Sid: I was interviewing one of my television guests and he came from out of town and there was a pastor there from Houston, Texas, and he had just written a new book and so I always say well what is different about your book and he told me what was different and I said “I want to read it.” As a result you’re about ready to meet Pastor Don Nordin from Houston, Texas. The thing that made this unusual that has been so important. You know if someone’s a real believer they’re going to believe in miracles, but most people aren’t real believers have you noticed that and they don’t believe in miracles. And what if we had a book of outrageous miracles t hat are totally, medically documented and the documentation is in the book? Do you realize for a believer, for a real believer, you’re faith is going to sore and for a nominal believer you may become a real believer and for someone from another religion; I have to tell you Muslims and Hindus and people of and Jews well all of these people groups are craving for a God who is the now not a God that is a million miles away. And that’s what miracles shout! So Don Nordin I love the tile of your brand new book “The Audacity of Prayer.” The last time I heard that name was a book by President Barak Obama called the “The Audacity of Hope.” Which obviously most people have either heard of or read, but the word audacity I personally looked it up. In your mind what does the word audacity mean?
Don: The audacity in my mind means bold and confident. The Bible says “We are come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy and help in the time of need.” And so my definition of it is bold and confident.
Sid: Well I looked it up myself and I found a definition I love it’s a Hebrew word. Do you know what one of the definitions in Webster’s dictionary is for audacity and it’s actually in the dictionary? Chutzpah which means nerve; now we have a secret way of finding out who is Jewish there’s 2 ways that I know of. One way is that if you can say this “ch” sound chutzpah and the other is if you like Chinese food. No that’s…both are jokes but (Laughing) but there’s a little truth to those jokes. Now Don I also… let me read the other definitions I found (Remember the books name is “The Audacity of Prayer.” Fearless, boldness, chutzpah, a confident and daring quality that is often seen as shocking or even rude” Don I love that definition. As I read about some of the old timers that had great healing ministries they were really rude, I mean they punched people in the stomach; the only difference is they didn’t go to jail the people were healed. Is that the type of boldness that you’re talking about?
Don: That’s exactly the type of boldness that I’m talking about. You know we need to… I feel that among Christians we need to take a step back and look and just understand that we serve a God that is alive and He’s well, He’s willing to meet us at the point of our most critical need. And He desires… the Bible says “The eyes of the Lord are running to and fro throughout the entire earth seeking someone whom He might show Himself strong.” And it’s time for us to step out of the conventional and the normal expectation of Christian life and do that which is daring; step into unchartered territory and believe God for the miracles that we have need of.
Sid: And you know there’s 2 types I find of real Christians and actually many more categories but one type is one that says “God works in mysterious ways I know He heals but God works in mysterious ways.” Then they won’t get a whole lot; and then there’s another Christians that understand the Jesus paid the price for every sin and every sickness, that’s what the 103 Psalm “Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all of His benefits He’s forgiven all (A-L-L) of my sins and healed all (A-L-L) of my sicknesses.” So we have these 2, but the ones that believe… you know when I go to a church to speak Don I don’t know what your experience is and I say “Raise your hand if you need to be physically healed” and something like 90% of the people raise their hands and about another 8 or 9% are just not willing to raise their hands. Even the ones that intellectually believe many of them when they get sick themselves they don’t see miracles. What is your experience?
Don: I think you’re exactly right I have the same kinds of experiences I go to preach from church to church but I think that a lot of the responsibility for that has to rest on another pastor. So I think I can say this, I think that a lot of responsibility for that has to rest on the shoulders of the pastors because there’s very little preaching in most churches about divine healing and so the faith of the people is not being challenged. And God doesn’t respond necessary to desperation He responds to faith. And so the Lord spoke to me probably 3 years ago totally changed my ministry and totally changed my preaching. He said to me, He said “If you can convince the people I will do My work.” And so I changed the way I prepared, I changed the way I preached and we’ve just seen God do the miraculous the supernatural, but it’s about getting the people’s faith lifted.
Sid: Now that statement is so simple and yet so powerful and yet so Bible that you just made. God said to him “If you can convince the people I will do what I’m supposed to do.” Or what were your exact words tell me it again the essence that’s what you said.
Don: God said “If I can convince the people He would do His work.”
Sid: And you know something even Jesus when he talked about the lack of faith the people have to be…because there’s so much fighting a manifestation of a healing. The one word to coming to me is “Unbelief.”
Don: Right.
Sid: And that’s where the title of your book “The Audacity of Prayer” comes from. The chutzpa of prayer, the shocking or rude quality I mean…you know something I know a Rabbi that one day that there was someone blind and He takes some mud and he throws it in their face, the nerve (Laughing) the chutzpa! Don I want our people to get to know you just a little bit. You were really called by God in the 2nd grade you heard an audible voice what did you hear?
Don: I was in the 2nd grade and I was out riding my bicycle and I had stopped and I just heard a voice, an audible voice, that said “I want you to preach My word.” And of course I was so young I was frightened by that, but there was never a doubt in my mind from that day forward what my life work should be.
Sid: Now when you heard that audible voice how strong was it was it so strong that you turned around to see if someone else was there?
Don: It was so strong that I dismounted from my bicycle and looked all around to see who was there.
Sid: Hm.
Don: And there was no one present.
Sid: So when did you give your first sermon out of curiosity?
Don: I turned 14 on August the 1st of 1973 and I preached my first sermon on August the 8th in 1973. So you know I’ve been doing this a long time and…
Sid: Now do you remember what you preached at age 14?
Don: I do actually.
Sid: What was it?
Don: I preached the scripture where Paul said “We’re troubled on every side yet not distressed, perplexed and yet not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed.”
Sid: I love it (Laughing)! At age 14 now who did you preach to?
Don: My dad is a pastor and I had told him I was called to preach and so he let me preach on a Sunday night and I was (Chuckling) I was so nervous I was sick almost.
Sid: (Laughing)
Don: A funny thing that happened is the next time my dad let me preach I decided to preach on Matthew 24 and deal with prophecy and my dad told me to stay away from that for awhile that the people didn’t know where they were going or when by the time I got done.
Sid: (Laughing) But you were trying and besides that God told you to do it. I believe that so many people are going to be helped with your brand new book “The Audacity of Prayer” and again the thing that I think is so amazing about this book is that it has medical documentation of these miracles. And the CD’s called “Faith Lift” not face lift “Faith Lift.” What do you do on these 4 CD’s?
Don: These 4 CD’s I just try to convince the people that God really works miracles and that if we will come to Him with boldness and confidence that He will do His work. I’m just trying to convince the people that God can do this and that He wants to do this.
