I have observed and received a great many prayer requests lately. Of course, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the slaying of the young lady on the train and many other events have caused the nation to consider messages of prayer to the LORD almighty, Adonai. I couldn’t believe how full the churches were this last weekend. I am positive that people who may only attend church on Easter and Christmas were compelled to attend this past weekend. I hope this increase in attendance will last and that we may begin the revival that we so desperately need.
Even football and baseball teams have engaged in moments of silence before their respective games started. I am sure that these short periods of time have given Christians time to shoot up “arrow prayers” or “breath prayers.”
I have spoken about both of these kinds of prayer in the past. Arrow prayers are those short offerings to God that only be moments long but effective in conveying a wish, a posture of worship or just plain adoration. Things such as “Thank you, Lord” or “Grant me peace…” As you can see, a good way to remember them is that they are short and “to the point.” Hence the arrow reference.
Breath prayers are very similar and some people use them interchangeably. They tend to be short prayers as well – said in one breath. They can be a little longer than arrow prayers, are perhaps a little more thoughtful and aren’t necessary done in the spur of the moment. Maybe something like, “Lord, grant them mercy as they struggle with the death of a family member…” or “Lord, please give them wisdom to deal with the decisions they have to face.” Still one breath long, but a a little more of a petition to God as opposed to an unfiltered request of some kind.
Of course, both of these types of prayers are clearly acceptable to God. He knows we aren’t perfect and there are times that we, as humans, just throw up our hands in total exasperation and shoot up a few words to the Lord. All forms of prayer do not have to be well thought out and articulated in a certain way. God understands us.
The truth of the matter is that we need a direct pipeline to God. We don’t need to set an appointment to pray or commune with God the Father or His Son, Jesus. They are available and open to hear our concerns every moment of every day. And I certainly want to encourage you to make these kinds of prayers part of your arsenal of ways to converse with our Creator. By the way, we have the God given right to commune with God directly. We do not need any intermediary. Paul tells us that we are a priesthood of believers.
I have sometimes written that we don’t need a phone or anything to facilitate our talks with God. We have a direct pipeline. Period… Enough said…
But I had to chuckle last week when I heard someone say that all the recent unrest has caused them to think that arrow prayers and breath prayers were not enough to deal with the current state of the world. Instead, they believed that they would resort to “knee-mail…”
I had never heard this phrase before but my mind went immediately to what it must entail. These prayers are longer and more intense than the short breath prayers and arrow prayers that we are familiar with. They require us to be diligent and sincere in our approach to God and, yes, people are dropping to their knees to engage with God. Just like when we were kids and knelt next to our beds to say our evening prayers, kneeling is a sign of respect and an act of supplication in the presence of an awesome God. When we assume this posture in approaching the Lord, which is something that most of us don’t do day to day, it puts us in a different state of mind and quiets us as we petition God.
Some people believe that there are four distinctive parts of prayer that follow a certain pattern. Those folks usually lead with praising God (adoration), followed by admitting wrongdoing (confession), moving to an expression of gratitude for the blessings they have received (thanksgiving) and then ending with petitioning God to meet their needs and desires (supplication). This entire prayer sequence is called ACTS – using the first letter of each part of the prayer.
While I certainly agree that this is a fine way to approach the Lord, I don’t believe that we must be confined to a particular sequence of steps to speak with God. Knee-mail seems quite acceptable to me. It’s somewhere between the arrow and breath prayers but not as formal as responsive readings or strong liturgical patterns that must be followed. We are all different and God expects us to use our own personality and emotion when dealing with Him. As an example, the psalms are filled with emotional pleas to God and raw, direct confrontations with the Father. The Psalms, in fact, carry the most emotional prayers of the people found in the entire Scripture.
Our verse for tonight comes from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He tells the church, in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to rejoice in Him and to rest in His peace. My prayer is that we will always feel free to approach God, regardless of form, and express our heartfelt feelings and thoughts, no matter how direct, in communication with Jesus and His Father. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…