SNS 187: Saturday Night Special - Interview with Don Newman author of Pray for Reign

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Welcome to tonight's Saturday Night special episode 187.

[00:00:05] Don Newman: I'm Don Newman. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to find the power of your message and prayer is key, and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to.

[00:00:30] The Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:43] But, uh, when you step out into thin air, which I've done a couple of times in my journeys from bridges, And God does the miraculous. That makes no sense to man. And then you're walking again. I used to say sometimes I get washed off the [00:01:00] island, but if I will clinging to God many times, he'll wash me up on a better island.

[00:01:05] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact

[00:01:30] the world.

[00:01:37] And tonight's Saturday Night special, I interview Don Newman. I asked Don to share with you how he went from a trooper to a pastor to an Arthur. I also asked Don to share how his calling showed up even when he was doing a job he didn't love. And Don also shares with you how his book, praying for Rain Treats Prayer a little differently.

[00:01:58] One reason I like to [00:02:00] bring you great interviews, like the one you're gonna hear today is because of the. In learning from others. Another great way to learn from others is through reading books. But if you're like most people today, you find it hard to find the time to sit down and read, and that's why today's podcast is brought to you by Audible.

[00:02:20] Go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial. , there's over 180,000 titles to choose from, and instead of reading, you can listen your way to learn from some of the greatest minds out there. That's inspired stewardship.com/audible to get your free trial and listen to great books the same way you're listening to this podcast.

[00:02:47] Don Newman is a pastor, a conference speaker, and a legacy coach with over 20 years of experience in ministry and building. Don and his wife Tracy, live in central Florida. They have four [00:03:00] granddaughters in their legacy, a born storyteller. He infuses his insight on life and leadership into his writing and speaking appearances.

[00:03:07] Don's passion is teaching others to build their own legacy. To pass on to future generations, the stories and wisdom we collect over a lifetime. His first book Respond Up, is a highly anticipated collection of stories designed to help readers work their way up in life by embracing challenges. His second book was Don't just Speak It, write It, which helped pastors and others find the book hidden within themselves so they can get their message out into the world.

[00:03:32] And Don is here now to talk about his third book, praying for. Never underestimate the power and impact of your prayers, which is available now. Welcome to the show, Don.

[00:03:45] Don Newman: Well, Scott, I am so happy to be here. It was very exciting talking to you the other day and just getting connected and I love what you do, by the way, and I love Oh, thank you.

[00:03:56] The content that you put out there, and I think it is so, so important and actually [00:04:00] enjoyed hearing some of the things you've already done. Thank you for having me. I'm thrilled to be here.

[00:04:05] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. It's great to have you here. And we talked a little bit in the intro, you know, I laid out a little bit about what you've been doing.

[00:04:12] You know, pastor, speaker coach working, publishing, doing all of these different things and putting books out into the world. Can you go a little bit deeper into that, into, you know, a little bit about, about your journey and, and why do you think you've ended up at this point where now you've put three books out into the world and you're kind of doing

[00:04:31] Don Newman: what you're doing.

[00:04:32] Yeah, absolutely. If you'd have asked me when I was in my twenties, if if I, if I thought I was gonna be an author, I would've said absolutely not. I didn't read, I didn't write and I didn't want to do either. And but you know, God has a plan in that plan is wrapped up in a. And so you can look at all three of my books and you literally can see a journey [00:05:00] that I took in my life respond up.

[00:05:02] The first book that one came out basically summing up this journey of ending up some places in my life that weren't necessarily where I dreamed of. You know, I wanted to be a state trooper as a small child, but it wasn't my ultimate. But what I found on the flip side of 15 years in law enforcement, that's where God trained me the most for what I do now for ministry.

[00:05:28] And so what happened is I just lived the story as just, I mean really as simply as I know how to put it, following God and you know, going wherever the door opened, where I felt led. You know, I was a football coach for a while that led to law enforce. Law enforcement led to ministry. People would always ask me, law enforcement, the ministry, that's an interesting twist.

[00:05:51] And I said, look, I got tired of arresting people. I thought that I would just try to save them instead . And so but really and truly law [00:06:00] enforcement prepared me for ministry. And what I found is my journey is it's not so much the destination bridges one bridge to another bridge to another bridge. And so what happened is I learned some things.

[00:06:13] I always like to. That a great book takes somebody to live it or see it and someone to write it. And so what happened was I grew and changed through every one of these experiences. I became thankfully by the grace of God, a better version of who he wanted me to be. And out of that came books. Has, you know, times of speaking to people and ultimately now I'm talking to people about writing.

[00:06:43] I would've never, ever dreamed I would've been doing this, but guess what? If I'd have missed any of those steps. Not that God couldn't found another route, cause he's great at doing that. He would've found another way though to have trained me. Cuz without the lessons, the training, the polishing, all the [00:07:00] things through all these different jobs, I would've never ended up in this.

[00:07:03] Doing what I'm doing now and of course writing books and loving every minute of it. Mm-hmm. . So, yeah,

[00:07:09] Scott Maderer: I, I think one of the things that I always talk to people about is because often, you know, folks that I'm working with are, are folks that are listening are, are kind of in that place where they're struggling to feel they're not a hundred percent sure.

[00:07:24] Is this really, is this really the call I have of my life? Is this really the direction that I should be going? And, and a lot of times it, you know, like what you're doing right now, when we look backwards from we get across the bridge Yeah. And look back. It's easier to see it, you know, but when you're on the other side, it's not.

[00:07:41] How, how would you describe that journey as you kinda went through and crossed those bridges, you know, did, how did you know it was the right bridge to cross ?

[00:07:50] Don Newman: Yeah. I'll be honest with you. I didn't always know. I think what you just said is true. In fact, I've, I've illustrated that princip. Mentoring a young man that works in [00:08:00] my business standing outside of our office where you can see across a walkway to other offices.

[00:08:06] And I said, now imagine God has destined you for that office over there, and you're gonna lead it one day. But what you don't know is you've gotta go down the street and work somewhere else for five years, and then you gotta move to Atlanta, Georgia and work there for six years. See, if you saw that you'd.

[00:08:25] Well, I can just go there right now. But you haven't learned the lessons, you haven't matured. It'd be like if somebody all of a sudden became president of United States, but they had never gone through anything. They had never learned anything. They had never dealt with anything. So what ultimately your description, what you said?

[00:08:43] I would love to say, oh, I had this figured out when I was 20 and 30. I was just a young married. That was just trying to figure it out. But about halfway through when I was in law enforcement, and I'll tell this real brief story. When I was in law enforcement, I had [00:09:00] studied for four or five years to become credentialed and licensed as a pastor.

[00:09:06] And ultimately, if you would've asked me, I'm in year four of law enforcement, love what I'm doing. But that's not my goal. That's not what I'm called to do. I'm now licensed, I'm going on staff at a church. Scott, every door closed to me. There was no door that opened to any position on staff. And when I prayed to the Lord and I said, Lord, what do I need to do?

[00:09:28] He told me the opposite to do, which I thought at first, this can't be him, but it was him. He said, I want you to lay down trying to get in ministry. Just go be a good state trooper. And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. But I finally worked it out where I knew his voice and I knew that was him, although I didn't have feelings that.

[00:09:47] I just, I didn't have a choice too. The doors were closed. So I, I did what he asked me to do. I kind of quit pursuing ministry, started being a, a good trooper. Not that I was a bad, I, I [00:10:00] did the job. I was trying to get out of it, right? And day after day, day after day, I'd go and pray. What do you want me to do today?

[00:10:06] Lord? Go get your job. Just do a good job. And one day I went out and I heard him speak in my heart that I was gonna pray with somebody on the side of the, It was the first that I had heard that, and I thought, wow, okay. And so I go out, I roll up behind a car that was broke down the side of the road and I could tell the car the, the tire was flat.

[00:10:29] There was a older lady with a beehive hairdo out there waving, asking me could I call aaa as soon as I got out. She said, oh, thank you. Can you call aaa our tires flat? And I said, absolutely. AAA was right down the road. And that was an easy. But then I heard the Lord say, you changed the tire. And I'm like, I don't want to change

[00:10:50] This can't, I mean, God's telling me to do stuff that I don't want to do. This can't be God because God's good. Right? He wouldn't do this. No, it was God. So [00:11:00] I told her, I'm gonna change the tire. She kind of argued with me, no, you got two more. You got things to do. And what I told her is I said, ma'am, they could be tied up.

[00:11:09] Just let me change. , I changed the tire, and while I'm changing, she said, thank you. We were on our way to Gainesville because my husband has a heart element and he needs a miracle. And I knew immediately these were the people I was supposed to pray with. Finish changing tire, put it in the trunk, close the trunk, and she comes up to me to hand me a $20 bill

[00:11:30] And I'm like, she's so sweet. But I'm like, ma'am, I cannot. No, no. What is it? I asked her, what's that for? She said, because you didn't have to do this. I said, no, no, no ma'am. This is my. And she said, no, I know you don't make much. And I, I finally convinced her. I said, ma'am, I cannot take your money, but there is one thing you could do for me.

[00:11:48] And she said, what's that? And I said, would you allow me to pray for you and your husband? And just tears started rolling down her face. And I said to her, I mean, I just said to her, I said, I'm just gonna pray a [00:12:00] brief prayer. And it was, it was a brief, easy. And when I got done praying, she grabbed my arms and kind of hugged me and said, thank you.

[00:12:10] Someone gave us a word before we left that someone would pray for us along the way and he would be healed. He would make it, and they got in their car and drove off. I got in my car and sat there for an hour and I said to the Lord, I said, I don't what's going on. And he said, I can give you a position at a church, or I can give you the whole turnpike.

[00:12:32] What do you want? The reason I tell that story is God had me on a journey and I felt like I was missing it. You know? And that's where some people are at. They feel like they blew it, they missed it. I'm getting older, do I really count? And they don't understand that if they can, if they can settle in. And I know you have a big heart for stewardship, which is we're all steward.

[00:12:56] Our lives, we're stewarding everything. And, and [00:13:00] just find where God is in that place. Now, sometimes God will have you move and go to another job, but sometimes it's right where you're at. Mm-hmm. , because I became the person I am today through that experience and years of stories that we'd have to take all day long to tell you

[00:13:18] But reason I say that is because that's what I learned is around 30, I finally clicked around 30. And I started looking back and seeing what he did and seeing that, oh, you know what, if I wasn't here, I wouldn't have been there. And that faith actually lined me up for many more stories that are similar to that.

[00:13:40] One of me knowing, oh, this looks like it's a detour, but really it's a back door that God is taking me into that will connect me to my destiny if I trust him. Mm-hmm. . And that's a passion of mine to try to get people to underst. How active God wants to be involved in getting them to their destiny. Mm-hmm.

[00:13:58] Scott Maderer: when you, when you think about that faith [00:14:00] journey, you know, ha has that, how has that changed throughout your life? You know, you, you, you wanna be a state trooper, you became a pastor and, you know, obviously have a lot now where you've got that deep relationship, but, you know, has that always been part of your life?

[00:14:18] How did your faith journey kind of intersect with what, what happened? .

[00:14:22] Don Newman: Yeah, I was raised in a Christian home, but, and, and, and really and truly it was an awesome, awesome atmosphere that I was raised in. Two Christian parents. Great par I mean, my parents are awesome. My dad's passed away. Mom's still alive.

[00:14:36] But I, I, I knew, I knew of God. I believed in Jesus. I had a knowledge, but I didn't really get the relationship with until I turned 19. And not that there wasn't a relationship, of course there was, but when I was 19, I just remember getting to a point that I was like, there's gotta be more. There has to be more to this.[00:15:00]

[00:15:00] And I like to say I signed away the lease to my life to Jesus when I was 19. Now have I been perfect since then? Absolutely not. But my faith was built upon a foundation that I was raised with. And then I took it to an experience of knowing him personally and knowing him through the word and knowing him through his Holy Spirit.

[00:15:25] And, and then each one of these journeys has brought me closer and closer to him because how do you become a friend with God? How did Abraham become a friend by journey? By going on the journey? I mean, you can't, you, you can hear the stories that your parents tell you. You can hear the stories your, your grandparents.

[00:15:47] But when you step out into thin air, which I've done a couple of times in my journeys from bridges, and God does the miraculous, that makes no sense to man. And then you're [00:16:00] walking again. I used to say sometimes I get washed off the island, but if I will clinging to God many times, he'll wash me up on a better island.

[00:16:08] And that's what I've found. So my faith experience has been, A bedrock foundation. I was given as a young man on the word of God, and that faith, I won't, can't replace that, but it's become now an experience and now it's gone into the depths of me wanting to pass it on to my future generations. That's what drives me now.

[00:16:30] So, but it's a, it takes, you know, it takes a lifetime to really know God and there's still more that we won't old fully know cuz he's. More than we could ever fully know. Yeah. I don't

[00:16:41] Scott Maderer: think we ever really fully know it. I, I don't know about you, but I, I keep a list of, of all the questions I want to ask.

[00:16:48] When I finally meet God, you know, , it's like, you know, cause there there's a lot of stuff I haven't figured out. , you know? Yeah. And I just don't think I ever will. My favorite expression to people is, you know, [00:17:00] yeah. I'm just not gonna worry about that one. That

[00:17:01] Don Newman: one's above my pay. That's about pay grade.

[00:17:04] Yeah. You know, I love the illustration. I've heard this used before. I didn't come up with this, but I, I love it that, you know, the angels are in front of God going, holy, holy, holy. Well this isn't autoplay, just boredom. There's something there. They've been doing it for eternity. And one person said that they believe, and I've heard this said, That it's almost like they see another aspect of God they haven't seen before and go break into it again.

[00:17:31] Holy, holy, holy. Mm-hmm. the diamond that has multiple facets that could never be fully searched or understood. But that we could know personally, that's, that's, that still thrills me as I say it right now. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:17:45] Scott Maderer: And, and you mentioned now that you're kind of focused more on, on legacy and, and, and leaving it behind, living a life on purpose, those sorts of things.

[00:17:54] What, what does that actually mean

[00:17:55] Don Newman: to you? Yeah, what, there's a couple things it means [00:18:00] to me and, and you know, being in law enforcement, you know, I had too many occasions to. Knock on someone's door and let them know that their husband, their child, that's even worse, whoever wasn't coming home cause they just passed away in a car wreck and whatever they had left as their parting conversation and the last note, whatever it was, that's it.

[00:18:27] Mm-hmm. there, there isn't anything past that point. And doing that for as many years as I did. , and I've always been passionate about history and family history, so that's a natural thing in me. But you know, I thought, man, if you've got something to say, if you've got something you want passed on, you need to take the time to do it and not leave it up to someone else.

[00:18:48] And and, and so that became a passion of mine. And so, you know, legacy is what I like to, the greatest picture of legacy to me is [00:19:00] when I am running my leg of the race. In a relay race, and I am taking that baton and I am putting it in my children and grandchildren's hand, giving them a, a headstart on their own journey.

[00:19:16] Now that headstart can be financial, it can be intellectual, it can be you know, it can have tangible benefits to it, but the greatest part of it's s. and so early on because of my experiences and because I was blessed to have grandmothers great-grandmothers great, great aunts and people that really cast a strong spiritual net over our family.

[00:19:45] And again, we, not everybody was perfect, but there was that strength that came. I felt, I, I felt like I had a head start. I felt like I had so that really kind of, you know, gave me that so early on, probably in my [00:20:00] thirties, the first thing I started doing was journaling. I've been journaling now for 35 years and and I've got shelves of journals that I have journaled.

[00:20:13] But what I started doing a few years back is I actually have a journal for each one of my. Children that I journal in my thoughts, my prayers on their birthday, and the goal is to give each one of them that journal when they get married as a, as a wedding gift. . But you know, I've seen people before that say, I don't know anything.

[00:20:37] I haven't been given anything. I'm having to dig. I'm having to go to ancestry.com. And so what I have realized is two things. Number one, I can be intentional about it and then, but secondly, there is this reward that comes to my soul, my spirit. Now I find myself getting very thrilled with the. Of [00:21:00] great-grandchildren reading what I've wrote, seeing what I've left behind, and so now there's this vicarious joy that comes by knowing that when I leave here, There's gonna be something that continues to live on after me continuing to express my heart, my feelings, instead of just me leaving and that's it.

[00:21:23] And so it's a great passion of mine and I find every kind of way to do it, including prayer, because as you know, prayers are eternal. Mm-hmm. so I can pray for grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren. And those prayers are gonna live on after I'm gone. And I love that. So when you think.

[00:21:42] Scott Maderer: Other folks that are hearing that and kind of going, you know, yeah. That I, that resonates. I'd love to be able to, to leave a legacy like that, to, to live a life like that. What are some things that they can do, you know, and may leave doing? The journal may not be for everybody, but [00:22:00] what are some things that they can do that, that move them in

[00:22:03] Don Newman: that direction?

[00:22:04] Yeah. Several things that they can do. First off, get the pictures off of social media and print 'em out and write. because everything's gonna be lost in the cloud and who's gonna know how to get into the cloud and will they even, you know, have access to it? I mean, take, take some time. I mean, I'm giving very practical things cuz this is a very kind of, you know, it's a big idea.

[00:22:26] But what's the practical things? The practical things are, get the pictures off the internet, get some different pictures. You may not be interested in it, but somebody. I have two books on my bookshelf that were written by great, great uncles that were Baptist pastors. They weren't given to me. I had to search for 'em, but I have taken those books with me to all kinds of conferences and talked to pastors and said, would they have ever guessed that there would've been an a descendant that was in ministry and publishing?

[00:22:53] But they wrote it, so I've got it. I got their thoughts. The other thing that that you can do, [00:23:00] and not that you have to, to journal to do this, this can include the pictures and stuff, is stories. You know, there are stories that people would love to be able to hear that can just be written on a note.

[00:23:16] They can be written on the back of a page. They can be. You know, take your grandchildren to go get you know, french fries and let 'em have a good time, and tell them a story of what God's done in your life. I love how the Bible says that we're supposed to walk with our family and our children, and we're supposed to recount things.

[00:23:36] Well, why did God tell Joshua put those stones in the middle of the river and take those memorial stones and put them on the bank at Gilgal? He said that because he said, every time your children look. To be reminded of what I did here. So God is a God of legacy because he's a generational God. You know, he is into the generation, the Abraham, you know, the [00:24:00] Jacob, the Isaac, and Jacob.

[00:24:01] And so another thing that they can do is just you know, this may seem like, well, that doesn't have anything to do with legacy. No. Just board games. Mm-hmm. board games with your family card games with your family. And the fact that they will remember something you said, some story, one of the children brings up something you did that was funny, you

[00:24:25] Scott Maderer: know, and they begin to engage with

[00:24:28] Don Newman: you because really and truly legacy is passing on values, passing on stories, passing on spiritual heritage.

[00:24:36] You don't want to journal, write in your. One of the things I do now, some people don't wanna write in their Bible. I write in my Bible all the time and great books that I have. I write my faults as I'm going through there. Again, because somebody is gonna want to go through there and look at that.

[00:24:53] And then prayer, you know I, you know, one of the things I really got a heart for Scott is [00:25:00] engaging elderly people into ministry that feel like that they're too. And they may be where they're not mobile or able to get out, but what they can do in that room at home, or even in assisted living if, if, if they're able to can change the world for future generations.

[00:25:22] Mm-hmm. . Let's talk

[00:25:24] Scott Maderer: a little bit more about prayer. You know, that's what this, this latest book is, is on, and, and I think a lot of us, you know, believers are not, but a lot of us still struggle with prayer. How, how in pray for Reign are you kind of approaching prayer a little

[00:25:43] Don Newman: differently? Yeah, absolutely.

[00:25:46] You know, I grew up one of the chapters in the books called Monsters and Girlfriends, where prayer begins, but it doesn't end. I mean, I grew up knowing and believing in these. Was that, was

[00:25:57] Scott Maderer: that monstrous and girlfriends or monstrous [00:26:00] girlfriends? I'm just double checking.

[00:26:01] Don Newman: No, no, no. I, no, I don't know who's listening to this, Scott, but

[00:26:04] Ok. Ok. I'm just,

[00:26:06] Scott Maderer: I'm just checking. I wasn't sure if that was an adjective and an no. Or if that was,

[00:26:11] Don Newman: there was an, and in there, let, let your imagination fill in the blank, I'm sure. But prayer for me was one dimensional and thank. I thank the Lord that I can come to him when I'm scared, when I'm fearful, when I'm worried, and I can come to him when there's something I desire when, you know, so monsters and girlfriends was dealing with what I was afraid of and what I desired, and that was my prayer life.

[00:26:40] And I like to say it was like a mailbox where I dropped off the card. I'm just mailing cards to. and asking him, will you, will you help this work out? Will you heal me? Will you take care of me? Mm-hmm. . And when I turned 19, my whole relationship with the Lord changed, went to [00:27:00] a whole nother level, and my prayer life changed from going to being one dimensional to being two

[00:27:06] Scott Maderer: dimensional.

[00:27:08] Don Newman: to them being what I call multi-dimensional and, and praying for rain. Where that came from is very simply when the disciples came and asked him, Hey, well we see every time you go and pray, you come out of the, I like to, I'm using layman's terms here. Mm-hmm. , you come out of the woods jacked up full of power and you're able to just do anything.

[00:27:30] We don't need to ask you how to turn water in the wine. We're asking you, how do you pray cuz we see the difference and you know, ultimately he led 'em in what's called the Lord's Prayer. Well, the Lord's Prayer really, when you understand rabbis would teach an outline first, and then they would come back and fill in the blanks.

[00:27:50] You're looking at a, a poetic outline that really is full of stuff in between those places. But the key place [00:28:00] is when you know he is telling. You know, pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Well, what is king? What is kingdom? Kingdom is the domain of the king. And what all of us that love the Lord and follow the Lord want you know, we want his presence.

[00:28:18] We want his kingdom ultimately want, we want his reign in our marriage and our families. And so he's telling. This is done through this place of prayer. And so my prayer life went from being this one-dimensional to being two-dimensional where he's, he's going back and forth with me and what I found out was he didn't want just, I mean, I can go to him and tell him what's on my heart, but he's wanting me to hear what's on his heart.

[00:28:48] And many times those prayers are even tied to what's on my. And as I'm tying my heart to his heart, I am in this place of praying for [00:29:00] reign. And ultimately prayer is the exercise of a relationship with God. It's agreeing with God. It is coming into agreement with him so that he can exercise his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

[00:29:15] And so as I have come to understand that, then what I have seen is I have seen. That God doesn't want me just doing things. He really doesn't want me doing things for him as much as he wants me doing things with him. And so prayer goes from the wonderful relationship. It is a relationship, but more than that's a partnership.

[00:29:36] And so what I'm trying to teach people is that there's a wonderful depth of prayer, that it's not religious, it's not okay. You gotta fast for 21 days. Not that God couldn't call you to. But it is this ongoing relationship where my worlds that surround me, he's wanting me to be the element to help bring his [00:30:00] kingdom into there.

[00:30:01] And so two things happen with prayer. I, I use the illustration, and this is my strongest illustration about this. . When a soldier goes into a country, you know, a, a soldier, you know, they're invading a country. You know, you've got this army, this this whole army of battalion or whatever. The most powerful person in that group, you know, many people think, well, it's the captain, it's the major, it's the guy that, that the sniper and all those have their uses.

[00:30:29] But really and truly, they're nothing without the guy with the radio. If they don't have the guy that has the radio, that has contact with headquarters, that has the ability to both receive instruction and call for help, then they're on their own with great fire firepower, but they could be walking into a trap not knowing the whole battle scene has changed.

[00:30:52] And so when we're praying for rain, we're on the radio saying, God, let your invasion begin. But give [00:31:00] me my. So

[00:31:02] Scott Maderer: God can be

[00:31:04] Don Newman: speaking to us and asking us to pray for something. But you know what else he can do, Scott? He can also tell us to do something. So when I'm in this active relationship with God of praying for something, let's just use it.

[00:31:17] My job, for instance, and I'm saying, Lord, I'm praying for your kingdom to come in this place. I'm asking the Lord to bring. Presence to bring his reign within that place. But he may give me instruction. He may tell me, okay, here's what I want you to do. I want you to start doing this. A very practical thing.

[00:31:41] Do your job just like he did when I was a trooper. Or he may have me come into agreement with him in prayer just like Daniel did, took 21. And so all of a sudden, I'm an active part on earth of moving his kingdom into a realm of my life. And all of a sudden it's [00:32:00] not just throwing up a prayer every now and then.

[00:32:02] It is a wonderful and exciting journey. Hmm. So

[00:32:07] Scott Maderer: when you, when you talk about Prayer it sounds like, you know, I think a lot of times we pray, like you mentioned, where we're asking and what you're talking about is we also need to actually shut up and listen.

[00:32:22] Don Newman: Oh yeah, yeah. Very much so. one of, you know, one of the things I love Scott, helping people understand is that God wants us to hear his voice.

[00:32:30] And I'm not talking about strange voices. I'm talking about through his Holy Spirit, through his. He really wants us to hear his voice and you can hear his voice. And that has been the thing I've developed over the years and I've heard my own voice at times. There's been some trial and error, but by the grace of God, I've learned to hear his voice and he said this something to me real strong and this is how he talks to me.

[00:32:56] I was actually on a prayer retreat and he said, do you want to know what prayer [00:33:00] really is, Don? He said, it's the opposite of Genie in a. and I said, genie in a bottle. He said, yeah, genie in a bottle is your wish, is my command. What I want is my wish. My desire becomes your command, your decree, your prayer.

[00:33:14] Mm-hmm. . And that we work together in partnership to see that fulfilled both through prayer and action. And here's why prayer is needed. I'll give you one other thing cause I think this'll help people understand Jesus in Matthew nine, I love this picture. He goes out and he's ministering to people everywhere, and he just sees all these people, great compassion comes on him.

[00:33:38] And he basically, I'm paraphrasing, says, look at all these people. They're like sheep without a shepherd. But then he looks at his disciples and he really, and you look at the the tents that is used in the original language. I mean, it's almost like he's saying, I need you to beg

[00:33:52] Scott Maderer: me. I need you to

[00:33:53] Don Newman: implore me.

[00:33:55] I, I need you to ask me to send laborers into the harvest. . [00:34:00] So here's, here's the illustration that God showed me. He said, who's the Lord of the harvest? Well, Jesus is. Why is Jesus saying to the disciples, I need you to ask me to do this? And the illustration that he gave me just changed my life. He said, Don, imagine you.

[00:34:16] I'm a sales manager at the time. He said, imagine you asking your sales. Hey guys, next month is Christmas special. We're doing Christmas specials next month, and I need y'all to ask me to put a sale out. Scott, I'd never do that. I don't ask them to ask me, right? I just do it. And I said, Lord, I'd never do that.

[00:34:39] He said, you would if you had given them authority. Mm. If you had given them the authority and you wanted them to grow in that authority and learn the importa. You'd put this in their hands and he said, I did that with you. And I said, well then God, you're looking for us. And he finished the sentence he said to hear what I'm asking.

[00:34:58] Mm-hmm. . [00:35:00] And so it, all of a sudden I started to realize we're not waiting on him. He's waiting on us. And so wherever he's placed me, wherever I'm at now, I can be that radio operator that is hearing what he is saying and nobody even know what I'm doing cuz you don't have to be weird to do this. This is through relationship and and prayer, but you know, several illustrations that are like that.

[00:35:22] Help me understand that he really has put this where, you know, the Bible. In the Bible and I think in Ezekiel it says, I looked for a man to stand in the gap and I couldn't find any. So I wouldn't destroy the. And basically he is looking who is willing to stand in the gap. That's what an intercessor is.

[00:35:42] You know, intercessor is somebody that's willing to intercede. And so when he finds us that are willing to intercede, I'm telling you it goes from the, I've prayed for 15 minutes and I don't know what else to pray. So let me give this to if I can add this, Scott, the enemy tries to keep people [00:36:00] from praying, tries to sco.

[00:36:02] I mean, there's a lot of discouragement that comes against it. And here's the ways that the enemy tries to discourage it. First, he tries to make you feel unqualified, that you're not qualified enough, and then he tries to make you feel disqualified. You blew it. You haven't lived your life right enough recently, and you just don't measure up.

[00:36:20] And, and so what happens is a person thinks their prayers don't matter. And ultimately, no, they matter because the only thing that qualifies you is the blood of Jesus and the fact that he's called you to step into this partnership with you, with him. And so that's just a passion of mine and I, I, again, I could go on and on about it.

[00:36:41] Scott Maderer: Yeah, we do, we, we, we do actually have to chop and besides they go read the book . Yeah. . You don't wanna tell 'em everything that's in the book, right? Yeah. Well, but yeah, actually you probably would. But I think too, you know, one of the things you talk about in the book is, is these different components or different areas of prayer that we [00:37:00] should pray for can.

[00:37:03] Talk a little bit about the main areas that you, you

[00:37:06] Don Newman: lay out. Sure, sure. Yeah. There, there's four chapters. The first one is called Two Week Sisters. That one is praying for rain in the church. Everybody, you know, whether they attend or they're belong, you know connected to a church and God, God wants to visit the church, he wants.

[00:37:27] To do things within the church. You know, history always shows that revival comes to the church first. And so you, you see churches closing, you see things happening, you get discouraged. Where's the people at? Well, two week sisters, the story of Christine and Peggy Smith and in the he's islands that's and off Scotland that I mean a hundred years, almost a hundred years ago, they were invalid.

[00:37:53] One was blind, one was Crip. But yet they saw their church dying. They saw the youth were not coming anymore, [00:38:00] and even though they couldn't make it to the Paris Church, they prayed and prayed and prayed in a recorded revival. You can look it up. The Heberty Revival change the entire area. So the first chapter is about encouraging people.

[00:38:14] Look, you can make a difference praying for Reign, God's Kingdom to come in your church. The second area, it's called Ripples at the. And that is dealing with work. And that's a huge thing. I love talking to people about that. Yes, sometimes God wants to change your work, situ wants to change you to another job, but many times he wants to change your office or your, or your work out.

[00:38:36] I had difficult jobs coming up and God used me in all of. To pray for rain in those places. So no matter where you work at, you don't have to be religious, you don't have to have the fish sticker or carry the Bible around or any of that. You're carrying him around and he wants to partner with you to do things in that place.

[00:38:57] The third one is called it's all about the [00:39:00] trees, and that's praying for rain in the family. Praying for rain for your family, your extended family. You may be the only believer. That is in that family, but God can use you to reach that family and it may take years, but it's so worth it. It's so worth it to see.

[00:39:18] Because cuz one change, we've all seen this one change in one family can change the whole tree and, and impact generations. And the last one is praying it's the mystery of four 12 too long to explain what that is. But that's all about praying for rain in America. I, I just really have a passion for praying for this country and praying for the leaders of this country and praying many of the things that we've all.

[00:39:45] In the last couple of years. Well, you can, you can go to the news and just totally be, I got no hope. Or you can plug in with God, hear what he's saying. Become part of that plan of praying in things in. And yes, it's [00:40:00] not instant. It takes time, but all of a sudden you begin to feel that you're making a difference, even if it's in a local location.

[00:40:08] It all impacts the country that I live in. Awesome.

[00:40:13] Scott Maderer: So before I ask a couple of questions that I like to ask everybody, is there there anything else from the book or your work that you'd

[00:40:20] Don Newman: like to share with the listener? Yeah, the last thing is the, the, the, the book is basically what I've learned.

[00:40:30] Through praying and, and this journey of praying for reign. And it, it basically starts out by explaining, okay, what is this? Wh how, what does this, what does this mean? And you go to the book of Genesis and you look where God gave man authority. And then you go through those areas that we just talked about, the four quadrants of the church, but the last part of it's very ins.

[00:40:56] And I spend a lot of time talking about two things. The Lord's [00:41:00] Prayer is that outline and also the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been given to us by the Lord. God's given us this spirit, and he is a friend. He is a Peric Clete. So here's what I want to leave people with. If you don't know how to pray about a situation, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

[00:41:21] Hmm. He knows how to lead and. You'd never go into a court without a lawyer. You know, if you didn't know what you were doing, well, guess what? We're able to go into the throne of Grace and go before our Heavenly Father. You know, prayer is to the father through the access of the Son,

[00:41:41] Scott Maderer: with the

[00:41:42] Don Newman: help and assistance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

[00:41:45] So literally you're praying with the Trinity and how, how, what can be more powerful than. So you

[00:41:51] Scott Maderer: mentioned earlier, you know, my brand has inspired stewardship and, and stewardship is that kind of word that I use. And, and you know, kinda like you talk about prayer, I talk about [00:42:00] stewardship a lot, and yet I've discovered that that's one of those words that it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

[00:42:07] And so what does the word stewardship mean to you? And, and what has its impact been on

[00:42:12] Don Newman: your. Yeah, absolutely. And you know, like many people, the word, it means one thing when you first learn it or you heard it, you know, through something. And you know, in my mind, if you would've asked me, what did you think when you heard stewardship?

[00:42:28] I'd say money. It's just money. Yeah. I,

[00:42:31] Scott Maderer: I tell people, I'm trying to reclaim the word stewardship from we're starting a building campaign. Please grab your wallet, your

[00:42:36] Don Newman: pledge card Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But, you know, I think of, I think of the parable of the, you know, of the, the, the, you know, the, the manager coming back.

[00:42:47] What did you do with what I gave you? Mm-hmm. , what, what is the, what I gave you? It's not just. I mean, God's given me insight and into prayer. Now, do I just keep it to myself or do [00:43:00] I share it and share it at the risk of, you know, somebody not liking it necessarily. And so I think of all of these things to him who's, you know, who's been given much, much is required, but if you're faithful with a little, guess what, you would receive that much more.

[00:43:16] And so who's, who's a great picture of stewardship to me is Joseph in the book of Genesis. In difficult situations. He treated that like it was his job. He treated it like, okay, I'm the head in here in prison. I mean, you know, I am the person you know in this house, and what did God do? He blessed him. So some of us have been given great, somebody could be listening to this, that's been given a great business idea and fear and all the different things that could come against them, could keep them from even stepping out to.

[00:43:51] You've been given something. We've all been given something and we are we don't own anything. I mean, when I leave here I don't take [00:44:00] anything with me, but I am a steward why I'm here. So that's why I love what you're sharing and I love how you've taken that back. And it's not just a giving campaign, it's so much more than that.

[00:44:12] Mm-hmm. .

[00:44:14] Scott Maderer: This is my favorite question that I get to ask everybody. Let's say I invented this magic machine, and, and with the power of this machine, I was able to pluck you from the chair where you are today and transport you into the future a hundred fifty, two hundred fifty years. But through the power of this machine, you were able to look back on your life and see all the connections, all of the, the ripples, all of the impacts that you've left behind.

[00:44:37] What impact do you hope you've had on the.

[00:44:40] Don Newman: Yeah, I hope that I have impacted people in understanding legacy, in understanding that they can leave a lasting legacy and that they will get to see that in their lifetime multiplied over and over again. [00:45:00] Obviously I'm tying the Lord in with that. I mean, he, that's number.

[00:45:05] But everything ties within this legacy thing with me. Because I, I picture, you know, 400 years from now you know what I did the other day, Scott? I took my notes handwritten notes from my book, praying for Rain, and my wife said, well, those, you can throw those away now. And I said, oh, no. I said, I went the other day and was gonna buy Spurgeon's, handwritten galley notes for $850.

[00:45:30] Somebody had a page and I said, I'm hoping one day that I've made such an impact that somebody in the family would actually want these by what I've done, what I've said, and how I've lived and, and nothing keeps me, you know, we live in a world full of temptation and there's all kinds of, But I'll tell you, you know, I kind of, I, I, I take the Billy Graham example.

[00:45:53] I do everything I can to live above things. But what constantly, constantly, [00:46:00] constantly reminds me is that in the end, no passing pleasure, no passing thing is worth losing my legacy. And not that God can't restore, he can restore any of us, but it's not worth it. So I want them to say, He lived? Well, I'm not into, you know, I know there's some people that are into, I'm not gonna be buried.

[00:46:20] I'm gonna be pre-made. My wife knows I want a huge headstone. I want my great-grandchildren to go there and be inspired by my life. And that's probably what I want more than anything personally, is I want my life to inspire future generations. Mm-hmm. . So, you know, the

[00:46:37] Scott Maderer: book just came out not too long ago.

[00:46:39] What's coming next for you as you continue on this? What's,

[00:46:43] Don Newman: what's the roadmap? Well, I'm obviously I'm doing a lot of speaking. I'm doing a lot of pastor conferences through my publishing. The, the publishing job that I work in. I love what I do with publishing. But I can't help it. I'm already [00:47:00] looking at the next book,

[00:47:05] My wife said, aren't you gonna take a break? I said, I don't know that I can

[00:47:14] Scott Maderer: You can find out more about Don over on his YouTube channel. He's under Legacy Coach Don Newman. Of course, I'll have a link to that and I also have links to all three of the books that we've talked about today over in the show notes. Don, anything else

[00:47:28] Don Newman: you'd like to share with the listeners? Though, just thank you so much, Scott, for having me on here.

[00:47:33] This has been a joy and I, I love the fact that we're talking about things that are gonna live on after our own lifetime has ended.

[00:47:46] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively. But act on what you've heard and find a [00:48:00] way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, please, please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

[00:48:13] Rate all one word. iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review, and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.