JONI TABLE TALK - MAY 17th, 2026

Summary

Podcast Summary: JONI TABLE TALK – MAY 17th, 2026

Podcast: Real America’s Voice / iHeartPodcasts
Host: Joni Lamb and panel
Guests: Jensen Franklin (author of "The Power of Short Prayers"), Andrew Carter (author of "The Privilege of Prayer")

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Episode Overview

This dynamic episode of Joni Table Talk takes an in-depth look at the theme of prayer—its simplicity, authenticity, and transformative power. With guests Jensen Franklin and Andrew Carter, alongside the Table Talk panel, the conversation explores how short, heartfelt prayers shape lives, why prayer is a privilege rather than a ritual, and the profound difference it makes in personal journeys of faith. Both guests share personal testimonies, scriptural insights, and memorable anecdotes that bring spiritual concepts down to earth and encourage listeners in their own relationships with God.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Short Prayers: The Heart over Length

(03:13–15:10, 17:32–21:43)

• Jensen Franklin discusses his book "The Power of Short Prayers," arguing that effective prayers are measured by sincerity, not eloquence or duration.
  • “It’s not the eloquence that God’s looking for... It’s the heartfelt, passionate prayer that comes.” (08:00 | Franklin)
  • The Lord’s Prayer is only 68 words but encompasses critical themes: worship, forgiveness, and intercession for others.
• Panelists recount personal anecdotes of short, urgent prayers during life’s crises (“Jesus, help me!”).
• Notable Quote:
  • Rebecca Lamb Weiss: “I don’t know if I’ve ever prayed for an hour, but I’ve never gone an hour without praying.” (04:47)
  • Franklin: “I wish I’d have wrote that.” (06:21)
• Biblical Examples:
  • The thief on the cross (28:00) — a nine-word prayer: "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

2. Prayer as Ongoing Relationship and Privilege

(33:02–34:11, 48:23–51:13)

• Prayer described not as duty but as daily relational connection—a “lifeline” (32:43 | Dorothy Newton).
• Andrew Carter:
  • Life story: Out of trauma, addiction, and incarceration, he learned to communicate with God authentically, moving from ritualistic performance to genuine conversation.
  • “It’s more important that we have progression in prayer, not perfection.” (50:20 | Carter)
• Consistency and Honesty:
  • “Just talk to Him... it’s an open, honest, transparent conversation with the one who loves my soul.” (50:03)

3. Transformative and Generational Power of Prayer

(21:43–26:32)

• Franklin shares how prayers can store up blessings for future generations.
  • Story of his grandmother’s short, written prayers for her 18 children, preserved on the wall of an old outhouse turned prayer closet.
  • “We think here and now... God thinks generations and nations.” (25:52 | Franklin)

4. Answered and Unanswered Prayers

(52:41–53:49)

• Carter: “There’s no such thing as unanswered prayer. It’s always yes, no, or not yet.” (52:41)
• Importance of praying for knowledge, understanding, and discernment—not just outcomes, but the wisdom to navigate situations.

5. Practices and Habits—Making Prayer Practical

(48:39–50:03, 49:03–51:49)

• Andrew Carter’s routine:
  • Wakes up at 4am daily for uninterrupted time with God—study, prayer, journaling, and reflection.
  • Emphasizes no legalism: routines may shift with life’s seasons (new baby, work), but consistency in seeking God is key.
• Advice for Beginners:
  • Start with honesty and gratitude, make it a conversation.
  • “When I wake up, the first thing that comes out of my mouth is gratitude.” (54:21 | Carter)

6. From Trauma to Ministry—Andrew Carter’s Testimony

(35:11–47:54)

• Carter’s background: born to parents involved in addiction and crime, struggled through foster care, separation, and abuse.
• Turning points:
  • Teenage conversion (39:16)
  • Prophetic word (“You have words of gold, you're called to ministry, and you'll speak to millions”)—initially rejected.
  • Viral TikTok videos sharing authentic testimony led to new ministry opportunities and planting Royal City Church in Inglewood, CA.
  • “God can use you where you are” (47:28) — Carter continued growing even as imperfections remained.

7. Community, Discipleship, and Influence

(47:07–47:21, 58:15–58:32)

• Both guests highlight the importance of who you surround yourself with on the journey, especially after radical transformation.
• Emphasis on spiritual formation, mentorship, and helping new believers root their faith through relationship and discipleship.

8. Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Joni Lamb, on grief after losing her husband:

  • “Now, Lord, I don’t question you…but I have a question. I was just being honest with him…” (13:03)
  • God’s response: “Trust Me.” (13:20)

• Franklin’s recurring family prayer:

  • “God, I need her,” (12:12) — a simple prayer that changed the family’s trajectory.

• On Mountains (Grace, Grace!):

  • “Speak to your mountain...Shout ‘Grace, Grace!’” (20:28–21:43 | Franklin)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• What Makes a Prayer Effective? 03:13–06:21
• The Habit of Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer 06:21–08:58
• Short Prayers in Crisis 08:00–12:25
• Prayer’s Impact Over Generations 24:38–26:14
• Franklin’s “Grace, Grace” Approach 17:32–21:43
• Carter’s Testimony (Addiction > Faith > Ministry) 35:11–47:54
• Andrew Carter’s Prayer Habits and Practical Tips 48:39–51:49
• Unanswered Prayer & Praying for Wisdom 52:41–53:49
• Closing Salvation Prayer with Carter 56:23–57:10

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)

• Rebecca Lamb Weiss:
  • “I don’t know if I’ve ever prayed for an hour, but I’ve never gone an hour without praying.” (04:47)
• Jensen Franklin:
  • “It’s not the eloquence that God’s looking for... it’s the heartfelt, passionate prayer that comes.” (08:00)
  • “God thinks generations and nations.” (25:52)
  • “Speak to your mountain. Shout: Grace, Grace!” (20:28)
• Andrew Carter:
  • “It’s more important that we have progression in prayer, not perfection.” (50:20)
  • “Just talk to Him... it’s an open, honest, transparent conversation with the one who loves my soul.” (50:03)
  • “God can use you where you are.” (47:28)
• Joni Lamb:
  • “Now, Lord, I don’t question you…but I have a question.” (13:03)

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Final Takeaways

• Prayer is a privilege and an invitation to relationship, not a formula or burden.
• Short prayers, spoken with sincerity, move God’s heart and shape destinies.
• Authenticity, gratitude, and persistence are keys to an effective prayer life.
• Your personal history, no matter how broken, does not disqualify you from God's call or care.
• Community, discipleship, and daily habits form the foundation for ongoing spiritual growth.
• God answers prayer in His way—sometimes “yes,” sometimes “no,” and often “not yet.”
• No one is beyond redemption—testimonies like Carter’s show restoration and new beginnings are always possible.

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For more on these themes, see Jensen Franklin’s “The Power of Short Prayers” and Andrew Carter’s “The Privilege of Prayer.” For prayer or spiritual support, listeners are encouraged to reach out to the show’s prayer line or connect with a local faith community.

Transcript

[Joni Lamb]

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[Andrew Carter]

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[Joni Lamb]

and fees, extra fee, full [e-mail] people at work supported me while I was going through treatment by not treating me like somebody who was going through treatment. Treatment sucks.

[Cindy Johnston]

Cancer sucks.

[Joni Lamb]

Being engaged with work really helped to oh, I just knew I was going

[Cindy Johnston]

to beat this thing.

[Jensen Franklin]

Research shows there is a significant connection between the ability to continue to work and cancer recovery.

[Andrew Carter]

We can make work a better place

[Joni Lamb]

for healing, learn more and sign the [e-mail]. Well, when it comes to prayer, what are the hallmarks of an effective one? Is it proper etiquette or perhaps a highly detailed request? The truth is many people assume that if you pray long enough and hard enough, breakthroughs will come. But according to today's guest, the opposite might actually be true. But before we get to that, joining around the table is April Simons. Oh, wait, April Osteen is Simons.

[April Osteen Simons]

Did you forget my name?

[Joni Lamb]

I like to put the Osteen in there because your dad, John Osteen, we loved him so much. Oh, yeah.

[April Osteen Simons]

I love him, miss him so much. And all I can say is I'm glad that we don't have to talk to God in King James.

[Joni Lamb]

Thank you.

[April Osteen Simons]

I'm so glad we, our dear Heavenly

[Joni Lamb]

Father, we come to you now.

[April Osteen Simons]

It doesn't have to be some big prophetic word. We can just talk. And I love that.

[Joni Lamb]

I love that, too. Dorothy Newton.

[April Osteen Simons]

Hello.

[Joni Lamb]

How do you talk to the Lord?

[Dorothy Newton]

You know what, he's my best friend. And so especially being a single person, he's my everything. So all throughout the day, I mean, I'm acknowledging who he is and I'm just talking to him.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. Rachel Lambron.

[Dorothy Newton]

How are you?

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

I'm good. I always say, I don't know I've ever prayed for an hour, but I've never gone an hour without praying.

[Joni Lamb]

Now, that's what Smith Wigglesworth said. Very same thing, too. Rebecca Lamb Weiss, how are you?

[April Osteen Simons]

I'm good.

[Kendra]

Happy to be here.

[Joni Lamb]

You ever prayed a short prayer?

[Kendra]

Oh, all the time.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. Like Jesus, help me. I can't tell you how many times I prayed that prayer.

[April Osteen Simons]

Yeah, me too.

[Joni Lamb]

All right.

[Kendra]

For wisdom and for grace and mercy and everything that we need, God has readily available for us. We just have to ask.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. Cindy Johnston. Hey, how are you? I'm doing well.

[Cindy Johnston]

I am just absolutely kind of Speechless to be here at this table with this guest because his sermons have meant so much to me over years at some really tough times.

[Joni Lamb]

And he would be the first person

[Cindy Johnston]

that would come to mind to go, I need to listen to one of his sermons.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. Dorothy said, every Sunday morning.

[Dorothy Newton]

I listen to you online every Sunday morning.

[Joni Lamb]

And let's just welcome Jensen Franklin to the table.

[Jensen Franklin]

Thank you so much.

[Joni Lamb]

How does that make you feel?

[Jensen Franklin]

Oh, it's very humbling.

[Joni Lamb]

Well, they're in Texas watching.

[Jensen Franklin]

Amazing.

[Joni Lamb]

You know, so. That is so great. Well, is how we pray more important than the heart behind it? The Bible shows many prayers to us. Some are as short as two words. So why do these carry such powerful circumstance changing responses? And should this change the manner in which we pray? So you wrote the book the Power of Short Prayers. I loved what you said earlier when we were talking to you is like, this is a culmination of almost like your whole life in ministry, right?

[Jensen Franklin]

Yeah. I think that the greatest thing you can do is begin to develop a habit of prayer. You need a time of prayer and a place of prayer. But with that, I say the time of prayer can vary. I love what Rachel said about, I may not pray an hour, but I pray every hour. That's it. You said it in a sentence. I wish I'd have wrote that. That is a great thought.

[Joni Lamb]

That's what Smith Wigglesworth said.

[Jensen Franklin]

Oh, is that a.

[Joni Lamb]

He said, I probably never prayed an hour, but I probably never went an hour without praying.

[Jensen Franklin]

But think about if we could just get everybody doing that, the collective prayers. If we would pray for our nation, if we would pray for our families and not just us. You know when you read the Lord's prayer, the short 68 word prayer, you know, when they said, teach us to pray, Jesus didn't give them volumes of books of prayers. He just said, here's 68 words. And if you'll pray this prayer with this.

[Joni Lamb]

It started out with worship, though, didn't it?

[Jensen Franklin]

Yeah. And it does. And every line is not about me.

[Cindy Johnston]

Yeah.

[Jensen Franklin]

Give us we. Give us we. It's not just praying for me. It's praying for we.

[Joni Lamb]

I love that part where it says, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And it's so important that you do that. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. It's almost like you have to do that if you're expecting God to do that. And you're right. Like, it's such a powerful prayer that we could all just pray. If we didn't know what to pray.

[Jensen Franklin]

The peace that a short prayer can bring. You're talking about horrific situations and moments. But if you have these, go to small prayers. It's not the eloquence that God's looking for. It's not the, like someone said the King James version, you know, fancy prayers. It's the heartfelt, passionate prayer that comes from. It's like a mother when she sees a car coming at her child. She's not fancy, but boy, something from the depths of her soul cries out in a sentence, in a phrase, jesus, help my baby. And sudden, you know, the car misses or something happens. And that's the kind of prayers, though, that God wants us to come to him with. Just talk to him, have a conversation, pray about everything, pray without ceasing. The scripture said one of the things

[Joni Lamb]

that you talk about is that God wants time with us. I know that's something I've talked to you about a lot of times. Sometimes I'll tell her, go spend some time with Jesus, because you come out different.

[Jensen Franklin]

Yes, right.

[Joni Lamb]

If you spend time with the Lord, you really do.

[Jensen Franklin]

Yeah, I have a place of prayer and I have a time of prayer that, that I like. That's. And then, you know, I try to pray short prayers all day. But there's something about having a place and a time that's very powerful because it's almost like, I know, you know, in the garden, God would come and walk with them at a certain. At the cool of the day, at the end of the day, he would meet with them. And when they didn't show up, this is what changed my prayer life right here. When they didn't show up after they failed to sin, God still showed up in that prayer place. And he said, adam, where are you?

[Joni Lamb]

I never thought about that.

[Jensen Franklin]

You know, when you don't show up and you make an appointment with God and you don't show up, he still shows up and he's looking for us. He's saying, where are you? What have you got that's so important? You know, I'm the answer.

[Joni Lamb]

That's right. I was. We like to interview a lot of near death experiences, people that have died. I mean, I interviewed somebody who died for 11 hours, went to heaven, came back. But I remember one of the ones that I interviewed talked about the journey to heaven, how at a fast speed, how they were moving at such a high speed. But then they said they looked over and there was a flash of light that was even faster than the speed they were going to heaven. And there was an angel there, and he said, what was that? And he said, oh, that's a prayer.

[Kendra]

The prayer is going up.

[Joni Lamb]

It's going faster than you are, because that's how important prayers are to the Father.

[Jensen Franklin]

There are no geographical boundaries to prayer. I can pray right here, and I can go into any prison. I can pray right here, and I can go into any intensive care unit. I can pray right here, and I can go across the nation or around the world with my prayer. Just like that flash of light.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. I want all of y' all to think about a short prayer you prayed. You know, I'm gonna start down there at the end, April, but can you think of a short prayer that you prayed? And you know, God heard it.

[April Osteen Simons]

I know you know, something specific in my life that I won't share, but I just pray. God, I thank you that you heard me. Thank you that you heard me. I feel like oftentimes sometimes I feel like I got to keep reminding God of the same thing, but he knows it. But he also knows my heart. And even when I don't see anything transpiring, I just have to. I just say, God, I thank you. And I learned that from my mom. She would get in the car, she thanked God for everything. God healed that person. You know, people walking by. And, God, I thank you for this day. Short prayers. Let me tell you a prayer that changed me. When my dad. Mom was so sick, my mom and dad laying on the floor, given just a few weeks to live, and my dad said, God, I need her. And I'll never forget that.

[Joni Lamb]

I remember you telling me that prayer.

[April Osteen Simons]

It was such a simple prayer, but that's all he said, God, I need her. Talking about short prayers.

[Joni Lamb]

And she was dying from.

[April Osteen Simons]

She was dying from cancer. But, I mean, he was a preacher. He could have prayed a long, eloquent prayer, and he didn't. That impacted me so much.

[Joni Lamb]

And you heard it, Dorothy.

[Dorothy Newton]

Yes, for me, you know, I prayed, lord, I want to live debt free. And the answer hasn't come yet, but I see all the milestones. I see it happening, and that's enough for me, you know, that's enough. Because that prayer, I mean, I believe it, I receive it, and I feel it.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. And you pay your tithes, Rachel.

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

Yeah. I feel like I pray short prayers all the time. I feel like the main one that I've been praying in this season is, lord, help me. Like, when I can't do it. Like, I need you to do it. And I just have to trust that he'll carry me through. There's been so many instances where I didn't know how I was gonna make it, and I just said, you're gonna have to help me. And he always has. He's always showed up and been there, and even when it seemed impossible.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. That's so good. I mean, I have a gazillion long list of short prayers, an arsenal of service. But the one that really comes to mind to me is that after Marcus passed, and we're like six months into him being gone, and I was laying out on the driveway talking to the Lord, and I was like, now, Lord, I don't question you. I will never question you. But I have a question. I was just being honest with him, and I said. I was like, did you think about this? And this and this? I'm telling him, did you, like, when this happened, did you think. I remember he said two words to me, trust me. And I couldn't see, you know, what was going to happen. What was going to happen with me personally, what was going to happen with daystar, how he's going to help me navigate through it and just all. But I'm just telling you that God will be faithful. And he was faithful with that little, short prayer. And I was like, okay. I mean, that's what I've been doing for 40 years. Well, at that time, 39 years, but no, 38 years. But God is faithful, and he hears the short prayers. Short prayer.

[Kendra]

One short prayer that I pray a lot is I ask God for wisdom. And, you know, it says in the book of James that if we need wisdom, we can ask our Father for it. And I was inspired by Solomon, because when Solomon first came into kingship, God visited him, and he says, what do you want? And Solomon was vulnerable with God, and he says, I don't know what I'm doing. And he'd been under his father, who was an incredible ruler, and he says, but I asked you to give me wisdom so that I could be a great ruler for this nation. And God granted it, and he was one of the wisest people to ever live. And so that was a short prayer, great prayer.

[Jensen Franklin]

I pray that one a lot.

[Joni Lamb]

I pray that one a lot, too. Every area of life, every night, dug in.

[Jensen Franklin]

You need it. You need wisdom. And he said. I was like, holy Spirit, you have not. Because you asked for wisdom in every circumstance. You know, like, even you're going through treatment or something. Ask God for his wisdom. Ask God for his help and for

[Joni Lamb]

his direction to show you exactly what you need to do, like, he will tell you exactly what to do, and you follow your peace. Like, that's really important. You got to follow your peace.

[Kendra]

His wisdom is better than our knowledge, and that's why we need his wisdom.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow. So good. Cindy Johnson.

[Cindy Johnston]

Well, I think times when I've been confused, let's say, and I think I know what I need. So I'm asking God, Lord, would you do this? Would you do this? And I just felt the Holy Spirit spoke within me one time that said, just ask for your kingdom to come and your will to be done. Because I was confused. I thought I knew the right way, but I had come to the realization that I didn't know the right way. So just saying, your kingdom come, your will be done, God, whatever that is, because I obviously don't know what you do.

[Joni Lamb]

You know, my grandfather and my grandpa Trammel was a great. Had a great impact on my life. And he told me when he was 19 years old in a tool and tie meal in Greenville, South Carolina, he was not raised in any type of Christian home, didn't know anything about God, didn't go to church. His mother died giving birth to him. His dad committed suicide when he was 6 years old. And he was, you know, in different families, et cetera. But when he was 19 years old, he had a God kind of knowing, I guess. He knelt down at the water fountain on a Monday morning. He's telling me this, like, in his 70s. Like, I put the tape recorder under the chair. Y' all don't know what a tape recorder is. And I didn't tell him I was taping because I had never heard his whole story. So I was interviewing people before I ever knew I'd interview people. So. But God knew that was there. I wanted to hear the story. And I remember he said to me, I knelt down and I said, God, if you're there, I need you. That's it. And it changed the whole trajectory of our family. And so that was a short prayer, but God met him right there at the water fountain in Greenville, South Carolina.

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

What are some of the most powerful.

[Joni Lamb]

Wait, he's got to tell his short prayer first, probably.

[Jensen Franklin]

I mean, I have them in different categories if I pray. But as a minister, my number one prayer go to would be, give me the tongue of the learned from the book of Isaiah, Lord. Give me the tongue of the learned. Give me the ear to hear and the tongue of the learned that I might speak a word in season to them that are weary. I pray that a lot. I speak it under my breath.

[Joni Lamb]

That's really good. And that's what you do when you preach and God gives you revelation that you didn't even know.

[Jensen Franklin]

Thank you, Lord.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

What are some of the most powerful short prayers in the Bible?

[Jensen Franklin]

The first chapter I talk about a two word prayer that I have used on every building program that we've gone through. And I've watched. I've known Joni for 40 years. And plus Cherise and I go back to your dad. I miss him today. I still miss him every time I come here.

[Joni Lamb]

He loved John 15, 7.

[Jensen Franklin]

Did he?

[Joni Lamb]

You abide in me and my words abide in you. Ask what you will, shall be thy Father in heaven. Yeah.

[Jensen Franklin]

Obviously he believed it, but I think, you know, we have eight campuses and God's helped us pay for every one of them and everything that we've got. And it's a miracle to me. I still stand amazed. But I learned. I preached a sermon many years ago out of Zechariah, chapter four, where he was in a building program trying to rebuild the temple and it got shut down. And the Bible said, counselors that would be lawyers got involved and shut the whole building program down. And it was shut down for 16 years. Nothing happened. What do you do with the unfinished dreams? What do you do with the yet to be complete calling? But it's just not happening, Lord. I mean, he had. He was supposed to. He had the foundation laid and that was it. And God sent an angel. Tell him to take the headstone and shout two words, Grace. Grace at it.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow.

[Jensen Franklin]

And he said, there's a mountain. The Bible said he saw a mountain before him and many people are watching and you're facing a mountain and it feels like that the miracle started. But what's happening? It's been years and I haven't seen the breakthrough. I haven't seen God do it. But he said, shout grace, Grace. And it's not just any grace. There's different kinds of grace, but it's enabling grace. It's the grace that Paul talked about when he said, I prayed three times for God to take this problem away, this mountain away. And God said, I'm not taking that away. I'm giving you grace to go through it. And he. And so as we would buy property or build and lay our foundation for our ministry churches, I would get out on the. On the foundation and I'd walk through every room with Sheetrock and I would say, grace, grace, grace.

[Joni Lamb]

I love it.

[Jensen Franklin]

We got to doing it so much that when we were riding by the sanctuary we're in now, my kids would hear it and they would be in their car seats. And one day I was riding down the road with Cherise and we had a minivan back then.

[Kendra]

Oh, yes, we had one of those.

[Jensen Franklin]

And all of a sudden we were just talking and they were usually doing their thing crazy back there, five of them. And all of a sudden, all at once, without anybody saying, every one of them stretched their little hands out, some of them in car seats, and they grace, grace, grace, grace. As we were riding by the property.

[Joni Lamb]

I love that.

[Jensen Franklin]

Speak to your mountain. Yes, he said. He said, I saw a mountain. And God said through the angel, he said, who is this mountain? Make it identify itself. I'm going to make it a smooth plane. God's about to smooth some things out.

[Joni Lamb]

Yes, amen.

[Jensen Franklin]

It's been a mountain standing in the way. But shout. And he said, don't say it once, do it twice. You're going to need double grace for this one. Shout, grace. Grace. And so that's one of my prayers. And anything that's unfinished, anytime we get shut down on something and I know it's God's will, I'll shout, grace. Grace.

[Joni Lamb]

Well, that's a good word because you see the mountain. But it's about. God's about to smooth things out. Becca, you had a question?

[Kendra]

What I love is you say that when you prepare your messages, God will give you this revelation. And you studied these different short prayers in the Bible. What's another one from studying scriptures, a short prayer that you got, revelation that

[Joni Lamb]

really stuck with you, I think.

[Jensen Franklin]

You know, so many times I preach a sermon and one of the big themes of my life, I guess, is family. I came from a great family. I'm third generation preacher family. And so that stuff's in my blood, I guess. But I don't feel like I was called because of that. I fought it, I ran from it. I didn't want to be a preacher and sometimes still don't. But you can't. You can't run from the call of God until he finds you by his grace and then he gives you the power to do it. But bottom line is, I was thinking about this. I mentioned this in one of the chapters of the book. I thank you for asking that. But my granddaddy Stone from eastern North Carolina had a wonderful wife, my grandmother, who I never met. She died at 39 years of age. I never met her, I never knew her. I was not born yet. But my mother, who was one of 18 children that they had and he was a praying man. He was a blessed man. God really blessed him. He had had thousands of acres of land. He had a sawmill. He had his own airplane, his little Cessna airplane. The airstrip beside it, hangar. He had cows, he had horses. It was like Disney World on steroids. We would go home on Sundays after church. We'd drive to his home. And he had a big driveway up and white column. Big old Southern looking home there. And he would take us up. We'd stand in line. You can imagine, with 18 children, I had probably 100 cousins.

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, my God.

[Jensen Franklin]

And I wasn't born yet when this happened, but this came later. We did it in my lifetime, but we would go home for Sunday afternoon a lot of times and eat. And afterwards, he would take us up in his airplane. But my grandmother, who I never saw having 18 children, all of you can relate, I'm sure.

[Joni Lamb]

Bless her, Lord.

[Jensen Franklin]

How do you get a minute of time?

[Joni Lamb]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jensen Franklin]

They said they would take the kids, her and my granddad, all 18 of them, every night, and they would call it, let's do the huddle. And they would all. They would stretch their arms around the best they could, and they would all wrap their arms around each other. They prayed every night. So to make a long story short, my grandmother, when they built a new home, their home burned down, and they built a new home. And this time they got indoor plumbing.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah.

[Jensen Franklin]

But they kept the outhouse.

[April Osteen Simons]

Okay.

[Jensen Franklin]

And she turned the outhouse into her prayer closet. And there are prayers that are written for those 18 children, one of which would be my mother.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow.

[Jensen Franklin]

All over the walls of that. It's still on the property today. And this is one that I put in the book. I want to read it. It's very short. August 6, 1948. The baby is sick. Maybe it won't amount to much, but polio is spreading. Lord, keep her and protect her and help us to be more humble, more obedient, more bold, and more spiritual.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow.

[Jensen Franklin]

And the grandmother that I never met wrote that on the wall of an outhouse that became a prayer closet. And I put it in the book because it's the power of a short prayer that we think. We think here and now that we're praying only about here and now, God thinks generations and nations. Because, Joni, when your granddaddy prayed that simple prayer.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah.

[Jensen Franklin]

And when your daddy prayed that prayer, lord, I need her. Oh, I love that. I've never heard that God was thinking generations and nations. Because we can store up prayer.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah, that's right.

[Jensen Franklin]

And I preached a message about storing up prayer. That to answer your question, I think that one is one of my favorites also that I can store up prayer.

[Joni Lamb]

So good, so good. And that same grandpa prayed for every child and grandchild every morning as long as he lived. He would tell me about. I remember he told me one time, now, Joni, you don't let go of his hand because he'll never let go of yours. You would have to let go of his.

[Jensen Franklin]

Wow.

[Joni Lamb]

Never let go of his hand. And I was like, yes, sir. That's what you say in the South. Yes, sir, that's for sure. Well, we're out of time, but if you would just take Jensen, for someone watching right now. You've been listening. God's opened your heart and in fact your heart's already been open for some time as you've been looking, searching, and you tried everything else. I always say, why don't you try Jesus? And a simple prayer that will change your life for eternity. Would you just take a moment, explain and lead us in a prayer for those who don't know the Lord.

[Jensen Franklin]

Jensen, I don't believe you're watching by accident, by chance. I believe that, that God knew that you needed to hear this today. It's encouraged you. As a matter of fact, somebody stored up prayer for you. It may be a grandmother, it may be somebody in heaven. And you may have strayed so far and you may feel like a failure and you may feel like God doesn't have time for me. I'm not important. I don't know the Bible, I don't read the Bible, I don't go to church. But there's a short prayer. When Jesus was hanging on the cross and a thief who had never been to church, never done anything good, never forgiven anybody, never helped anybody, all he did was steal from people. And he prayed a nine word prayer. He said, remember me. Looked over at the man in the middle on the cross as he was being crucified. And he said, remember me, Lord. Remember me. When you come into your kingdom, you don't look like a king. You're bleeding and you're dying. But I acknowledge you're a king. You don't look like you're Lord. It looks like they're winning. But something in me senses that you are who you say you are. And Jesus turned to him and he said, you're so important in so many words. Jesus said, you're so important, a non religious person. But you just asked me from your heart and I'm stopping dying on the cross. For a lost world. Just for you. You're that important. And when he prayed, Jesus said, you'll be with me in paradise. You don't have to fear tomorrow. You don't have to fear the future. Pray this prayer. Say, jesus, be lord of my life. Remember me. Help me.

[Joni Lamb]

Help me.

[Jensen Franklin]

Forgive me.

[Joni Lamb]

Forgive me.

[Jensen Franklin]

And lift me into your presence.

[Joni Lamb]

Into your presence.

[Jensen Franklin]

I receive heaven's help. And I receive heaven's help in Jesus name. For me and my family.

[Joni Lamb]

For me and my family.

[Jensen Franklin]

Amen.

[Kendra]

Amen.

[Joni Lamb]

Well, it's just that simple. And that prayer prepares you for eternity. And when you pray that prayer and you receive Jesus, he forgives your sins. When you die, you're going to heaven. And this may not be like popular to say, but it's the word of God. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one cometh to the Father except by me. Jesus is the only way. I don't care what anybody else tells you. You tried everything else. And the onus is not on me to prove who he is. I'm telling you, he will show up and reveal himself to you if you ask. Just like he did for my grandpa. Well, we are out of time. But I want you to remember that there is power in prayer. In James it says that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Prayer makes a difference when it's prayed authentically from the heart. So seek the Lord, cry out to him and trust in who he is. If you're watching today and you need prayer, if you prayed that prayer with Jensen, we want you to call, there's a number on the screen. We have wonderful prayer partners standing by. And I would love to send you the Gospel of John, which is a free gift that we want to send you. It's a great place to start in the word of God. And of course I would encourage you to get a Bible you can understand. Find a bible believing church. And I mean you're on your way. I mean for some of you, you prayed that prayer and God is going to supernaturally open some doors that have been closed. And you're going to be like, I wonder if that has anything to do with that prayer. I wanna say, yes, that's good. And then he's gonna close some doors that have been trouble for you. And you're gonna be like, I wonder if that has anything to do with that prayer. And I'm gonna tell you it does. God takes his super and puts with our natural and supernatural things happen. So when that happens, I want you to call and tell us. We want to hear about it. But I want to thank you, Pastor Jensen for joining us today. Be sure you pick up a copy of his book the Power of Short Prayers. For more, you can visit him [e-mail] and as always, make sure to follow us on all social media. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, listen to the Jonietable Talk podcast, available now on all the major platforms. And I just want to thank you, Jensen, for coming. This is a powerful book, an important book. The Power of Short Prayers. Ladies, thank you. Thank you for sharing your prayers. And hey, I hope you've been blessed today. Continue to call if you need prayer. We love you. We'll see you next time.

[Andrew Carter]

Bye.

[Joni Lamb]

Bye for today. Well, you know, many people approach prayer as a duty rather than a personal invitation. But today's guest shares how everything changed when he discovered that talking with our creator isn't a burden at all. It's one of our greatest privileges. But before we get to that, joining me around the table is Cindy Johnston. How are you?

[Kendra]

Hey.

[Cindy Johnston]

I'm doing great.

[Joni Lamb]

One of our greatest privileges, right?

[Cindy Johnston]

It is a privilege. It's not something that we are required to do per se, but it's something we need. We need God to be able to talk to.

[Joni Lamb]

Exactly. You talk to God. Dorothy New oh, my goodness.

[Dorothy Newton]

You know, it's the lifeline. It is comforting, reassuring. I can't live without it. I mean, it's relational is all the things that I need daily.

[Joni Lamb]

That's so good. Rebecca Lamb Weiss, my youngest, thank you for being at the table today.

[Kendra]

Thank you for having me here. And when I saw this topic, I got really excited because I feel like in my own life, personally, I'm becoming more and more convinced in the power of prayer. And I really feel like we can pray about everything, anything and everything.

[Joni Lamb]

And Kendra, I think that all of us here at the table realize how important it is to spend time with God.

[Listener/Guest]

You know, I.

[Joni Lamb]

Not just asking, but listening.

[Listener/Guest]

Listening because it is a relationship. It's so important. And when I don't spend time with him, I'm moodier, I'm grumpier. We all are, you know, and things feel heavier and harder. But just that little bit of communication with him, just to remind you, I am yours, you're mine, and you're with me in this. We all need to have that relationship with him. It changes everything.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah, I know. Rebecca, Jonathan will tease you sometimes if you're going through a little thing, you've got all these little kids in the back, you know, Ellie's little. And then you got, we can just

[Kendra]

straight up say it where he's just like, you need to go have a quiet time.

[Joni Lamb]

It's true.

[Kendra]

I'll out myself. Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

And then you come out a new creature in Christ Jesus, like a Disney princess.

[Kendra]

Birds are chirping.

[Joni Lamb]

Listen, it's the same for me. I'm just telling you. Well, our guest today is the pastor of Royal City Church and the author of the Privilege of Prayer. Please welcome Andrew Carters here at the table. Come on in. Yes, welcome, Andrew.

[Andrew Carter]

Thanks for having me.

[Kendra]

So good to have you here.

[Joni Lamb]

So glad you're here. Well, you know, as a child battling addiction and anxiety, Andrew Carter learned to trust one voice. God's. Years later, God revealed that he didn't just want to speak to Andrew, but he wanted to work through him. And today Andrew shares how. Wow. Social media became the stage for his calling. Of course, he's the pastor of a church. He's under authority, which I love all of that. But social media was just something that God used before we get to that and what happened? We'll show that little TikTok thing in a minute.

[Kendra]

Take us through that little TikTok thing. I love the way that you just

[Joni Lamb]

described that little TikTok thing.

[Andrew Carter]

The TikTok thing.

[Joni Lamb]

So talk a little bit about growing up and everything and the circumstances you were born under.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, yeah. So both of my parents were addicted to drugs, wrestled with addiction. Both were sexually immoral. My mother was a prostitute. My dad was her pimp. And so life for me was up and down and full of craziness.

[Joni Lamb]

And what do you remember, like in those early years? Like it must have been crazy in the house.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, well, my stepdad was, wasn't a great guy to be around, had another brother and so he treated him a lot better than he treated me. And so.

[Joni Lamb]

So this was after your, your dad left when you were three months old?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, three months old. Three months old.

[Kendra]

Did he ever come back?

[Andrew Carter]

No, I, I, I did. Like, not fully. I got a chance to meet him and spend a few months with him, but that was, that was it.

[Joni Lamb]

So from 3 to like at 11, I think you said your mother really had to go into rehab and you had to go with family in Oregon.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, she was in and out of rehabs. The last time that I checked is she was stuck in a hotel, a motel in California, and she put me on a Greyhound bus, sent me to live with my grandparents and my uncle and aunt in Portland.

[Joni Lamb]

How long did you live There in

[Andrew Carter]

Portland before my mom came back up, maybe six months or so. So I was without her with them for six months.

[Joni Lamb]

So what was that like? And tell us about getting to meet your dad at 11.

[Andrew Carter]

So even that part of my family wrestled with addiction and drugs. And so I moved from a bad. A pretty bad situation to a little bit better, but there was still violence and, you know, the same things going on. But yeah, I met my dad for the first time at 11, like face to face. First time. And it wasn't great. It wasn't the greatest experience.

[Joni Lamb]

What did you think? Like, what did he say to you?

[Andrew Carter]

He questioned whether or not I was

[Joni Lamb]

his son because, like, you were what, a little chunky?

[Andrew Carter]

You can say I was a little big boned. I was a little overweight as a kid and I didn't.

[Joni Lamb]

I was light skinned. He had been a basketball player.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, he was a college basketball player. He's 6, 6. Holds records at the high school, the local high school there in Portland. So he was a legend. And then there was me. Kind of chunky, overweight, and so he

[Joni Lamb]

takes you to play basketball. What happened?

[Andrew Carter]

I dribbled the ball off my foot. I couldn't. I couldn't hit the backboard if I would have tried. And so after seeing that, he was just like, are you even my. Are you even my son?

[Joni Lamb]

Like, and that was really tough. That was tough for you to hear, wasn't it? When he said that?

[Andrew Carter]

It was. It was actually the driving force for me to play basketball. I ended up playing college basketball and excelling. Yeah. Yeah. But I never put a ball down from that moment. Like that was it.

[Joni Lamb]

So you pick that ball up and you're like, dad can do it. I'm gonna show him I can do it.

[Kendra]

You randomly pop back in your life at 11.

[Andrew Carter]

So I met my grandparents. They're located in Portland.

[Joni Lamb]

So because the mother. His mother couldn't keep him.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

So they sent him. She sent him to the other side of the family, to Portland.

[Andrew Carter]

And so then I met my family and they were like, do you want to meet your dad? And I was like, I would love to. And so I remember I was in a room painting a room, and then this tall guy just shows up in the door and he was like, I'm your dad. I was like, okay, nice to meet you.

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

Wow.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

So how many moments did you have with him after the basketball?

[Andrew Carter]

So, you know, on and off, I knew him for about maybe four or five months or so, in and out. There was a moment where we stayed Together for a week consecutively in a basement. But he was in and out. You know, he was a kind of a mystic character.

[Joni Lamb]

So what were you thinking during all that time? Because as a little boy, you dreamed about, like, getting to be with your father.

[Andrew Carter]

I was disappointed, you know, really disappointed, because you build up this picture or this image, you know, and what's crazy is along the line, like, I would lie about my dad and people would be like, where's your dad? Oh, he plays in the NBA. Or, oh, he's off fighting fire. Like, I would come up with these stories about where my dad was. And then I finally meet this guy, and he was. He was horrible. Yeah, he was terrible.

[Joni Lamb]

Okay, so what happened after the five or six months you lived there? Did you go back to California?

[Andrew Carter]

No, I stayed in Oregon for a large part of my life. Yeah. Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

But at some point, God has to come into this picture.

[Andrew Carter]

Yes. So at age 17, and for context, I. At a young age of 12, I started experimenting with drugs and alcohol, just a product of my environment. And so at 17, I heard the gospel for the very first time. And my intentions weren't great. The reason why I heard the gospel is I was trying to date this girl, and her brother said, if you want to date my sister, you gotta be a Christian. And so I was like, I'll be whatever to date your sister. And so just tell me the prayer. Exactly. Basically. And so, yeah, I heard the gospel, but I did receive it. I actually, it moved me. I received the Holy Spirit and I said yes to Jesus.

[April Osteen Simons]

Wow.

[Joni Lamb]

But the interesting thing about your story is that. And there are people watching that can relate to this, that have maybe prayed that prayer, but it didn't continue on. And then it's just like that seed was planted, but not in the kind of ground where it could grow. So what would happen over the next few years?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, well, I was in and out of jail because I just kept getting in trouble. The decision was made and the choice was made, but I didn't get in church. I didn't have discipleship or mentorship. I didn't have those things that you did.

[Joni Lamb]

And you're for all that stuff, aren't you?

[Andrew Carter]

I'm huge at our church.

[Joni Lamb]

This generation of young men. And you're desperate to see them get that because you know what you missed, right?

[Andrew Carter]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Kendra]

And still struggle with drug use after?

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, absolutely.

[Kendra]

Yeah. Okay.

[Andrew Carter]

Big time.

[Kendra]

Is that what contributed to you having to go to prison?

[Andrew Carter]

It was alcohol, it was drugs, it was violence. It was all of those things. That I never healed or actually grew from.

[Joni Lamb]

But when did you, of course, talk about the word that was given to you in the service? There was a revival going on that you went to?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, so I spent six months in jail and a guy, he said, hey, you should go to this church when you get out. And so I go to this church, and it was a Bible preaching church. It was a church planning church. I got mentorship, I got discipleship, and there was a revival that took place. And this guy gave a prophetic word over my life and he just said, you have words of gold. You're called the ministry, and you'll speak to millions of people about Jesus.

[Kendra]

How old were you?

[Andrew Carter]

I was about 23.

[Joni Lamb]

And you were not happy? I was upset.

[Andrew Carter]

It was the worst news.

[Joni Lamb]

What word did you want?

[Andrew Carter]

Money, Windfall. That my dad left me some kind of random inheritance like I wanted to get paid, you know?

[April Osteen Simons]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

So you kind of ran from that.

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, I ran from. I left church.

[Joni Lamb]

You were like, I'm not. That is not me. I'm not doing it. And you got into business.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

And you were successful. What happened?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, well, I went back to school. I got two college degrees, I played college basketball. So I was succeeding on the outside, but I was empty on the inside. I ran from the Lord. And then I ended up after about six years.

[Joni Lamb]

You got married young?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, got married at 19. Had three kids.

[Joni Lamb]

Three kids right away.

[Andrew Carter]

Three boys right away. Three boys. That's a lot.

[Joni Lamb]

And so you're still like, as you're doing the business, you're being successful, you're in college, you're playing. I mean, you're doing. You're having all these accolades that no one thought you would ever do. And. But at the end of it, something bad really happened. What was it?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, well, I was broken inside, never healed. I went to prison. I struck somebody with a wine bottle for calling me a racial slur.

[Joni Lamb]

And so you hit him with the wine bottle.

[Andrew Carter]

I hit her.

[Joni Lamb]

Hit her.

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, her, yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow.

[Andrew Carter]

In a small town where there's not a lot of diversity, not a lot of African Americans. And so this dirty, inward struck white woman.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah, because your mother was white and your dad was black, so you were trying to fit in both worlds, Right?

[Andrew Carter]

Correct. Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

Okay, so you went to prison.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, 18 months.

[Joni Lamb]

18 months.

[Jensen Franklin]

18 months.

[Kendra]

So they were trying to stick it to you.

[Andrew Carter]

They were trying to send me to prison for seven years. And I took it to trial. I fought because it wasn't premeditated. It's not something I woke up and planned to do it was drug induced and alcohol induced and a reaction to

[Cindy Johnston]

something very mean said to you.

[Joni Lamb]

Well, and what happened while you were in prison? Your wife didn't stay with you?

[Andrew Carter]

No, we went separate ways during that time.

[Joni Lamb]

Okay, let's get you saved. Like, let's get the seed plant with seeds planted. Let's water this thing and get it to grow and have some fruit.

[Andrew Carter]

Water it.

[Joni Lamb]

Okay. So what happened after you got out?

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, I went crazy for the first year. I've been married since I was 19. You know, all of a sudden your life was, I'm single and, you know, I've got my kids part time and I had a lot of time on my hands. So the first year was just debauchery.

[Joni Lamb]

And you knew that it was important for you to spend time with those boys.

[Andrew Carter]

100%. 100%.

[Joni Lamb]

And you were not gonna neglect doing that.

[Andrew Carter]

That's one thing that I've never wavered on is my duties as a father.

[Kendra]

Because of how your father was with you.

[Andrew Carter]

Exactly.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. Okay, so when was the Jesus moment?

[Andrew Carter]

About a year and a half after getting out of prison. It was social media. Social media completely and radically met me where I was and kind of woke up that prophetic word that was spoke over my life more than a decade before.

[Joni Lamb]

All right, here's. Here it is, folks. That little TikTok thing right here. All right, that little thing right there. Rebecca's still laughing because I call it little, because I don't look at TikTok.

[Kendra]

Yeah, she don't have a TikTok account.

[Joni Lamb]

But what happened after you did that little TikTok where you're saying, basically you're saying, I've been through this divorce, I've been through this drug, I've been through this Jesus is the answer. What happened?

[Andrew Carter]

I started getting followers. I think when I posted that, there was maybe 200, and the next day there was like 15,000. So the video went viral. People were messaging me, but there was one message that stood out. The guy said, andrew, I've been to prison. I've been through foster care. I've been divorced. The last night I was going to take my life. And seeing that God carried you through it, if he can do it for you, he can do it for me, essentially.

[Joni Lamb]

And that was a turning point for you.

[Andrew Carter]

That was it. It wrecked me. It wrecked me.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow. So what happened after that?

[Andrew Carter]

Social media took off. I started using it as a tool to start ministering to people with daily prayers, with minutes of motivation, Bible verses, things of that nature.

[Joni Lamb]

And someone came into your life?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, yeah. My lovely wife, Kyra. Yeah. Who is.

[Joni Lamb]

Tell us about her.

[Andrew Carter]

She's amazing. She's everything that I'm not and makes

[Joni Lamb]

me tell her what she did for a living.

[Andrew Carter]

She used to be a crime scene investigator, No.

[Joni Lamb]

A crime scene investigator, yes.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah. So she used to solve crimes while I committed them. Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

Wow.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

And y' all got two little girls.

[Andrew Carter]

Two beautiful girls.

[Rebecca Lamb Weiss]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

So now you've got three boys and two girls.

[Jensen Franklin]

Correct.

[Joni Lamb]

And I already told you, you're in big trouble with this girl.

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, yeah, 100%.

[Joni Lamb]

They will totally wrap you. Ask Rebecca about Ellie and Jonathan, her

[Kendra]

husband, my daughter, and. Yeah, I've totally wrapped.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah.

[Andrew Carter]

Still 18 months already.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah, already. Okay. So you and your wife, you got married?

[Andrew Carter]

We did. We did.

[Joni Lamb]

And so God just begin to work in your life in a supernatural way. Tell us about that.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah. So because of the social media stuff, we started getting invited to speak at camps and youth ministry.

[Joni Lamb]

When you started going out, I love that. Administering to crowds.

[Cindy Johnston]

Did that surprise you that people were calling after that social media post, Calling, inviting you? Did that surprise you in any way, or were you.

[Andrew Carter]

Not really, Because I felt like when the call took place, I just. It all made sense of, like, okay, this is how we'll reach a million people. Because when the word was spoken over my Life, I was 23. I had MySpace and I had 13 people. So, like, how are you? How are you gonna get to a million?

[Joni Lamb]

Becca was like, eight years old.

[Andrew Carter]

Good times, right? So it wasn't surprising because it was like, oh, this. This can be the vehicle for this prophetic word to actually.

[Dorothy Newton]

So after your transformation, how important was your circle of influence?

[April Osteen Simons]

Oh, great.

[Andrew Carter]

Huge. It's absolutely huge. And I'm still under transformation, and I'm still very intentional.

[Kendra]

We all are friends working.

[Joni Lamb]

When did the alcohol, drugs, and all of the partying and all of that leave? Like, was it after the TikTok thing?

[Andrew Carter]

It was still happening. So even when I posted that TikTok, I still drink alcohol occasionally. I was even weaning myself off of marijuana, so I was still smoking occasionally. And so, you know, it's just kind of a testament to, like, God can use you where you are. But I would say three months into it, I was done. I stopped. So April of 2020 was the last time that I smoked weed. And it just. It was like that.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah.

[Joni Lamb]

And how does that feel, to be free from that? That pulled you and held you captive so long?

[Andrew Carter]

Just a relief. It's just a relief. I Never wanted to follow in the footsteps of my parents. I never wanted to make those same mistakes. And so it's just a relief to know that I'm not wired the same way that they are and that Christ, you've been rewired. That's right.

[Joni Lamb]

You're a new creature in Christ Jesus

[Listener/Guest]

and that he's given you some beautiful babies that you get to steward and bring closer to the Lord.

[Andrew Carter]

That's right.

[Joni Lamb]

So good. All right. We're going to talk about the book, the Privilege of Prayer. Tell us why prayer is so important for the people watching right now.

[Andrew Carter]

It's our primary way to communicate to the Creator of all things, like it's our lifeline.

[Joni Lamb]

What does it look like for you every day?

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, you don't want to know my schedule.

[Joni Lamb]

I want to know it.

[Andrew Carter]

I get up at 4am every day, 365 days a year. So I am a 4am guy. A 4am, 4am guy.

[Joni Lamb]

I've been at 5am but not at

[Andrew Carter]

4am okay, it is. But I go to bed real early too, even when I'm traveling. So I was up this morning, up at 4.

[Joni Lamb]

Okay, so take us through your day. I know everybody's different and you don't. We're not going to be legalistic.

[Andrew Carter]

This isn't a prescription by any means.

[Listener/Guest]

Practical. I can hear practicality and like, oh, if that works for them, then maybe I could try that.

[Kendra]

It's good to know, I think, because you're a parrot, I think that's kind of probably one of the only windows of time that you have where you can be by yourself and your mind

[Joni Lamb]

is so clear in the morning for

[Kendra]

me versus night when I sleep, spend

[Joni Lamb]

my quiet time with the Lord in the morning. It's so different.

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's it. I think you nailed it. That's the time where my wife and kids don't get up until after seven. And so I've got three uninterrupted hours of time for study, devotion, prayer, journaling. I can do sermons in prep. I get to the gym and I

[Joni Lamb]

was going to say, you go to the gym.

[Andrew Carter]

I do all of that. All of that. I'll do all my social media posts. I'll have the first four or five hours of my day done. So then I can just spend time with my family.

[Kendra]

I love that so much.

[Joni Lamb]

That's good. And what does prayer look like for people who are like, I don't really know how to pray and talk to God?

[Andrew Carter]

It's just communication, honestly. So it's evolved over time. When I first started, I would close my eyes and put my hands and

[Joni Lamb]

you go, our Father who art in heaven.

[Andrew Carter]

I would say the Lord. And over time I realized that, you know, he's my father and it's just an open, honest, transparent conversation with the one who loves my soul. And so it's just me talking to him. I invite him into every portion of my day through conversation.

[Cindy Johnston]

I love one quote. I may not get it exactly right, but you said about prayer that it's more important that we have progression rather than perfection, that we are progressing forward. I mean, because if you try to put a prescription, sort of like the way somebody should do something, it doesn't always fit. But like for me it is in the morning because my head is clear. But the issue, if I don't do it exactly that way, I'm not missing the mark necessarily. And I think so. Perfection can be a real issue for a lot of people. How do you think they should overcome that or could overcome that?

[Andrew Carter]

The consistency aspect, and I write about that too, is just consistently showing up. And for one season my prayer life might look one way, but I understand that, hey, I've got a brand new baby. It might not. It might be interrupted at 4:30 because she needs a diaper change. And so not locking into the routine, just understanding it's about the pursuit of

[Joni Lamb]

his presence and just talking the way you talk. Like, you know, say thou, heavenly Father, I come to, you know, it's kind of like, you know, Jesus, you know, I just want to talk to you about some things today and just go into it, right? And then stop to listen. How do you hear the voice of God when you're praying?

[Andrew Carter]

For me, primarily the way that I hear is through the word of God. And so I'm always bringing it back to what scripture says because God won't contradict himself. And so by becoming familiar with the scriptures and what it says about his nature, his character, who he is and how he moves, I'm better able to discern what it is that he's saying.

[Joni Lamb]

That's so good. That's so good. Well, we're going to talk more with Andrew about the privilege of prayer when we come back. Stay right there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Take a moment. Find yourself deeper. Connection starts with understanding every language helps you discover the art of relating to others. Your strengths, your weaknesses in detailed summary to bring you closer to those around you. Everyone wants to be understood. Find the connection that you've been missing. Get your [e-mail] well, we're here talking

[Joni Lamb]

with Andrew Carter, the privilege of prayer. There are a lot of people watching right now, and they have questions. What about unanswered prayer? You had some strong. Is that your question? Unanswered prayer, Soul sisters.

[Andrew Carter]

Well, I don't think there's any such thing as unanswered prayers. So I think that your prayer is either it's yes, no, or maybe not yet. And so it's.

[Joni Lamb]

You may not like the answer.

[Andrew Carter]

That's exactly it. You might not like.

[Listener/Guest]

But he's answering or the timing in which he gives you that answer. Yeah. There's something that you mention in your book. There's three things that you say are really, really important for us to focus on when we pray. What are those three things?

[Andrew Carter]

Knowledge, understanding, and discernment.

[Joni Lamb]

That's good. We'll go through those. Knowledge.

[Andrew Carter]

I think the three of those things. Let's just say your laundry list is, lord, help my finances, fix my finances. Well, if you pray for knowledge, understanding, and discernment, maybe you start saving money, maybe you start cutting corners, and then you have the discernment on how to do it. So then your prayer actually is answered. So you're asking for the knowledge, discernment and understanding and how to fix your situation instead of just fix my situation.

[Joni Lamb]

That's good.

[Kendra]

Yeah. And then there's an important shift in prayer, where you go from you asking God for things to God, align my heart with yours, and what do you want to see done in the earth? And what can I pray and ask for? And I feel like that's super important to make that shift where it's no longer God, what can you do for me, but God, how can I serve you and expand your kingdom?

[Joni Lamb]

That's good.

[Dorothy Newton]

How important is it to posture our heart in gratitude in prayer? Not just asking, but just gratefulness. How important is that?

[Andrew Carter]

The Bible says in all things, give thanks.

[Joni Lamb]

I think about the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven. Who art in heaven. What did they say? Hallowed.

[Andrew Carter]

Hallowed be thy name.

[Joni Lamb]

Holy is your name.

[Andrew Carter]

Holy is your name.

[Joni Lamb]

That's how it starts.

[Kendra]

And the Bible says, don't worry about anything, but pray about everything in gratitude. Like, it combines those things together with thanksgiving. That's what it says in Philippians.

[Joni Lamb]

What would you say about it?

[Andrew Carter]

Oh, when I wake up, the first thing that comes out of my mouth is gratitude. It's just, thank you for giving me another day. And then I go through a list. A part of my routine is I have a list of things where I'M just thankful. I'm thankful for the roof over my head, shirt on my back.

[Joni Lamb]

Give us an answered prayer that you talk to the Lord about.

[Andrew Carter]

So we started a church in 2021, planted, and it is thriving. We've got churches Inglewood, California, if you're anywhere close.

[Joni Lamb]

What's close to Inglewood?

[Andrew Carter]

LAX, Los Angeles. We're right there in the heart. If you fly into la, you fly into Inglewood.

[Joni Lamb]

And it's called what, Royal City Church. The Royal City Church. And what kind of people go there?

[Andrew Carter]

All kinds of people. Louisiana is a melting pot.

[Joni Lamb]

It's so red, yellow, black and white.

[Andrew Carter]

All of the above.

[Joni Lamb]

All precious in his sight. That's awesome.

[Kendra]

How did. What was the story behind that? Because you probably weren't expecting to pastor a church.

[Andrew Carter]

No.

[Listener/Guest]

They transitioned from social contact and the social media to this.

[Andrew Carter]

Right, right. So as we were preaching and going to different places, sharing our testimony, we both felt that this nudge, my wife and I, and this call to plant, we were. We kept wondering, why are we in Inglewood? Like, of all place, my kids are in Oregon. It's expensive. Why? And we both felt this overwhelming nudge from the Holy Spirit to plant. And so we got confirmation from overseers and they saw the same thing in us and we just. We. We planted it like three months after we got the word with just a dollar, a dream, and started in 21.

[Joni Lamb]

So that became on the list, right?

[Andrew Carter]

Absolutely.

[Joni Lamb]

The church and people God would send. That's a big deal, though. And discernment and knowledge. Right. For you when you get up to minister, because that's not the easiest area right there.

[Andrew Carter]

No, no.

[Joni Lamb]

Just saying.

[Andrew Carter]

Right. Financially and then even the context and the culture that you live in, that's so good.

[Joni Lamb]

Would you just take a moment, Andrew? There may be someone watching that doesn't know the Lord. In fact, if you were to die right now, you really don't know where you would go. Well, you can know that. Okay. And if you would just pray and we can repeat after you and lead him in the prayer of salvation.

[Andrew Carter]

Absolutely. So Father God, we just come to you.

[Joni Lamb]

Father God, we just come to you.

[Andrew Carter]

Hungry for truth.

[Cindy Johnston]

Hungry for truth.

[Andrew Carter]

Reveal your face to us.

[Joni Lamb]

Reveal your face to us.

[Andrew Carter]

Help us to see that we are sinners.

[Joni Lamb]

Help us to see that we are

[Andrew Carter]

sinners in need of a Savior.

[Joni Lamb]

In need of a savior.

[Andrew Carter]

Come and live inside of our hearts.

[Joni Lamb]

Come and live inside of our hearts.

[Andrew Carter]

We believe that you are the way, the truth and the life.

[Joni Lamb]

We believe that you are the way, the truth and the life.

[Andrew Carter]

And no one comes to the Father except through you.

[Joni Lamb]

And no one comes to the Father except through you.

[Andrew Carter]

We believe in our heart.

[Joni Lamb]

We believe in our heart.

[Andrew Carter]

And confess with our mouth.

[Kendra]

Confess with our mouth.

[Andrew Carter]

That you are Lord.

[Joni Lamb]

That you are Lord.

[Andrew Carter]

And we need you.

[Joni Lamb]

And we need you.

[Andrew Carter]

In Jesus name.

[Joni Lamb]

In Jesus name.

[Andrew Carter]

Amen.

[April Osteen Simons]

Amen.

[Joni Lamb]

Amen. Well, that's a life changing prayer. We've all prayed that prayer. We are examples of God's incredible grace and mercy. He's done so much in each and every one of our lives. We all have a story sitting here, and you have a story, too. But I'm just glad that you prayed that prayer because everything's about to change. And what changes when that. When somebody sincerely prays that prayer from

[Andrew Carter]

their heart, Andrew, everything changes. Everything. Well, one thing that I learned is that I got a big target on my back from the enemy. And so I expected ease, but what I actually got was a little bit of resistance.

[Joni Lamb]

Yeah. You know, it's interesting in your story, Becca mentioned about you were in foster care, but that actually was a good experience for you because you had order and stability. And you actually that year were 4.0 in school. And so God had so much on the inside of you. The enemy would have loved to destroy your life, but God. Right, but God.

[Andrew Carter]

That's right.

[Joni Lamb]

And everything that you went through, you're now using to help people. Right. And what about young men in the church? Are you able to disciple?

[Andrew Carter]

Absolutely.

[Joni Lamb]

And help them understand who their heavenly Father is if their earthly father failed them?

[Andrew Carter]

Yeah, yeah. We're big on spiritual formation and discipleship.

[Joni Lamb]

That's good. That's good. Well, we are out of time. But don't you remember this? You don't have to strive or perform to talk to God. Prayer isn't a formula. It really is a personal relationship that's always available to you. And when you simply call out to him, he meets you right where you are. So if you're watching today and you prayed that prayer, I want you to call the number on the screen. Let our prayer partners know we'd love to send you the Book of John. That's just our free gift to you. It's a great place to start in the Bible. And I'm just really excited about what God has for you in the days ahead. You're going to be amazed. I would like for you to get a Bible, one you can understand, and then find a church. And like Andrew talks about, just pray and ask the Lord to lead you and he will. He's going to send people across your path. You're going to be amazed over the next few days what God's going to do. So get ready for that. Well, I do want to thank Andrew for joining us today. Be sure you pick up a copy of his book the Privilege of Prayer. And for more you can visit him [e-mail] as always, make sure to follow us on all social media. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for full episodes and exclusive content and let us know how Table Talk is touching your life. We love hearing from you. And of course you can also listen to the Joni Table Talk podcast available now on all the major platforms. Thank you Andrew for being here. Thank you for sharing and just excited about what God is doing at the church and how he's going to continue to use you because the Lord said you would speak to millions and today you spoke to millions.

[Andrew Carter]

Thank you God.

[Joni Lamb]

That's exciting. Thank you so much for watching. We love you. Continue to call if you need prayer. We'll see you next time. Bye bye for today.