“Let us pray”

In some churches when those three words are uttered during a service there is a great noise as people change posture, clambering for kneelers and getting themselves as comfortable as possible for the prayers that are about to be said.Yet this bidding is not one compelling us to kneel, but to attend to prayer.The only time we are in fact told to kneel is for the confession in the Book of Common Prayer as the president says to the congregation: “Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.”However – especially at St. Matthew’s on a Wednesday morning – this command is not acted upon because there is nothing to kneel on except the floor, so most people usually ignore the “meekly kneeling upon your knees” bit.

Of course the traditional approach to getting ourselves ready to pray is to kneel, whether at home or in church.And it has to be said that this position has much merit.As we come before our Lord it seems right and proper that we should bend our knee; indeed we are encouraged to do so (see Psalm 95.6; Philippians 2.10 for just 2 examples).Yet it seems to me that these references, amongst the many others regarding kneeling before God, are more to do with giving honour to Him than to what a correct physical approach to prayer might be.

So, what position should we be in to pray?Well, that depends on several factors:firstly where we are, and secondly what is physically possible for us.Where we are will be one of the main influences on whether we kneel, sit, stand, or even lie down!In most churches of a traditional style there is often something for us to kneel on.Where there are pews that come with kneelers built in, kneeling to pray will probably be the custom, but that is not always the case.In churches like ours there may be some kneelers to use, but there may be none.Of course you can always kneel directly on the floor if you so wish – although I guess you will need very hardy knees to be able to pray kneeling on a hard floor.Sitting is therefore an option becoming increasingly more widely used.Indeed, in some churches it is encouraged, even where kneelers are available.Sitting upright on a chair, with our arms relaxed and our feet flat on the floor is a very comfortable position to be in – therefore we are better able to attend to prayer – so it is a good posture to adopt.Some churches still adhere to the ancient tradition of standing for prayers and all the other important points of a service – especially those relating to praise of God.The only seats available then were around the walls of the building, for those who were not able to stand, or could no longer do so (hence the expression going to the wall being used to describe times of weakness or failing).It is a posture that does focus the mind on what is going on in the service, standing still concentrating on what is happening up at the front of church, and beyond that to attending to God.

So, there are just a few of the postures that can be adopted in churches.At home another is open to us as well, that of lying down.There is no reason that I can see that dictates that we cannot pray lying down.Often it is at night, when the day’s busyness has subsided and we relax that prayer can flow from us and our mind can focus on God.What better way to end the day than with a time of relaxed and open prayer!Of course lying down to pray can also be used in church as well, and is the norm at ordinations where the candidates prostrate themselves before the bishop for the prayers of intercession.

The other factor determining our posture is that of what is physically possible for us.This could be determined by anything from a temporary injury to a permanent condition that means we are unable to kneel, sit or stand.For example, I know that due to a bad back it is unwise for me to kneel for a sustained time.Therefore I will often either sit or stand to pray, especially if the prayers are long or my back is very painful.At first, when this became a necessity for me, I felt rather embarrassed because I was not taking the same posture as everyone else, but I soon realised that posture is not important – the important thing is to be praying; and in order for me to attend to prayer I should not be distracted by pain and discomfort, therefore the sensible option is to not kneel for long periods.

Similarly the question of posture often comes up when talking about receiving Holy Communion.Even if we go to an altar rail there is nothing wrong with standing to receive, especially when it is painful or impossible to kneel.

So, to conclude my ramblings on the topic of postures for prayer I come back to what the bible encourages us to do in this matter.For us to attend to prayer it doesn’t matter if we are standing, sitting, kneeling, lying down, stationary or moving; what does matter is being spiritually in the right attitude to pray.The posture we adopt to enable us to do so will depend on where we are and what we are physically able to do.The only rule really is to find what works best for you, and not to be anxious if that necessitates doing something different.Posture is of secondary importance.

Yours in Christ,

David

Creation date : 02/07/2007 - 21:48
Last update : 16/01/2009 - 21:43
Category : Church Magazine
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