bowing low |

Perfectly Positioned for Prayer

In the preceding blog post I shared several compelling reasons for actively engaging our bodies as we pray. While such actions as kneeling, bowing and lifting hands are commonly recognized as expressive forms of prayer, it has been my personal experience and observation that many people do not incorporate them into their daily practice of prayer.

Recently I have been experiencing a personal renewal in prayer and have been intentional about loving God in prayer “with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (body).”

The following is a summary of the things I am learning about each prayer posture. Hopefully it will stir a hunger in you to give them a try. So here are the 7 main ways, recorded in the Bible that people, including Jesus, prayed.

1. Kneeling – This position expresses a reverence for God and seriousness of intent by the person praying. It is probably one of the most common ways people prayed and a key posture that can be used in focusing our petitions. Solomon knelt for a long period time with arms outstretched as he prayed his great prayer dedicating the temple. When he finished, fire fell from heaven. (2 Chronicles 6:13) Daniel knelt and prayed three times a day and we know the amazing results he experienced. (Daniel 6:10)

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Positioning yourself for effective prayer

Probably the most common struggle that people have in attempting a focused, sustained and meaningful prayer time is dealing with distractions associated with a wandering mind. Throughout the ages, one of the great secrets for engaging in effective prayer has been connected to the position a person chooses to assume while praying. By position I mean the posture or attitude our body takes while we communicate our innermost thoughts through prayer to God.
While we commune with God out of our spirit through both words and sighs too deep for words, there is also an important role our bodies can and should play in expressing our prayers. In a very real sense this is a tangible expression of loving the Lord our God through prayer “with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (body).”
The more that prayer can engage the entirety of who we are, spirit, soul and body, the more focused and engaged we will be – and in the end the more effective our prayer times will be. When we exercise our body by taking appropriate prayer positions as we express our hearts to Him, we are making our body, His temple, a holy habitation of worship for His glory and praise.