Episode 11: Rooted & Recovered - Learning to Listen

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t because God isn’t speaking—
 but because you’ve stopped listening?

In this deeply intimate episode of Rooted & Recovered, Dan and Justin unpack Step Eleven of the 12-Step journey:
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”

This is where recovery shifts from reaction to relationship.
From panic prayers to daily presence.
From just knowing about God to truly knowing His voice.

Step Eleven is not about performance—it’s about posture.
Because you can’t follow a God you never sit still enough to hear.

Key Highlights:

• Why prayer is your fuel, not your fire extinguisher
• How to recognize God's whisper in a world full of noise
• What the story of young Samuel teaches us about positioning ourselves to listen (1 Samuel 3)
• Why silence isn't absence—it's a sacred space for revelation
• How intimacy with God transforms recovery from survival to strength
• What it means to stop striving and start soaking

Scriptures Covered:
1 Samuel 3:1–10 • Psalm 46:10 • Luke 5:16 • John 10:27 • Mark 1:35 • Psalm 37:4 • Romans 12:2

Final Truth:
You’ll never follow God’s will if you never pause long enough to hear it.
Step Eleven isn’t about getting all the answers—it’s about getting close to the One who already has them.
Because when prayer stops being your emergency backup and becomes your daily bread,
you stop panicking…
and start walking in peace.

Don’t just know about God—know Him personally.
He’s not waiting for your perfection.
He’s waiting for your attention.

Stay rooted. Stay recovered. And let’s get to work.

Transcript

0:00

This world doesn't hand out healing. It offers quick fixes, cheap highes and empty promises, but real recovery. It takes roots. Roots that dig deep into truth, into identity, into the unshakeable grace of God. We're not here to sugarcoat the struggle. We've lived it. Addiction, shame, relapse, regret, but we've also seen resurrection. We've seen what happened. Happens when broken people get anchored in something real rooted and recovered is more than a podcast. It's a battleground for the soul. A place where scars tell stories, where scripture speaks louder than shame, where freedom isn't just a word. It's a war we win daily. So if you're tired of surface level answers, if you want truth that convicts, hope that heals, and conversations that cut through the noise, you're in the right place. Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.

Dan: 1:08

Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Recovered. I am Dan, as always in the studio with me. Justin, how are you doing today, brother?

Justin: 1:20

Blessed and highly favored. That's I still, man. I, I don't think you guys understand. We sit here and I can just feel God moving. I get goosebumps. When I'm doing this because man, I know the Holy Spirit's here. I know he is with us, and I'm just thankful to let him have his way in this time. Dan,

Dan: 1:41

amen and amen. I wanna start the podcast out today with a statement, Justin. Don't just know about God, know him personally. Today's episode is called Learning to Listen, and guys, we are in step 11. We are moving right along through this, and it's been quick, so I encourage you to go back, listen to these podcasts, go to your favorite podcast platform and just listen to these. But don't just listen to'em. Share'em. Share'em to those that you think might need this. Step 11, Justin tells us, sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of his will for us, and the power to carry that out. You see, this step doesn't say, you know, pray once in a while when things get bad. Justin. It says, sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God. Guys, this is so, this is about more than belief. It's about more than, than church attendance. It's so much more than than quoting scripture when, when life is hard. Guys, this is about a daily pursuit. It's about turning your recovery into a relationship, you see, because religion can introduce you to God, but relationship Justin keeps you close.

Justin: 3:45

You can't follow a God you don't talk to. This is not, look, I, it's more than church attendance. Like Dan said, it's so many people equate their relationship with God on how many times they've gone to church. Well, look, if all I ever did was counted the times I sat down to dinner with my wife as our relationship, I'd think I'd be doing pretty good because I don't miss a meal. But it's more than that. Look. It's not about checking some religious box. It's about cultivating that relationship that Dan was just talking about. We don't follow God by accident. When Jesus looked at Matthew and said, follow me, Matthew didn't get up and say, well, I don't know where I'm going. No. Jesus showed him the way to go, and it's the same for us. We don't follow him by accident, but we have to follow him by intention.

Dan: 4:42

Here you go.

Justin: 4:43

Matthew had to get up and follow, and you have to as well. You can't follow a God. You don't talk to. How are you gonna know what he wants you to do if you're not even willing to sit and listen to him tell you how to do it? And more importantly. You can't follow a God or have a relationship with somebody that you don't stop and take time to listen to me. And my wife's relationship would be nothing if I didn't actually sit down and talk. Right? And it's no different than with God. And that's what this step is. It invites us to slow down and

Dan: 5:23

tune in. Well, and that's the thing, Justin, you know when you start talking about relationship. You, you can't and you won't family take this from me. You can't survive spiritual warfare with casual Sunday. Wednesday. Church faith. You need to know the voice of the one leading you, and they shall know my voice. See, that voice gets clearer when you stop trying to fix everything. You start spending time with the fixer. I don't even know if that's a word or not. Sounds good. Sounds real good. Think about it. How much of your day is spent feeding your fear? How much is how? And you know, look at this. How much of our time, Justin, do I spend investing in feeding that fear? But on the flip side. How much time is spent feeling my faith? See, we binge on the news. We, we scroll on social media, we, we vent to friends. But when was the last time you set in silence and just said, God, I'm here. Speak lead, change me. Guys prayer. It's, it's not just about presenting a wishlist, a, a Christmas list. Amen to God. Prayer is about positioning your heart. Me. Meditation isn't emptying your mind, it's filling it with truth. It's marinating in scripture.

Justin: 7:17

Yes.

Dan: 7:18

It's marinating in just his presence and just soaking and marinating. I love that word. I think of a good old, just a good steak or something, man. I'm talking a high dollar steak that you don't throw cheap seasonings on, man, like you marinate this big chunk of meat that you are about to throw. It's marinating in scripture and in prayer, and in his presence until the noise fades. His voice becomes the loudest thing in that room.

Justin: 7:51

I love what you said. This is not about spiritual busy work. Look, Satan wants to keep you busy. Look, so many times we think, oh, I'm doing ministry. I'm doing the right thing. But if you're not spending time at the feet of Jesus, look at Mary and Martha Prime example. Lord. Tell them, tell. Tell her she needs to come help. Jesus says she's got it figured out though. That's what this is about. It's not about the spiritual busy work. This is a way to walk in step with the one who knows the way forward. I love what Dan said. How many times do we get on our knees and say, God, I need this, this, this, this happened, this happened, this, how happened? And then get up and walk away. There's an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. At the end of it, the mom's in the chapel and she's, she's talking the they. She was talking to the creator. This guy walks up and he says, who are you talking to? He says, well, I'm talking to God.

Dan: 8:49

He says,

Justin: 8:50

well, why are you the one doing all the talking? We like to do all the talking. Look, David, everybody. Look, if you, if you don't know the Bible, you might think Psalms, oh, it's a book of joy. It's, it is. But if you look at what those Psalmist talks about. They got real with God. Mm-hmm. But if you look, I love it because they always present the problems and then if you look what happens, they start writing about, but your word says, but you promised me this. That's what meditation is. It's not me sitting down going Ohm and trying to get everything outta my mind. It's me letting the things that come to my mind go to God.

Dan: 9:29

Right,

Justin: 9:29

and letting him answer back with truth. Like Dan said, it's marinating in that truth. It's taking that stake and letting that salt that we're called to be rub in and sitting in that fridge overnight. That's what this step is about. It's about us slowing down and letting God be God. Prayer, like Dan said earlier, is not meant to be a spare tire. It's meant to be the steering wheel.

Dan: 9:57

Amen.

Justin: 9:57

And this is us making sure God's in the driver's seat.

Dan: 10:00

Amen. Justin. This is what separates recovery from that's just barely hanging on dude to recovery. That's walking in purpose

Justin: 10:13

rooted

Dan: 10:15

because prayer guys is where the war is won before the battle even begins. Amen. Guys, we weren't made, Justin, you and I, listener, you and I were not made to run on fumes.

Justin: 10:34

Hmm.

Dan: 10:34

You see there's a difference between doing something outta routine and doing it outta relationship. Let's be honest, how many times have we prayed with our mouths moving, flapping our gums? Justin? But our hearts were a million miles away from him. Prayer without presence, guys, it just becomes performance at that point. We say the right words, we hit all the points, but we walk away unchanged because we never truly showed up,

Justin: 11:16

and that's the problem. We don't show up. I love what you said. We wonder why our prayers are bouncing off the ceilings and Yeah. We might be, we might even be on our knees with our hands and our arms. Obe, I going, God hither to this, I need this. I don't need, but our hearts, the posture of our hearts isn't in it. And our mind's a million miles away. Instead of actually bringing our problems to God, we're focusing on our problems in the middle of prayer and not saying, God, can you help me? We're just saying, God, I need, I need, I need, and not actually letting him Speak to it. God sings over you and he speaks to you. He speaks life and joy and comfort and peace, but yet we're too busy, like Dan said earlier, feeding the fear instead of fueling our faith. And that's what this is. This is us letting, it's us stopping at the gas pump and letting God kick a quick 20 in.

Dan: 12:16

And that's the thing, man. You know, we get so wrapped up guys, and we're not. I'm not here condemning you. Mm-hmm. I'm not here pointing fingers at you.'cause guess what? There's three of them pointing back at me. Guys. I have been in this situation. I've let the, just the bills and family and my mistakes, Ooh, bro, that argument I had with my spouse yesterday weigh on me in my prayer time, in my meditation time with God. And what ends up happening is all I end up doing is I'm no longer connected. I'm just killing time. this step right here, guys, this isn't about checking some spiritual box. It's about deepening your hunger. When you look at Luke 15:16, it says that Jesus often withdrew. To lonely places and prayed. Jesus guys, the sinless son of God, still made space to break away. He didn't need forgiveness, Justin, he needed the father, He didn't wait until he was empty. He didn't wait till he was running on fumes. He didn't wait till he was feeling burnout and compassion fatigue and just literally wiped out. He filled up constantly. So let me ask you this. When was the last time you got alone? Not to get something from God, but just to be with him? Not because life was falling apart, not because you needed direction, but because your soul was hungry. Guys, this is where real recovery matures. This is where religion fades and relationship grows. When your prayer stops being something you do, it becomes a place where you come alive. Because let's be real. If you only eat when you're starving, you'll live in cycles of spiritual malnourishment. But when prayer becomes your daily bread, not just your emergency meal, that's when you start to walk in strength, not survival. And the more that you and I pursue God's voice, the less power. The noise of the world has over you. Fear loses its grip, temptation loses its shine, and everything in you begins to align with the one you've been made to follow. Guys, the more you pursue God's voice, the less you'll be shaken by the noise.

Justin: 15:19

If Jesus. The son of God, God in the flesh, needed to unplug from that noise. If he needed to unplug and withdraw and connect with the father, how much more should you and I desire to do the same, that that's the thing. Jesus didn't come and lived these things just so we couldn't. He came and lived as an example, mark and Mark, it says the same thing. He withdrew in the morning away from everybody. Jesus. It wasn't just a one time thing. Jesus just, oh, hey God, I'm here for a sec. He withdrew daily to go be with God. Shouldn't we desire to do the same? Look for Jesus? It wasn't a habit. It was that hunger that Dan was talking about, right. It was a craving for alignment with God's heart. And that's what this is, us filling that craving. Look, so many of us, look, before I came to God and my addiction, I need, I, I felt a void the opposite of addiction. Johann Hari great Ted talk. The opposite of addiction is connection. This is a connection we need. This is us actually being connected. Step 11 is us not praying out of routine. Some checklist, some devotional that I, I gotta give 15 minutes to God of prayer today. And then, oh, check. No, this is us doing it out of a relationship. This is us sitting at the table, this is us answering that knock on the door and say, come on in. I want you to speak though.'cause guess what? He has a lot better things to say than this world. Then even you have to say to yourself, I'm good at beating myself up, Dan. Mm-hmm. I'm good at knocking myself down a peg Bible says to speak life and not death. Well, guess what? I'm really good at times of speaking death into my own life, and it's in those moments I find that I hadn't been letting God speak life over me. Look, we have to take time. A good relationship isn't built in five minute increments. A good relationship is spent sitting and reflecting and talking and being real with each other. Look, you have to let God get real with you. Whew. We don't wanna do that,

Dan: 17:45

right?

Justin: 17:45

We, we don't want'em that search me, oh God. I'll go back to that again and again. We don't want that to happen. We just want'em to tell'em how we're loved and chosen and Okay. But what about the things that's keeping you from walking in your freedom? Are you willing to hear that out? Because that's what it takes. I heard a pastor say one time if he ever made a cup of tea, and I'm not talking about just your old lanne bags. I'm talking about a cup of tea. Right, right. And it's not a plastic cup with two cups of sugar in it. I'm talking about an actual, talking about legit cup of tea, like crumpets, right? The teabag. A lot of people like to take it and they like to dip it in and out, and they like to continually dip it in and out, and they like to continually dip it in and out. Well, what happens is the tea doesn't sit in there, right? It loses its strength, it loses its flavor, but. If you take that tea bag and you just set it in that hot water and let it sit for four to six minutes, if you let it abide that tea, it gets the full strength. It gets the full flavor. And so many of us are trying to dip in and out of our relationship with God when we need to stop and abide in it.

Dan: 19:06

going back to what I said, and you brought something up. I said, the more that you and I pursue God's voice, the less that will be shaken by the noise. You pursue God's voice by spending time with him and knowing his voice. A lot of times we pray Justin, and we ask for something, and God is speaking to you and I, but we don't know his voice.

Justin: 19:35

Hmm.

Dan: 19:35

So what happens? We think he's not responding to us. We think he's not, he, he doesn't want to hear our prayers. You know, I think about the noise of this world, the noise of life. It, there's so much chaos in this. But I can be in a room, Justin, with a thousand people talking and I can hear when my wife is with me, I can hear her, voice. Mm-hmm. Through that noise. Why? Because I've spent time with her. I know my wife's voice in that chaotic room of a thousand people. I know my wife's voice. Guys, the more time that you and I spend in prayer, the more that you and I spend time just soaking in the presence of God, Justin, the more you and I will hear God's voice in a world that is full of noise and chaos and distractions. And the thing is, guys, prayer is our fuel. Yeah. It's not a fire extinguisher like you and I like to treat it. Because let's be real. For most of us, prayer started in panic. The addiction got worse, that that relationship blew up in your face. You hit rock bottom like we talked about. And in desperation, we cried out that moment. It mattered. God heard you, but family Step 11 isn't about living in emergency mode forever. You and I weren't created. You and I weren't meant to survive off of 9 1 1. Faith, too many of us treat prayer like it's a fire extinguisher. Break glass in case of emergency.

Justin: 21:25

Yep.

Dan: 21:26

But what happens when the fire's out? We put the fire extinguisher back up and we go on living like we're in control again until the next crisis. See Justin Step 11 flips that. Mm-hmm. It teaches you that prayer isn't just a lifeline in chaos. It's your life blood family. It's not the backup plan, it's the battle plan. Justin, this is where spiritual maturity begins to take root. You're not praying for rescue. You're praying for resilience. Family, not get me out of this God, but God grow me through this. You start asking, God, what are you forming in me today? God, what blind spots do I need to see before it comes a breakdown? Go back to step 10. Now we're talking about inventory. God, where do I need your will to override mine before I wander off track again? Guys, that's not fear. That's faith right there in formation. I. Because prayer becomes less about fixing everything and more about forming you into someone who can walk through anything without folding. Why? Because you've learned something in the stillness. You didn't need an escape plan when you were walking with the one who sees the end from the beginning. Amen. You're not chasing feelings. You're chasing the father's voice. Not for goosebumps, not for hype, but for clarity, for strength, for direction, for peace, and that's when you know family, you've hit the turning point. Not when life gets easier, but when your first response is his presence and not panic.

Justin: 23:29

You see Step 11, it retrains us. Renew your mind daily. Be transformed. This is us being transformed and no longer seeing prayer as that fire extinguisher. Dan talked about that we just go break glass in case of emergency. We see prayer as fuel for the journey. It's us going to God and letting him fill us up. And I love what Dan talked about earlier. You know, in John 10 you. Study that passage if you can, because it, it's really important for, as a disciple to know, because what does Jesus say? There's others who come, liars and thieves, and they sneak in and they steal, but my sheep know the sound in my voice. You see, in those times, the herders could walk up and they would go to these places where it was just a general congregation of sheep, and when the sheep heard her, the shepherd. Came up and called his sheep. His sheep. They knew his voice. They knew his voice because they had spent time sitting with him. They knew his voice because they had listened, and he didn't just do it when they were panicking and running away. They spent time when they were feasting. Right. Look, guys, the truth is you're gonna go through valleys. I'd love to tell you that it's mountaintops all the way, but let me tell you something. Do you know where the good green grass is? It's not in a mountaintop, it's in the valley. It's in that Valley, man. That's where you feed on the presence. That's where you get close and you find comfort in that. Rod and staff, you learn his voice because you're not in the valley panicking. Instead, you're in the valley with him in your presence and knowing that you're in his. Step 11, man. It's us stopping the craziness of this world from coming in and letting the peace that guards your heart take its place. When we only pray in crisis, we miss out on the steady power that comes from walking in daily connection with God. Look your phone. If I don't charge it at night, by the next day it's dead. Well, guess what? We need to be getting charged by God daily. We need to be plugging into that power source. I like to keep my phone on charge whenever I'm not using it, and I can, sure, well, why won't I do that with my life? I wonder why I'm walking around tired. I'm wondering why Satan is kicking me in my face left and right, and I feel like every step I take is another stumble Look, I'm not saying you won't fall, but you won't fall as far when you make sure that God's walking close with you, that rod in that staff, he reaches out and he pulls you right back into the fold. Mm-hmm. This is us making sure that we're in that fold. This is us when we hear his voice going, but in order to hear, you have to listen. Right. The, there's a difference. I, I can listen to people all day, but am I hearing what they're saying? Because hearing is actually taking time to pay attention. It's not just letting the other things of the world get in and tell you what should be. What could be, what won't be, what will be, but it's you listening to what God has to say about the situation. It's you carving out time. Look, this is important. So many of us wonder, well, I don't have time. Yeah, you do. You just don't wanna spend it doing what you need to do. Look you, you wanna say I don't have time. And Dan actually helped me with this when I was going over stuff for school and he said, look, he said, brother, take take an inventory of your day and look at it. Write down what you're doing. You say you don't have time, but what about the two and a half hours you got lost on Facebook reels, watching them clean carpets.'cause I will watch a rug get cleaned in a heartbeat and then say, I ain't got time.

Dan: 27:41

It'll sucker you in, dude.

Justin: 27:44

But we don't have time,

Dan: 27:46

right? Oh, good old Facebook reels. Boy, it'll get you.

Justin: 27:51

But why not spend that time with the one who gave you that time in the first place? We think that we don't have time, but yet everything we have is from God. Even the time that he gives us here, and I don't know about you. I want to make sure I'm spending it with the one who keeps it going.

Dan: 28:10

Amen, our scripture focus for today, Justin, is about Samuel. And I encourage you to go to, it's in the Old Testaments, in First Samuel, chapter three, and read those first 10 verses. Uh, this story doesn't start with a prophet, starts with a young boy, a boy who didn't yet know the voice of God. A boy who was still figuring out who he was, still learning how to listen, still waking up in the middle of the night thinking, you know, someone else was calling his name. When you look at Samuel, he was young, inexperienced, untrained, but his posture, Justin, that's what heaven responded to. The Bible says that the word of the Lord was rare in those days and there were not. Many visions. In other words, people weren't listening, so God wasn't speaking often. Hmm. You go back and you read judges, and I mean guys, these people have gotten so far away from God. That we, what we talked about in just a few moments ago, there was so much chaos and so much just, just negative influences pouring in that people couldn't hear the, the voice of God if he was screaming in their ear. That's heartbreaking, Justin. It says that the word of the Lord was rare in those days. And you go back to just a couple books before that in Deuteronomy and Joshua, the Lord was constantly speaking and leading and guiding. But just a few generations later, it says that the Lord's voice was rare, but then came Samuel. Lying in the temple positioned in the presence of God, even if he didn't fully understand it yet. And he kept hearing his name in the night. And every time the Bible says that he ran to Eli, he says, here I am. Did you call me? And Eli was an older, uh, priest and he finally caught on and he told Samuel The next time, don't run to me. The next time you hear that. Say speak Lord, your servant is listening. And that response, that one moment of surrender, that one moment of readiness unlocked Samuel's destiny because from that night on, the Bible says that the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up and let none of Samuel's words. Fall to the ground. Why? Because God doesn't need your resume family. Hmm. He doesn't need you to have a perfect track record or the right background. He's just looking for one thing, a posture of listening, a heart that's ready, A spirit that says, speak Lord. You don't have to be a spiritual giant to hear from God. You just got to be available. You gotta be still. You gotta be willing. And step 11 is about getting yourself into position, not for performance, but for presence. Because when you posture your heart to listen, even a whisper from heaven can become the turning point in your life.

Justin: 31:51

I love what you said, Dan. Notice the posture of Samuel. I want to go before that. Notice where he went first. He went to what was familiar and there's too many times people go to what's familiar. Instead of going to God very good, he went to Eli.

Dan: 32:09

Very good.

Justin: 32:09

Hey man, you call him and Eli's like, no. And there's a lot of us go back to the world and say, are you calling me? And the TV goes, no, but I'll let you sit here. Facebook goes, no, but you can waste some time here. The enemy steal, kill, and destroy. Right? But notice the posture. When Eli finally went and he said, speak Lord, and I love the way, I think it's the King James. Here I am. Right. Speak Lord. I'm listening. The posture was not, Lord, here's my plan. Here's what I'm gonna do for you. Here's what I want. Go ahead and bless it. No, it was, Lord, you speak. That's what Step 11 is. It's us setting ourselves in that posture and saying, Lord, you speak for a long time. I used to say, God, what's your will for my life? God, what's your will for my life? God, what's your will? And I didn't hear anything, but when I stopped and I said, God, what's your will? Hmm. Not just from my li What's your will? That's when I started listening. That's when I could hear him because I stopped just trying to posture myself where I could progress and started wanting let, and started letting God progress in my life. Right. It, it's not these big, eloquent words. God's not sitting there going, well, and we've talked about this before. He didn't say hither two and thus say the Lord. I can't listen. God's not sitting up there going, well, you know, you said that wrong. In fact, one of the things I love is when I mess up in my words, I laugh because I say, God, you know what I meant? Mm-hmm. Because he already knows it's not about us bringing it to him. It's about us being willing to listen. It's us about being present and positioned. That's what Step 11 is. And I have a question. When's the last time you got quiet? Hmm? When's the last time? Be honest. You just sat at the feet of the master. When's the last time you just got on your, and you don't have to get in your knees, right? When's the last time you just sat in silence away from the world? Because look, Satan's gonna try and distract you. I don't know about you, but when I sit down and try and get quiet with God, the dogs next door start barking. Somebody's knocking. The kids all of a sudden are getting up at five in the morning and they're usually asleep. My phone's going off. Satan's trying his best, but I make sure that I get away from that and just sit with God. When's the last time you did that? How often do we come to God in prayer and say everything on our hearts and then hang up the call before he can answer

Dan: 34:58

back. That's good. That's

Justin: 35:00

real good. We ask for direction, but we don't sit still long enough for him to direct us. It's like turning on your GPS and then throwing it out the window or leaving your phone at home,

Dan: 35:10

right?

Justin: 35:12

Step 11 is that challenge that says Slow down. Slow down, Christian. Look this. We run a race, but we walk with Christ. Amen. And you ain't outrunning him Too many times we're trying to outrun Jesus and look over our shoulder and say, Hey, hey, no, he wants us to walk with him.'cause he walks with us, he talks with us. He knows you by name. And let me tell you something, there is nothing sweeter. Sitting in the presence of God and understanding that he knows you by name and letting him speak to you. Step 11 is us slowing down, carving out space and giving God Almighty, who with just a word, brought all things into existence. Let let that sink in. This is God the creator of all things, who said, let it be, and it was the one who was before there was a, was.

Dan: 36:09

Very good. The

Justin: 36:10

same God who spoken to eternity, all things wants to speak to you. This is us listening. This is us taking time and saying, God, I'll let you speak. It isn't an empty silence, right? It, it, it, it's not empty. In God's presence, silence becomes a sacred space. It becomes holy ground. It's the soil where Revelation grows.

Dan: 36:40

I love that question. When was the last time you got quiet? You know?'cause if we're real, most of us talk to God more, you know, than we talk with him.

Justin: 36:51

Hmm hmm.

Dan: 36:52

You know, we fire off prayers like, they're like spiritual text messages or something, and then we wonder why we just feel so disconnected.

Justin: 37:01

LOL.

Dan: 37:03

Okay. We say, God, I need direction. God, I need help. God, show me what to do. And those are good prayers to pray and before Heaven even has a chance to respond, we're already scrolling, stressing, and we've moved on to the next thing. I love what you said, Justin. Step 11 is a, is a, is a call to stop filling the space. Because what if the silence isn't God being distant? What if it's God waiting for you to slow down? Not so he can scold you? Not so he can shame you, but so he can speak life into places in your life that are too loud to hear him. Dude, Psalm 46:10 says, be still. Know that I am God. But stillness is hard when we've trained ourselves to believe that movement equals progress. But let me say this clearly, stillness it's not laziness, it's intimacy. It's not weakness. Family. It's worship. And when was the last time you just sat in the presence of God not to talk? Not to plan, but just to listen. When's the last time you've asked, Lord, what do you want me to say? What are you trying to speak to me? And then waited. I mean, really waited for the answer.'cause the truth is God's not hiding. He's not. He's not sitting up there playing spiritual, hide and seek from you. He's not holding out on you. He's waiting for your attention, not your perfection. He's waiting for you to stop striving and start sitting to stop performing and start listening, because that's where the breakthrough happens. Family, not in the volume of your words, but in the quiet of your surrender. And Justin, as we get a wrap this podcast up, brother, again, something we could probably keep going and going and going when you start talking about soaking in the presence of God. Because we've been there family, we know how life changing it can be, but I've also been on the other side of it, and we're just here to help you. Mm-hmm.'cause God isn't hiding. He's waiting for your attention. Not your perfection.

Justin: 39:50

I love what you said, Dan. Step 11, that's what it's about, is intimacy. It's not about information, right? This step isn't about getting all the answers. It's about getting close enough to the one who has them. Listening for his voice. And here's the truth, and this is a hard truth that we all have to accept. You will never follow God's will if you never pause long enough to hear it. Mm-hmm. We are. So how do you know what God wants you to do when you've already decided?

Dan: 40:23

Right.

Justin: 40:23

It's hard to hear God's voice when you've already decided what he's gonna say. Listening is loving. Hearing is healing. When we slow down to hear God's heart, we actually begin to live from it ourselves because that is us. I delight in him. He will give you the desires of your heart. Mm. So where's your delight today? Is it in the presence of God? Because guess what happens when you take your delight from his presence? Your desires begin to become his desires, and that desire is fulfilled in his presence, and it's a never ending cycle. And guess what? Recovery's all about getting out of the cycle that kept us victims. Victim that kept us held hostage for years. This is us stepping out. Look, you're a slave to righteousness or a slave to obedience, and this is us sitting down and saying, Lord, I'm yours. Because one path leads to death. Amen. And the other leads to life. Amen. This is us stopping and letting him lead us to life.

Dan: 41:32

Guys, step 11 is where spiritual maturity, it doesn't just visit. It digs deep and takes roots. This isn't the place where you recite words and recite the Lord's prayer every day, and and, and then walk away. This is where your identity gets reshaped in the silence. This is where you stop striving and you just start hearing. You don't come here to impress God anymore. You come to be impressed upon him. You don't need the perfect words, family. You just need to be quiet and just be willing. This is, this is the space where clarity replaces the chaos of the world, and this is where peace silences panic. Where his whisper drowns out the war. That's waging in your mind. So pause, lean in. Don't rush this moment. Don't rush the presence of God. You're not waiting on a feeling. You're waiting on a word, because when his voice rises in your spirit. Everything else, family. This I can promise you will begin to fall in line. So stay rooted, family, stay recovered, and let's get to work.

43:14

You are not just surviving. You are becoming, becoming rooted in truth, becoming recovered by grace, and becoming the person God always knew you could be. Thanks for joining us on Rooted in Recovered. If this episode stirred something in you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it, live it, let it take root. We'll see you next time right here where scars become testimonies and hope rises from the ashes.