Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk

Does it seem like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? United States Senate Chaplain Barry Black, author of Make Your Voice Heard in Heaven: How to Pray with Power, explains to Dr. James Dobson that believers must pray with purity. Isaiah 59 warns that "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." Chaplain Black counsels us to repent of our sins before God. Only then, as Hebrews 4 declares, can we draw near to the throne of grace with confidence.

Prayer is the breath of the soul. That’s the contention of U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black, author of Make Your Voice Heard in Heaven: How to Pray with Power. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus used the word "Abba" for His Heavenly Father, which means "Daddy." As people of faith, we are God's children, and because of His love, He is our greatest encourager. That’s why God wants us to make our voices heard in Heaven through continual prayer.

On today’s edition of Family Talk, Dr. James Dobson continues his conversation with Dr. Tim Clinton and Kelly Shackelford. Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty Institute, warns Dr. James Dobson that President Biden wants to "pack" the Supreme Court with four additional justices. If this were to happen, Shackelford says governmental "checks and balances" would be gone. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, tried to do the same thing. Fortunately, however, despite the fact that 80 of the 100 sitting senators at the time were Democrats, they resoundingly said "No!" Logic prevailed, and the effort failed. Become informed and speak out on this threat of court packing.

In this urgent broadcast, host Dr. James Dobson denounces the deceitfully-named "Equality Act" as evil. His guest, Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty Institute, asserts that this bill would annihilate religious liberty–our first freedom–and if we lose that, we'll lose all our freedoms. Thankfully, co-host Dr. Tim Clinton sees a popular uprising against it. Listen as these three men hash out the facts and perspectives surrounding pending legislation that could severely harm and impact you, your family, and your children for generations to come.

When Joe White spoke at the Ignite Men's Conference, he carried a massive cross on stage. Then he invited all the men in attendance, in their vulnerability and brokenness, to write their shameful sins onto index cards and bring them to the altar to be nailed to the cross. Romans 8:15 declares that God offers forgiveness and enables them to cry out, "Abba, Father!"

A 1967 diving accident in the Chesapeake Bay left Joni Eareckson a quadriplegic. As she pondered her recovery in a hospital bed, Joni clung to John 5, which recounts how Jesus healed the paralytic. Like the man at the pool of Bethesda, Joni did not want her Savior to pass her by. However, she came to realize that her salvation was, first and foremost, for her justification. And secondly, Jesus wanted to sanctify her so she would become more like Him, even in her suffering.

Author Jan Harrison, whose 27-year-old son, James, died in 2010 on the mission field in Sudan, Africa, asks a profound question: How have you prepared for the inevitable storm clouds in your life? She urges Christians to become actively engaged in their relationship with Jesus through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with believers.

In 2010, Jan Harrison received the devastating news that her 27-year-old son, James, had died on the mission field in Sudan, Africa. In her darkest valley, Jan felt fortunate to be accompanied by her husband on their grief journey, but learned that she needed to lean on God to find comfort as she and her husband processed their grief very differently.

Proverbs 17:22 says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Christian comedian Chonda Pierce truly understands both the cheerful heart and the crushed spirit. She is one of the recording industry's best-selling female comedians. But she became clinically depressed after the death of her mother, along with the estrangement of her daughter and the alcoholism and death of her husband—all within three years.

Best-selling Christian novelist Karen Kingsbury considers herself to be an evangelist who happens to write stories. Some of her readers call it "life-changing fiction." In fact, she's following in the footsteps of our Savior. When Jesus needed to plant a seed in our hearts, He told a story, which Scripture refers to as a parable. Not only are Karen's stories capable of making us laugh or cry, but they also often bring conviction. You may finally feel the need to apologize, to make that overdue phone call, to create peace in a relationship.

If Jesus lived in your house, how would He bring your neighbors into the Kingdom of God? That’s a question posed by Lee Strobel, atheist-turned-Christian author of the best-selling The Case for Christ. First, Strobel assures that Jesus wouldn't only share His faith, He would show His faith. Acts of service can help soften our neighbors' hearts to the gospel. Secondly, there would be an alignment between Christ's beliefs and His behavior. Likewise, your creed and your character must be consistent so that your neighbors only see integrity.

Lee Strobel, author of the best-selling The Case for Christ, describes several key considerations to keep in mind when sharing the gospel. Before Jesus spoke to His neighbors about their Heavenly Father, He would first lift them up in prayer. Therefore, prayer should be at the foundation of our efforts. Jesus was also always available for skeptics to ask tough questions about the faith. We should be equally open and welcoming to those who doubt.

When pediatrician Dr. Jerry Kartzinel puts autistic children on a dairy and gluten-free diet, 75% of them respond dramatically—like a fog has lifted! He analogizes that these kids are like computers with a malfunctioning hard drive. Only after the "hard drive" has been repaired can "software" like speech and other therapies that are introduced show dramatic results.

Mark and Jenny were concerned when their first-born child wouldn't make eye contact, walked on his tiptoes, and didn’t talk. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with autism, which sent Mark into a deep depression. He wondered if his son would ever graduate from high school or drive a car. In addition, having an autistic child became incredibly isolating as friends found their child’s behavior disruptive. But, ultimately, the entire family found hope and strength to move forward.

If you were asked to identify yourself in one word, what would it be? Parent? Spouse? American? If you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, then that one word should be "Christian." The late E.V. Hill, then-pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, preached a powerful sermon at a 1992 Promise Keepers event in Boulder, Colorado. In it, he reminds us of the truth of 1 Peter 2:9 which says, "We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession." In other words, our identity is in Jesus Christ.