Ephesians 3:12-15
Verse 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
We have talked about some of the communication we are to have with the Father for each other but we take a slight turn today and look at the posture of our prayers. Different physical postures of prayer can be helpful in remembering what we are doing, for example if we are kneeling next to the bed for prayer we will likely stay focused versus if we already have our head on the pillow.
There is no set posture for prayer, God isn’t going to listen to a prayer of the person kneeling more than He will listen to the person who sits in their chair with their head bowed. There are places in Scripture where it talks about crying out to God in prayer with up raised hands and other places it talks about facing a certain direction while praying, but that isn’t what really matters.
While there are various physical postures for prayer – each with its own importance and reasoning – all prayers should have but one posture of heart. First, we need to remember who we are communicating with. This isn’t just someone we don’t know or someone we are being made to talk to. In casual conversation we don’t tend to put much thought into it, like when we respond to someone in a way that doesn’t fit the situation, “Thanks for babysitting my kids this morning.” “Yeah, you too.” We may laugh but we have all had a moment like that where we walk away thinking, “Why did I say that?”
Just as communication is vital to any healthy relationship, prayer is of utmost importance in our relationship with the Father. The best of relationships have an important thing in common, humility. If there isn’t humility in conversation one party is not going to get as much out of the relationship as the other person. Jesus humbled Himself in the greatest way possible when He came to live among His creation.
It is likely we have come to Him in prayer without being in a place of humility. We come with what may as well be demands, wanting what we want and knowing He can give us anything we could imagine. What we too often fail to do is come to Him seeing Him for who He is, the Creator and God Almighty. The fact of who He is should drive us to humility but He wants us to choose to come to Him that way because it shows the truth of our heart towards Him. Humility acknowledges we understand we don’t deserve His ear and yet sees His love for us. Understanding this helps us view Him and ourselves in our proper places. Only when we understand who He is can we be in the right mind to come to Him to chat.
Making It Personal
When was the last time you prayed from a humble heart? Why does pride get in the way? What do you need to come to Him humbly about today?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to be humble? What do you think is the opposite of humble? Do you pray from a humble heart?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess we more often than not come to You in pride instead of humility. Break us of our pride so we can come to You in the way You deserve. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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