John Prather
10 min read ⭑
“Our pain is a weapon—it can either be used to make us stronger and help us fight our battles, or it can be used to cut us down. The choice of how it is used is ours. Strangely, it can be our brokenness that makes us strong.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There's much more to a meal than palate and preference. How does your go-to order at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
I live in Los Angeles, but I'm from Memphis, so my soul is comprised mostly of BBQ. I love my current city but I've never been in a place with more heart and soul than Memphis, the BBQ capital of the world (sorry, Kansas City and Texas). My go-to meal is pulled pork from one of the many original hole-in-the-wall places in Memphis. Here's an insider tip for you: When it comes to a BBQ spot, you know the food is going to be good when the restaurant has tons of character. I love walking into a BBQ place with character on the walls and characters behind the counter. Each spot, like the pitmaster behind the counter, has its own story. As a lover of character and a collector of stories, both of these things resonate in my soul. Plus BBQ is delicious.
Steven Pahel, Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We've all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests, but we tend to hide them. What do you love doing that might surprise (or shock) people?
I love to play chess, which does usually surprise most people since I'm a fitness model. I'm normally seen as a gym guy or a meathead far more than a book lover or a chess player. My dad taught me the game of chess when I was young and then spent hours patiently beating me over and over until I got good enough to challenge him properly. My father was thoughtful, and playing chess was a way for me to connect with him. My father taught my brothers how to play as well, and we still pull out the chessboard whenever we get together. Now we are grown and our father has passed away, but chess is still a way for my brothers and me to stay connected. I think my dad would've liked that. I don't know, maybe that was his plan all along.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We're broken and in this thing together. So what's your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
I was born with a true weakness; it's called a bilateral tarsal coalition. In layman's terms, that means I was born without properly functioning ankle joints in either ankle. In real-life terms, it means I live in pain every hour of every day. I had surgery in an attempt to correct the issue when I was younger and was even confined to a wheelchair for a while, but the fix was unsuccessful and the problem has only gotten worse with age.
I spent most of my life trying to hide the constant pain I was in. I didn't like talking about it and did everything I could to avoid limping so that people wouldn't ask. It was truly a weakness that I wanted to keep out of sight of everyone else. However, as I've gotten older, I've realized that my "kryptonite" was part of what made me who I am.
Many of the things I've done I wouldn't have been able to do without constant pain. For example, I don't think I would have been able to do things like uproot my life and move to Los Angeles or become a drug-free fitness model without the ability to endure the pain and difficulty that I've had to endure because of my ankle problems. If I weren't born with that weakness, I don't think I would have developed the mindset, patience, and resilience that have allowed me to become a foster parent, adopt, and—at one point—have four children under 2 1/2.
I still fake it a lot. I still pretend I'm not in pain when I am. But I'm starting to realize that sharing my pain helps me and others. No one gets out of life unbroken. Our pain is a weapon—it can either be used to make us stronger and help us fight our battles, or it can be used to cut us down. The choice of how it is used is ours. Strangely, it can be our brokenness that makes us strong.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What's your obsession? And why should it be ours?
Living in Los Angeles, I have to diversify my time. I'm a part-time writer, part-time actor and entertainer, and part-time fitness professional and model. These obsessions keep me pretty busy, but none busier than my full-time job as a family man and the father of a 4-year-old, 3-year-old twins, and a 2-year-old.
I love to write. I think that if you can put the right words in the right order, you might have the ability to nudge the world a little bit. I'm currently working on my second novel as well as a non-fiction book that I hope to finish soon. You can also catch me on the occasional show or commercial or Instagram doing home workouts with my four little fitness professionals.
I dislike the term "influencer" because it is used far too loosely these days, but these outlets are methods I attempt to use to help influence the world a little bit.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
As an actor, I have a prayer I pray right before every audition I do. I tell God that the audition is for him and that I'm doing it as an act of worship for him, so if he wants me to book the role, then I want to do so, and if he doesn't, then I don't want to book it. My motivation is to gain influence for him, so the outcome is up to him. This simple act removes the pressure of success from my hands and puts it in God's far more capable ones. My goal is to honor him, so the outcome is his. I simply have to do my job to the best of my ability because I'm doing it for him and let him handle the rest.
My goal is to live my whole life that way. I don't always succeed, but I believe that with the proper motivation, almost any action can be a form of worship. And when the motivation behind the action is correct, then the outcome doesn't really matter, because my job is done and the outcome is out of my control anyway. The way I let the Spirit into every part of my life is by doing everything as an act of worship, which I do by having the proper motivation, and then I leave the outcome up to God.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Some people divide things sacred and things secular. But you know, God can surprise us in unlikely places. How do you find spiritual renewal in so-called "nonspiritual" activities?
That's a great question, and I've already touched on this, but I think any activity can be sacred if it is done for the right reason. As a fitness model and trainer, I spend a solid amount of time working out. I've come to think of my exercise time as a sacred character builder. It teaches me consistency, patience, hard work, self-control, and courage, all traits God wants me to have.
People too often think of exercise as a selfish or a self-centered endeavor that leads to egotism or pride, but the opposite is true if it is done for the right reasons. The thing that makes an act sacred or secular is the heart behind the activity, not the activity itself. So, in a way, sometimes I find more spiritual renewal working on the Lord's temple than being in the Lord's temple.
I don't believe God wants people who want him to be portioned off into some parts of their lives and secluded from others. I believe that a waitress who works for the right reason and has the proper motivation is doing more of "God's work" than a preacher who is working for the wrong reason. I find it interesting that in the Bible every time someone asked Jesus about actions, he started talking about motivations. He insisted on discussing people's hearts.
Humans are spiritual creatures, so everything we do is spiritual. I don't think the question is between spiritual and non-spiritual or between sacred and secular, but between spiritual life (things that bring us closer to God) and spiritual death (things that lead us away from God). Almost anything can fit into either of those categories, depending on the person's heart.
I try to keep this mindset when I'm writing as well. My novel The Nephilim Virus is very spiritual, but I hardly mention God at all. But even though God isn't in it, it's impossible to remove him from it. If you took him away, the story would collapse. That's how I attempt to live my life. I want to live like everything is spiritual and has spiritual ramifications for my soul. If you removed God, my whole story would collapse.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three of your favorite resources?
I've always been a big fan of reading. I think it's incredible that by reading, you can learn something in the matter of a few minutes that someone else worked for years and years to learn.
My all-time favorite author is C.S. Lewis, and I would attribute a significant portion of my thinking to his classic work Mere Christianity. Aside from the Bible, it has been the most influential book of my life and I think everyone would benefit from reading it.
The second-most-influential book I've ever read is also a classic. It's a short but dynamic book by A.W. Tozer titled The Pursuit of God. No book has challenged me more to live a deeper life.
Lastly, and probably most surprisingly, is my love of biographies. I love learning about great historical figures that have stood out from humanity enough to be remembered. I often find my faith and courage multiplied by immersing myself in the faith and courage of others. Abraham Lincoln is my all-time favorite subject, but there are many men and women whose testimonies have stood the test of time and who deserve our time and attention.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you've found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it's done for you.
I'm not sure most people would call this a resource, but I do. The thing that has helped me survive (and thrive) is my family. I have spent more time with my wife and children in this recent season of life than any other. Recently, I've been working from home a lot, and I currently have four kids under 5, so surviving is sometimes the perfect word for what I'm doing! But my family has also helped keep me focused, motivated, and encouraged through the last year.
I'm a big believer in giving back. I believe that one of the best ways to thrive is to help others to thrive. My wife and I are foster and adoptive parents who unintentionally became foster care and adoption advocates, so part of my ministry is to help others. I don't think God intended us to sit on the sidelines and try to survive. I think when we just want to survive, God wants us to lean in. He wants us to be uncomfortable so he can change us into something better.
It's amazing how often I get focused on how tough my life is or how difficult I think I have it and start getting down on life. Those are the times when I realize that God hasn't called me to be comfortable and happy; he has called me to make a difference. And when I'm doing that, somehow, it makes me happy. It makes me thrive.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What's beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
You can expect another book. Probably several more books, but I'll start with one more first. I'm just finishing a novel that takes place 500 years in the future about a paraplegic who takes a chance on being frozen until the year 2525 because he thinks evolution will have solved all his problems by then. Between you and me, I'm pretty sure he's not going to like evolution's logical conclusion when he wakes up, but it promises to be quite an adventure finding out.
Besides writing, I have a feeling God has some other big things in store as well, I'm just not sure what they are yet. He's always full of surprises. I never expected to live in a city of 10 million spiritual people who are spiritually starving. I never expected to be a foster and adoption advocate or have four kids in two years. I never expected to be married to a girl who shares my brand of crazy. What I do know is that I've told God that I'm continually willing to be uncomfortable, so I'm sure he has a few more surprises up his unpredictable sleeve.
How do you respond to pain in your life? Do you try to ignore it? Obsess over it? Let it define you or defeat you? Try to mask it?
The truth is that none of those responses to pain work in the long run. John realized this after spending years trying to mask the pain his bilateral tarsal coalition constantly caused him. As he began to look at his suffering through eyes of faith and became willing to share his story with others, he saw how God was using his struggles to strengthen him—and encourage others.
John experienced what the apostle Peter wrote: "Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory" (1 Peter 1:6-7, MSG).
If you've fallen for the lie that your pain is without purpose, today we encourage you to remember this truth: Our heavenly Father sees each trial we go through—and he's turning it around for our good and his glory. Will you choose to believe that today?
John T. Prather is the author of the award-winning Christian thriller The Nephilim Virus with a second novel on the way. Having grown up in Memphis, Tennessee, John took his southern values and his love of storytelling into LA's entertainment industry, where he has spent the last several years perfecting the finer points of telling a story in front of the camera as an actor and model. John, his wife, and their four kids can usually be found at home with a couple of dogs named Chico and Cherri.
