The Search for God Podcast

Hey guys!Here’s the latest episode! Hope you enjoy and that it touches you in some way. You can listen above, or you can listen to the stations below or search for it wherever you listen: The Search for God by Stan. R Mitchell.I really hope you enjoy it and that it moves you a little closer to God.Source notes below:PSALMS 16If you know nothing about the Bible, but want to test the waters and maybe try it out, check out my resource page here. Please join me again in our next episode, and please stay safe until then.Want to talk to me directly?Email me at the following address: authorstanrmitchell@yahoo.com. I love hearing feedback, compliments, and even constructive criticism. : )To God be the glory,Stan R. MitchellDon’t forget: You can comment anytime, and I’ll do my best to answer thoughtfully! You can also reach out privately at: authorstanrmitchell@yahoo.com. (You can say “hi,” tell me your story, or ask questions! I love all three of those things!)If you’d like to support the show:I’m still trying to grow the show. Please rate and review on SPOTIFY, APPLE, or wherever you listen.Besides that, you can subscribe with Substack.You can also now sign up at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stanrmitchellOr send a tip through Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell): https://account.venmo.com/u/authorstanrmitchellAnd there’s even a PayPal link you can use: https://paypal.me/StanRMitchell.Also, don’t forget about my weekly podcast. I think it’ll help lower your blood pressure and renew your faith in the country. Get full access to The Search for God at stanrmitchell8.substack.com/subscribe

I hadn’t planned to write a second post on prayer, but I stumbled upon a verse that rocked my word.In fact, I’m still just trying to process it. (If you missed Part 1 of The power of prayer, you can find it here.)I go into this subject in the podcast above. Or, you can listen to the stations below or search for it wherever you listen: The Search for God by Stan. R Mitchell.I really hope you enjoy it and that it moves you a little closer to God.Source notes below:The larger point I intend to make is how often the Bible — and Jesus Himself — tells us to pray. How often the Bible talks about the power of prayer.Let’s look at several examples that bear contemplation.Here’s the first one. It comes from the book of Matthew, Chapter 9, NLT.It’s the last part of this verse I’ve highlighted that blew me away. (I’m providing the entirety of it for context.)Go ahead and read it first, then we’ll discuss.That verse is crazy, right? You have Jesus Himself — these are His words — saying to His disciples that we should pray for more workers. And it obviously implies that if we did so, then God would answer our prayers.Here’s a second example. This comes from the book of Judges, chapter 3.The people of Israel have sinned and created false idols. God punishes them, but once they pray for help, God delivers.Finally, I wanted to share this passage from Judges 10, which seems even more powerful. The crazy thing about this passage is the Israelites pray for help, and God says “no.” God even tells them that he will NOT rescue them.But their prayers make Him grieve, and if you read until the end of that story, you will see that God rescues them.I’m not even sure what to make of all of this.It’s just mind-blowing to me the power of prayer that is described in the Bible.And I think we all should be praying more.In fact, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, the Bible says we should “Pray without ceasing.”That’s how important this is.Now, I know it can be hard to pray. For me, reading the Bible was easier to get addicted to than praying.One thing I found helpful was this acronym: ACTS.The ACTS prayer model is a common and simple way to pray that uses the acronym ACTS, which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication: * Adoration: Praise God for who he is and what he has done. Adoration can help you feel confident that God will hear and answer your prayers. * Confession: Admit your sins and ask for forgiveness. Confession can help remove barriers between you and God. * Thanksgiving: Thank God for what he has done for you, such as his love, protection, and provision. * Supplication: Ask God for help for yourself and others, such as guidance, wisdom, and opportunities to serve. But in addition to praying, I hope these examples from the Bible help cause a greater desire in you to read and study the Bible more.All of the answers are in there, and it’s the most incredible feeling when God opens your eyes and shows you something you had never “seen” or noticed in some chapter you’ve read before.But you have to be hungry for knowledge and wisdom, and you have to put in the work of reading the Bible on your own. At first, it may not be satisfying. The devil does a great job of making it challenging. Of making the sugar highs of getting on your phone feel more fulfilling.But in time, reading the Bible will become addicting and satisfying. I promise.Plus, studies have shown that by reading it, there are nine major benefits:* Feeling lonely drops 30%* Anger issues drop 32%* Bitterness in relationships drops 40%* Alcoholism drops 57%* Sex outside of marriage drops 68%* Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%* Viewing pornography drops 61%* Sharing your faith jumps 200%* Discipling others jumps 230%Let’s circle back briefly to the power of prayer, though, because I know many people struggle to read the Bible.Let’s be real. It’s very hard for many of us to pray for things; especially if you’re not even close to God.But the Bible clearly teaches, “Ask and you shall receive.”And in Proverbs, Chapter 15, it says:To me, all of this makes me feel foolish that I haven’t been praying for more in my previous years. Does it do the same thing to you?It also has to make you wonder if you shouldn’t be asking for more from God from this day forward. As I wrote in the first part of the Power of Prayer, we don’t have to sit in the downstairs room with our door shut.God is merciful and kind.I believe he will answer your prayers, as stated in the Bible in so many passages. As stated in the examples that I’ve shared above.Trust in God and start praying more. I believe you’ll find God stepping into your life and blessing you more and more, each and every day.To God be the glory,Stan R. MitchellDon’t forget: You can comment anytime, and I’ll do my best to answer thoughtfully! You can also reach out privately at: authorstanrmitchell@yahoo.com. (You can say “hi,” tell me your story, or ask questions! I love all three of those things!)If you’d like to support the show:I’m still trying to grow the show. Please rate and review on SPOTIFY, APPLE, or wherever you listen.Besides that, you can subscribe with Substack.The Search for God is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You can also now sign up at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stanrmitchellOr send a tip through Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell): https://account.venmo.com/u/authorstanrmitchellAnd there’s even a PayPal link you can use: https://paypal.me/StanRMitchell.Also, don’t forget about my weekly podcast. I think it’ll help lower your blood pressure and renew your faith in the country. Get full access to The Search for God at stanrmitchell8.substack.com/subscribe

Hey guys!I’ve decided to turn this small writing effort into a podcast, as a way to hopefully reach more people. This episode will be the first of what I hope are many more episodes.In it, I talk about my difficult childhood in the church, where I unfortunately encountered plenty of church hurt. And then I move into how (and why) I studied other religions before returning to the faith of my childhood.It’s quite a ride, and I hope it moves and speaks to you.I go into all of this and more in the podcast above. Or, you can listen to the stations below or search for it wherever you listen: The Search for God by Stan. R Mitchell.Source notes below:To God be the glory,Stan R. MitchellDon’t forget: You can comment anytime, and I’ll do my best to answer thoughtfully! You can also reach out privately at: stanrmitchell2012@gmail.com. (You can say “hi,” tell me your story, or ask questions! I love all three of those things!)If you’d like to support the show:I’m still trying to grow the show. Please rate and review on SPOTIFY, APPLE, or wherever you listen.Besides that, you can subscribe with Substack.You can also now sign up at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stanrmitchellOr send a tip through Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell): https://account.venmo.com/u/authorstanrmitchellAnd there’s even a PayPal link you can use: https://paypal.me/StanRMitchell.Also, don’t forget about my weekly podcast. I think it’ll help lower your blood pressure and renew your faith in the country. Get full access to The Search for God at stanrmitchell8.substack.com/subscribe