00:01 Emcee:
Welcome to the Strategic Intercession Podcast, where we share powerful prayer techniques, inspiring stories and tools to help you lead with wisdom and confidence. Hosted by Melanie Boudreau, a seasoned leader in focused prayer. Whether you're leading in church, government, or business shaping your industry, this podcast is for you. Now, here's your host, Melanie Boudreau.

00:29 Melanie Boudreau:
Today we're going to talk about something that hits really close to home for many of us. What do we do in prayer when life doesn't turn out the way we expected, especially when we had every reason to believe it would. For those of us in leadership carrying kingdom assignments, unmet expectations can be particularly disorienting, right? The gap between what we anticipated and what we're actually experiencing can challenge not just our emotions, but the very foundation of how we pray and lead. So let's lean in together with open hearts.

01:02 Melanie Boudreau:
This one's personal. Let me begin with a story from my own life. As a young mother, I had hopes, expectations, really, about what a godly home would look like. I grew up in a household where my mother had married a man who wasn't a Christian. Their values clashed, and my father didn't have the spiritual tools to overcome his personal struggles.

01:27 Melanie Boudreau:
So when their marriage fell apart, I understood it. It made sense. I, on the other hand, married a man of God. So naturally I believed my life would reflect peace and joy behind closed doors. I mean, isn't that the fruit of walking with God? But here's the truth, and it's something I've had to learn the hard way. God isn't here to fulfill our agendas. He is, however, always faithful to fulfill his word. My middle child was born with complex neurological challenges, autism and a range of comorbidities that made emotional regulation nearly impossible for her.

02:06 Melanie Boudreau:
Though she was brilliant, she struggled with anxiety, compulsions, rigidity, and deep depression. The screaming, the volatility, the unpredictability, it shattered the picture I'd carried in my heart of a peaceful, nurturing home. The emotional carnage often felt like the very chaos I grew up in. And I'll be honest with you, it broke my heart.

02:33 Melanie Boudreau:
But today I can joyfully say that my daughter has done the hard, courageous work of mastering her neurology. She's become a woman of poise, self-awareness and compassion. She's happily married an advocate for the marginalized and truly a gift to us all. Still, those early years were not what I expected, and it became crucial, not optional for me to look not just at what I was experiencing, but at what God was doing. In the midst of it. I had to resist the enemy's invitation to pick up a fence against God.

03:09 Melanie Boudreau:
I had done everything right, hadn't I? a godly marriage, a consecrated family, a life submitted to God. But what followed wasn't a blessing in the way I'd envisioned it was hardship. So what do we do when the outcomes of our obedience don't match our expectations?

03:32 Melanie Boudreau:
Let's talk about suffering. The Bible actually gives us some clarity on where it can come from. First. Sometimes we suffer because of our own choices, you know, just the natural consequences of wrong actions or bad decisions. Second, we experience discipline from God. Now, that's not the same thing as punishment. Even Jesus who was totally sinless learned obedience through what he suffered.

04:02 Melanie Boudreau:
That's straight from Hebrews Third, we suffer simply because we live in a fallen world, just like there's something called common grace, blessings that show up for everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. There's also common suffering that hits all of us no matter what we believe. And fourth, yeah, sometimes suffering comes from spiritual warfare. The Bible calls it the schemes of the enemy. And honestly, if you're someone who's actively pushing forward God's purposes, this fourth one, it tends to ramp up.

04:39 Melanie Boudreau:
I mean, think about it. The enemy doesn't waste time fighting over neutral ground, but when the kingdom's advancing, you better believe he shows up. So what do we do when the pain doesn't let up? When the battle feels relentless?

04:58 Melanie Boudreau:
Here's where strategic intercession becomes so important. What if instead of always praying for the suffering to end, we asked for wisdom, insight, alignment, we can actually lessen suffering through repentance and by making wise choices in response to God's counsel, we can benefit from suffering by yielding to discipline and experiencing what Hebrews calls the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

05:30 Melanie Boudreau:
We can even hijack common suffering to our benefit by leaning into God's promise to work all things for our good. And yeah, we can totally use our spiritual authority to push back against demonic assaults. But here's something super important to notice. Scripture never promises the elimination of suffering in this life. It promises fruit, things like refinement, resilience, and deeper faith. Think about gold for a second.

06:02 Melanie Boudreau:
When fire is applied to gold, the result is the same, whether it's an intentional refining fire or just some accidental blaze. What really matters is the composition of what's being tested. Either it gets burned up or it's purified. We are the same way. We're tested by fire too. And whether that suffering comes from loving discipline or straight-up attack from the enemy, the potential outcomes the same. It all depends on who we are.

06:35 Melanie Boudreau:
We can either be consumed by it or refined through it. Alright, let's shift our focus now to two people who were both confronted with their own deep expectations of Jesus and who responded in very different ways.

06:55 Melanie Boudreau:
The story of Jesus and the suffering that was necessary before his glorification gives us great insight. Let's discuss two characters in Jesus' life who were deeply impacted by the road Jesus took to glory. The first was Judas. Like many Jews of his time, he expected the Messiah to overthrow Roman rule and establish a political kingdom. Judas had preconceived ideas about what the Messiah was supposed to accomplish. Life was hard and Judas was tired of waiting.

07:29 Melanie Boudreau:
Please note how Judas responded to his unmet expectations. He took matters into his own hands. Judas tried to force Jesus into action so that the outcome would match his own ideas. So let me ask you, what do you do when your expectations aren't met or when God hasn't done what you expected? It's tempting, isn't it? To orchestrate our own solutions and attempt to enforce them in prayer by decreeing and declaring our intended outcomes.

08:02 Melanie Boudreau:
But you know what? This is not strategic intercession. In contrast, when we pray strategically, we come into alignment and agreement with God, not attempt to enforce our own desires. This distinction is vital. Authentic strategic intercession seeks God's agenda rather than manipulating prayer to achieve our own. Now, consider Mary, have you ever thought about what she may have expected life to be like as the mother of the Messiah? Greetings, you are highly favored.

08:34 Melanie Boudreau:
The Lord is with you. You will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus. He will reign over Israel forever. His kingdom will never end. That's what the angel said. All these things are true. Yet she stood at the foot of the cross watching her son, the Messiah, be tortured and killed. Her response remained, I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me, as you have said, that's surrender.

09:06 Melanie Boudreau:
That's trust when nothing makes sense. But not everyone responded to Jesus that way.

09:18 Melanie Boudreau:
John six tells the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The crowd wanted to make him king by force, but Jesus withdrew. They chased him down and he said, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the son of man can give you. They asked, we wanna perform God's works too.

09:49 Melanie Boudreau:
What should we do? Jesus answered, this is the only work God wants from you. Believe in the one he has sent. Now, Jesus knew how to shake loose those who followed him only for the benefits of a kingdom they imagined not out of true devotion to who he really is. So then he shared a hard teaching. Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, the words hit like thunder.

10:17 Melanie Boudreau:
Confusion turned to disgust, the rippled through the crowd like a rising tide of a fence. They weren't just puzzled, they were appalled. They didn't lean in, they recoiled, and one by one, they turned their backs and walked away. Not because they didn't hear him, but because they did. Jesus turned to the 12 and asked, are you also going to leave? Peter replied, Lord, to whom would we go?

10:49 Melanie Boudreau:
You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the holy one of God. This, this is the heart. God is after the heart that says, even when I don't understand, I believe you. I trust you. So how do we stay grounded? When everything around us feels uncertain, we don't submit to God because life makes sense. We submit because He is God, because his character is our anchor.

11:22 Melanie Boudreau:
Psalm one 16 verse six says, how kind the Lord is, how good he is so merciful, this God of ours.

11:31 Melanie Boudreau:
We may not understand our circumstances, but we can understand this. God is good always. Second Corinthians four, seven reminds us we have this treasure and jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. When I was in the most intense and and demanding season of raising my children, when I felt completely exhausted and barely able to keep going, I came to know God, not just as my provider, but as my comforter, my refuge, and my counselor.

12:09 Melanie Boudreau:
In those desperate moments, as I reached out to him, he met me with a deep and personal presence that changed my relationship with Jesus in a powerful way. And yes, in the middle of the fire there was joy. That joy testified to his sustaining grace. This is why having a prayer shield, people who see beyond your circumstances, to God's purposes, become so crucial during unexpected seasons. Their intercession carries you. When your own prayers feel weak, and sometimes in the middle of that pain we get a glimpse of something eternal and offering, we can only make this side of heaven.

12:50 Melanie Boudreau:
And here's where we land today with a beautiful redemptive truth. There are some ways to glorify God that you will never again have the chance to offer him once you're in heaven. Isaiah 43, 7 tells us we were created for his glory. One Corinthians 10 31 reminds us to do everything to glorify God. Jesus himself said to his Father, I glorified you on the earth having accomplished the work you gave me to do. What about us?

13:23 Melanie Boudreau:
There are certain expressions of love, faith, and obedience that only exist on this side of eternity. They're

13:30 Melanie Boudreau:
Raw, costly, holy. Let me name a few, bearing up under duress, trusting God in the face of lack, obeying when it's hard, turning the other cheek, showing kindness when you've been hurt, rescuing the overlooked, representing God in the midst of darkness,

14:02 Melanie Boudreau:
Taking courageous faith-filled risks. This list is far from comprehensive, but these are offerings we only get to make here. Once we see him face-to-face, there'll be no more lack, pain or confusion. But now you have the rare privilege of loving him in the dark. So ask yourself, what in my life right now gives me the opportunity to glorify God in a way I won't be able to in eternity?

14:34 Melanie Boudreau:
This isn't just endurance, it's worship, and I'm celebrating that you get to offer him this gift handcrafted by your own circumstances. It's your personal love offering to Jesus.

14:47 Melanie Boudreau:
So as we close, here's what I hope stays with you. We don't always get what we expect, even when we expect it for all the right reasons. When we don't get what we expect, we have a choice to make as expressed by how we pray, we can manipulate control and justify our behavior, or we can ponder and submit with open palms before God when rightly considered, the trainwreck seasons of our lives are actually training grounds the places where we learn surrender and empowerment prerequisites for advancing the Kingdom.

15:26 Melanie Boudreau:
For leaders, these seasons often become the crucible where your most powerful ministry is formed. The unexpected disappointments become the very credentials that allow you to lead others through similar valleys with authority and compassion. So be truly glad there is wonderful joy ahead. Even though you have to endure many trials for a little while, these trials will show that your faith is genuine.

15:54 Melanie Boudreau:
It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold. Though your faith is far more precious than mere gold, that's from one Peter one. If you're navigating unexpected disappointments in your leadership journey, I'd like to invite you to join our strategic Intercession community. When you subscribe for free at Strategicintercession.com, you'll receive my ebook and audiobook prayer shield, which helps build the spiritual support you need during challenging seasons.

16:25 Melanie Boudreau:
It's our free gift to you. We're a listener-supported podcast, and we're grateful for your generosity in keeping this message going. You'll find a support link in the show notes, and if today's episode encouraged you, would you share it with a leader or intercessor who might need it too? You may not have chosen your current valley, but you do get to choose your response. Let it be one that glorifies God in a way you'll never again have the chance to on this side of eternity with trust in the dark, love in the tension and faith that honors him even here.

17:03 Melanie Boudreau:
Thanks for joining me today. Until next time, I'm Melanie Boudreau reminding you that even in the unexpected, God is faithful.

17:14 Emcee:
Thank you for listening to the Strategic Intercession podcast. We hope you found today's episode inspiring and helpful. Don't forget to subscribe, share this podcast and visit Strategicintercession.com for more resources. We're grateful to have you as part of our community. Until next time, blessings.