Have you ever wanted to pray, but it felt like a chore? Have you ever been seeking God for direction but felt like you didn’t know if you could hear Him? Have you ever wanted to pray but simply didn’t know what to say? Pastor Andrew Carter has written the book for all of us on how refocus our prayer lives. The Privilege of Prayer: Find Healing, Transformation, and Answers, is Pastor Andrew’s guide on how to help us connect with God in ways many never thought possible. The full interview is above. Excerpts and more about Pastor Andrew are below.
UF: We are excited today to have another amazing author, minister, pastor, leader, pastor Andrew Carter, who is sharing with us and we’re talking about his book, The Privilege of Prayer: Find healing, Transformation, and Answers. Can you talk about why it’s important that you frame prayer not as a formula or a way to make something happen, but really focused in on prayer as a relationship with God?
Pastor Andrew: Yeah, absolutely. I believe that all of our relationships really trickle down from our relationship with God. And I talk about just that. If you struggle to communicate with God who loves you, right, even with all of your flaws and mistakes and blunders, if you struggle to talk to the greatest lover of your soul, what does that look like when you communicate to somebody who’s not going to love you like that, your spouse or a friend? If you struggle to spend time with God, like how hard is it going to be to spend time with other people in a way that is devoted and is intimate like you would with God?
UF:
You developed a discipline of prayer in jail amid a community and I think that’s so key that we have to be surrounded by people to help disciple us and raise us up in the faith. Can you talk a little bit about why that’s important and kind of your journey to being discipled in prayer?
Pastor Andrew:
Yeah, yeah, as far as the discipline aspect goes, I grew up unruly with a lot of instability, both of my parents were drug addicts and so what I found is that in chaos, I typically match my environment. I’m chaotic as well, but when there is a sense of consistency and discipline and stability, I thrive. And so, I understood early on when you discipline yourself consistently it always equals results and I found that out in the physical fitness realm before the spiritual realm. And so really, I just adapted what worked in the physical, applied it to the spiritual and watched my prayer life just take off.
UF: Can you talk about why it’s important to see prayer as an opportunity and an honor and a privilege instead of as an obligation?
Pastor Andrew:
I mean, if you ever try to put together any kind of a toy the day after Christmas or try to put together a cabinet from Ikea, any of those things, they all come with an instruction manual. And, you know, I know that men tend to be adventurous, and we think that we can put things together without the guide. But nine times out of ten, you’ve got extra pieces laying around. You don’t know where things are supposed to go. It’s probably not sturdy. It doesn’t look the way that the manufacturer had made it out to be. It’s important that we’re praying because that is a part of the design that God made for us, this communion, for this intimacy, for this communication. So, rather than looking at it like you said an obligation, like we have the privilege to go directly to the source of the instruction, not just the instruction manual, the writer of the manual one on one to get all the direction guidance, vision, happiness, peace, enjoy that we could ever imagine. It’s really a privilege.
UF:
Can you talk a little bit about how we can overcome some barriers that keep us from connecting and communicating with God in prayer?
Pastor Andrew:
Absolutely. I would say that most of the barriers that people experience come from a lack of knowledge or understanding of the enemy uses lies to try to prevent you or stall you from entering that relationship. They’ll say “did he really say that” or you can’t hear his voice or he’s not listening and we allow these barriers to come between us and God and so one of the things that I preach all day and I’m not trying to be too preachy but like, you can’t say that God’s not talking to you if your Bible is closed, right? You can’t say that he’s not talking to you when he speaks primarily through the Word. And so many people are trying to hear God’s voice but they’re so attuned to what the world says and they got the world turned all the way up they got His voice turned all the way down. Many times, they’re not barriers at all, they’re what we perceive as barriers, but it’s many times just us not understanding who we are, based on what the scripture tells us.
UF:
Second to last question I have you a lot of the folks who are listening and hearing and engaging with us they’re young adults, and they’re trying to figure out how do I ground myself?
Pastor Andrew:
Yeah, I love that question because I work with young adults, myself here in Los Angeles and one of the things that I see about young adults right now are probably some of the most spiritual and connected individuals that I’ve met. I’m surrounded by [people in their 20s], and they are so spiritual they’re so in alignment with the voice of God, like there is an anointing on this net I get goosebumps talking about it there’s there there’s an anointing on this next generation. One of the things that they lack is consistency and discipline. They’re up until two three in the morning, doing God things right. They’re at prayer meetings and they’re doing all of these amazing things for the Lord, but they can’t even keep a regular job because they’re just following the Spirit wherever the Spirit goes and I think that a lot of them are missing that solid practical discipline and consistency because it’s not one or the other it’s both and right you need to have that that kind of spiritual, you know, alignment with the Lord but it also needs to be in a way that is discipline and consistent and has order so if I were to say one thing I would say, get yourself around a man or woman of God, who has gone before you who exemplifies the discipline and consistency. Mentorship is probably one of the most important things that I’ve done. I have leaders and mentors and accountability partners and overseers in my life who I check in with every week, to check my blind spots, and it has helped me grounded. So, in the same way young adults, don’t be afraid reach out and get yourself some good solid mentors and individuals who will disciple you.
UF:
What is the piece of advice that you would give to folks who are trying to deepen their prayer lives so what what’s the number one thing you would tell them as they go to get your book for more.
Pastor Andrew:
To be to just show up. I think that that’s one of the hardest things to do I was in the fitness industry for a long time I owned a gym, and one of the hardest things that people struggle with is just showing up like once they get there. You know, they’re able to go through the motions but getting there is many times the battle, so the same with prayer sometimes. The words come, Holy Spirit will intercede, we know Jesus intercedes on our behalf. God will speak to us, but many times it’s just getting there. So, I would encourage people to carve out some time, set an alarm, turn everything off and just show up, and you’ll be surprised what God does in those spaces that we create and allow. He’s not always looking for ability. He’s looking for availability, and I’m a testament to that, because I am probably the least qualified to write a book, I’m probably the least deserving. There are guys who are way smarter, better communicators, more articulate, have spent more time in the Word. But the one thing that I’ve done is I made myself available and because of that availability, He’s overlooked my ability and he’s made sure that I’ve been fully prepared and equipped for every situation not by my strength, but by His. It starts with showing up
Andrew is the founder and lead pastor of Royal City Church in Los Angeles, California. He runs a popular live YouTube Bible study called ‘Coffee and Prayer’ that streams on all major podcast platforms. He appears on television networks, podcasts and stages preaching the good news of Jesus. Andrew travels the world guest speaking at conferences, churches, and events.
Andrew has become an inspiration for others who face difficult times and struggles. With millions of followers, Andrew has become an influencer for God’s Kingdom. He is a leader, speaker, writer, husband and father. Andrew and his wife, Kyra, live in Los Angeles, California. You can find Andrew on all social media platforms @andrewfcarter
A demonstrator heads to an anti-violence protest in Chicago, which has struggled with gun violence for decades, July 7, 2018. Jim Young/AFP via Getty Images)
Urban gun violence is an entrenched but not intractable problem, evidence shows. Since the 1990s community anti-violence initiatives – many of them run out of churches – have reduced crime locally, at least temporarily, by “interrupting” potential violence before it happens.
New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams with anti-violence activists in Brooklyn, July 14, 2020. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Preventable violence
One such program is Cure Violence, previously called Chicago CeaseFire. Founded in 1999 with Illinois state funding, CeaseFire employed community members with street credibility – that is, status in their community – to identify those at highest risk of being shot or being a shooter, then intervene in feuds that might otherwise end with fatal gunfire.
Working with churches, schools and community groups like the Boys and Girls Club, CeaseFire also helped gang members and at-risk youth move beyond street life by finishing their studies, finding a job or enrolling in drug and alcohol treatment.
A National Institute of Justice evaluation found that between 1991 and 2006, CeaseFire helped shootings decline 16% to 28% in four of the seven Chicago neighborhoods studied.
That’s what happened to CeaseFire Columbus, an Ohio program modeled after Chicago’s program but with a religious orientation.
Teen drummers lead a march to Columbus’s Family Missionary Baptist Church. Deanna Wilkinson
CeaseFire Columbus was run by Ministries for Movement, an anti-violence community organization founded in the deadly summer of 2009. After 20-year-old Dominique Searcy became Columbus’ 52nd murder victim that year, Dominique’s uncle, Cecil Ahad, teamed up with local youth and the former gang leader Dartangnan Hill for a “homicidal pain” march through their community of South Side Columbus.
A local pastor, Frederick LaMarr, offered his Family Missionary Baptist Church to host the group’s anti-violence work, giving rise to Ministries for Movement. In 2010, having studied Columbus’ crime data, I invited the group to implement a local CeaseFire program.
CeaseFire Columbus adopted many of Chicago’s violence interruption tactics, but the guiding philosophy of Pastor LaMarr and Brother Ahad was to meet everyone with compassion and openness, whether they were a grieving mother or a gang member.
To convince high-risk young people to stop killing each other, they used positive motivation – not threats of jail time, as some CeaseFire programs do. Evidence shows young people trapped in a cycle of violence are often willing to drop their guns for the chance of a better life: a high school degree, say, or a job offer in a field of interest.
LaMarr and Ahad also encouraged perpetrators of violence to take responsibility for their actions. Sometimes, that meant turning themselves in to authorities. Other times, it meant making amends through community service.
Ministries for Movement has helped several hundred young Columbus residents escape gangs. My evaluation for The Ohio State University found that between 2011 to 2014, CeaseFire Columbus helped to reduce shootings by 76% in our 40-block target area. For one 27-month period, no one was murdered.
CeaseFire Columbus in 2012. Courtesy of the Ohio State University
The first homicide after those two years of peace was heartbreaking. The victim, 24-year-old Rondell Brinkley, had been turning his life around with the help of Ministries for Movement. Days before his murder, Brinkley had inspired attendees at a community event with his personal story of change.
Gardening for change
Violence interruption works, but it takes intensive and sustained effort. That can be difficult with a volunteer staff.
CeaseFire Columbus achieved its best results after getting US$125,000 in grants to expand its street outreach, community mobilizing, public health messaging and conflict mediation. Funding came from The Ohio State University, the Ohio attorney general’s office and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Ministries for Movement is still active in South Side Columbus: It leads a healing march on the first Sunday of each month, among other activities. But CeaseFire became a casualty of lost funding and city politics. With gun violence quieter in our area but spiking in other parts of Columbus, Ministries for Movement is now sharing its approach with community members and faith leaders in those areas.
It is also trying something new to stop the violence: gardening.
An Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability participant. Deanna Wilkinson
In 2015, with Department of Agriculture funding, I worked with Ohio State to launch the Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability program and planted a garden at Pastor LaMarr’s church, replacing the overgrown rusty fence line of an abandoned neighboring house.
Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability helps young people build skills, strengthen social connections and improve health in their communities by growing and selling fresh food. Many of the program’s 300 participants have witnessed gun violence and deaths. Many say they find gardening therapeutic.
Surveys I’ve conducted find that Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability improves participants’ eating habits, problem-solving and leadership skills, persistence and workforce readiness.
“Personally, it has taught me a lot of things: How to eat healthier, how to grow produce,” said Nasir Groce, who is now 13 years old, back in 2017. “It’s taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to.”
A demonstrator heads to an anti-violence protest in Chicago, which has struggled with gun violence for decades, July 7, 2018. Jim Young/AFP via Getty Images)
Urban gun violence is an entrenched but not intractable problem, evidence shows. Since the 1990s community anti-violence initiatives – many of them run out of churches – have reduced crime locally, at least temporarily, by “interrupting” potential violence before it happens.
New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams with anti-violence activists in Brooklyn, July 14, 2020. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Preventable violence
One such program is Cure Violence, previously called Chicago CeaseFire. Founded in 1999 with Illinois state funding, CeaseFire employed community members with street credibility – that is, status in their community – to identify those at highest risk of being shot or being a shooter, then intervene in feuds that might otherwise end with fatal gunfire.
Working with churches, schools and community groups like the Boys and Girls Club, CeaseFire also helped gang members and at-risk youth move beyond street life by finishing their studies, finding a job or enrolling in drug and alcohol treatment.
A National Institute of Justice evaluation found that between 1991 and 2006, CeaseFire helped shootings decline 16% to 28% in four of the seven Chicago neighborhoods studied.
That’s what happened to CeaseFire Columbus, an Ohio program modeled after Chicago’s program but with a religious orientation.
Teen drummers lead a march to Columbus’s Family Missionary Baptist Church. Deanna Wilkinson
CeaseFire Columbus was run by Ministries for Movement, an anti-violence community organization founded in the deadly summer of 2009. After 20-year-old Dominique Searcy became Columbus’ 52nd murder victim that year, Dominique’s uncle, Cecil Ahad, teamed up with local youth and the former gang leader Dartangnan Hill for a “homicidal pain” march through their community of South Side Columbus.
A local pastor, Frederick LaMarr, offered his Family Missionary Baptist Church to host the group’s anti-violence work, giving rise to Ministries for Movement. In 2010, having studied Columbus’ crime data, I invited the group to implement a local CeaseFire program.
CeaseFire Columbus adopted many of Chicago’s violence interruption tactics, but the guiding philosophy of Pastor LaMarr and Brother Ahad was to meet everyone with compassion and openness, whether they were a grieving mother or a gang member.
To convince high-risk young people to stop killing each other, they used positive motivation – not threats of jail time, as some CeaseFire programs do. Evidence shows young people trapped in a cycle of violence are often willing to drop their guns for the chance of a better life: a high school degree, say, or a job offer in a field of interest.
LaMarr and Ahad also encouraged perpetrators of violence to take responsibility for their actions. Sometimes, that meant turning themselves in to authorities. Other times, it meant making amends through community service.
Ministries for Movement has helped several hundred young Columbus residents escape gangs. My evaluation for The Ohio State University found that between 2011 to 2014, CeaseFire Columbus helped to reduce shootings by 76% in our 40-block target area. For one 27-month period, no one was murdered.
CeaseFire Columbus in 2012. Courtesy of the Ohio State University
The first homicide after those two years of peace was heartbreaking. The victim, 24-year-old Rondell Brinkley, had been turning his life around with the help of Ministries for Movement. Days before his murder, Brinkley had inspired attendees at a community event with his personal story of change.
Gardening for change
Violence interruption works, but it takes intensive and sustained effort. That can be difficult with a volunteer staff.
CeaseFire Columbus achieved its best results after getting US$125,000 in grants to expand its street outreach, community mobilizing, public health messaging and conflict mediation. Funding came from The Ohio State University, the Ohio attorney general’s office and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Ministries for Movement is still active in South Side Columbus: It leads a healing march on the first Sunday of each month, among other activities. But CeaseFire became a casualty of lost funding and city politics. With gun violence quieter in our area but spiking in other parts of Columbus, Ministries for Movement is now sharing its approach with community members and faith leaders in those areas.
It is also trying something new to stop the violence: gardening.
An Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability participant. Deanna Wilkinson
In 2015, with Department of Agriculture funding, I worked with Ohio State to launch the Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability program and planted a garden at Pastor LaMarr’s church, replacing the overgrown rusty fence line of an abandoned neighboring house.
Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability helps young people build skills, strengthen social connections and improve health in their communities by growing and selling fresh food. Many of the program’s 300 participants have witnessed gun violence and deaths. Many say they find gardening therapeutic.
Surveys I’ve conducted find that Urban Gardening Entrepreneurs Motivating Sustainability improves participants’ eating habits, problem-solving and leadership skills, persistence and workforce readiness.
“Personally, it has taught me a lot of things: How to eat healthier, how to grow produce,” said Nasir Groce, who is now 13 years old, back in 2017. “It’s taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to.”
Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar is one of the most popular music stars in the nation today, with multiple songs on his new album charting in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 songs. His single “Humble.” drew praise and critique from all sides of the Black community for its message as a corrective to pride and yet centering the conversation on his own desires as a Black man.
Recently Kendrick Lamar did an interview with hip-hop website DJ Booth, where he shared that one of his major messages in the new album D—. is that God is to be feared in a way that brings reverence and obedience. He shares that in his experience, many churches’ message is hope and forgiveness without talking about God’s requirement for obedience and judgment on sin.
He hopes his album will provoke thought and discussion of the idea that God is gracious and loving, but also a God of wrath and judgment who wants to use suffering to correct and discipline His children. Kendrick states in an email response to DJ Booth’s article:
“Our God is a loving God. Yes. He’s a merciful God. Yes. But he’s even more so a God of DISCIPLE [sic]. OBEDIENCE. A JEALOUS God. And for every conscious choice of sin, will be corrected through his discipline. Whether physical or mental. Direct or indirect. Through your sufferings, or someone that’s close to [sic] ken. It will be corrected.”
An incomplete articulation of the faith
Kendrick Lamar’s sentiment is spot on; God is both a God of love and a God of obedience, merciful and disciplinary. Kendrick’s feelings about hearing only of God’s hope, blessing, and happiness as a child, leaving him feeling empty, are all too real for many people, including Christians.
The sort of preaching that does not speak to suffering, judgment, and consequences for sin while highlighting only God’s blessing is an incomplete teaching and sharing of Christian faith. A Christianity that pushes consequences and rewards into “the sweet by-and-by” is another incomplete articulation of the faith.
However, Kendrick’s wording is a bit misleading and his implications aren’t in line with what we see revealed in Scripture in light of Christ. Mercy itself means that God chooses not to make us suffer for every conscious choice of sin.
The idea that God would inflict harm on someone close to us for sin suggests belief in curses or divine consequences on whole households that aren’t congruent with what the Old Testament reveals (Jeremiah 31:28–30; Ezekiel 18:1–3) and Jesus teaches (Matthew 16:27).
It is reasonable based on Scripture to say that sin has consequences and that it affects a family, but its effect comes directly from its cause (Romans 6:23, 7:5, James 1:14–16), such as violence causing physical and psychological harm, not indirect through a divine judgment.
It is absolutely true that God disciplines the believer, even in light of grace (Hebrews 12:3–11). But mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:12–14), and the very definition of grace through the death of Jesus Christ is that we do not get what we deserve for our sins (Ephesians 2:4–16).
Got Cheap Grace?
What Kendrick has pointed out for the church is that many people are not hearing the message of consequences for sin that leads us to repentance. We live in a society where sin is seen as tolerable, and forgiveness for sin comes without price.
In addition, suffering in Black communities is often ignored or given a bandage of hope in “our season” instead of confronted with the Gospel of Jesus. Or worse but more commonly, some Christians use “cheap grace” to justify their hypocrisy.
Jesus proclaims life in the midst of death, righteous living and resurrection as acts of resistance to worldliness and death. As a result of seeing Christians who articulate a theology of grace without repentance and that fails to address suffering of Black people, Kendrick is left to find explanation for his reality in the law of Deuteronomy instead of the grace of Christ.
Jesus called for us to be disciples, not simply to be saved. Salvation is a free gift; following Christ is costly. Hope is in Jesus our Savior to redeem us from our suffering, not in ourselves to live righteously enough to end our own suffering.
This faith is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit transforming us by grace, not by works that save us from curses. The church would be wise to hear Kendrick Lamar and others like him as they cry out for understanding and direction that addresses the suffering, immorality, and brokenness they see in the world.
Jesus does not leave us to account for our sin on our own by the power of the law. In love, He gives Christians the Holy Spirit by grace to transform us, make us holy, and empower us to live justly. However, the church must preach the Gospel of Jesus that calls us to repentance and new life, not simply blesses us with no accountability if we are to reach the Kendrick Lamars in our world.
Lecrae wins a 2013 Grammy for “Best Gospel Album” (Photo courtesy of Newscom).
Two men. Both Black. Both Grammy award-winning hip-hop artists. Two completely different messages. Within one week both Lil’ Wayne and Lecrae made headlines for their music, but for very different reasons.
Last week, Christian hip-hop artist, Lecrae, won a Grammy for “Best Gospel Album” at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The prestige of music’s highest honor is noteworthy enough, but Lecrae’s achievement as a vocally Christian rapper is rare.
The part of the line that has caused so much controversy is the reference to Emmett Till. In 1955, Till, just 14 years old, was brutally murdered in Mississippi after allegedly whistling at a White woman. The tragedy sent ripples across the nation as graphic images of the boy’s mutilated face (his mother had insisted on an open casket to display the brutality) were splashed across newspapers and magazines. The two White men charged in the crime were both acquitted by an all-White jury.
Wayne’s lyric serves as painful reminder of the importance of Black History month. Many will miss the offense of Wayne’s reference if they fail to understand the identity and significance of Emmet Till. The maiming of Till’s memory, however, is just the start.
Wayne’s words speak of doing violence to a woman’s reproductive organs and reveal the misogyny that has become commonplace and even celebrated in much of hip-hop. His line also reveals the distorted and grotesque picture of manhood – one that defines masculinity in terms of sexual exploits and violence – that he and other hip-hop artists often portray.
In contrast, Lecrae uses his lyrical talents to pen lines like, “Ain’t dope dealin’, ain’t Po pimpin’, talkin’ ‘bout my own folk killin’/ We on that Jesus soul healin” (from the song “Fakin‘”). Lecrae talks openly about being a Christian and makes it clear his faith drives his art. An urban evangelist, he hopes to use his talent to penetrate mainstream hip-hop with an alternative message for the listeners.
Lil’ Wayne is not the anti-Christ and Lecrae is not sinless. Each of these men, like all of us, are sinners. We all have wicked hearts and no one has lived in perfect obedience to God as we were designed to do. But there is a difference between these two artists. Redemption.
The Redemption of Culture and All Creation
I can’t make any judgments about Lil’ Wayne’s or Lecrae’s salvation. I simply see the fruits of each man’s life and art. Lil’ Wayne’s lyrics seem to be essentially human-centered. Instead of looking up, his lyrics encourage listeners to look within. By focusing only on the self, life becomes defined by personal pleasure and material prosperity. Lecrae’s music encourages people find their identity in God first, and then act in harmony with their status as God’s children.
Scripture teaches that God will make all things new. Heaven will be a complete restoration and not obliteration. All evil will be dispatched and all that remains will be remade into the new Heaven and the new earth. And it will be recognizable. Music will be part of the renewed creation. And hip-hop – like sculpture, technology, and language – is part of the human creativity God will redeem.
As believers we must begin working out redemption here and now. Christ calls His followers the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and a city on a hill (Mt. 5:13-15). So, culture-shaping cannot be left to an elite few. Whether a hip-hop artist, a hair stylist, or a health inspector, all Christians must strive to be agents of redemptive change wherever God has placed us. If we live this way then, in many respects, the contrast between the redeemed and unredeemed life should look as stark as the contrast between Lil’ Wayne’s and Lecrae’s lyrics.
