BETWEEN THE LINER NOTES

Rebecca St. James: Why We Pray

By Mia Evans and Scott Ross
The 700 Club

CBN.com – When we pray we’re actually humbling ourselves, and we’re saying, “God, I just can’t do this thing called life without You. I need You. Please be powerfully present in every area of my life.” ~ Rebecca St. James

Scott Ross: You have been appointed spokesperson for the National Day of Prayer in America. Do you know how you were appointed? How did you come around?

Rebecca St. James: I feel absolutely honored to be in this representative role. Shirley Dobson has really seen that unless we get proactive in America about educating the young people, especially in the area of prayer, that there won’t be prayer warriors in the next generation. America has a high chance of falling from the inside out because of a lack of prayer. So that’s why she talked to me. She knows how passionate I am about speaking to young people and about God’s way, about prayer. It seemed a natural tie-in, but I feel very unworthy.

Ross: When you pray for America, you pray for Australia too, right?

St. James: Yes, I pray for my country. Australia needs God desperately. There are very few Christians there.

Ross: Talking about nations. You’ve been to Rwanda. What did you see there? What tugged at the heartstrings?

St. James: It was really life changing for me. Like I feel like I’m still processing that trip. I went with Compassion International, which is a wonderful ministry that I’ve believed in for many years. I met my sponsor child, which right there…

Ross: You have a sponsor child?

St. James: Yeah and I’ve sponsored him for over four years. That right there was high-impact for me – meeting him, seeing that incredible bond, and seeing how my love really touches his life. But what really touched my heart was, Rwanda’s been through genocide 12 years ago. I expected to come to this country that was crushed and demolished and trying to pick up the pieces, but there’s incredible amounts of hope when you visit Rwanda.

Ross: Your reputation precedes you. Don’t be offended. Years ago there was a lady that sang a number one hit called “The Singing Nun.”

St. James: I’m like the singing nun?

Ross: The singing virgin.

St. James: The singing virgin!

Ross: No, but seriously in the day and age we’re living in very few people can say or will say that they are virgins.

St. James: I know that’s true but I’ve said it a lot.

Ross: What’s the response if you are in a mixed audience and you’re “in your face” about God?

St. James: I think people actually like it. They like that I’m bold. I think a lot of people are scared to be just bold and true to who they are today and I’m not. I think they kind of like the frankness. I think it’s refreshing to people.

Ross: What’s your new album about?

St. James: It’s called If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something. It’s really about the love of God. As extremely simple as that sounds, what I want to say is you are loved. God loves you extravagantly. I wrote it for a prodigal friend of mine who I went to Christian school with growing up in Sydney. I thought about him while I was writing my new album. I thought, if I had one chance to tell you something, Daniel, I would want to say that you are loved, no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been.

Ross: What do you say to the Christian kids who are raised in that environment, who wants to get outside and experiment with real life?

St. James: I would encourage a jaded, young person that’s grown up in a Christen family that’s got unbelievable amounts of anger and stuff churning in their hearts. I would say to them go to somebody that you really respect and talk to them. Let out your anger and eventually through that I would encourage them go to God. He can handle your anger; He can handle your pain.

Ross: What do you want to do in the next five, six years? You have visions and dreams but you’re doing so much already.

St. James: I kind of hit on one of those very early in our conversation.

Ross: About getting married? What kind of husband would you like?

St. James: Absolutely he has to have a love for God that inspires me so much to grow deeper in my walk. Just by being around this guy I grow in God.

If I Had One Chance to
Tell You Something
(ForeFront Records, 2005)