I do not kneel when I pray.
I'm sure that I have, in the past, found occasion to kneel in prayer, probably while wearing pajamas, probably beside a bed before going to sleep. I cannot, though, remember the last time I actually assumed this position in prayer. Then, considering this, it occurs to me, it has been a long time since I was present when another person knelt in prayer, though it is sure to have happened, being that I have spent the bulk of my church-going years in Pentecostal churches.
Come to think of it, I have seen believers assuming a variety of postures when in prayer. Apparently, the Charismatic will do it any position.
Thinking the other night about prayer while kneeling versus prayer in other positions, I decided to do a little research.
Interestingly, the Bible does not often reference kneeling; in the King James Version, the word "kneel" only appears twice (in
Genesis 24:11. and
Psalm 95:6 )"Knelt" doesn't appear at all, and "kneeling" appears three times. Each individual kneeling in those verses (
1 Kings 8:54;
Matthew 1:14 ; and Mark 1:40) are kneeling in supplication. Since, though, the majority of people whose prayer lives were of consequence enough to be listed in the Bible are Jews, it begs the question whether the Jews knelt to pray.
Traditionally, when Jews pray, they stand. Why, then, do we, as Christians, who are grafted into the olive tree, kneel (or, not, as the case may be)? A fascinating
article details the five traditional postures for prayer and the reasons for them. In western Christianity, as it turns out, kneeling symbolizes "simple humility and submission;" it is the posture traditionally assumed when requesting favors of a king. It stands to reason that this would be the position taken when uttering prayers of repentance or supplication.
So, upon reading this, I reflected on what it is we do when we pray. We plead with God, we complain about our lot, we shake our proverbial fist at the sky, we thank Him, we ask for supernatural intervention on our own behalf or that of others, and we praise. Maybe we choose words carefully, maybe we let it come out as it pops into the mind, skipping the inner monologue, maybe we don't pray aloud at all, choosing instead to let God simply hear our unadulterated thoughts, maybe we read a prayer someone else wrote down for a particular circumstance.
But before we start talking (or not), what is it we actually do when we pray?
We speak with God. Perhaps we speak hoping, or even expecting, that He will talk back, or, perhaps, we treat prayer as more of a monologue, but we still address God.
While I agree that God is approachable, loving, and caring, I have to wonder if casually is the best way to approach prayer all the time. Really, what is the proper position to assume when speaking with the One who created knees?
To quote my mother, "Just who do you think you're
talking to?"
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