Ephesians 3:14 – 17a “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
How often do you kneel to pray? It isn’t a trick question. To be perfectly honest, I don’t kneel to pray as often as I should. Oh, I pray. I pray all the time – little snippets of conversation here and there as I wash the dishes or run errands. I pray as I am drifting off to sleep at night. But when something is really serious, when something is really weighing heavily on my heart, I kneel.
Even in Paul’s day, kneeling was not required for prayer. In Mark 11:25, Jesus said, “When you stand praying . . .” We can pray anytime, anywhere, about anything. And we don’t pray to some distant, regal figurehead. We pray to our Father, who loves us more than life itself. We can talk to Him as freely as we talk to our dearest friend.
But there is just something about kneeling that signifies a reverence, a seriousness of purpose. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41), he knelt. It was a serious, solemn time, as He asked His Father to give Him strength to endure what He knew was coming.
In the same way, Paul spent his time in prison making solemn petitions to God on our behalf. All those centuries ago, Paul was seriously, solemnly praying for you and for me – his family through our bond in Jesus Christ. He prayed that God would give us the strength and the faith to persevere.
Friends, there is power and strength in prayer. You can graze on that power, like I do, as you talk to the Father all through the day. Those little snippets provide the fuel we need to get us through all the little things we will face. But let’s not forget that, in addition to the little prayer-snacks, we need to make time to feast on prayer. We need to get serious, get down on our knees, and have heart-to-heart conversations with our Father. We need to talk to Him. We need to listen to Him. And through those conversations, we will receive the strength, the power, and the faith to face anything that comes our way.
Dear Father, Thank You for being available to listen to me any time, night or day. In addition to our little snatches of time, please help me to set aside time for serious, on-my-knees prayer.
Amen
That’s so true Renae – kneeling prayer always seems more fervent! (I’m kneeling a lot at the moment)!
That’s good to know, Jackie. Shall I send you some knee pads? 😉
Kneeling with you, dear sister.
–r
Thanks for your uplifting message.
Thanks for your great message today, Renae! The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. Have a great day!
Marla
Love what CS Lewis says about this… that simply getting in the physical posture humbles our spirit as well. Good reminder!
The physical posture does humble our spirit. I am continually being struck with the notion that if we really understood how big, how immeasurable, how immutable he was, we would fear for nothing. We would fear only Him. Humility is key to this, but it must be a humility that is born out of a true picture of who He is, and who we are (or aren’t, as the case may be) in relation to Him.
Thanks for these thoughts, Renae…great stuff!
Not only on our knees but on our faces before God is an awesome place to be. On my knees more than anything else takes me back to the innocent days of my childhood when I not only let my requests be known to God but I stayed there for sometimes a very long time to listen and just to be with Him. Oh! for those days again.
Amrita, Marla, TJ, Madison, Sue (aka Mom) – great to see all of you! Thanks for your encouragement.
–r