlling stepdad in my younger years. And you know, we- It's sort of like history repeats itself.

6:35 It does. It's interesting to watch that cycle. We ended up moving around a lot, but we ended up landing in Las Vegas when I was maybe 10. And you know, my mom, she was just looking back, she was seeking love and fulfillment in other people. And she didn't know it was really Jesus that she was looking for. We didn't have Jesus. And so, you know, fast forward a little bit and praise the Lord, she did find a relationship with Jesus when I was in my later teens. But what about you? Well, growing up in a broken home, I ended up with a lot of traumatic experiences when I was younger.

7:16 And in response to those experiences, I ended up spending my teen years also searching and seeking from love for the world, you know, looking for that father figure I never had, for acceptance, for identity, and of course, unfortunately, always looking in the wrong places. Oh dear. You're probably glossing over a whole lot of detail by saying that. Not that you need to go into detail, but I think everybody gets the picture. Yes. If you can imagine it, it probably happened to me. And you know, starting with maybe drug rehab at 13. And then- And drug rehab at 13. Wow.

7:59 Yeah. That's kind of where running away on and off in and out of different group homes and stuff. And basically, just really trying to figure out who I was and find someone to love me. You know, my mom loved me the best that she could, but not growing up with a father or a father figure that was loving and accepting. I had no idea who I was. I had no sense of my own identity. So, I was out there looking for it. So, that's why it's so important for people to meet Jesus and to meet our heavenly father and get a relationship established with our heavenly father, because that gives you your true identity. But that's happened. But tell us the stuff in between.

8:43 Yes. Well, I, from about 15 years old, I did end up in a state-run Catholic girls' home. Oh, really? Yes. Like, is that where you found Jesus? I didn't find Jesus. It was a Catholic girls' home. But I did hear about a God who loved me. It was kind of in generals. I think because it was state-run, there were certain things they weren't really allowed to do. So, there was no salvation message. But I didn't hear about a Jesus who died for me so that I could be free. But they started to pour identity in me. Wow. It was really cool to be around these nuns that were praying and going to chapel every morning. And I remember they even had, this was so powerful, they had a pen pal program where I got a letter from a nun who was in a convent.

9:32 And she was assigned to me. And I was in that home for six months. And I would get these letters from this person I'd never met. And she would tell me how much God loved me. Wow. She would speak my identity over me. She would tell me things I'd never heard. Glory to God. I mean, those were so life-changing for me. I literally still have those cards at this point in my life, having moved 45 times or 35 times or whatever a lot. She was contending for my salvation and for my life at 15. Beautiful. Wow. So, don't give up on those broken teenagers that you find out there. Praise God. Amen.

10:14 They need your prayers. They need your dedication to praying for them and speaking truth into their life, even if it doesn't look like they're hearing you. They are hearing you. Their spirit is hearing you and holds on to those things forever. Amen. Beautiful. Beautiful. So, what happened then after you got out of that place? The benefit of that, it got me off the streets. It got me clean. I still didn't know who I was. I still didn't have Jesus. So, then by 16, I was pregnant with my first daughter. And here I am, a high school dropout working full-time, pregnant and living on the couch of a friend and God intervened dramatically in my life at that point.

11:01 It's a story that sounds so much like every single mom, pregnant young story, but God threw a little three-line ad in the back of a magazine that said, open adoption, Pleasant Hill, California. And I was in Vegas at the time. And just having somebody come up to me and show me that little ad, it opened up a world of open adoption for me that I was able to step into because I didn't want to raise a daughter in the life I was living because I knew I had nothing. I didn't want to raise her like that. And I did not want to have an abortion. My sister took me to a crisis pregnancy center when I told her, my older sister, when I told her I thought I was pregnant.

11:45 And when I walked into that place, I assumed if I was pregnant that I would get an abortion. Here I am 16 years old. I'm already dropped out of high school. I don't have a really great relationship with my mother. And so no one to turn to. Well, they sat me down and they gave me a free test, but they made me watch a 28-minute video on abortion. And back then, you know, in the early 90s, it was a real video that showed what really happens when you have an abortion. And I walked out of that place and I was like, there's no way I cannot do that. I have a baby inside of me. I have a baby inside of me. I am pregnant and I can't kill my baby. So I thought, well, I didn't know anything about adoption except the stigma that it's bad because everybody who I had ever known that was adopted, you know, didn't know their parents and it was very secretive. And it was, it seemed to be a bad thing, you know, like you don't love your kid or something like that.

12:46 But it was completely the opposite. Explain what an open adoption is. Because I had never heard of it until not so very long ago. It was beautiful. I contacted them and they sent me a hundred letters and pictures of families that had already been vetted that were ready to adopt. And I got to choose my daughter's parents. And they were lovely. I got to go down the list and if I didn't like them, I could pick the next ones and I could, I could interview them all until I felt I had the right choice. And of course, God intervening. I had the very first couple I chose were June and Rod. And they lived in California and they were lovely. I ended up, this isn't normal, probably, but I ended up moving, they moved me to California to live with them while I was pregnant. And I got, I got medical care and I got to, to see other girls that were pregnant. And I got to have counseling sessions one-on-one with them. Like we had group sessions with these other girls that were thinking about adoption. And the choice was mine all the way up to, to birth and right after to change my mind with no condemnation. And it was neat because I got to live with them and I got to see what a sound marriage and a stable life looked like. It was lovely.

14:01 Pete But were they believers? Julie They were not. They didn't know Jesus. And at that point, I didn't really know enough to realize that that was missing. Pete Yeah, yeah. But you figured it out later. Julie I did. Pete So, you lived with them until your daughter was born. Julie Yes, Alexis. Pete How much, how much have you been involved in Alexis's life? Julie That's the beautiful part of open adoption is she has always known me. She's always had pictures of me. I've gotten pictures and video of her growing up. There's never been a secret about it. She's always known she was adopted. As a matter of fact, she, glory to God, June and Rod ended up being able to have a second child. So, they have a child. And she, he always would grow up saying he was adopted because he wanted to feel special like she was.

14:47 Pete Oh, that's so sweet. So, you got to be a part of her life from the get go. And you could explain to her, she could understand that it wasn't that you abandoned her. You loved her enough to give her a better opportunity than she would have if you had kept her. Julie Yes, yes. And if I hadn't loved June and Rod so much and gotten to actually get to know them, you know, honestly, I never would have been able to give them my baby. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Pete Yeah, I can't imagine how complicated and difficult that would be because you, you know, you carry that baby in your womb. And to bring that child forth and then not be able to, you know, nurture and carry in your arms and grow up and grow her up. I understand what you did and why you did it and it was the right thing to do. But I know it must have been terribly difficult.

15:47 Julie Yeah, it was the amount of love I had for her that I, you know, I didn't want her to grow up without the stability that I knew and the love that I knew she could get from a mother and father together. Pete So, what has her reaction been now that she's grown? Has she, have you talked together about that? Julie Absolutely. We talk all the time. She loves me very much. I love her. I'm close with her and her mom, June, is wonderful. And it's neat when the three of us can get together. She has since accepted Jesus. So, she's in her family of believers too. So, I have her for eternity.

16:30 And I got to be an influence on her in that very specific area that she came back into our lives after I was saved and I got to influence her for the Lord. Pete Glory to God. Julie Praise God. That's tremendous. So, how did you find Jesus? Julie Well, he was always there. Pete Oh, don't you love that? But you just didn't know. Julie Yes, I didn't. I didn't know. But you know, what was a blessing is after, since my mom did get saved, after I had Alexis, I came home to Vegas and I had a praying mom this time. So, I was able to, even though I went back into the world for a few years and ended up getting pregnant again, and I ended up getting married at 20, the Lord helped intervene in those times.

17:22 I got cleaned up and stable before I got pregnant, which is what I had happened with the Catholic girls home the first time. And so, having a- Julie Wait, wait, wait, wait. When you say cleaned up, you were doing drugs up until that moment where you began to get cleaned up before you got pregnant each time. Pete Each time. Julie Isn't God good to take care of your children that way? To clean the drugs out of your system before you got pregnant? I mean, you weren't even trying. God did that. Julie He did it. He really did. And I really believe it was because of the prayers of the people around me. I really strongly believe that because, you know, to wake up one morning and be, and literally, I woke up one day, I can tell you the date, it was March 23rd, 1994. And I looked at my life and I said, this isn't who I am. And I don't need to be doing drugs.

18:22 And I quit that day. Pete Wow. That was a great start. That's great. Julie And it was the Holy Spirit, but I didn't know it talking to me. Like, look at your life. You know, he literally said you didn't give up a child to live a life like this. Julie Wow, wow, wow. Pete Wow, wow, yes. Julie So, you got pregnant again, and then you married the father. Julie I did. And you know, cycles continue because I ended up marrying somebody who was very controlling and manipulative. And, you know, after eight years of emotional abuse and infidelity, I realized that my daughter Cheyenne now, who I loved and I had kept and was raising, she was growing up in the same environment that I had, you know, that I had grown up in.

19:11 And so, again, God intervening, I ended up, you know, just a moment of opening your eyes and I ended up leaving my husband at the time. I took Cheyenne and my dog. We fled, literally fled, and didn't take a car, didn't take anything with us, and started all over living in a friend's basement. And so, I was still living in a very secular way, you know, the kind of like party on the weekends kind of lifestyle that most Americans that I know or knew before Christ live that way. And, you know, you fast forward a few years and we get a knock on the door when Cheyenne was in about third grade and there was a little kid there from her school inviting her to go to church on this white bus that was sitting out front. And I was like, wow, okay. So, of course, I called the pastor and found out what church it was and I started letting her go. And it took about a year on that church bus. You know, it was interesting because they invited me to all the special events, Cheyenne. At that point, she was in every play and she sang every special song at Christmas. And it was a Mother's Day brunch, I remember very clearly. I sat across, they invited me, so of course, I had to come because she'd made me something and it was Mother's Day and she wanted to celebrate me. So, I remember coming into the church and feeling a little uncomfortable, for sure. But I sat across the warmest, like shiniest woman. Her name was Robin, and she just exuded God's love. And I didn't get that out in the world. She was just open

20:44 and she was non-judgmental. And I just instantly, my spirit loved her spirit. It was like, wow, this is, she knows Jesus. I was like, and I don't know Jesus. There is a pretty big difference between her spirit and my spirit. And so, I just knew she had Jesus in her life. It took about a year, but by March of 2005, I ended up with a very traumatic experience with an ex-boyfriend. And I found myself sitting in the gym of that church, watching my daughter Cheyenne play upward basketball. And just feeling like I was at my rock bottom again, I was at my lowest point. And two very sweet older women came up to me and they invited me to go to church the next day, to their Sunday morning class for solitary women. And they were lovely. And I know now, looking back, they had been praying for me because I had come to basketball games and it was very quiet.

21:41 And you could tell that I was of the world for sure. And so, you know that they were praying for me. But they were contending for you. Contending, yeah. They were. They were. And the Lord set that up because they didn't even talk about it, I found out later. They both came up at different times and invited me to go to church. And they invited me and I was like, yes, I've never felt more solitary than I do now. Jesus, I will stop running from you and I will come to church. Wow. And you know, I went that week and I literally just opened my heart up to Jesus Christ. In that moment. Praise God. In that moment. And I never looked back. Those people in that church, it was an older fellowship in that church. And they loved me. They loved broken Linda, still drinking, smoking, cussing of the world. And they just surrounded me and they just loved on me. It was beautiful and very much needed.

22:40 Hallelujah. I just want to make a comment. What you described a few moments ago about Robin is what you have become. You have become that woman that is exuding the love of God and exuding the joy of the relationship with Jesus. You know, it's like Jesus put her in front of you and said, here's the model. Here's what you're going to be. I'm calling you. I'm calling you into this. And that's what you've become. It's just, I remember, you know, we had met the first time you came here with Dean Braxton and then we went to Grace City Church. He was ministering there.

23:26 I mean, that's where we attend. And it was the first time you had been there because you were there because Dean was there and you were kind of sort of the area. Springfield isn't exactly close, but close enough that, you know, you can stretch and make it be close if you really, really want to. The church alive is worth the drive. Amen. Amen. And then when you showed up again months later, I was at the front ministering something. I don't remember why I was even, you know, sometimes the Holy Spirit would give me something and I'd come up and share it. And I remember looking out into the congregation and there you were glowing. Absolutely glowing. You were glowing. You're just beaming. You're beaming the love of God.

24:14 And I thought, I think I know her. Where do I know her from? You know, it took a while for it to come back, but when it came, it was like, oh yeah, oh yeah, that's Linda. But you stood out in the crowd and I just wanted to encourage you that you have become what you saw. It was like you saw Robin in a mirror and that mirror reflection made a difference in your life. And so that's what you're doing for other people. And listener, this is what you can do in other people's lives as you simply live for Jesus and just walk in that love walk with Jesus. And, you know, you can tell when a person is in love, he can tell when somebody's in love. And so listener, you can make a difference in people's lives just by smiling, just by beaming the love of God. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take over, but that's beautiful. Where were we in the story? You went to church, you gave your heart to Jesus and then what happened? And then I met my Prince Charming three months later, John Thomas.

25:33 And you were just, you had never sung hymns before. You had never been a church goer before. And then this was like a Nazarene church or something. It was a Nazarene church. And yeah, we still had the hymnals. We did a little contemporary, but it was where I learned how to worship the Lord in church. And it was beautiful. Yeah. And then, so you met Prince Charming. And John, what was, what was going on for you? Yeah, for me, I had been called back to church by the Lord and was still also very much in the world, but knowing the Lord wanted me at church, so I was going, I started attending this Nazarene church and met Linda right away. So I think, like Linda said, it was very shortly after she had given her life to the Lord, I met her.

26:27 And the thing that was going through my mind was I've been a Christian basically all my life. I've loved Jesus since I was a little kid, but here this woman was so in love with Jesus, so on fire for Jesus, so different than I had ever been, so different than anything I've ever had. It really just kind of threw me for a loop. It's like, yeah, I've called myself a Christian a long time, but this lady has what I need. She provoked you to jealousy. Yeah, totally did. She totally did. I'm like, how is this? I don't even get this, but yeah, I want that because I still, I still had a, you know, a cold heart. I still had a heart heart.

27:09 And so really religious heart, getting to watch Linda just love Jesus purely the way that she does really was so inspiring to me and helped me in coming out of that religious attitude. Yeah. Wow. And then how did the Lord connect you together? Well, as in any Nazarene, good Nazarene church, everybody gets together after and goes out to eat. And so we had, I had all of these lovely older women that would, you know, in their 60s and 70s that would just, I'd go out and have lunch with all of them. And so John was standing there at one point and we were doing the, would you like to go to lunch? Would you like to go to lunch?

27:55 And he was like, yes. And he's like, but I can't this week. So how about next week? And then next week, again, would you like to go to lunch? Yes. Okay. So we look around for everybody else that's going and they all deserted us and left us by ourselves. It was a God set up for sure. Those girls were still praying. I'm thinking, I'm thinking that they were thinking too. Yes. They did not stop praying for me. Thank you, Jesus. I'm thinking that, that there might've been just a tad of manipulation on their part, like matchmakers. Yeah, we started to date and it was really interesting because I had never dated anybody that knew the Bible or had biblical values. And so, John got to teach me, he got to teach me things like you can trust the word of God, the Bible. Like when I'd say, well, how do you know what's right? Or how do you know what to do? And it's like, open the Bible. And it's like, oh, the answers are in there. You mean I can trust it? And he taught me things like little white lies are not okay. Like what do you mean they're not okay? That's how the world lives their life. Well, no, that's, well, if I say this and it kind of makes it right and it kind of, he goes, no, no, that's a lie. Really? Really? So, things like that. And then especially worship. I just, I remember our first date, I asked him, what kind of music do you listen to? And he said, Christian. And I went,

29:27 no, like on the radio. And he said, Christian. And I went, oh, like they have like bands and stuff? He's like, yeah, they even have radio stations. I was totally clueless. I was clueless. So, he made me a CD and he wrote all his favorite worship songs on the top front, you know. And I got to learn to worship the Lord that way too. Wow. So, John, what happened when the Lord's, you were thinking about, is this okay for me to marry Linda? Right? Yeah. I'd gone on a mission trip with my mom and my brother and some other folks from their church to Haiti. And while I was on that trip, I was really praying and asking the Lord, is Linda the one you want me to be with? And I didn't get a clear answer while I was on that trip. But when I came back and was in church, like the next Sunday, it was pretty quickly after we got back from this trip anyways, I every other week would run the PowerPoint for worship. And so, I was in the back of the church running the PowerPoint. And also in a Nazarene church, you have very, very little freedom of worship. Like very few people would stand up during worship. Very few people would raise their hands during worship. So, but Linda just loved Jesus, you know, and she didn't care what anybody thought. And that's one of the beautiful things about her. She's just such a completely genuine, real person. You know, she doesn't put on a show. She just, whatever is on

31:04 the inside is what comes out on the outside. And what was on the inside of her at that point was Jesus. And so, Jesus was coming out and she stood up and was just worshiping Jesus from like the front row. I'm in the back looking at her, looking at her worship Jesus. And I heard in my spirit, yes, she's the one you can marry her. So, yeah, that was cool. It was absolute confirmation. And it's just a neat memory for us that the Lord did it that way. While she stood up, the lone one to worship in the Nazarene church, the Lord said, this is your wife. Wow. How beautiful. How beautiful. So, how did you break the news to her?

31:45 Yeah. Well, I was in a big hurry to break the news to her, I guess. And because I'd been wanting I'd been wanting to know. And since I got a yes from the Lord, it was like, okay, let's, let's do this. So, I mean, she heard too, right? Oh, I had a yes way before that. Oh, really? Wow. Oh, yes. I was not letting him go. So, he proposed that night. He said, he dropped her one knee at the front door and he said, I want to worship the Lord with you forever. Will you marry me? Is that beautiful? I said, yes. It was beautiful. And we were married. We got married in 2006. And something really cool is that Robin and her husband sang at our wedding.

32:32 Oh, how sweet is that? Yeah. That's like a kiss from the Lord. It really was. Yeah. And that was really, it was cool because that was like the start of me learning to be like a journey and learning how to partner with Jesus to be a good wife, because I'd never had a good marriage and I didn't know how to treat somebody. And it hadn't been modeled for you just a whole lot. No, I had nothing really to look at. A little bit from June and Rod in California when I was pregnant, a little bit in the people in the church that I saw, but really I had Jesus to turn to and the word. So, that's where I started. Wow. Praise God. Learning how to be a good wife.

33:14 Yeah. Proverbs 18 22 in the passion says, when a man finds a wife, he has found a treasure, for she is the gift of God to bring him joy and pleasure. Wow. So, I, yeah, I really went on a journey realizing that my husband's heart was fragile and it was my job to steward and protect it from myself. Like, I needed to protect John from myself, from words, from actions that would be harmful, because you can't take those things back. True. You know, a man is strong on the outside, but tender on the inside. True, true. And so, Proverbs 31 in the passion verses 11 and 12 say, her husband has entrusted his heart to her, for she brings him the rich spoils of victory.

34:00 All throughout her life, she brings him what is good and not evil. Oh, that's beautiful. That is beautiful. Wow. We should write that one down, honey. Yeah, I like that. I'm going to go back and study that. The passion says that. Yeah, that's beautiful. So, it was really neat because God took me on a journey to realize that my words really lined up with either the kingdom of darkness or I could partner with the kingdom of light and I could build my husband up and take all my complaints and hurt some things. If I took those things to Jesus, instead of spewing whatever my flesh wanted to spew out of my mouth, I could work through it with the Holy Spirit and with Jesus and say, you know, well, this is how I feel. It's like, very quickly, when you start complaining to Jesus about your husband, that shortens the argument very quickly. That's good. That is good. Yes.

34:56 He gets to the core of what do you need and what are you looking for? Because that's really what it is, you know? And then he gets to turn it around and show me how to apologize quickly, how not to hold on to hurts, how to forgive quickly and how to speak life over my husband. And that's actually that Power of a Praying Husband and Power of a Praying Wife book has helped me with that a lot. That's tremendous. Wow. 1 Peter 3, 7 is talking to husbands. Likewise, you husbands dwell with them, talking about their wives according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, because we are physically weaker. There's all kinds of things that our husbands can do that, you know, he can, my husband can tighten something much tighter than I can tighten it and things like that, you know, and he can, he can loosen things that are too tight. Can you take the lid off this thing, honey?

35:53 I can do more than that. Well, of course, of course, that's just a simple little, some simple little thing. Like there's loads of things that you can do that I can't, and I'm grateful. So giving honor to the wife as unto the weaker vessel. In other words, there's probably a better translation for this. I wonder what it's like in the Passion. As unto the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life. Here's the key line here, that your prayers be not hindered. In other words, husbands, if you want your prayers to be successful, how you treat your wife is going to make a difference. That's a powerful scripture and you don't hear anybody talk about that often. It's very true. Yeah. Let me just find that in the Passion. Just a second.

36:43 First Peter three, seven, husbands, you in turn must treat your wives with tenderness, viewing them as feminine partners who deserve to be honored for they are coheirs with you of the divine grace of life so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Beautiful. Yeah. You know, this is, this is such a beautiful story of a couple that the Lord has been working with in their lives. And now that you're both spirit filled and you're both praying in tongues and you're both keeping your eyes on Jesus, he has brought you so far in, in your walk with him.

37:23 We talked about that in the last episode, some of the things that God is doing through you both and the visions that you have for, for things to come. You've been contending in your own lives for outpouring. You've been contending for the people around you. Uh, and you've been equipping, you've been equipping, you have been adding equipment into your, into your toolbox for, serving the Lord and being prepared for whatever he has coming down the pike. I'm just, I'm just excited to see where all you're going to go. And I love the fact that we are connected for eternity. Amen. You know, wherever, wherever God takes us all in, in the days to come, we don't know what that future holds, but we know who holds the future. And we know that we've been connected for God's eternal purposes and his purposes for the outpouring here on the earth.

38:21 So we definitely have had an acceleration in the spirit since we, since we both started praying in tongues and really getting into our word in a way that we've never gotten into it before. It really has opened up our ears to hear the Holy Spirit and the revelations and the directions he wants us to go. And it's really cool to see where he's brought us. Amen. So would one or the other of you pray for our listeners and maybe pray for marriages and pray for the people that are listening and what God has for them in the future? Absolutely. You know, and God really told me that it's important to share your testimony because it builds community and unity and unity right now in the body. And that's what the Bride of Christ is supposed to be, a unified, beautiful body working together. And I think as we share our testimonies with each other, you can see how God has moved in my life and where I've come out of and what God's doing in me can give you hope that what you're going through, you can come out of and there is a brighter day ahead. You know, I think as we each share God's testimony of what he's done in our life, we can really have hope and see his glory and his eternal purposes and get more of a heavenly viewpoint on what's going on in our life. Absolutely. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for everybody who's going to listen to this. Lord God, you are glorious Jesus. The things that you have done for me and for others,

39:58 for everybody, you love us each so individually. The love that you have for me is so different than the love you have for Sharon and Philip and John. But it's so perfect and it's everything that I ever needed. And I thank you for the people that you put in my life that prayed for me, that contended for me, that lifted me up to you, that kept me as a memorial before you, Jesus. So, you stood next to me and you waited for my heart to be ready to turn to you and for my surrender. You waited for me. It wasn't you waiting. It was me that was waiting to turn to you. And I just thank you. I thank you for your generosity. I thank you for your love. I thank you for your Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and gives us the gifts of healing and the gifts of just loving people well. We just thank you, Jesus. We ask that you would help us to love others well, that you would let us pour out your love on those around us and release your glory everywhere we go.

41:01 Yes. Keep us in an eternal mindset, Lord, to know that we are your light and our only job is to worship you and love others. Yes. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Amen. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your review helps the podcasting platform suggest this podcast to other listeners who are also looking for a great move of the Holy Spirit. Check out our website at globaloutpouring.org to find out more information, read our blogs, connect with us and donate.

41:44 You can also browse our web store for life-changing anointed books. Until next time, this is Sharon Buss and I'm Philip Buss. God bless you with this overwhelming loving presence.