Dr. Mike Murphy
September 1, 2024
She prayed. When trouble came, she prayed. When joy placed a smile on her face, she prayed. When temptation would hit her, she prayed. While reading the Word, she prayed. Good times or bad times, well or sick, in giving or in receiving, she prayed. She prayed not only because she needed to, but because every ounce of her being wanted to. She knew she was limited, but that God was without limits. That a limitless God could handle all things, so she turned all things over to Him. No matter what she faced, no matter what she saw, no matter what came her way, she prayed. She prayed to the only One who could ever receive her prayers.
Knee-mail, a term I have affectionately given to the prayers we send to our Lord. I have often said that knee-mail comes with a one hundred percent delivery guarantee, and has a perfect customer satisfaction record. Knee-mail places us in the strongest position a man or woman can ever take, humbly on our knees in front of the only One who holds the power to know the answer to our prayers. The only One who can give us the strength to face today, but also the only One who can give us the wisdom to change our tomorrows.
Each Sunday we hear just how much power there is in the Blood. We hear how much power we can find in the Word. And both are true! But I am here to tell you there is a “trinity” of our worship, as there is also power in prayer. Prayer shows that we acknowledge the power that is held in each word of His Word. And prayer show that we accept the power that is found in the Blood, as we turn all over to Christ.
Prayer shows that with God, nothing is impossible(Luke 1:37). Prayer teaches us persistence, patience, thankfulness, and strengthens our faith. Prayer shows us the will of God, the glory of God, and the heart of God. And prayer confirms that the Lord is listening to us, and just how deeply He cares about us.
Many will ask, “Is there a proper way we are suppose to pray?” To even ask that question is to not understand prayer. Prayer is not a ritual, one that requires us to turn in a specific direction, requiring us to memorize and repeat certain words, or to bow before idols and statues holding items and beads while we cite those words. Prayer simply put, is a conversation with God. A conversation with the One we share our closest relationship with. A conversation where we pour out our hearts openly and honestly, knowing that the Lord already knows each of us better than we will ever know ourselves.
Like all good conversations, prayer must be a two-way conversation. Far too often we find ourselves, eyes closed and hands raised, telling God about our problems, and stating to the Lord our wants and our desires. Although the Lord loves every minute of time He hears from us, prayer is about far more than our wants, it is about His needs. His needs for our lives. His will for each one of us.
I have often said, one of the greatest lessons I ever learned was one of silence. And anyone who knows me, knows that for me to be silent is a true miracle! But the Lord has taught me, through prayer, sometimes my silence is indeed golden. Some of the greatest time I have spent in prayer with the Lord has come when I sat with my mouth shut, and just told God, “here I am Lord, tell me everything you need for me to hear.” Time for God to tell me His will for my life, His plans and purpose for my life. And a time for me to see the opportunities to glorify Him that He is placing in front of me each and every day.
Like any good relationship, prayer gives us a chance to tell the Lord of our love, our gratitude, and to express to Him the passion of our heart for Him. Prayer is not about the eloquence of our words, but is about the content of our heart. God does not care if we express those words while we are standing, sitting, leaning, or yes, kneeling. He does not care if we express those words with our hands held together, or our hands held outreached and high. He does not care if we express those words with our eyes wide open, or with our eyes closed tight. He just longs to hear the words, to feel the love and the personal acknowledgement of our heart.
The closest the Word of God comes to showing us a way to pray is when Christ teaches us the Lord’s Prayer(Matthew 6:9-13). But I must admit. I often get aggravated when I hear the prayer Christ gave being recited today. It has become more about ritual and memorizing the words, than the content and purpose of those words He gave us. Christ gave us the Lord’s Prayer to teach us the power of prayer, not so we could blindly repeat the words. The Lord’s Prayers teaches us what should go into our prayers, the worship, the praise, the trust, the application, the admission, the submission, and most important, the love.
With prayer, it does not matter if this is your one thousandth prayer, the fourth prayer you has offered to God today, or the first time you have ever prayed. Each word is just as precious to the ears of our Lord. The Lord knows the power of prayer goes beyond the words, He knows that power is found in the action. When we pray, we acknowledge God, we submit ourselves before God. We admit that we do not have the answers, but we know One who does. Prayer turns His needs into our needs. Prayers turns His desires into our desires. Prayer turns His will into our will. His Word tells us, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”(1 John 5:14). The God to whom we pray, is the true source behind the power of prayer. And He makes it clear, He can and will answer each of those prayers. An answer as beautiful as each word He hears us say. An answer that is always fulfilled according to His perfect timing, and His perfect will.
As I explain and discuss the power of prayer, I find myself on my knees turning to God in prayer. I find my thoughts and my prayers focused on this Church. I pray this Church will again turn to God in prayer, that we will again find the true power of prayer. That His will might again become our will. That His Word might again be heard in our words. I pray we will seek to talk to Him because we want to, not because it has come to the point we need to. I pray our conversations will be less about appeasing this world, and more about serving the One who made this world.. I pray we will share more conversations of silence, with us listen carefully and intently to what He has to say. I pray that our prayers will not be heard in words we have memorized, but reflected in the words Christ taught us. Heard in our cries of worshipping Him, in our praise of trust for Him, in our submission before Him, and in the love we show for Him. I pray this Church will remember, God did not call us to be ordinary, but the Lord created this Church to be extraordinary. I pray this nation and this Church will become heavily invested in kneepads, knowing that all the answers to our future can only be found on our knees. And I pray that “knee-mail” will once again become the most used form of communication for this nation and this Church.
Praying you send at least one letter today by "knee-mail".
