On Your Knees Please ... Part 3

By Beth Jones

To read Part Two, click here.

The Internet has become a planet. Features like Instant Messaging, online eBay auctions and places called MySpace are making it possible for people from Australia, the USA, Singapore, and Peru to communicate with one another via the World Wide Web in real time. It’s remarkable!

However, do you want to know the most amazing thing? To God … it’s old news! Yes—way old, because He’s been into wireless Internet communication and instant messaging from eternity past—via prayer!

Through the power of prayer, we can tap into the most powerful, supernatural real-time, Internet connection ever. When we pray—by sending Him messages straight from our heart—we make a wireless connection with God Almighty! The big question for most people is, “Yes, I know I am supposed to pray and sure, I would send God an instant message, but what do I say?”

In this series of articles, we’ve been talking about what to say when we pray? Jesus gave us the answer in the model prayer He taught us known as "The Lord’s Prayer" or the "Our Father". Jesus said,

After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

(Matthew 6:9-13, KJV)

We’ve already looked at two Instant Messages we can send to God as outlined in this pattern for prayer. Instant Message #1: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.” That is, take time on your knees to send a message of thanks, praise, worship, and song to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Instant Message #2: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” That means, take time to seek and ask God for His plan, purpose and will for our lives on planet earth!)

Now, let’s look at how to spend time on our knees by sending God Instant Messages #3 and #4.

Instant Message #3: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
In this Instant Message, we take time to talk to God about two things: THIS DAY and DAILY BREAD.

When praying for THIS DAY; we can pray for our own needs or the needs of others around the world. In my own life, I take time at this point to pray for the needs of my husband, children, church family, family and friends and other needs I anticipate for the next 24 hours. Often, I’ll pray various Scriptures for individuals as they are on my heart. I pray for my own specific needs for that day; including wisdom, knowledge, understanding, strength, favor, and grace. When I know I have an important meeting, speaking engagement, opportunity to witness for the Lord or a difficult situation to deal with on THIS DAY, I ask God for His help according to His Word.

When praying for DAILY BREAD; I ponder and pray for all the things that “bread” means in the Word of God. For example, we see that bread represents physical food (John 6:5-13). God’s Word is bread (Matt 4;4). Healing is the children’s bread (Matthew 15:26-28). Bread can be a reference to wealth and provision. (Eccl 11:1, Proverbs 12:11) Bread is equated with good things (Matt 7:9-11). Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:31-51). So, I’ll pray for my DAILY BREAD of physical food, God’s living Word, financial increase, healing and health, good things and knowing Jesus more intimately.

Instant Message #4: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
During this Instant Message we take time to thank the Lord that Jesus defeated the devil and through the blood of Jesus and the Name of Jesus He has given us the victory. I remind myself of His victory and my responsibility to enforce Satan’s defeat in my life through the Word. I take time to meditate on and pray His promises of victory and overcoming the world revealed in verses like Romans 8:37-39, 1 John 5:4-5, Philippians 4:13, and 1 Corinthians 10:13 and 15:57. These are great reminders of how Jesus delivered us from evil and all temptations.

Jesus really did teach us how to pray! So, let’s get busy, on our knees, sending God these types of Instant Messages throughout the day. When we purpose to pray to God on a regular basis, He truly does invade “MySpace” and life is good.

For further study, I recommend my Bite-Sized Bible Study, “What To Say When You Pray”. (Coming soon!)

To read Part Four, click here.

Eternal Life		Why Do Christians Say That Jesus Is the Only Way to God? Part Two
Prayer		On Your Knees Please ... Part 2
Holy Spirit		Spiritual Language - Part 1
Money		Is Money the Root of All Evil?
Healing		If God Wants To Heal Everyone ... What About Paul's Thorn? Part Three
Women		Desperate For A Marriage Made In Heaven? - Part 3
Maturity		Spiritual Eating Disorders - Part 2
Reach People		Church Growth: When Unbelievers Come