The Monday Memo from John Stanko

701: Purpose Prayer

Last week I began a series on prayer and purpose. I want to continue this for a few more weeks, so before I depart Guyana, here is another Memo for you to think about. And please, just because I am heading home does not mean that I don’t need your financial help – I do now more than ever. I am coming home from Guyana with more purpose – there is much to do here to help my pastor friend start a library and a computer center – but I cannot help him if you don’t help me. He and his church have been generous with me, but I need your help after I spent nine days here, speaking 10 times on purpose. You can give toward my support through my website or by sending a gift to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. And now, let’s continue our series on prayer.

WHAT DID JESUS REALLY SAY?

If Jesus said that apart from Him you can do nothing, isn't it true that in Him you can do anything? Alright, maybe not everything, but something? Let's look at the entire passage and you'll see what I mean:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:1-8).

Jesus said if you don't abide in Him you can't do anything; if you do, however, you will bear much fruit. If you don't, you are a useless branch and will be pruned and burned. Of course, if you are fruitful, you will also be pruned and burned, but that is so you will bear more fruit. That is another message for another time. Did you also notice that if you abide in Jesus, you can ask for whatever you wish and it will be given to you? While the warning of what you can't do without Jesus is real, what you can do is much more prevalent in this passage.

 PURPOSE PRAYER

I have heard and read many comments on the verse above when Jesus said, “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” Most dodge the promise made in this verse, explaining it away and limiting its power. Others do the opposite and claim it is a promise that covers everything, and if the answer doesn’t come, there is something wrong with the asker’s faith. I choose to interpret what Jesus said a bit differently.

 The promise that Jesus made was in the context of bearing fruit. Since God wants you to bear fruit, there is no place better to bear than when you are in your purpose. When you are flowing in purpose, God will give you what you need to help you fulfill it. After all, I have reminded people many times that God wants you to fulfill your purpose more than you do. That’s why you are here. God isn’t trying to withhold from you; He is waiting for you to see where your productivity lies and then He will help you bear fruit. God doesn’t want you just to be a nice person; He wants you to be a nice, fruitful person, and purpose is the place you bear fruit.

I want you this week to wrestle with what Jesus said in John 15 about fruit and prayer. Then I want you to be honest. Are you getting any answers to your prayers? If your honest answer is “no,” it’s not that God is angry with you. It’s that you are probably praying outside your purpose and accompanying fruit. If you will start to focus on what you need to be fruitful, I promise that you will get answers to prayer.

Getting answers to your prayers is one of the most exhilarating experiences as a believer. Yet it’s not just praying any old prayer and expecting God to respond like some heavenly butler. It is praying purpose prayers and seeing God act not only on your behalf, but on behalf of those people who will benefit from your purpose. Enjoy working through John 15 this week and I will be back next week (on time) to give you the next installment in our prayer series.

700: Putting on Airs

I am sitting in the Trinidad airport and it's 5 AM. I am flying into Guyana and we have landed here one hour ahead of schedule. I am waiting to re-board my plane, so I thought I would try to squeeze in this milestone Monday Memo. It is issue number 700! I started the Memo in 2001 and it is still going strong. I am grateful to God who has energized me to write and to you who have also energized me because you read what I write. I know the Memo has touched and helped many people, and I hope you are one of them. Don't forget that I need your financial help if I am to continue writing this Memo and doing all the other purpose activities, including traveling to places like Guyana. And now, here is Memo 700!

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Last week in Kenya, I touched on a theme that I haven't spoken on in a while and that's prayer. Have you ever listened to others pray? Have you listened to yourself pray? I have noticed that people often put on an airs when they pray, pretending to be someone they aren't. Sometimes they change their voice. Sometimes they speak in King Jame's English, even though they do not use King James in their everyday conversations. Another interesting trait is saying God's name every third or fourth word: "Lord, I thank You, Lord, for Your grace, Lord, and Your mercy, Lord, and Lord, we now come before You, Lord, to ask you, Lord for Your presence, Lord and Your help, Lord."

If you talk to your spouse, do you say his or her name every third word? If not, then why do you do it with the Lord? It's because we put on airs and fill our prayers at times with repetitive phrases or terms like "Father God," "Almighty God," or "thank You" or "praise You, Lord." We are afraid our natural voice or vocabulary is not good enough to reach God's ears. We also want to impress or not fall short of other's expectations when we pray publicly. When all else fails, we get loud and shout at God, spitting out words like a machine gun, hoping to whip others into a frenzy and let God know we are serious.

It's all pretty tedious, when you think of it, and is also a religious spirit of tradition and ritual.

Jesus did not say the Lord's name every third word when He prayed (although if look at His prayer in John 17, you see that he used it every few sentences in a natural, conversational way). He also didn't end His prayers with the phrase, "In Jesus' name." The writer of Hebrews tells us how Jesus prayed in a way that enabled His prayers to be heard:

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:7-9).

In other words, Jesus was authentic when He prayed. He did not put on airs and try to impress. He knew with whom He was conversing and He was intimate and honest. You and I would do well to emulate His behavior when we pray.

We will talk about prayer and how it relates to purpose in the coming weeks. In the meantime, your assignment is to listen to your prayers and ask yourself, "Are they religious or honest?" The more important questions are really, "Do I get answers to my prayers? Am I really asking for something when I pray or just shuffling words around in the atmosphere?" As you attempt to answer those questions, I hope you will have a blessed week. I know I will as I visit Guyana for the first time in 26 years!

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GUYANA: Don't forget what I mentioned above. I need your help now that I have finished my work in Kenya and get ready to move on to South America. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help!

699: Small Beginnings

I am on my way home from Kenya after a great trip with 12 other people. We visited churches, orphanages, community development centers, and touched a lot of people. I distributed thousands of dollars in relief funds to help our partners and we saw firsthand that hard times are ahead for them: the corn crop has failed and there is a serious drought at the moment.

This coming Saturday I depart for Guyana, South America to visit my good friend Pastor Ovid Schultz to help him celebrate his church's anniversary. I need your help to continue doing what I do. I saw firsthand these past two weeks how the purpose message has impacted the people and nation of Kenya. I am humbled and overwhelmed by the testimonies. God now wants me to do the same in Guyana and I am trusting Him as I go. You can contribute to my support online using PayPal or by sending a tax-deductible contribution to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and now on to this week's Monday Memo.

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I return to Guyana this week for my first visit since 1989. That trip in 1989 was my first international venture and it still ranks as one of the most difficult I have ever undertaken. The conditions were not good and I was not an experienced traveler. I made a lot of mistakes on that first trip, one of which was taking chocolate as a snack to a country that is on the equator! Then I tried to rinse off my sticky hands in piranha-infested waters. It was a learning experience but I am looking forward to my return.

A lot has happened in my life since 1989. I started teaching on purpose in 1991. I published my first book in 1995. I started my company PurposeQuest in 2001. Since that trip in 1989, I have logged nearly four million travel miles traveling to many countries. It's been an exhilarating quarter of a century.

In 1989, I actually accompanied another pastor, who was the senior member of our duo. I carried his bags, so to speak, and really didn't have much to say - but I said it 17 times in 17 different churches on that trip. It makes me think of what the Lord said in Zechariah 4:10: "'Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand.' (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)" (NLT).

If I have made one consistent mistake in my life and ministry, it's that I haven't done something small because I considered it not big enough. I did not give $100 because it wasn't $1,000. I didn't help ten people because it wasn't 100. I didn't come to the aid of one child because it wasn't an entire orphanage full of children. I didn't write one article because it wasn't a book.  Little did I know that the trip in 1989 would open my mind and heart to the world. I went and haven't stopped going.

What aren't you doing for the same reason I employed: it doesn't seem big or significant enough? What trip have you been putting off? What poem haven't you written because, well, it's only one poem and who will read it anyway? Where could you have given $5 but that seems like such a paltry sum? What good would that do?

You need to take seriously the words of the Lord through the prophet: "Do not despise these small beginnings." The eyes of the Lord are watching you, not to judge you, but to watch your faithfulness so He can bless it and bring increase. Don't put off another day doing what it is that is in your heart to do, no matter how microscopic it may seem to you. In God's hands your little can become a lot, but only if you offer what little you have and put it in God's hands by doing it. Who knows, your simple trip across the street can lead to a worldwide tour, just like my trip to Guyana did in 1989. And now I am going back to celebrate God's work in my life and help other people start their own work. It just doesn't get any better than that!

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NEW TV SHOWS: I posted two new Your PurposeQuest television shows to my online channel this past week and I highly recommend them as resources to help you find your purpose. Enjoy them and pray for us as we have three more shows in the works.

URBAN PRESS: Did you know I started a publishing company to help you and others like you make your creative dream a reality? We currently have five books in the works. If you would like to work with and publish through us, let me know.

GUYANA: Don't forget what I mentioned above. I need your help now that I have finished my work in Kenya and get ready to move on to South America. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help!

698: What You See 8

I woke up at 3:30 AM here in Kenya thanking God for the opportunity to be here with a team that is so eager to learn and enjoy all God has for them here. I want to thank you as well for your generous support, but I must ask you once again to help me do my purpose work. I get home on March 15, and I depart on March 21 for Guyana, South America to work with my friend Ovid Schultz. Ovid is in desperate need of books for his congregation, so I have determined to spend $1,200 to bring books to him. Also, this is a faith venture for me, for Ovid cannot afford to pay for my airfare, my time or the books. Therefore I am asking you to give generously toward the purpose work that God has called me to do in Guyana. You can give on my homepage toward this upcoming trip. And now, let's conclude our series on What You See is What You Get.

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As we wrap up this series, let's return to where we started eight weeks ago, and that is the Christmas story. We began by looking at Simeon who met Joseph and Mary when they brought Jesus to be dedicated. That story concludes with another individual who spoke to Jesus' parents about what she saw in store for Jesus and Israel through His ministry:

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).

Here are some key takeaways from this brief story of an unusual woman:

1. Anna was considered to be a prophet. God's purpose is not restricted to gender. He has purpose for men and women.
2. Anna was old when she saw the fulfillment of what she had seen for decades: the coming redemption of Israel.
3. Anna paid a price to fulfill her purpose and to realize what she saw in the Spirit. They caused her, even drove her, to live in the Temple where she was constantly fasting and praying.
4. Anna thanked God for what she saw and received, even though she did not live to see its actually fulfillment. She saw it in faith and therefore received it.
5. Anna spoke about what she saw before anyone else could see it. Faith always requires action and for Anna, the action was speaking to Jesus' parents.
6. There were others who were looking for something spiritual and Anna gave them a clue about what to look for, and that clue was Jesus!

The whole purpose of this series is to help you realize that God may have you live in what you see before anyone else can see it. Your goal then is to shape your life and work around what you have seen to get ready for its ultimate disclosure to the general public. I saw my purpose of coming to Africa years ago, and I began to get ready to come long before I had my first invitation. In a sense, I got my African reward not when I first came but when I first started getting ready. What I saw is what I got!

Ask God to open your eyes to the spiritual reality that you cannot yet see, but is as real in the Lord as if it were standing right in front of you today. Once He opens your eyes - and He will - then give yourself to make what you saw a reality. That's why God showed it to you so clearly, so you can help create it with His help and power. I hope these eight Memos have encouraged you to be a person of faith and to realize that it is true: what you see is indeed what you get!

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MESPA: Many Kenyans have asked if I am registered for their MPesa program through which to receive donations. The answer is that I am a member. My mobile number is 072-722-5766. I also have a bank account to which you can make a deposit. Just write me for the bank information.

NEW TV SHOWS: I posted two new Your PurposeQuest television shows to my online channel this past week and I highly recommend them as resources to help you find your purpose. Enjoy them and pray for us as we have three more shows in the works.

URBAN PRESS: Did you know I started a publishing company to help you and others like you make your creative dream a reality? We currently have five books in the works. If you would like to work with and publish through us, let me know.

GUYANA: Don't forget what I mentioned above. I need your help as I finish my work here in Kenya and get ready to move on to South America. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help!