Our Prayer Posture

At The Gathering last Thursday night, we took some time to talk about our prayer lives, and I shared the following story by way of confession:

Every night before we put Luke to bed, Tiffany or I will read to him from his "Good Night Bible." It breaks down stories from the Word of God into toddler sized chunks, and includes devotional responses that conclude with prayer. The other night as we finished reading, Luke interrupted our normal routine which was to close the book, lay down, and pray. He said to me, "No Daddy, we have to kneel." As proof, he pointed to the little cartoon character who is depicted in prayer section, and sure enough he was kneeling. I couldn't help but smile, because in that moment I knew God was speaking directly to me through my son, reminding me that posture is important in prayer.

While the Bible doesn't command any particular posture when praying, it does portray many different options. There's standing, kneeling, bowing, lying prostrate, hands raised, head raised, head bowed, etc. One thing all of those postures have in common is that they aren't just randomly done or a matter of preference (or laziness!), but rather they are a reflection of the heart of the one praying. For example, in Luke 22 we see Jesus praying on his knees, signifying submission to his Father in the moments before his arrest and crucifixion. His posture, as well as his prayers communicated, "not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:44).

Examine yourself. What is your most common prayer posture? What does it communicate about your heart? If you're like me and the answers to those questions sting a little bit because of the sins they reveal, maybe right now is the right time to humble yourself, get as low as you can get, and ask God to help you make a change.