“When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever’” (2 Chronicles 7:3). 

The Bible uses lots of verbs for our posture: standing, sitting, kneeling, lying down or prostrate, and verbs for our movement such as walking, running, and climbing. Sometimes we stand during a worship service, sometimes we sit, and sometimes we kneel. Sometimes during prayer we stand, sometimes we kneel, sit, or lie prostrate. Sometimes we raise our hands, sometimes we fold them. Does it matter? 

Let us take some time to explore what the Bible says. Today we will start with kneeling, sometimes with our face to the floor which is also called prostration. We are more familiar with kneeling, but it might be helpful to know that the definition of prostrate is to “lie face-downward in submission or despair.” A biblical example of this is included in one of my favorite stories about one of the most famous prophets in the Bible, Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah calls down fire from heaven in a showdown with the prophets of Baal.  

“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’” (1 Kings 18:36-39). 

I would submit that falling prostrate at this demonstration of God’s power was most appropriate. There are many examples of both kneeling and prostration in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments: 

Moses prostrated himself before God in intercessory prayer: “I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights because the Lord had said he would destroy you” (Deuteronomy 9:25). 

David prostrated himself before Saul, his King: “When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground” (1 Samuel 24:8). 

When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell  prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him” (Daniel 2:46). 

And when the angel Gabriel came to Daniel in a dream: “As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. ‘Son of man,’ he said to me, ‘understand that the vision concerns the time of the end’” (Daniel 8:17). 

When approaching Jesus for healing: “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). 

When approaching God in prayer: “When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed” (Acts 20:36). 

Kneeling and lying prostrate is a sign of submission and repentance, of being all in, total focus. Interesting side note: I had the wonderful opportunity of participating in the live studio audience when Beth Moore recorded her study on James. At the beginning of each session, she took prayer requests, and then fell to her knees, and then on her face (with all that hair and make-up) and prayed so earnestly to the Lord. I decided to take up that practice during my morning prayer. I was a little nervous about it because I tend to fall asleep when I just close my eyes. However, I have never fallen asleep when on my face in prayer. There is such a total focus that I feel more awake and in tune with the Holy Spirit than any other time. 

The ultimate point I will make is that our posture before God is more than a physical movement: It is a state of mind. Regardless of whether we are on our feet, on our knees, or on our face, our hearts should be in total submission and complete obedience and awe and reverence toward our Lord and Savior, the one true King, the ultimate power source and authority for our lives. Let us follow the example of Christ: 

“…Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8). 

In Christ, 

Judy 

P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.