Banned by China, Backed by Mark Wahlberg: The Christian Prayer App Changing the World

So I think if someone, not the. people come to me for investments, but I think. if someone had if you had come. to me and said, I want. you to invest in a prayer app, pretty sure I would have passed on. that. Not for ideological. reasons, but for business reasons. That can't work. But I Hallow seems. really big to me. You what, tell. us how big Hallow is. It's all glory to God. But he's done. Yeah. Had you told me, like, a thousand.

people would use this thing? I would have been mind blown. We built it initially just for me. But like 10,000 people. A million people. I think we're at 22 million. downloads now. Like 600 million pairs prayed. There was we were no religious. app or meditation app or. wellness app or workout app had ever. cracked the top ten in. the App Store before. And this past Lent, we were number. one, which was crazy. So it was the first time in history. We're not glory to God. It's just been a wild ride. It has really cool things when we. let them.

It really an amazing story and. unexpected. So why did you built it for you? What does that mean? Yeah. I was.

raised religious, but fell away from. my faith in high school. In college would have considered. myself agnostic or atheist for most. of that time. And when I graduated. I got really into meditation and, you know, there were some secular. meditation apps that I started using. and I started using them every day, and I loved them. They were like ten minutes. It was almost like technology. without technology. Like you press play, close your eyes, plugged in your. headphones, and then were just led. in this meditation. And it was really the first time.

that I'd sat in silence. And the strangest thing started. happening, which is every time I. would meditate or sit in silence, my mind kept feeling pulled towards. something spiritual, like an image. of Jesus, an image of the cross, the words. Holy Spirit, which I thought was. very strange because I would have. considered myself agnostic. And so I started reaching out to. people who took their faith. more seriously priests, pastors, people who I knew. And I thought I. had this really interesting. question, which is, is. there any way there's some sort of. intersection here between this.

meditation thing, the sitting in. silence thing and this faith thing? And they all laughed at me and. said, Yeah, we've been doing it for. 2000 years. You probably should have. heard about it. It's called prayer. And I was like, No, no, no. I know prayer prayers, though. Like, Hey, thanks for stop, sorry. for stuff. Help me with stuff. or the things that I memorized as a. kid. And I had this one priest who said, okay, those are great ways to talk. to God. It's great ways to share. with God what's on your heart. But have you ever tried to listen? And I was like, No, what does that.

mean? What does it mean to listen to. God? And I started learning about this. whole world of contemplative. and meditative prayer within the. church. Things like, like sort of in. a Ignatian spirituality. Imagine it's prayer, sitting in. silence, chant, all this stuff. that I'd honestly never heard of. before. And I sat down like. to mean as a way of meditating on. scripture. You pick a word that. sticks out to you. And so I Googled how to do that. Randomly open up a Bible and just. ten minutes in my living room. opened up my Bible to Luke 11, where. the disciples, funnily enough, asked.

Jesus to teach them how to pray. And he gives them the our Father. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And hallow was the word that stuck. out to me that I meditated on. And it was just ten. minutes just in the comfort of my. home. But I was just sobbing. It was this beautiful combination. of this deep sense of peace. Like deeper than anything I'd. experienced before. But combined with this depth of. meaning and purpose. So like hallow means to make holy. And I was like, Well, is God trying.

to make me holy? Am I letting him. make me holy? Am I supposed to be. helping other people grow in. holiness? And the answers to all of. that was no, I was just doing my own. career, following my own ambition. What were you doing? I was in consulting. Just trying to have a good job, make money. You know, it was a good job. It taught me how to work. But, yeah, certainly wasn't working. for Jesus. And so I had to quit my. job during my 41K at 25. years old or whatever it is, maxed. out. My credit cards do this stupid. startup thing which. isn't stupid, it's God's thing. So the but yeah,

so it was crazy. It was these really. stressful questions, but wrestling. with them in this place of deep. peace. And so I knew from. then that I. wanted this out. I like the. structure of these apps and. I knew how to code a little bit, so. we started building it, but. we had about like 20 to 30 people. start using it just because they. heard what I was building. And one of them. One of them was my aunt. I know. This is a it was one. of my favorite early stories, so I. love to tell it, but the, my.

aunt had just lost her son. My cousin, he was 40. He had just gotten married and. his wife had just gotten pregnant. with their first kid. And he. went into the doctor said, Hey, there's something wrong with my. chest. My chest feels tight. They said, You're fine, go home. He went home and he died that night. in his sleep. And it was my. Yeah, my godmother, my. aunt's only son. And she was just heartbroken. Just destroyed. She couldn't get out of bed for.

months. She couldn't eat. It was and we have this big family. like a bunch of aunts and uncles, and we're all trying to figure out, like, what could we possibly do for. this woman? And nobody could do anything. I mean, it's a wound that deep. I couldn't imagine losing a kid. and. She sends us this note. Right when we launched, it was like. the summer of 2018. And she says, Hey, I just wanted to. let you know, you know, it's one of. like 20 or 30 people using this. I had no idea there was like ten. meditations on it. Now there's like. 100,000, but there were just ten. minute little meditations on the. thing.

And she said, I just wanted to let. you know. Like Christmas is always a really. stressful time for me. I got to figure out how to visit. She has grandkids. I got to figure. out how to visit all my kids. My grandkids get presents for. everybody. It's always a time of stress and. anxiety, but I just honestly. didn't think I'd be able to. get through it this year. I didn't think I'd be able to face. my first Christmas without my son. And I just wanted to. let you know that these little. meditations on this app have. reminded me that even in the darkest. moment of my life, which I am in the. darkest moment of my life, but even. in the darkest moment of my life, I.

can still have hope. And they've allowed me to get out of. bed and to carry on. And thank you, for allowing. God into my heart again. And I just like. I just broke down in tears. on my floor. And I remember I went. to my co-founder and I was like, Man, it seems. like two things. One, it seems. like God really wants us to do. something with this thing. Like. maybe it's not just an app for me. Maybe, maybe other people are going. to use this and. At the same time. Like if all we ever do, if we work.

for the next 50 years, if we waste. all our money, if everybody hates. us, if everything goes terribly. and we got that one note. Well, then, infinitely worth it. I do it a hundred times over. Of course I would for that one note. And like the really cool part about. how it is, we just get to see these. stories all the time. from people who are in really dark, really tough places. And we get to see. God bring his love and his mercy and. his peace into their hearts. But yeah, from an investment. perspective, it was the vast. majority of people said no, it was.

just needed. It was not a popular investment. I certainly did not think anybody. would ever invest in it. But by the grace of God, some some. folks did, which is certainly a. longer story, but for. the vast majority, thought it was a. very stupid idea. What did your wife think? My wife is a saint. I owe my wife. more than I could possibly. articulate. She's always taken her faith very. seriously. It's actually been funny to watch. how my wife and my mom have.

reacted to me coming back to my. faith. My mom is the same. A saint of a woman. It's like the bedrock of our faith. Really tried to get me to believe. growing up. Prayed for me, I'm sure. a lot. But had you. ask my mom, like of the people in. the country who would do anything. religious, I would be the last on. the list by far. Why? Why did if we just rewind. for a second, why did you. lose your faith? It sounds like you. grew up in a religious family. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, so I went to a. I went to a public school in Ohio.

And like everybody was like people. would go to church, but. nobody really at least the kids, my. friends, nobody believed there was. no real believers. And it was just like the way of the. world, I think is. naturally destruction and naturally. away from God. You have to, like, really take the. step into faith to believe. But for me, I just kind of followed. the way of the world. I just. followed the way that what all my. friends believed, which was kind of. this new atheism thing, which is. like the darkened Sam Harris stuff. of like how this God thing is stupid. is just what our parents did. It's there's no real evidence behind.

it, Although I never really thought. about it like it was never a. conscious thought. I just kind of followed the tide. of my friends and career and. the secular society. of just falling away and drifting. away from my faith, which is. heartbreaking. It happens to. It's the story of way too many. people in today's world. But at the core, I think for. Me, it sounds like you were led away. from your faith. Yeah, I think so. Probably. You know, the society I. was in, the friends, the school. I was in certainly was very secular.

But, you know, for me, the thing. that gets me excited about Halloween. and the work that we're doing. Is like at the core. What I didn't have was a. relationship with Jesus. Like what I didn't have was a. relationship with God. I would like I knew the beliefs. I would go to church, I went to CCD. and church school and all this. stuff, but I didn't I never had an actual. encounter with Christ. And if you do like if you actually. have a relationship with Jesus, it's. really hard to pull you away from. it. Like for me, if somebody now is. like, okay, well, what do you believe?

Obviously I believe in Jesus. And if they tried to convince me not. to believe, you know, there's a lot. of intelligent people, people way. smarter than I am, theologians, philosophers, whatever. But convincing me that Jesus isn't. real is like convincing me my wife. isn't real. It's like, you know, this is a this is my best friend. This is the person who helps me in. every moment. It's more real than my. wife. And so it's like this. relationship. Yeah, it's. It's unbreakable. And that's, I think, the thing that. I really didn't have growing up, which is what we get excited about,

trying to help people to build that. relationship and to find God in. silence and in prayer. Why silence? Well, scripture is pretty clear on this. The Saints are pretty clear on. I mean, Mother Teresa, I think, is. in the silence of the heart. God speaks souls of great prayer. Souls of great silence. You know, Elijah climbs up to the. mountain and. a great wind comes by and God is. not in the wind. And a great earthquake comes. and God is not in the earthquake. And a great fire comes and God is.

not in the fire. But then he's still small. Voice comes in the silence and God. is in the still small voice like. it's in the silence that you hear. God. And it's so funny because for. me, I just grew. up my whole life I was just busy. I just. I was just busy and noisy. Like, that's my whole life was. noise. And I was just scrawling. I was worried about work. I was worried about relationships. I was worried about my career. I was worried about money. I was worried about everything. And I was just thinking all the time. and just talking to people all the. time and just listening to noise all.

the time. And C.S. Lewis says this in his screw tape. letters, which is this book. about, is from the perspective of a demon. trying to tempt people screw. tape letters. And his big thing is. Noise. We need to make the world. noise. The demon wants to try to. make the world noise. Get away from music and get away. from silence. Because that's where. you want. That's where the people. find God. But as demons, our job is to create. as much noise so that they don't. think about stuff. And yeah, for me,

it was just that it was so much. noise. And as soon as you, like, take ten minutes. In silence. Away from the noise. You just you find God. I mean, so. there's a bunch of these a bunch of. these stories of of people. who have experienced this that I. just love to share. But one of these was a. woman who wrote to us about six. months ago and. She was married. with three young girls.

She worked in the city and. She would like go to church, but she. had this overwhelming sense of shame. all the time and she can never. really connect with God. And she her life was full of noise. You could never really find silence. or peace. And she developed an addiction. to alcohol and opioids, to drugs, and became involved. in a long standing affair with a. with a guy from work. And her husband found out about it. and.

Left her and took the kids. And she said she was distraught, like at the lowest possible. point of her life, shattered into a. million pieces for the whole world. to see. All of her shame, she. thought often about ending her own. life. And she was scrolling on Instagram, just stuck in the noise of life. And she sees this. post from Mark Wahlberg talking. about prayer. And she's like, wait a minute, that's the guy from these prayer. movies talking about Jesus, talking. about prayer. That's just weird enough that I'll. try it. And she opens up the app and.

she just doesn't meditation in. silence. And she said she realized. she was right in that moment, just. like five, ten minutes, she realized. she was right. It was the lowest possible moment of. her life. Everything she loved had left her. Her whole life was destroyed. But that she was wrong. She was not alone. Jesus was there with her, and he. scooped her up into the thousands. of pieces she had shattered into, scooped her up into his arms and put. her back together piece by piece. And she started using Hallow like 15. times a day, which is way too many.

times to use. I started going to. these retreats and. she prayed for her husband's. forgiveness. Her husband had his own. miraculous experience with Christ, where he told her to forgive his. wife and their families back. together. And they're having another. kid. And she just wrote to us and. just said, Hey, I just wanted to let. you know that I'm confident. I wouldn't be physically standing. here alive today if it wasn't for. the grace of God gave me in silence. through this app. And so for us, it's just like, man, glory to God. It's but but what he can do when we. give them just like five, ten. minutes in silence of our life.

and it's hard. Silence can be. intimidating, which is why we built. the app. It's can be intimidating to. sit in 20 minutes of silence for the. first time you do it and it's it's. helpful to have a structure and. somebody to lead you through open. your eyes are closed. You're. listening to something. But what God can do in that ten, 20. minute time is just is miraculous. It's beautiful. It's amazing. this device. is the vector for noise. Yeah, certainly. And but you've used this device. to bring silence back. Well, the device is a.

tool for. Unimaginable evil. I mean, what is contained in that? Devices heartbreakingly. sad. I mean, yeah. Noise and distraction. Pornography, evil. I mean, there's there's so much evil. in technology. There's so much evil. in social media in. the ways of the world. And we've we've had a lot of people, you know, you can get addicted to. your phone. It's very easy to get. addicted to. Even if you're not looking at bad. stuff, it's just like there's funny.

stuff on there. There's really. entertaining stuff or there's news. or whatever. And we've had a lot of people who. are like, well, you can't. Technology is bad. It's inherently bad. Which is one of the complaints about. Hallow, which you certainly. have to find a way to escape. from technology to not. get addicted, to find peace. amidst the noise. But for us, it's just like. God can use anything. We can't underestimate God. Like God can take any tool we have, whether it's the printing press,

whether it's magazines, which also. are used for tremendous evil, or. whether it's this incredible tool. which is used for tremendous evil. The vast majority of stuff on the. Internet is evil, is terrible, is. awful. But God can still use it. God can still reach out to people. where they are. And it's the same. It's like. churches in a city and like cities. are places of tremendous evil. There's a lot of sad things that. happen in cities, but God can. still reach out to people who live. in cities with beautiful churches. and invite them into a relationship.

with him. And it's the same thing. with us. It's our job as Christians. Is to work within the world and to. reach out to people where they are. and sadly, where they are, as in. their phones. And we've seen. just time and time again where God. can reach out to people through. their phone and change their life. It's just a it's a it's a. beautiful thing for us to get to be. a part of. And we have this we have. this incredible privilege. to get to be in this position. where we get all these stories from. people whose lives have been. changed. And it's just. going to go on forever about this.

story. Please do. But we had this, this other young woman actually. was just talking to a guy yesterday. in Ireland who. had a very similar story to me, had. fallen away. And in Ireland, it's. like in his friend group, apparently. very unpopular to actually be. Catholic, like to really believe it. And he had this radical. conversion through technology, through the app where he came back. to his faith. But this one woman. I have a four year old daughter, so.

this breaks my heart especially. But she was raised. religious but fell away from her. faith, described herself as a. nihilistic atheist as a teenager, which is more intense than I would. have described myself. But. I had a really tough time in school. Would you like me on social media. for young kids, especially young. women? Like just reading comments. about yourself or like people. insulting you. And that is just so. hard. Like, I have a little sister who's. much younger than me.

And I hold her phone for like two. minutes and she gets like 50. Snapchat notifications about streak. She has to continue. And I'm like, I. feel physically stressed holding. this thing. And so for young people, just in. today's world, it's just so hard. But anyway, this woman, this young. woman was a teenager. Her mom was worried about her. She made her download. Palo onto her phone. and created an account. And the young woman became so. depressed that she decided. to end her life when she was 15.

And so she climbed into. into her bathtub and. filled it with a bubble bath. because she said she wanted it to be. a pretty death, heartbreakingly. so. And right before she went through. with it. She said, Look, God, I. don't believe in you. I'm an atheist. I don't believe in. you. She looked up at the ceiling. But if you are real, I will give you one last chance. This is your shot to prove it to me. And she had her little phone sitting.

next to her, and she opened up the. phone, played some. random meditation that we had. It was probably during Lent because. it was on Christ's passion and it. was on how he bled, how he died, how he suffered for us so that we. didn't have to, so that we didn't. have to carry that weight alone. And she said, I don't know what it. was, but I realized. in that moment that Christ was there. with me in the room. He held out his hand. He picked me up out of the bathtub, and I dedicated the rest of my life. to serving him. And for the last. three years, I've been serving as a. missionary in the inner city for. Christ. And I just wanted to let you.

know I'm confident I would have. ended my life that night had it not. been for the grace of God gave me. through this act, which is just. like all these stories. But it's it's. about how God can use. the thing that is most destroying us. for his good and can reach out to. you through it and, and transform. everything, even bad stuff. You can transform it for his. good. I think we can't underestimate. the power of God. So, yeah, it's for us, it's it's a. I think people have to be. disconnected from their phones.

I don't my kids don't have phones. and won't for a long time. But. by God can use technology. And there's a lot of really cool. parts about technology. You get to pray with them. On a retreat with Father Mike. Schmitz or some great pastor. leader for ten minutes in the. comfort of your own home, whereas. without that you'd have to pay, you. know, a good chunk of money to go on. a retreat once a year maybe. And so we have these. tools with technology, but we have. to surrender them to God. We have to let God use them. We can't you know, we can't. make them God. And we certainly. can't let them distract us from the.

things that really matter. Who whose father? Mike Schmidt. Father. Father Mike Schmitz is. incredible and love Father Mike. He is the host of. He does a Bible in a year podcast. series, which you can find on the. app where he walks through the Bible. and explains it in this really. unique way, where it's not just from. the beginning to the end, but about. how the gospel is kind of interwoven. throughout the whole story. So it's beautiful. It brings. scripture to life in a new way, and. then he does a bunch of different. things. We work with him on a bunch of. different things sermons,

homilies, reflections, prayers, just things to try to. open up scripture to folks in a new. way, both to folks who haven't. really had an exposure to Scripture, but also to people who've been. taking their faith seriously for. decades. So he's phenomenal. Find him. How'd you hear about him? Everything in. Hallow has been the good Lord doing. doing everything. So every story has been about. us trying and trying and trying. and trying and trying and then. just giving up and surrendering. And the good Lord doing it for us.

Father Mike. I was a fan of Father. Mike, I when I was first coming back. to my faith. I was trying to figure out whether I. was Catholic or Protestant or. whatever it was because. I had come to Jesus through this. prayer experience, but had a lot. still to figure out. And so I. started watching debates. I started watching and listening to. sermons, all this stuff. And Father Mike was one of the big. ones. He has a handful of YouTube. videos. on a channel called Ascension, which. is phenomenal. And. Yeah, I love them.

And so but I kept trying to reach. out. I kept trying to email them in. different ways because we had just. started this app and I was like, Hey. man, is there any way that, Hey. Father, is there any way that we. could work together with something? I'd love to share what you have. with the folks who have on who we. have on the app, which is just. whatever, maybe like a couple. hundred people at that point. And I gave up. and was like, All right, I've tried. everything. I've reached out in. every way. And then he just. randomly reaches out to us. in an email and just says, Hey, I was with a bishop who knew you. guys and he mentioned you and. that I should reach out.

So would love to do something. And the first thing he did for us. was we have these. sleep Bible stories where. at night you kind of read scripture. to try to disconnect. yourself from the busyness of the. world and focus on Christ before you. go to bed. And so he did these, the sleep reading of. I think it was the. Gospel of John in the beginning was. the word and the word was made flesh. and was just beautiful. And so then we kept trying to work. with him forever. And he's been his his is.

one of the most incredible people I. know. He, you know, is very close. with my wife and my kids and I. And so it's been a blessing to get. to know him, but also to get to. share his message with people. And he's changed more lives than I. could possibly imagine. Mark Wahlberg. How did I. find everything about that? Amazing. How did Mark Wahlberg. become a part of this? Mark His awesome. mark is incredible. It's an honor and privilege to get. to work with him. Yeah. He had this interesting. experience he shared where he felt.

like God was a few. years ago. He felt like God was. calling him. He's always taken his faith. seriously. He's always been a very. public witness of. his faith, which is hard. to do in Hollywood. And, well, not only hard to do. almost without any precedent, really. I can't think of the last. famous actor who did. something like that other than Mel. Gibson. For folks who who aren't really. in the Hollywood world, it's hard to. understand how unpopular it is. But it's yeah, it's.

it takes a tremendous amount of. courage. Like people will tell you, your career will be over. Everyone will hate you. Okay, maybe you can talk about. faith, but, like, talk about it. broadly. Don't talk about Jesus. specifically. You certainly can't. talk about Jesus. And. you know these conversations all the. time. And Mark. Yeah. Has this incredible courage. But anyway, he felt like because I-. Don't really see the upside for him. No, there's almost there's none. I mean, other than doing the Good.

Lord's well, which is a tremendous. upside in and of itself, but from a. career perspective, certainly not. So he felt like God was. calling him to use this platform, this gift that he's given, that God. had given him. for God's glory, to share. what God had done with him. And He does this great. He does a great job of sharing his. faith in a way that doesn't feel. like he's like ramming it down your. throat or anything. He's just like, Hey, this is I have this friend. named Jesus. He's changed my life. He's given me everything good in my. in my life has come from God. And I just want to share that with.

people. And so it's this. But anyway, he felt like God was. calling him to do something. And so he did this film. called Father Stu, and this was a. few years ago he produced it. He found himself and it was all. him. He starred in it. and it was this beautiful film. And we worked initially. Hallow was decent sized, but still. pretty small. And so we worked with him to help. promote it and to create some. content around it. And she says he. is like, God, he thought he was. making a deal with God where he'd do. this one thing. He'd like, do this. one film and that would be his.

thing. That would be a good thing. And what's happened since is God. just like was just cracking the door. and now he's like slamming it wide. open. So now he does. He does all this stuff with hello. and with. A bunch of things with the faith, but especially with how he does. these incredible fasting challenges. where like he is, he has many talents, obviously, but one of them is this. incredible discipline. Like, you know, you see him all the. time, wakes up at four does it's. called Cold plunge doesn't work out. like twice does prayer every day. And so like leading.

people in fasting, which people. often forget about fasting is like. prayer and fasting must go together. And so he has these incredible. fasting challenges that he leads. people through on the app. But he's just been yeah, he's a. great guy to get to work with. I remember the first time. he he. face time to me at like 8. p.m. on like a Friday night or. something. And it was one of the. first times I'd talk to him. And, I don't, you know, I don't often. talk to super famous people, and so.

I was a little nervous, you know, as. that face time for Mark Wahlberg, I. was like, This is really cool. My wife sitting here next to me, you know, is, you know, just the. middle of the night and we just talk. And it was like a 32nd conversation. was just like, Hey, I'm really. excited about Father Stu. It's going to be great. We're hearing. great things from folks. It's coming together really nice. And I was like, that's awesome. And he was like, Yeah. And with. Hello, how is going to be. incredible. We're going to change. the world together. And I was like, that's awesome. He was like, Yeah, how is going to be great? We're going to pray together. We're. going to welcome the Lord into. people's hearts. Jesus is going to do incredible. things. This is going to be great. And I was like, that's awesome. And he was like, All right, man,

have a great one. Have a good one. And then he hangs up and my. wife looks at me and people. ask like, How you stay humble? And my wife looks at me and. instead of saying like, man, that's. cool. You got to talk to Mark. Wahlberg or like, you know, whatever. that is. Just face time do or any of. that stuff. She was like, you know, you said awesome. A lot. Like that's all you said. And I was like, Wow, I'm. going to be thinking about that for. the next two years of my life. How stupid I sounded on a face time. But anyway, he's been he's been.

he's been really, honestly. incredible. It's. yeah, like this past Ash Wednesday, he had, he went and did. a bunch of PR where he goes and. has a giant ash cross on his. forehead and goes and does all these. shows on. You know, nobody's seen somebody. with a giant ash cross on their. forehead on any of these shows Today. Show or any of that stuff. And I remember we did. There's another funny story about. God being in. charge, but. We're in New York. and we're about to go on all these.

shows for. the launch of kind of this launch. series, which are biggest launches. are. Well, we have one coming up. about the election, One Nation under. God. And then we have kind of a. season leading up to Christmas, which is an advent launch and then a. lunch. So really right now, this. time of year is where kind of our. our biggest launches are. But it was Ash. Wednesday, which is the day that our. lunch challenge kicks off. And we did a little mass. in the hotel just in a conference. room in the hotel, a private mass. We had a priest come and it. was just like 4 or 5 of us.

And it was fine because the reading. was like how you're supposed to fast. in private, which is true. You're supposed to fast and pray, not like show off. Like, hey, you know, I'm this great. person. I'm fasting. And so that was the gospel. And then Mark goes up to get his. ashes and he was like, Hey, Father, I know I'm not supposed. to like, do this publicly from. today's reading, but. could you make this ash cross, like, really big and really dark and. really black? Because I'm going to. be on TV all day. And.

the funny thing about that is. we had. I had woken up and the app. was we had never cracked the. top 50 before. And I had woken up on Ash Wednesday. and the app was number three. in the App Store and there were two. apps ahead of it. I think one was open and the other. was Tamal, which is the. giant, massive Chinese. social media company that's trying. to enter the United States by. pitching itself as a shopping. company. They have a billion and a. half dollar Facebook ad. budget a year just for the US to.

spend to try to enter this market. And they ran six national Super Bowl. commercials. And so we're like, there's no way. we're ever going to displace Tamil. from. So do you trust your Internet. service provider? Do you even know what it does? Well, there are a lot of reasons not. to trust your ISP. Many Internet service providers are. required to keep logs of everything. you do online just in case the. government wants to take a look at. what you're doing. Can you believe that's legal? It is in the United States, in this country.

Your online. information, your entire browsing. history can be sold to anyone. And it often is. In fact, it almost always is. So what can you do about that? Well, one obvious solution is. to get a virtual private network, a VPN. The one we use is called Express. VPN. A VPN is an app that reroutes all. of your online traffic through. encrypted servers, so your. online data is private. No one can get their hands on it,

but how can you trust your VPN? That's a good question. Well, Express VPN is a privacy. First architecture built from the. ground up. Their system is built on something. called volatile memory. Literally, the hardware is. engineered not to keep track, to keep records of your activity. And we know it works. Last year, Expressvpn received. hundreds of requests from law. enforcement for sensitive customer. data, and not a single. one of those requests resulted. in any customer data being. exposed.

As not, they don't comply with. lawful requests. They do, but. they can't turn over the data. because they don't have. it. Expressvpn is designed. so they don't have your data when. the government asks them to hand it. over. Pretty smart. You don't have to be a. tech genius to use express VPN. You just tap one button in the app. to start protect your privacy no. matter what kind of device you're. using. And right now you can get. three extra months for free. by going to this link express. vpn.com/tucker. That's expressvpn.com/checker.

Three extra months for free. How many Super Bowl ads did you run? We ran a regional one, so. it only covered like, I don't know, 30, 40% and it was one. And so I was watching the Super Bowl. with my wife and I knew that Tampa. was number one. on the App Store. And I was like, man, we have a chance of getting. of getting up somewhere high, but. there's no way we're ever going to. be terminal. I just hope that. they're not going to do a Super Bowl. commercial because last year they. had done one and a. national super Super Bowl. commercial. It's like 5 to 6 times.

the cost of the thing that we did. And. So I'm watching the Super Bowl. And I see the first time you had. come on and I was like, Shoot, man. And then I see the second house, like two Super Bowl commercials. And then I see the third, the. fourth, the fifth, the sixth. And I was just like, This is. insanity. There's no it's absolutely. impossible that we would ever so, like, maybe number two. But anyway, I wake up and we're. number three. And I'm like, wow, this is. incredible. That's how nobody's ever. cracked the top ten before. That's. glory to God. That's. That's insane. I go to open the app.

and it's completely crashed. It's totally white. Nobody. It's. You can't do anything. It's not. It's not funny. I like. I think it's horrible. It's not like it loads slowly. I mean, this is the biggest day in. Hallow history. And so it's it's. there's hundreds of thousands of. people trying to break, millions of. people trying to pray on this thing. at this moment. And it's just white, just a. white screen. And I know how to code a little bit, but certainly not we have people who. code much better than I do now. And and so I. call our developer and I was like, hey, man, things totally down.

And he's like, Yeah, okay, I'm on. it. And it usually takes us about. 30s to get it to fix. But there were so many more people. trying to use it that it just kept. getting worse and worse and worse. And it was just the spiral going. down and down and down. And so it usually takes us about. maybe 1 or 2 minutes to fix it. because you can add capacity or. whatever it is. But. but he can't fix it. He can't figure out how to do it. It's like the spiral he can't get. get control of. And so we go to mass and the app is. crashing through the whole mass. It's crashing, it's down. Nobody can use it. And this is like. we have a massive spike it right in.

the morning. There's a spike in the. morning and in the evening when. people pray at the beginning of the. day and the end of the day mostly. And so this is like right in the. middle of our biggest spike. And I was just sitting there in mass. and I was just like, God, what? Like I surrender this to. you? Yes. Like this is yours. But like, why are you why are you. doing this? There's so many people. trying to pray, like, can you please. just fix this? Have like and. I'm just like, struggling with this. thing. I'm just so stressed and so. anxious about it because it's just. dying and. no one can use it. And our customer support things. blown up and everything's going.

terribly. And and then Mark is about. to go on the Today Show and Fox and. all these national TV shows and. what's he supposed to do? Be like, Hey, download the app, but in like a. couple hours, maybe an hour. And so nobody else knows. that the app is crashing. And so the priest comes up to me. after Mass and he's. like, Hey, Alex, are you okay? And I was like, Yeah, Father way. And he was like, Well, it seems like you're pretty. distracted. Seems like you're pretty. upset. Like there's something about. you. It just feels like you're. upset. And I was like, Well, to be honest, yeah, The app has been crashing for.

the last, like, 30, 40 minutes. It's just been down. Nobody can use. it. It makes me sound just like this. is we're hoping. to, especially to people who have. fallen away or people like that. young girl who are in a really tough. time. Like, we want to be a resource. for people. We want to help people. pray. And he was like, All right, Alex, what would you mind if I just if I. just said a quick prayer for you? And I was like, Sure, Father, I. guess I'm the prayer guy. It's a prayer app. Yes. You can pray for us. And you just sits there for a. second. He. Then he just goes.

Okay. Have a good day, Alex. And then I get a text literally two. seconds later that says the app is. back up. I think it's just like, God, this whole story, everything for us. is just like you try and you try and. you try and you try and then you're. just like, God, can you please take. it? And then he does. And he's like, I was just waiting for you to do. that. I was just waiting for you to. let me do it. And then it went on to. be to to displace. Tamo at the end of the day as the. number one app, which is crazy. because the top ten apps, all of the. YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, Tamil, every app has 10,000 plus.

employees. We had 80. And so it's just that it was this. crazy story of of. how getting to number one over time. which was which was fun. but but yeah it's just this. is just God. Showing us like, Hey, I'm the one. who's. I'm the one who's doing this. Just make sure you always remember. I'm the one who's doing this, which. hopefully, hopefully, I do. Amazing. Has it? Has it hurt Wahlberg's career.

since you said that it. might? You know, Mark is an interesting. place because. You know, he produces most of his. own stuff now and can fund a. lot of it. And he's trying to build. You know what he does really, as he. tries to focus on a handful of. things that he really tries to. build. So he has like a health. company, a clothing company, Hallow, and full of other things he's really. focused on building. But honestly. You know, there's a lot to like. He'll post about, like, just step. right up, just something. He'll just he'll literally just look.

at the camera and be like, Hey, step. right up in front of a church or in. front of a statue of Jesus or Mary. or something and just invite people. to pray. And he had. he he you know, he had a friend of his come up to. him and say like, hey, haven't you seen that Everyone? Like, haven't you read your comments. like, everyone hates you for these. posts? And he's. like, comments, Dude, I haven't read. comments in like 30 years. You can't read comments on social. media that'll destroy you. And he's like, What I see is that. these posts, whenever I post about.

Jesus or talk about Jesus, they get. like, you know, ten times the number. of views than anything else I talk. about gets. Yeah, people are clearly. hungry for this. And we've shared a. bunch of these stories of how, you know, that woman who almost. ended her life saw a post from him. talking about Jesus and was able to. you know, it's an interesting thing. because to to reach out to somebody. who doesn't take their faith. seriously, you know, my face isn't. really going to get them to stop. But Mark's face will be like, Wow, that's weird enough. Like the guy from the Bear movies. talking about Jesus. Like, that's a. that's a weird thing. I'm just going to it's just weird. enough that I'm going to try it.

But. but anyway, for him, he's just. I know he just it takes a bravery, I mean, for a bunch of folks. But then through it, I think God. actually does these really cool. things. And you're starting to see. actually in Hollywood now, I. was just talking to somebody I was. in L.A. this week and they were saying this. is the first time in like 30 years. that someone has come asking. for faith based scripts, asking for. faith based material. And they're like, it's not obviously. it's not because people are the. studios are suddenly trying to share. Christ. It's because, you know, you.

see. Like. Salo or you see things like Bible in. a year or The Chosen or whatever it. is, and you see these things. working. You see people are actually. really hungry for it. And it's, you know, I mean, Scripture again, is pretty clear as. if you seek first the kingdom of God. or the other things will be given. unto you. It's like, you know, it's. scary and you go through like a dip. I mean, for me, certainly. But God then brings you these. incredible blessings on the other. side of it. So I don't know. I mean, Mark's, you. know, Father Stu did. Father Stu did really well, has. obviously has. blown any of our expectations.

or anything that we expected out of. this water. So yeah, for him, I think it's been a pretty cool. ride. It's just awesome to see. somebody who has this incredible. platform and talent and gift. use it for the greater glory. of the kingdom. So there's a. blessing. And be rewarded for it. I mean, it sounds like you think. things are changing. There's something going on. I mean, I think we're in a. I think we're in a very dark place. But I have this.

Yeah. And I have this. tremendous hope. I mean, it's just. We get. We just get to see it all. the time. Like in the darkest. places. God reaching out to people. like we. Chesterton has this quote. that's like, There have been many. times in history that G.K. Chesterton, there's been many times. in history where people thought the. church was dead. The church is not this like straight. line. It's this time of. many times people thought it was. over. The rise of Islam, the death.

of Jesus, the death of his apostles, the fall of Rome, all these. different times when people thought. Christianity should just Peter out. and die. But Christianity can't die because. as soon as it gets close to the. grave, when everyone expects it to. be in the grave, it resurrects. because it has a God that knows its. way out of the grave. And I don't know. For us, we just see it and I think. you can see it. You're starting to. see a little bit of it in, you know, some of these broader things like. Hallow or Bible in the year or the. Chosen or anything. But for us, it's just in these. stories and especially in the in the.

places when things are. When things are really. tough and really dark and like, you. know, we live in a culture of death. and in a in a sad secular. world that's falling away even. more rapidly from Jesus. And but still in that. he's there. And like we have this. we have this other woman right into. us and share her. story, which was. She had become.

Pregnant. She was. She had just graduated. She was unmarried. She was dating somebody. very young and had become pregnant. and was just petrified, just so scared because all the world. does is tell you that if you're. pregnant as a woman, your life's. over. And it's the worst thing that. can happen to you and all these. terrible, sad messages. And she's petrified. She's like, have one and a career As. I'm scared out of my mind. There's no object. There's no. options. What are my options? And she said. she fell down on her knees. She had the app and she.

opened up parlor, fell down on her. knees, and she said, God, I just. I don't know. what you want from me here. But I surrender. it to you, which is man is just an. incredible witness of faith. But I surrender to you. I surrender it to you completely, whatever you want. And she hears audibly. in the silence. His name is Luke. Which like if you're going to say. one word to save. a child's life in the womb,

like hearing his name from God's. voice, like hearing God has a name. for him already is like, Well, termination is no option. No, because it God has named him. His name is Luke. And so she goes through this. journey. She's like, All right, well, I'm not going to terminate. him, so what am I going to do? And she starts exploring and she's. like and she shares the story and. she's like, I'd never even thought. about adoption. And I started thinking about it. I started exploring it and was like, Wow, if I could find a family that. maybe would make sense, that's. faithful, that's Christian, you. know, and I could still be a part of. my child's life, somebody that could. raise my kid better than I could.

with, you know, maybe. maybe that's an option for me. And so she finds this couple who. takes their faith very seriously. and. she's like, okay, this is perfect. This is this is this is the couple. that. That I would choose. And she says, Hey, I just. one last question before we proceed. Like, do you it's your kid. Do you know what? Name your name. And they said, yea, yea, yea. We've known for a while now.

His name is Luke. Well. And she's just like, glory to God. And the crazy part is that during. her birth, the doctors found. she was sick. She had an illness. I forget exactly what it was, but it. was some something that needed. surgery that they never would have. found otherwise. And she would have died from it. And they found it during her birth. They never would have found it. otherwise. And so the child who. now is like the best part of her. life, she gets to be a part of this. child's life in this family's life. And, you know, for her, it's the. the peak of her life is the best.

thing that happened to her as this. kid. And it also literally. physically saved her life. But it's just like even in this. world that is so. tough, that is so dark, that is going through so much. like God is still there and he's. still able if we just like. give him just a crack, like. we just crack the door open of our. hearts, he can do the rest. He takes the rest. And so, yeah, I have I have. tremendous I have tremendous hope. How does it feel to you that people. who haven't considered.

anything beyond, you. know, their five senses are. suddenly asking questions about what. else there might be or people have a. heightened spiritual awareness? Do you notice that? I think so. Yeah. I mean, I. mean, we see it obviously with the. outfits. That's all we do is. try to open people to. Christian spirituality. In a relationship with the Lord. But I think there's a bunch of. things for it. I mean, the one is.

Like I was saying, with technology, I mean, it's just so much. noise. Like it's just so much busyness, so. much stress, so much anxiety in. this phone that especially young. people like you go to. I mean, it's. just like, hey, did you know there's. like real peace, like a real rest, real peace. And that, I think, has this. tremendous pull, which. is like the offer, you know, Christ offers a lot. Christianity offers a lot truth, beauty, joy, fearlessness, courage, all these things, but also.

this deep sense of peace. And especially in today's world, I. just think people are hungry for it. Like it's everything feels terrible. Everything feels like you're. stressed and worry. The world's. about the world's about to end. But real peace I think people are. really hungry for and that's what we. get really excited about. I mean, I. was in Silicon Valley for. For three years with my wife. And I would ask. I would talk to people all the time. and you'd be like, Are you religious? They'd be like, No, of course I'm. not religious. Nobody's religious anymore.

But then you ask them what they are. and they would say, which is this. relatively new invention, which is. spiritual but not religious. I'm spiritual, but not religious. And it's like, are you spiritual? And they would all say, Yes, of. course I'm spiritual. I'm interested. in spirituality. And there's two. kind of ways to go about that. The one is. You know, like, well, can you really. be spiritual without being. religious? Like, okay, you're. spiritual, so you're having a. relationship with something outside. you. What is that thing? Don't you want to try to figure out. what that thing is? And it's funny. I talk to people who. meditate and you'll be like, okay, you sit there, you meditate,

you're alone in your room, and these are secular people who. don't. And. But is there something else there. with you when you meditate and. everyone will be like, Yeah, of. course. There's absolutely there's. something else there. There's something. invisible there. And it's like, okay, well, that's. the craziest thing in the world. It's just so you're so, so, so you're saying like when you stop. watching Netflix and scrolling on. TikTok and you just sit in silence, there's an invisible force there. Shouldn't your whole life be, like, focused on, Well, what is that. thing? Figuring out what that thing.

is and what it wants from you. And the good news is, like, what it. wants from you is to. tell you that your love like to love. you infinitely, and then to call you. to this life of love and service for. other people. So it's it's this. force of tremendous goodness. But like, don't you want to really. figure that out? And I do think we see. Well, and also there are non good. forces out there, too. Exactly. Yeah. Now that's for me, actually, when I. was coming from secular meditation, which is mostly has its roots in. Buddhist meditation or Eastern. meditation. To Christian meditation.

Obviously the core of the difference. in Christian meditation is a. relationship with Jesus. It's not about whatever like your. breath or trying to like de-stress. It's not about anything that it's. about trying to let Jesus into your. heart and transform your heart. and let him love you. And then to go and share. that love with others. So at the core, it's a totally. different thing. But the other. big piece of it that was different. for me that I found. really powerful from a. Christian perspective is in. Eastern traditions of meditation. You know, the fundamental belief is,

hey, there's suffering, there's a. way to escape suffering. And, you know, meditation is one of. those techniques. But there's no good and evil fight. There's no good versus evil in. Christianity. Like, if you sit in silence and. you just focus on your breath or. something, there's two things that. can come into your mind. Yes, there's a good thing, which is. great is Jesus, he loves you. And there's a very bad thing. And the very bad thing does not love. you and does not want your good. You want your destruction. And, you know, like there's. there's this blog on one of these. secular meditation that's. Just so obviously true, though. Look around. Yeah. I mean, to deny evil.

It's the other thing I was saying. when you said, you know, it feels. like people are more aware is evil, just feels a lot more on its face. than it ever was like it used to. feel. I don't know. I've only been around for a bit, but, like, under the surface. and now it just feels a lot more. like it's right there staring at. you. Which. Sorry I interrupted you. You were about to say so. No, no, no. But you said so. There's a book. No, there's this. There's an on one. of these secular meditation. websites. You know, somebody they write in. questions or whatever, and that the.

meditation person, the secular. meditation person answered them. And a woman wrote. in and said, Hey, I was meditating. and I had a thought come across my. mind about harming my child. You know, what do I do with that? And the person just responded like, wow, okay, just treat that like any. other thought. Just like acknowledge. it and let it go and, you know, keep. trying to focus on your breath. And for me, I just. I was like, man, that that doesn't. feel right. Like, that doesn't. And the Christian teaching is so. much, so much deeper.

Like all of there's this. spirituality called Ignatian. spirituality where it's literally. all just about, okay, you're sitting. there in silence, you're sitting. there in prayer or at any moment in. your day, how do you discern. between what is good and what is bad. is called a discernment of spirits. And so it's like, well, how do you. figure out if something's talking to. you? Is it the good guy or is it the. bad guy? Because that's it. And our job is, hey, if it's the bad. guy, get the bad guy out of there. You know, fortify yourself against. your temptations, against your. weaknesses. Ignore him as much as possible. And if it's the good guy, like, try.

to let him in and let him transform. your life and the good guy wins the. good guys infinitely more powerful. than the bad guy. We don't have to. build up the bad guy into being more. powerful than Jesus. Jesus already won, but we. have to continue the fight. And our job is primarily within our. own hearts to discern this. good versus evil and to get the evil. out. And I don't know. I mean, it's in. But it's a big deal. I mean, the the core Christian. prayer says and deliver us from. the evil one. Certainly. Yeah. So I mean. that suggests like we should be. afraid of that. Because of war.

I mean, yeah, that's the story. Of scripture, but it's not like. something we just sort of let it go. and hope it doesn't come back. It's. like, Wow, that's really scary that. now you have to maintain everyone. you love. Yeah, no, it's. And the thing is, it's. I don't know. For me, it's like in. my own experience, if I go back pre. Jesus in my. life, it didn't feel like. I was actively trying to do evil, like it didn't. But I was like, I was a. terrible guy, bad. friends. I was bad in relationships.

I was a terrible son. I was involved in many things I. shouldn't. I mean, and. I believed many things that were. truly evil, that were wrong, truly. evil. And. You know, it was only after letting. God into my heart that, like, I. started seeing all these things and. I had this priest of this homily, I. think it was like a week ago. And he said, Life is like. you're driving in a car with. a with a cracked and dirty. windshield when you're driving away. from the sun. You don't see any of.

the cracks. You don't see any of the. fog. You don't see any of the. defects in the windshield. But as soon as you turn around and. you start driving towards the sun, as soon as you start journeying. towards God, you start seeing all. these cracks and all these defects. That's smart. And it's with Christ. Like, you start seeing like, my. gosh, like how evil. all this was. But that's the way the world, the. way of the world is destruction. Like the the road is wide, the way is easy. That leads to destruction. And there are many who follow it. And the road is narrow and the way. is hard. That leads to life. And there are few who find it. But like once you find it,

it's. It's hard. Yeah. Because you have to fight. against evil. It's not. It's not like you just get to. disconnect and meditate and do. whatever you want and just find. peace. It's like, no, there's a war. going on. We need to fight it. But at the same time, it's this. tremendously freeing. and light and easy way, which is, you know, it's a. contradiction, but it's a beautiful. one. Now, we told you before about a. staff favorite here at. Tse and the Eat. Sleep Pod. What is it? It's a high tech. mattress that's we talk about over. lunch. Here are mattresses because.

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My apologies. What is prayer? Yeah, I think. there's a bunch of different really. beautiful definitions of prayer. But for me, at the heart, it's just the way you have a. relationship with God. It's the way you talk to him. It's the way you listen. For me, primarily, it's listening. I mean, if you believe what I. believe, which is there's a God up. there, he can talk to you and he. knows what he wants for you, for. your perfect good in every moment. Like, all you'd want to do is.

listen. All you'd want to do is pick. up your phone every morning and be. like, Hey, God, what should I do? Yes, but. It's not just in the morning, which. is an important time to spend time. in prayer, but it's every moment. like, he's here with us now and. he knows what he wants. And what he wants is for your good. And he wants to enter your heart and. transform it and turn it radically. on fire with his. love to then go love others. And so prayer is the way and. the way we have a relationship with. the Lord. There's a quote that says, Prayer is lifting up your heart to.

God. It's any it's the medium. through which you have a relationship. with the Lord. It's taking time to sit in. silence, to be alone with the one. who loves you. There's all these beautiful. definitions, but for me it's. primarily yeah, it's sharing. Like it's helpful to share what's on. your heart and to ask for stuff. And God answers those. things. Prayer is real. Prayer can change things. I've say I've, I've seen it. change things. We we. there was a user who was at. hello and was driving to work. and he heard in. prayer.

hey park in a different spot. Which doesn't make any sense to you. as a teacher is that it was like. parked in a different spot of the. parking lot. And he's driving, he's praying. God. He hears God say. Park in a different spot. He goes to a back corner that he. never would have parked in any parks. in it. And the school he went to was. involved in the school that got shot. on and that day got shot up and had. occupants parked in the normal spot. He would have parked in those. The shooter would have gone through. his. Directly through his car. But he stayed in the parking lot and. the shooter went around a different.

way. It was just like, so prayer. works. I don't know. People call me crazy what our. thoughts and prayers, prayers, works. like prayer can change lives. I've seen it literally actively. saved people's lives. There was a woman who. was coding out. and her friend was sitting next to. her, so she was dying. They were trying to resuscitate her. and her friend was sitting next to. her and they said, I'm going to pray. a rosary on the up. And she opened up. the app and prayed a rosary. And the doctors say, okay, I'm. sorry. We've you know, we've been.

trying to resuscitate, but she's not. with us anymore. She's dead. And the woman said, Don't leave yet. We'll finish the rosary and then. you can leave. And the doctor said, okay, I don't. know why. And they called Time of. Death. And two, three minutes go by. And then Jonathan, who's the. guy who does the rosary on the hour? Jonathan really plays Jesus, and the. Chosen is phenomenal. But he. He closes the rosary, says in the. name of the Father, the Son and the. Holy Spirit. And Abebe. And the heart just comes back. The woman just comes back to life.

And so, I mean, prayer. works like like you can ask. God for things and he does them. He doesn't always answer them. Answer your prayers in the way that. you expect. And it's. True. Often he often leads you to. pain and suffering, which is, you. know, the way of the cross. It's the way he promises. It's the way of his apostles. I mean, I have a lot easier life. than my them. The the apostles had, that's for. sure. But he'll lead us all to pain and. suffering. And that's how he leads. us closer to him. But prayer at the. core is is talking to him, asking. him for things. Yes. All the stuff. that we know prayer is.

But then it's also listening. And for me, that's what really. changed my life was learning. to listen. And that's mostly. learning to sit in silence. There's a bunch of different ways to. listen, but mostly learning to. sit in silence, meditating on. scripture, reflecting on where God. is in our life, all these different. ways. That's why we built the Ark, because there's a thousand different. ways to grow closer to God, to learn. how to listen. And it can it can be. scary for people who don't know what. that means. But to really try to spend time each. day listening for God. and, you know, exploring whatever. works.

For you, how can you I mean, I think a lot of us. would like to listen more carefully. Now. And prayer can't just be like. a litany of complaints and desires. or something really ugly about that. Very narcissistic about it. But listening, you know, into the. void comes within my case, like fly. fishing, you know, or. worrying about dumb stuff. How what is the process. you use to listen to God? Yeah, I love the question.

And because it's the question I. wrestled with and it's the. it is the whole reason we built. Allah. And there's a thousand different. techniques of prayer and meditation. on the app, a thousand different. ways to structure your time in. silence. Because one of the real hard parts. is distraction. You start thinking about whatever. worries or issues, and there's. a bunch of ways I. Believe this is addressed in this. group Shape Letters Circle. Certainly. But one of the there's a bunch of. ways to so there's a bunch of. different techniques of prayer. And the first thing I'd recommend is. I'm not going to do nearly as good a.

job at teaching this as. we do on the app. So you folks should try. hello and download it, find whatever. session works for them and give it a. shot. But you know, like. meditating with scripture as an. example, this technique called. actually Divina has a. handful of different steps to it. You make sure that you notice. that you're in God's presence at the. beginning, and then you read like. a short paragraph from Scripture. So it's not just total silence, although, you know, it's great to. also spend time in total silence, but that can be harder for folks. who are newer to it because you get. distracted and you start thinking.

about work and then you're just. like, Wait, I just spent 20 minutes. just thinking about all the stuff I. had to do that was in prayer. And. but you ask, God. help me, I'm about to try to pray. Can you help me make this time what. you want it to be? And then you pick a passage or, you. know, a few verses from Scripture. and you try to see, okay, what word. for maybe there's an image or maybe. it's a phrase is the Holy Spirit. calling out to me? And for me it was hollow in that. first one. But it can be anything. And and it's funny, actually, the.

really cool part about Scripture. when you do this is you can do it in. a group of like six, seven people. And like one. sentence people will be like. seven different words will stick out. to them and seven different meanings. for different people at different. stages in their life. You are a city. built on a hill. It cannot be hit. like city or hill or light. shine, whatever. Like people will. meditate on different words and you. try to focus on that word. So as your mind gets distracted, that's fine. That happens. You just bring your mind gently back. to the word, back to the point, back. to the focus, what you're trying to.

meditate on, which is, you know, for. me was hollow in this first. meditation. And then you use that to share with. God what's on your heart. So it's good to share with God. You open up to him just like you. would want your child to share with. you what's on their heart, what. they're worried about, what they. want, even if it's not good for. them. You want them to tell you, you. know, you don't want to keep it secret, so you share with them. And then you try to sit in silence. and you just try to. This is the hard part, but it's also. the beautiful part, which is after. you get through this, you share. what's on your heart and you spend. your time trying to recollect. yourself and setting yourself on.

on Scripture. Then you spend, you know, it can. just be like a minute. It can be 2 or 3 minutes and you. just let, let God. you just sit with God and you just. try to sit with God. And if your mind gets distracted, that's fine. You gently bring it. back. Or another technique for. distraction. And there's a bunch of these things. It's a whole traditions. Thousands of years of this monks and. nuns and all this stuff doing this. But you take the distraction. and you say, okay, I'm really. thinking about this thing at work. I'm really thinking about this. relationship that I have. And you use that for prayer.

so the devil can use it to. distract you away from God, or you. can use it to transform it into. prayer and say, Hey, God, this thing is happening at work. Is there something you want me to do. here? Is there something? How do you want me to handle this? I'm getting distracted. I keep thinking about this. Is there something you're trying to. tell me here? And then you listen. And sometimes it'll be obvious. And sometimes it won't be obvious. Sometimes Scripture will jump out to. you. And sometimes God will speak. directly to you. Sometimes you might. hear something audibly, but usually. all. The funny thing is I've been doing. this now for six years. and I spend all my.

time every day just. trying to hose a bunch. of different stuff. But the core of. it is trying to understand and share. like really deep, really awesome. Christian contemplative. and meditative spirituality with. people. And so I read all these. spiritual directors, all these. folks, all these saints, all the. stuff. And the funny thing is, it's. like at the core of all of it. There's nothing like it. The greatest truths are also the. simplest. All God wants in prayer.

is to show you how much he loves you. and to just hold you and to just. love you. And it's like, that sounds. lame. Is like a man. Like you're like, I want to be. strong. I don't need love, whatever. it is. But you do like, you need. this love of Christ and he loves you. so deeply and so infinitely. And it doesn't matter what we have. There's one right into us who is. trapped in this tremendous state. of sin. She said she was overwhelmed. with shame, sexual sin. She was terror. She was a terrible. person, violence, all this stuff. And she entered into prayer and was. just silence. And she just heard God say to her.

I love you. And because you can't love me and. I'm a terrible person, I'm the worst. sinner I know. I am trapped. in the cycle of sin. And he says, I love you because you. can't. You can't love me. I'm not worth it. He says, I love. you. I love you. I love you. And he just kept saying it until she. said, okay, fine. And what he does is he loves us so. much so that our heart overflows. both for love back to him, but also. to then go share that love with. other people. We had another young. girl. who had never heard that she was. beautiful from anyone in her life.

She was 20 years old. She had never heard. She breaks my. heart as a father, had never heard. anyone tell her. She was beautiful, just ugly. She had just heard that she was ugly. her whole life. And she looked in. the mirror. She started a little. meditation, not in the audio or. anything, and she just heard the. words from God. You are beautifully. and wonderfully made. Do you think I make mistakes? And it's just like you. God will tell you if you give them. and it's not, you know, don't try it. once, try it a bunch. You have to persevere. You have to try it for a year. Don't try for two weeks. Don't try for four weeks. Try for a year. Just ten, 20 minutes. in silence. But what God will do if you give him.

that little crack is he'll tell. you exactly what he wants to tell. you. Which no one. I can't tell you. I don't. But it is at the core that. you are loved and that you are. called to greatness. You're not called to sit in your. sin. You're not called called to be. the same. You're called to be. transformed, to be perfect. And he brings that out of you. He brings love out of you. And the other unique thing about. prayer is prayer is completely. useless, a total waste of time. if it does not lead to a life of. love. And Christianity is very. clear. It's not like meditation. or working out or anything that. makes you feel happier, which it.

does. It makes you feel all that. stuff. But it must lead to a life of. radical love and radical service and. fighting for the good and fighting. for the truth and fighting for those. who most need it. And so, yeah, for prayer, I think the ultimate stage of it, yes, knowing you're loved. But then ultimately what you do. after listening is you try to. surrender your life completely to. him. You try to give up everything. to him so that you no longer live, but Christ lives within you and that. you pray unceasingly. So the end state is like, I try.

to talk to God. I try to share. what's on my heart. I try to listen for him. It's hard. I get distracted, but I. try my best to listen for him. And then what I try to do is let him. into my heart, to surrender my heart. completely and totally to him so. that he takes over everything. And so anyway, I know that's a long. answer, but that to me is what. prayer? It's it's not a long answer. It's a great answer. How does. You said earlier that. fasting and prayer go together, and that's often forgotten. Mark Wahlberg's been trying to. remind us of that. What is the connection. between them and what do you mean by.

fasting? Well, traditionally what is meant by. fasting is food. But it's interesting because fasting. used to be a massive part of it's. not even talked about that much in. scripture because it was so assumed. Like people just knew that you're. right. And that's how it's referred to, at. least in the reference I can think. of. It's almost like, you know, when you fast, by the way, when you. are fasting, assuming you will say. You're supposed to fast, right? It's like, of course we're supposed. to fast. It was just assumed. Whereas in today's world we don't. and we have all these. So anyway, at the core, fasting is.

from food. All these what? Like we soften. We soften fasting. Which is true. Like some people have. eating disorders or some people have. issues with fasting or some people. have issues like health issues or. women or pregnant or breastfeeding. or whatever it is. And so there's. all these reasons. But like for me as a whatever. three year old man, I can fast. a day. Like I can go a day without. food, I can just drink water. I can go many days without food, actually, but I can certainly go a. day without food. And it's it's it's one. of the things about especially when. we talk to young men, it's like. Christianity has been so often.

and sadly so. And what it is, is, you know, Christianity really, if. you read the gospels, like if you. really read what Jesus is saying, it's not soft. It's really hard. And it's two things that. are both really hard radical mercy. and radical justice. and perfection and avoidance. of sin and defeating the devil. Like it's it's it's radical both. And so, yes, there is a radical. love, which is like, hey, no matter.

what you do in your life, I. will love you. I will I will forgive. you if you come to me at the same. time, you are called. to be perfect, not like, hey, you're a good person because you go. to church on Sundays or hey, you're. a good person because you don't yell. at people. It's like, no, you're. called to never be angry with. somebody again. And fasting is one of those things. that. So for me, for as I. mean, there's like this there's, there's a bunch of my team makes fun. of me because I love all these like. kind of crazy Christian stories. But there was like this.

old group of monks called the. Skylights that were just in. the desert. They would just climb on top of a. column. So a Roman column in the middle of. the desert and they would just die. They would just starve to death on. the column for Christ to to. sacrifice their bodies for Christ, which is certainly probably not. what most people are called to. But fasting, I mean, at the core was food or at the. at the basic is food for anybody. where that is, you know, acceptable. is, I think, something that. we are all called to. But it can be anything.

So it really what is fasting. is anything you want, which I like food, I like bad food, I like. So fasting from food is. hard, but it can be fasting from. your food, from your phone. It can be fasting from, you know, a social media scroll. It can be fasting from anything. that you want is just giving it. up. Any addiction that you have. that's of this world that isn't. something that is helping you grow. closer to the Lord. Just giving it. up. And it doesn't have to be, you. know, bad. It doesn't have to be bad in nature. Like chocolate. Jesus isn't.

against chocolate, but you can give. up like, Hey, you know, I'm not. going to have that extra cookie just. as a small little sacrifice for God. And Jesus is really clear in. scripture, which is, you know, there's a story of this man who's. possessed and his apostles, men of. great faith, try to cast. it out and they're able to cast out. many demons and they can't cast. it out. And Jesus comes and. says, okay, fine, and. cast it out, of course. And his apostles say, Well, why. couldn't we? Why couldn't we do. that? And he says, some things can. only be accomplished through prayer.

and fasting. And so it's like the power. of fasting is I think. that's really untapped. And you see it actually in today's. culture too. Like we've tried to. pick all these different things. where it's kind of like fasting but. not like cold showers or cold. plunges. Now we're like, you should. do it. It's like it's hard. It makes you it helps you grind. discipline and all this stuff for, you know, intermittent fasting, all. these different things. And it's like our Christianity has. been doing that for 2000 years. Like cold showers are another great. way to fast. But for me, I don't know, whenever I.

fast, which traditionally. it's like Wednesdays or Thursdays. and again you can have like a meal. or something, but it's usually. dramatically less food than you do. otherwise. Or maybe it's from coffee. or maybe it's from whatever. But whenever I fast from food. Is this interesting? I just feel like. it's the same thing. By the way, whenever I sit in front. of the Eucharist. But for. me, whenever I fast, I just feel. like, you know, it's not radical, but it's like 20% easier for me. to enter into prayer. And so, like, you'll sit in prayer.

for like 20 minutes and your mind. will get distracted for a while and. you share it, share everything. that's on your heart and you're trying. to meditate with scripture. But then. at the end you'll have like 2 or 3. minutes once you get really into it. and it's just a little bit at the. beginning, but like 2 or 3 minutes. where it just feels like. the Saints describe this is like. union with God, but it just it feels. like you're really close to God. Like you feel very connected. spiritually and there's something. good and. it takes a while and it's really. hard. But when I fast it, I can do. it. And like, it doesn't take like. 18 minutes of me sharing or trying. to not. It takes like 30s.

Like I could just be here and I. could just be like, man, like, yeah, I feel like God is right here. What do you think that is? I don't know. I think it's the. further. I'm certainly not a theologian, so I. don't know. But for me, it's like. the further I get from this world, the closer I get to God and. the world. You know, we're called to. live in the world and work in the. world, and we're called to take care. of our bodies and. To serve as best as we can within. the world. But God is not. We are called to not be of this. world. To be in the world, but not. of the world. And I think as we.

disconnect from the things that most. tether us to the world, we get. closer to the spiritual realm, which, you know, to me as a. relationship with the Lord. How often do you fast? I try to. Everybody has their own journey. But I try to fast Wednesdays and. Fridays. During Lent, I try to. Wednesdays and Fridays. Yeah. Now, you know, sometimes I'll do kind of like a. half assed or I'll still eat, but. probably about half of what I would. eat in the normal day. And but during Lent, I try to do. full fasts and then I try to do a.

full fast. from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. and sometimes longer. But. honestly, at the beginning. You you only eat five days a week. ideally. Yeah. During Lent. Yeah. And during regular times I will eat. on Wednesdays and Fridays. But usually it's it's about. a third to a half of the like. Calories or amount of food that I. would eat on a regular day. And then you fast three days on them. on Easter weekend.

Yeah. Usually I fast Good Friday, Saturday and then two to. mass and then you know there was a. year I fasted all of holy week. But what was that like? my wife was a saint through it. I was coming back to my faith. There's something special about. folks who are new back to their. faith. You've got this fire that is. important for us who have been. taking faith seriously to try. to rekindle, which. we have a lot of folks. And I've. talked a lot about people who have. come back to their faith on our. But it's an honor to get to pray. with everybody. I take my faith. seriously. And I used to have three. times a day. But.

yeah, that was that was a seven day. fast, which. was pretty intense. Like you start getting I. would say I would say the first two. days suck because you're. just really hungry. Yeah, but then you don't after the. second day. I'm not hungry. I don't feel the sensation of. hunger, really. Maybe it comes every. once in a while, but I'm not really. hungry. And so it is just like living a. whole day like what I was saying. Like, just where within a minute, anytime you think about God, you can. just enter into this prayer space,

which is. And the other thing it does is, you know, Jesus describes himself as. meek and humble of heart. And whenever you have a lot of food, I don't know, there's something that. kind of pops up, like when you have. all that energy and when you just. when you're hungry, you're just like. you're so much more humble and so. much. Meeker That's true. And so you feel like, man, this is probably how I should. be all the time. But then, yeah, certainly towards. the end of it, you start getting. slow and you lose energy and it's. hard to walk and it's hard to do. It's hard to, you know, have enough. energy for it. And then I was.

supposed that you're supposed to, like, eat bone broth or something when you. come back to your faith. And so. after Sunday, Easter after. Sunday vigil math or Saturday vigil. mass for Easter, I had my wife. get me some bone broth or something. and I was just like, This is. disgusting. I need some McDonald's. And so which was not. I would certainly not recommend. either McDonald's after a long fat. did you? I did and I felt would. You get Filet-O-Fish would you go. all the way? I know it was Easter, so it was a. feast day so I could celebrate. So I had a I had a couple burgers. or something. Yeah, I don't eat. McDonald's anymore, but I did that. I don't either. But how did.

how did what was that like going. from, you know, empty tank. to filling it with McDonald's. Yeah. It was not not recommended. Not recommended. You feel like crap. I mean, the other actually this. is the funny thing about the. spiritual life is actually how, how, how many analogies there are for it. But. Like I've said in this. year, I've tried to do a lot better. job of eating healthier and. like cleaner and. more protein and all that stuff. you're supposed to do. And it's.

this it's this funny sensation. where, like, then the bad food, it's really hard at the beginning. because you're addicted to all these. all these things, all these foods. that are terrible for you. You're. addicted to them. So you've got to. break it. And that's really hard. It's like, I want sweets or I want, you know, processed foods or chips. or whatever it is. And so it's. really hard at the beginning. But then once you get through it. You start to realize like, well, actually clean food, like good. natural food tastes way better, like is way better. And the fast food as. it starts to be disgusting, like it.

starts to be like that. And so, like, I haven't had meat. out, which is a big fan of. McDonald's, but I haven't had. McDonald's in. a long time. And now it's just like. and my wife and I were saying the. same thing. It's like I don't even. Not only do you not want it, like. for for a while there, you just. don't want it. And that's nice. But then you start to ultimately, like, actively dislike it, like the. stuff that's bad for you. And I think it's very similar. in the spiritual life. It's like this journey of like. at the beginning when you try to. break a habit of sin, it's.

really hard to break because you're. really attached to it. And then you get to a point where. it's like, okay, well, I don't, you. know, by the grace of God, I don't. really want this thing anymore. And then you get to this point where. it's like, I actively hate that. thing. That thing is evil. That thing was destroying me. I see it now. Like, I can see what it was doing to. my soul. And anytime I get anywhere close to. it, you, like, feel, like, no, this is bad. This is terrible for you. Which is kind of this funny analogy. with food. But yeah, so anyway, I wouldn't I. wouldn't fast.

I wouldn't eat faster than eat. McDonald's certainly would not be. the recommendation, although Kevin. James shared this on. Rogen. So I can I can share it. But he did a 40, 41 day fast, something crazy, which was insane. And I had dinner with him when he. had during his fast, like 20 days. into his fast or something crazy. And he was, you know, I was like, how are you. okay if I eat? And he was like, Yeah, I like to. look at food, like I need to look at. it. So I still have a relationship. with it, but I'm fasting. And he did it for his family, which.

is beautiful. But Kevin James, the actor. Yeah, Incredibly incredible. Man of faith. Awesome. Really? Yeah. Yeah. You should talk to him. He's his. I haven't seen him. He's inspirational. I went on a sitcom he had once, years ago. Many years, 20 years ago. Anyway. Haven't seen him since. I had no idea. I'll tell you, there's. We've got. some. I can't. I can't share everything now. But we've got there's. There's a lot more people. Celebrities or whoever. who are faithful folks. who are just, you know, haven't.

really had the opportunity. or the culture or that the platform. to share their faith. And it's cool to get to meet these. people and to get to talk to them. about what God has done in their. life. And it's way more people than. you would imagine. So. Really? Yeah, that's cool. I think there's something cool. happening in the world, so I. Think that too. I don't think you can have this much. evil without a counterbalance. Well, in the darkest night, that's. where the light, the darkness cannot. overcome the light. And it's like, yeah, it's. another night is darkest before the.

dawn. There's all this stuff that's. all this traditional wisdom that. you say what you don't really. realize. And I think we're in this time where. our evil feels a lot more on its. face than it ever was, but so does. good. And like, I think. God is doing something really cool. and I'm excited for it. So we'll see what the good Lord. will. We are proud Etzion to offer. quality longform programing. films, documentaries, short. series, and we've got a new one. rolling out. It's a six part documentary series.

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Out now on TuckerCarlson.com. I'm really struck by the persecution. of Christians which I never thought. I would see in the modern era in. this country on. two levels. One, it just doesn't. make any sense because Christians. are the most. Sort of productive. police threatening nicest. like. You know, if you're running a. country, why would you be bad? You'd want more Christians because. they actually pay their taxes and. like have obedient children. and they're just have children. Now. You have children.

They're easier to deal with. So I'm sort of baffled by it. And then I look at it, I'm like, well, no, that is a. there's something so offensive. to the world about the word Jesus, unless it's used as an epithet, that that phenomenon. itself is. evidence of God's existence. I think that word has power. Despite 2000 years. of misuse. Yeah. I mean, we have. seen a lot of different.

Backlash from the app. I mean. Have you I should have asked you. that. Have you really? Yeah. I mean, there's, you know, whatever attack articles about more. radical. Because we're pro-life for. Many other. There have actually been pieces. attacking. Hello. Yeah, certainly. What, you. Find that kind of hilarious? Well, you know, at the beginning. At the beginning, it's just me. But certainly, actually, funnily. enough, there are two Vice and. BuzzFeed both wrote hit pieces and.

really within like a. month or two, both were bankrupt. Yeah. Which is. I never celebrate anyone's. bankruptcy. And I didn't I didn't. allow myself to celebrate either one. of those because I don't want to be. the kind of person who celebrates, you know, people suffering and. the people work their suffered. And so but. I it didn't wreck my day, I'll be honest. Yeah. The. And we had the app. I got kicked out of China, the. Chinese Cyber Security. Administration or something deemed.

our content illegal and. Seriously. Removed it from the App store. Yeah, we launched a challenge. on. Apparently they're not huge fans. of John Paul the second and we did a. meditation on how he led did. a lot of work on defeating communism. globally. Yeah. Gorbachev credits him. with being one of the major forces. to destroy the Soviet Union and. or communism at least. And yeah, they didn't. like that, so they sent a note to. Apple, and Apple removed our app. from the App store in China. But there's so there's been there's.

been a bunch of stuff. Whatever. You just have to look at. Twitter to find anybody who. hates Jesus or any of Mark's posts. or anything. But. apparently the thing that bothers me. the most or the thing that makes me. the most sad is, is, is like the. like there's the on the face. persecution where it's, you. know, like, hey, you're not allowed. in China, which is sad. Like, we pray for our brothers and. sisters in Christ in China. And it's a tough it's. a tough environment, certainly to. try to share the gospel. and to try to live the gospel,

but. You know, the sadder thing for me is. honestly, just like, it's like the the undercurrent. of like. Trying to get away from Jesus. And this this certainly isn't. everybody, but it's a lot. And it's okay. You know, you can share about faith. and you can share about prayer, but. like, let's not talk about Jesus. specifically. Let's just not do the Jesus thing. Let's just talk about like religion. more broadly or like how. Alex, you should build a Buddhist. version of this and a Hindu version.

of this and a muslim version of. this. And, you know, we'd invest if. you were broader spirituality but. not, you know, just the Jesus thing. And I'm like, Yeah, sorry, it's just going to be Jesus or like. a, you know, a TV commercial or. somebody is like, okay, we can talk. about prayer and it's a prayer, but. they don't show a picture of Jesus. in it. And so that's going to be a. picture of Jesus. And it's don't you find. it so revealing that Jesus, 2000 years later is controversial? Yeah, but it's always been. whether but. There was found I mean it does it's.

it's it's so irrational that again. it's proof of it's reality but. like what was a guy who told. his followers to pray for their. persecutors and turn the other cheek. like that guy is controversial. Like why? Yeah, well, I mean, it's from a. Christian perspective, it's. Because it's not it's not just. people who are. It's not people who. are cranky at Jesus. I'm exactly. The spirit of war. And so it's like it almost makes it. so much more obvious when I totally. agree. Okay. Well, why are you so. against, you know, why. are you so against life?

It's like, well, if I was Satan, what would I do? That's what I would do. And I would try to destroy Jesus. I would try to get Jesus out of. everywhere. I try to secularize. society and make it and. remove Jesus and the. you know, and I think our country. was. I don't know. We've done you've. talked about this before or it's. like the last, whatever, 40 or 50. years of trying to build a secular. society. But that's not what our. country is. Our country is a. Christian country. And we're doing this One Nation. under God series on the map as. we go through the election.

But it just focuses on. like even if you go back to any of. the founding fathers, you know, they. talk about the importance of prayer. and how God is building this. country. Now we have to trust him. with it. And Abraham Lincoln has this. beautiful quote where he's like, hey, in the midst of this of war, he's like, Hey, guys, we. have really screwed up. We have tricked ourselves. into thinking that our own success, that our success was the result of. our own hard work and virtue and. wisdom, when in reality we. know it's God leading. us, but we have forgotten.

to pray for him. We have become too. proud to pray to the God that made. us His His last quote, which is just. beautiful. But it's like, yeah, we've forgotten. prayer. Like prayer should be. Politics is important. We should engage in politics. But it comes at the end. Like the beginning is the heart, and. the beginning is prayer. And whenever you think of like, Well, this world is. going down the wrong path. Yeah, that's the way of the world, the way the world is not it's not. that. C.S. Lewis describes the world. as enemy occupied territory, and Christianity is the story of how.

the rightful king has landed and. invited all of us to take part. in a great campaign of sabotage. And it's like, yeah, that's what it. is. The world is enemy occupied. territory. The world is. Satan's, the world is evil. The way of the world is destruction. The way of the world is death. And Christianity is this crazy thing. like it used to be normal. societally. And so we kind of forget about it. But it's this insane thing. It's a crazy thing to believe. that God sent his only son so that. we all shall have life in heaven. with him. It's this crazy. Thing, too, in that he's here with.

us now, like an invisible person is. right here who loves us both, who's. trying to help us both. And he's in our hearts and he's. trying to transform our hearts. And there's this giant war going on. all around us, invisible war with. angels and demons and whatever, trying to convince our hearts, try. and win our hearts. Like that's a. crazy thing to believe, but that's. what we believe. And so but but. when you really enter into it and. you're like, that's crazy. But yeah, you have the words of. everlasting life, to whom else shall. we go? And everything becomes. just a lot clearer. But it also it takes a bit of the.

weight off of it. Like I used to get. so worried about all these world. events and it's like, well, you know, God's in charge of this. thing. He's already promised us that. he won it, and it's just our job to. try to be as good a people as we can. to try to be saints and to try to. let God into our hearts to transform. them. Is that the message of One Nation. under God? Yeah. I mean, the message of one. nation under God is. politics is important. We should engage in it. Well, actually, here's the message. One nation under God is just in. scripture itself. But it's the.

passage of when they ask Jesus, should they? Pay the census tax. You have to run this evil. government, evil, evil government. Check the coin. Which is, you know, just kill. it. Like, you know, 30 years. earlier, I had just killed all the. first born children in this area to. try to kill Jews. It's like, that's. a terrible. And they're saying, okay, well, should we pay the tax to this. oppressive government that's. oppressing us? And Jesus says, okay, show me the coin. And he says, okay, whose face and. whose inscription is on this coin? And they say Caesar's. And he says, okay, well, then render. under Caesar what is Caesar's given.

to Caesar? What is Caesar's? And then that's what we focus on. Usually that's usually the and then. everybody talks about which is true. what that means, which is that it's. important to engage in the politics. of this world. They're important. things. They're important fights to. be had. We need to engage in them. We need to take them seriously. We need to be God's hands and feet. in the world given to Caesar. What is Caesar? Engage in politics, do your civic duty. But then the second half of that. line is but given to God. What is God's? And we usually throw. that part away and it's like, okay, obviously we give given to God what. is God's? But it's like, okay, but. given to God. What is God's?

Okay. Well, the coin had Caesar's face. and Caesar's inscription. And I'm stealing this from a homily. I heard from a priest, but. the coin had Caesar's face and. Caesar's inscription. Okay, where is God's face? You are God's face. You were made in the image and. likeness of God. And where are God's words imprinted? Where is his inscription? It's on your heart. His words are. imprinted on your heart from the. beginning of time. His words, his. law, his love is imprinted on your. heart. So given to God's. What is God's words? His face was his inscription. It's in you. You are his face. You are his inscription.

And so your job. Yes. Is to give him to Caesar. What is is are. Sure. Pay the coin back to Caesar, but. given to God. What is God's, which. is your whole life? You should give your whole life to. him. You have to give everything. your heart, your life, your soul, everything to God. And so when we get wrapped up in. politics, it's important. again, we should engage in it's not. diminishing politics or the. importance of politics in any way. But the first thing is do we give. unto God what is God's? And it's the one thing that, like, I. still think has a chance at. cutting across political boundaries. or whatever it is in this in this. country and saying, man, if we just.

let Christ into our hearts, if we. just let Jesus come, he can fix it, He can fix it all. And so we just need to pray for. Christ's will to be done in our. world primarily, first within our. hearts, and then for all of us to. build up our communities and our. country in our society in the way. that the Good Lord intends, so that. we can build up the kingdom of God. How do you use the helo app? Tell me. I use it a lot, but the. I have this little over routine. on my app. We have these little.

things where you can set up like. personal routines, which I love. But like, my routine. is, is this, which is. there's daily readings. So in there's a signed. reading from the Old Testament. asylum and then the, the gospel reading. So I do those in the morning. and I try to spend like 20 minutes. in silence. There's an unguided, structured, silent session, so you don't have to, like set an. alarm or anything that takes you out. of it. It's kind of a peaceful where. it in and out and just kind of. structures the silence for you.

And so I try to do 20 minutes in. silence each day. And then when. I when I wake up first thing, certainly I try not to look at my. phone. I've tried to get my phone. out of my room. It's terrible to have your phone. when you first wake up. It's awful, awful for if. you know, for your second business, if you could invent a. reliable alarm clock. Yeah. Just reinvent the alarm clock. I think that would get phones out of. people's rooms. Yeah, you need them out of your. rooms. It's. It's that everyone uses the alarm. I know it's heartbreaking, but.

there's there's good on because I. have a good alarm clock. We've figured out alarm clocks. You know, there's. I have my wife and I actually both. have a good alarm clock. She still. has her phone in her room. But it's. but she also we have a two month. old, so she has to wake up in the. middle of the night and find. kittens. So she's got to do. something while she's in the kitchen. or else to fall asleep. But there's a. surrender, Lena, that I do in the. middle of the day. There's a litany. of humility that I do in the middle. of the day, which is a series of. humility, prayers, which is like, Man, if you want something that put. you in your place, this.

this will be like, you know what? What? People think they're humble. and you're not. You're not even. close. So give me an example. Give me an. example. They love the humility. being the key to wisdom, by the way. So, yeah, I think it's worth. pursuing. What? How does this put you in your. place? The litany of your malady is the. most intense. But we start every, every, every lunch. with it. But it's the series of prayers where. you ask God to give you humility, but tactically, like what it. actually means for you. And.

it's asking for these crazy things. where you ask God that others. may be loved more than I. That in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may. decrease that others may be more. successful than I, that others may. be chosen. And I set aside. Come on now. All these crazy things that are. Supposed to mean that. Yeah, well, what you pray for. is more from the fear of. embarrassment or from the fear of. everyone hating you or from the fear. of people lying about you and. besmirching your name or whatever it. is from the from the fear of. everything bad that could happen to. you. Deliver me Jesus.

And so you pray this. Hey, deliver me Jesus from these. fears of the world hating you, essentially. And the prayer here is. God Grant me the grace to desire it. Jesus. Grant me the grace to desire. So certainly I don't, you know, like if I just walk down the street. and I see somebody, I don't naturally want them to be. more successful than I am. And so what you pray for is like, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire. Now, the interesting thing about. that, though, is with kids, it's different. Like I said, I have a four year old,

two year old, two month old. And God is just. kids are the greatest theology. lesson in that you could ever. possibly receive. And one of them for me. is humility, which. is like when I look at someone. random, I don't. naturally want them. to have a higher opinion from the. world than I do. But when I look at my kids or like. to have a better life than I do, but when I look at my kids, if I. look my daughter, my son, and it's. like, yeah, of course I want you to.

Have a better life. That's right. That's exactly. And there's no I. don't feel like I don't feel like. uncomfortability now. It's like, no, please. Like, I want you to be the last. thing you pray, actually, is that. others may be holier than I provided. that I may become as holy as I. should. And it's. like, I want you to be closer to God. than I am. Yes, I want you to be. holier than us, right? I want you to be happier, more. joyful. You know, whatever worldly. success God wants from you, I want. you to have it. Like I want you to. have such a better life than I do. And it's nothing. There's no like I. feel. No, there's no jealousy. There's no just the opposite.

That's the deepest desire of your. heart. We used to call that, in. fact, the American dream, right? That your children would be better. off than you go. For real? Yeah. That is what every parent wants for. his children. But what you're supposed to I mean, the crazy thing in Christianity. is that's how God feels. about all his children. And that's how we're called to feel. about our brothers and sisters in. Christ is how I feel. about my daughter. And it's the other great piece. of it, of fatherhood is like, I don't know, as a person, as an. adult, you're like, Well, I'm going.

to do something bad. And if I screw somebody over, they're not going to like me anymore. You know, they have no reason to. forgive me. They have no reason to. do any of that. That's not the. natural way of things. The natural way of things isn't. forgiveness. But you look at your daughter and. then in the Christian in the. Christian teaching, it's like, well, but God forgives you no matter what. And it's like, Man, I don't really. buy that. That's pretty intense. Like no matter what, really, even. the really evil ones, even the ones. we all hate, he forgives. them no matter what. If they come to. him and it's like, Well, just think. about your own. Like, if my son. did something terrible, like the.

worst possible thing I could. imagine. And he comes to me and he. says, Dad, I'm sorry. I forgive him instantly and. instantly. Not even a question, not even like. anything I would hold over his face. Actually, I love you so much. Yes. I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're happy like I. certainly aren't. I'm not going to lie to him about. something bad. Like if he's doing. something bad, I'll be like, you. should stop doing that. It's bad for. your soul, but it's not. It has nothing to do with, like, me. trying to make him smaller or. berate him or anything. It's just concern for him. And as Christians, it's like, okay,

well yeah, that's the lesson you're. given, which is you feel that. naturally for your kids. Some people certainly there are. terrible parents out there, but I. feel that natural. I didn't have to. work hard. I do. Most parents know exactly what. you're talking about. And so then Christianity is like, okay, well then you got to do that. for everybody. And so the litany of humility is. this like, okay, yeah, I can pray. the litany of humility for my kids. and maybe now I can pray for my wife. and some of my close friends and. some of my family and it's like, okay, yeah, just keep you have to. keep pushing yourself. And so then, yeah, people will be. like, I'm humbled. It's like, no, you are not.

If you're humble, you believe some. crazy stuff. And I'm not anywhere close to it. But the anyway, that's one. I do a chaplet, which is. a divine mercy thing, which is just. Lord, please have mercy on us and, and then a rosary at the end of the. day. And then I try to go to mass. when I can, but hopefully most days. But yeah so that's most days. Yeah. Daily mass, which is intense. You as a Catholic, you're called. on Sundays to go to mass. But I don't know. For me I have a. spiritual director who's.

phenomenal and he just said, Look, Alex, there's three things every. day. Sit in silence for 20 minutes. Go to mass every day and do a rosary. every day. And everything else in your life. will come from that. And it's an interesting one. It's like it doesn't change nothing. Nothing in Christianity is like. this. It's like eating good food. It's like it's not. going to make you feel infinitely. good immediately the next moment. unless you're really aware of how. your body acts. But like, gradually over time, you. just notice how much it does in you. And for me, like if I go to Mass or.

I spend time in adoration or I do a. rosary or I do, I do the things I'm. trying to do. I just I'm like, it's like ten, 20. I'm a pretty terrible guy, naturally. And it's like ten, 20%. better for me to be more patient. or more loving or more humble or. more oriented towards others and. less worried about myself. And it's just like ten, 20%. easier for me to be a better. person and I need the help. And so I try to get. as much as I can. It is just so striking. I think any honest person will admit. this. If you think of all the people.

you know in your life. who are the happiest, who are the. most content, who are the kindest to others. It is sincere Christians. Actually. I mean, that's yeah, I. mean, in terms of happiness. I mean, I can just speak for myself, but I just so like. I am so much more joyful, so. much more fulfilled, so much less. worried than I ever could have. imagined. And like. hallow is like. building a startup is a really.

stressful thing. Like, it's a very it's. a very building. A company is a really hard thing. It's a very stressful thing. Most people burn out and I am. just more at peace and more joyful. than I've ever been at the. I've got too many stories for you, but we. We were doing. Our first fundraise. for Halal goes back to everybody. saying no. And. The first we were running out of. money. It was just her own credit. cards are own whatever. And so we were about to have to go.

back and get regular jobs. And we're like, Well, I really think. God wants us to do this thing. We'd had these stories about my. aunts and all this stuff, and we're. like, okay, well, let's go try to. raise some actual money so we can. actually work on this full time. And I'd have to go back and get. regular jobs and how we had to go. back and get regular jobs, we would. have. Harlow probably would have. died. So I go and I do this fundraising. and the startup world was the first. time we raised any real money. I go and pitch everybody, and. it was like a period of two weeks. I pitch maybe 80. people over the course of two weeks. So that's a lot. I mean, it's like. ten minutes a day. And.

this is pre-COVID. So you're flying. all around. You're driving back and. forth around the Silicon Valley Bay. area or whatever, trying to make. these meetings. And everybody's. judging you. You have no numbers, you have nothing to show. So they're just like, do I want to. bet on this guy? Are you sitting up. straight enough? Are you making. enough eye contact? Are you answering questions well. enough as your story and and good. And my story is just my relationship. with Jesus. And so it's like. as personal as it could possibly be. And then is the idea anecdote, which. most people thought it was a stupid. idea. And if you're. lucky, like five might say yes, of those 80, but that means.

like 75 say no. And the no's come really quick and. the S's take a while. And so you just you have meeting. after meeting after meeting, you're. exhausted. You're constantly. analyzing yourself like, are you. doing this right? And you just get, no, that's that's. stupid. Nobody's going to do it. You're stupid. You've never done. this before. You've never built a. business before. You have no idea. what you're doing and. nobody prays anymore. This is an old thing, like 100 years. ago. This is. especially Jesus, like the Jesus. thing that's way over. And. So it's just. No, no, no, no, no.

This is never going to work from, like, honestly, the, the most. intelligent startup people, like, the best startup investors in the. world are telling you now, like the. people who know way better than I do. know. This is a terrible idea. And I remember I came back. to my little studio apartment. and I sat down and I was I was 25. and I had like 4 or 5 knots in. my back. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I was just like. this crazy stress, which was. weird. It's like I'm not at war or. anything. Nobody's trying to kill. me. But it was just this crazy. stress. It was like this dream I had. that I felt.

so wrapped up in. We had people working for their. families, whatever, dependent on it. And if this didn't work out and it. was done or it was never going to. exist, and. I sat down and I prayed and I was. like, God. I think you chose the wrong guy for. this. I don't think I'm the right. guy. I don't know why. I don't know why you chose me. This is too much stress. It's too much weight. I can't handle. this. I can't do it. I'm too young to be like having it. My chest was physically tight. Like my, my, my. My heart felt too tight, which was.

like, I don't think that's good for. you. And I was like, I can't do this. And then. I was like, Here's the only thing I. know how to do. I'm going to make a deal with you. I promise you, if this thing. works, I will always give you. credit. I will never trick myself. into thinking I'm some successful. entrepreneur who figured this out. and I'm some smart guy or whatever, blah, blah, blah, knows how to do. startup stuff. I'm never going to trick myself into. thinking that I know it's you doing. this. I promise you I will always. give you credit. At the same time, if this. thing doesn't work out, that's on. you. That's not on me. I can't. I can't take the weight of.

it. I can't take it. It's too heavy. And that's fine. Like you want. You want it to humble me. You want it to teach me some lesson? You want it to reach out to somebody. or inspire somebody else to do. something else. So you want it. Whatever your plan is, that's fine. It's your thing. You can do with it. what you want. Maybe you want it to be massive and. then to come crashing down. And everybody hates me in the world. and everybody thinks I'm terrible. Whatever it is, fine. It's your thing. I'm going to work hard. I'm going to. do the best I can, but I can't. take the weight of whether it. doesn't work or not. That's your. it's it's yours. Whether it works or. whether it doesn't work. And I just felt this, like, enormous.

weight from my shoulders. And the next day we went. The next day we went to meet with. our favorite investor and was at a. coffee shop and I was late and I. opened up the Taylor Gospel and it. was a story of. Peter trying to fish and he's been. fishing all day and there's no fish. He can't catch any fish. And Jesus says, Let down your. net. And Peter says, What are you. talking about? There's no fish. I've been fishing all day. For me, it was like, well, I've been. pushing everybody. Everybody has.

said, no, the list is just an hour. now. There's like 3 or 4 people. left. There's no everybody's going. to say no. This is this is never. going to work. What are you talking about? And Jesus just says, let down your. net. And Peter catches more fish. than the net can carry. And two seconds later, that guy. gives us an offer to fund the. whole thing. And then over the. weekend, over the next 3 or 4 days, we get 3 or 4 more offers more than. the net can carry, more than we can. take. And it was just. this hilarious example of. God, exactly what I talked about at. the beginning, which is just like. everything with Hello is just us. trying to do something and then. letting God take it and us,

you know, working as hard as we can, but letting God take it and own it. And if you do, he just does these. incredible things with it. And so it's just this journey of. just this journey of radical. surrender. But it's. yeah, God has done some really, really cool stuff with it. So it's a blessing to get to be a. part of it. Did you take money from that. investor? Yeah, we did. He's one of my. favorite investors of all time. I love. That guy. And what's his view of it. now? You know, it's funny because as as. an investor. Silicon Valley is a funny thing. because everyone says they.

want to be contrarian thinkers. And there are some, but there are so. few. Maybe he's right. But no one really is. No, of course. So it's like, now, as. hard as Hart went, bitcoin's hot. Bitcoin's hot when you know, it's. whatever it is. Everyone's like, I'm a contrarian. thinker, but no one's really a. thinker. That's just the tide of. whatever people are investing in. It's the biggest hurdle in American. business. But the funny thing, the funny thing. for us is like. Harlow is an obvious idea. to 80% of the country.

If you go to 80% of the country and. you say, Hey, do you want an app to. help you help you grow closer to. Jesus, they'll be like, Yeah, of. course, 80% of the world still. 80% of our country. But it's much higher in the world. But 80% of our country still prays. every week. And whereas, if you went and. said, Hey, do you want an app to. help you meditate or something, they'd be like, What are you talking. about? But in Silicon Valley. It's exactly the opposite. And in L.A. and in New York and in. parts of Chicago and Seattle, whatever. But so it's a contrarian. idea. But only in Silicon Valley,

which is great because most of the. obvious ideas are taken like, you. know, whatever. They're mostly. already built. And so we have this. contrarian idea where the vast. majority of people say no. What it really takes, honestly, is. someone has to have an exposure to. to faith. Yes. Does this investor. Yeah. And it's it's. interesting because. it's either like a very close. family member, like your mom or. somebody or took their faith really. seriously. And maybe you do or maybe. you don't. But you have to have someone in your.

really close orbit who takes their. faith really seriously and. or you take your faith really. seriously. Now, there's tough parts. about you taking your faith really. seriously, which is like, if I'm. like a real Christian, do I. want to go out. and tell my. Because they're investors who. represent other investors, whatever. So they're LP's, whatever, people. who invest in them. Do I want to go tell my the people. who invested in my fund that. I'm evangelizing on behalf of my. specific religion? You know, it kind of feels like I'm. and like many like whatever,

there are many religions who are not. certainly not the Catholic Church, who are invested in these funds are, you know, their endowments or. whatever universities are. And so to go and invest in a. specifically Jesus thing. is, you know, especially for. a Christian, it feels like, well, am. I using my secular. career, which I usually like, separate from my faith thing. as some sort of faith tool? And that can be scary for many. We had we had several investors. who early on were like, I. just it's too scary for me. I just don't think I can do it.

I don't think I can jump. And what it what it what it really. means is most of us. Have our career. And we have our faith. If we take our faith seriously, we. have a career of secular stuff, and. then we have our faith, which maybe. goes into our family and stuff in. our personal lives, but it usually. doesn't go into our career. And what it takes is this real. courage to be like, Well. It should all be won. God wants it. all. God doesn't. God doesn't stop having a. relationship with you when you go to. work. He doesn't stop trying. to change your heart when you're at. work or in the secular or corporate. thing or whatever. He wants it all. He wants your whole thing.

And so it takes like a real courage. for some of these people. And so we had many of them who said. no at the in the early days who have. now jumped on later because they. were like, you know, I was just scared. And, you know, I'm not. Which it still takes courage. It still takes courage to invest or. be a part of. Hello. It's, you know, the way the world, although has. always been, you know, way more successful than I ever. could imagine. Glory to God. But, you. know, it still takes courage to do. that. And so these people, you know, sometimes it takes time. But yeah, this guy has. he's been I mean, he's he's a. phenomenal investor. He's really.

helpful. But also just like, hey, man, look, I trust you like you. do. Some people like try to tell you. how to do stuff or, you know, because they know a lot. They've seen a lot. They've been around the corner. They've been around the block a. handful of times. But this guy is. just a tremendous man of, yeah, trust. And he's, you. know, very passionate about the work. that we're doing in the mission that. we're working on and trying to help. people find love and peace in a. relationship with the Lord. So, yeah, he's been great. And a handful of the folks that we. had really early on in the early. days were phenomenal.

But yeah, it's all the good Lord. Just finding people and putting them. in our path. We we did a. most recent fundraiser with. a, a guy flew out to meet. us and. I thought I knew everything about. Silicon Valley. I'd been working in. Silicon Valley for like four years, so I thought I knew every fund. I thought I knew every organization. And this guy I'd never heard of. before runs a fund called Good Water. Capital. It's like a $7 billion fund. that invests in startups. And he. comes to me and he goes, Hey, man, I. just wanted to let you know I think. God had me start.

This fund is the founder of the fund. like seven, eight years ago. so that I could make this. investment. And I was like, Really? He was like, Yeah. And I was like, Why? And I was like, Good Water is the name of our fund, right? And I was like, Yeah. It's like, that's the combination of. good news and living water. The goal of the fund is to, you know, be a voice for Christ in. technology, which they're almost. there is none. And I was like, I didn't even know. That's crazy. It's like I had no idea. I had never heard of this thing. before this guy came to us. But it's just this great story of. God putting really cool people in. our lives and then doing the rest.

Last question. Are you hopeful for the future. of the country? Yeah. I'm hopeful for. Us. I'm hopeful first. for the Kingdom of God. Like if I had to start at the at. at the core. I have no doubt, no matter how. strong evil is, I have no. doubt that God will win. Even when it seems like like. the whole world is stacked against.

you. And there's something fun about. that, actually. Like. Here's something fun about having. the world stacked against. Yeah. I mean, it's. It's sad, but it's. It's like I was like, I grew up in. Ohio and, you know, like 30% of the people are Catholic. The rest of the folks were Protestant. And it, you know, people would go to. church. That's just what happened. But nobody you know, there were a. few people my mom really believe. there was a few people that really. believed, but most didn't. You just went to church because. everybody went to church. And when I was in Silicon Valley. Like there were four other.

Christians. Like that. I knew. And so you almost felt like. you were part of this rebel church. And so it was like you were, like, up against the world like it. And so you really had to be on fire. for your faith because, like, people. thought you were the weirdest thing. Like it was the weirdest thing. they'd ever seen, like an actual. Catholic or an actual Christian. Like, that's crazy. That's insane. And you're like, Yeah, now Jesus. changed my life. And what you found. is this community of people who were. really, really on fire. And actually, Pope Benedict talked. about this. This is like 20,

30 years ago where you have this. vision of the church. And he was like, I see the church. and it will get smaller, much. smaller. It will lose all the places. it had in society. It will lose this expectation that. people would become Christian or. would become Catholic. But from that you would have. this much smaller group of people. who didn't join just because their. parents told them or whatever it. was, but because they're on. fire for relationship with the Lord. And from that smaller group of. people, the church would be renewed. in a new way. And the one thing that really. matters with which is faith in the. Lord Jesus Christ and.

I don't know. So that was exciting. for me. And in Silicon Valley, it. really strengthened my faith. And I'm glad I don't live there. anymore because it can certainly. take a toll on you. But. but there's something fun about. living in that rebel church. It's hard. Obviously, there's. tremendous suffering, but that is. holy. As God says. It brings us closer to him. But there's something fun about. living in that in that rebel church. So from from a kingdom of God, I. am very hopeful. Now, if God wants. the country to collapse, which would. be sad. I love our country. I pray for our country every day.

But if he wants it to collapse, saints can be made. I can grow closer to a garden and. falling empire, and I can grow. closer to God and a rising empire. Arguably, more saints are made. in a falling empire than a rising. one. But I certainly have hope for our. country. I don't think it's you. know, we get to talk with a lot of. people and we get to see what God is. doing in a lot of people's lives. And if if you believe that there's a. religious revival or a revival. of faith, which I do believe, and. maybe it doesn't happen the next. four years, maybe it doesn't happen. the next ten, 20 years. But I don't think our problems are. primarily political.

I think politics comes at the end. I think our problems are problems of. the heart, and the only one who. can solve the problems of the heart. is a real relationship with the. Lord. And so that's at hallow. I mean, it's why we get so excited. about seeing what God is doing. with our lives. We see this. tremendous resurgence not just. in like people being like, I want to. be a good person or people being. believing in the values of our. country, but people being on fire. with a relationship with the Lord, which then leads to all those. things, leads to all that goodness, leads to all that truth and justice. and wisdom. And so, yeah, I get I get hopeful. for our country, whether it's in the. next ten, 20, 30 years, I surrender.

it to the Lord. The good Lord will. do what He wants us to do. And for me, it's just my job to let. him into my heart as best as I can, to try to love and serve people as. best as he wants me to. Alex Jones, thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.