Encouragement for Today 04-04-05
April 4, 2005
Encouragement for Today
“Amazing Knee-Mail”
Susanne Scheppmann, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member
Key Verse:
Isaiah 65:24, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (NIV)
Devotion:
Email amazes me. Right now, I am flying across the country, 38,000 feet above the earth and I jotted an email note to my girlfriend. When the plane lands, I will hit a computer key and within moments, my message floats through the atmosphere and somehow lands in my friend’s e-mail box. “You’ve got mail.” Amazing!
Now this brings me to a thought. That is exactly how prayer works. It springs from my mind right into the ear of God. Nothing can hinder my whispers to Him. In fact, Scripture tells me that God hears me before I even speak a word. “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24, NIV) Amazing!
Prayer works like e-mail, only you do not need a computer. You can sit, stand or kneel. Whatever position you find yourself in, you can speak to God. I prefer to kneel when I pray in the mornings, so I think of my prayers as knee-mail.
“Before they call I will answer.” God promises to reply to our prayers. Sometimes the answers may not always be what we want. Or many times, we do not even recognize how he answers our requests. It is as if we hit the delete key and never see the answer.
However, I find great comfort in knowing that he receives my prayers with a listening ear, just as surely as my girlfriend will open her email tomorrow. She might not reply right away, but I know heart-to-heart communication took place. Our prayers work the same way, they build-up our relationship with God.
For myself, I need to learn to send knee-mail as frequently as I send e-mail. I desire to commune with God, so He will communicate with me. He waits for me to call. “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” (Isaiah 58:9a, NIV) Amazing!
My Prayer for Today:
Father God, help me to make prayer a priority in my day. Father, I want to learn the discipline of prayer. So before I open up my email each morning, remind me to get on my knees to have sweet communication with you.
Application Steps:
Pray the words of Psalm 119:18 and then read all of Psalm 119. Underline all the verses that touch your heart. Memorize Psalm 119:105 and ask God to light your path with His Word each day.
Reflection Points:
Do I believe that God hears my smallest request?
How much time do I spend on e-mail in comparison to praying?
Do I watch expectantly to see how God might answers my prayers?
Power Verses:
Psalm 91:15, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” (NIV)
Isaiah 58:9a, “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” (NIV)
Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (NIV)
Psalm 55:17, “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.” (NIV)
Psalm 69:33, “The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.” (NIV)
Additional Resources:
Living Life on Purpose by Lysa TerKeurst
http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/resources/newsletter.html
Intimate Moments with God by Sharon Jaynes
http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/resources/newsletter.html
Radically Obedient, Radically Blessed by Lysa TerKeurst
http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/resources/newsletter.html
