Why is it that we stand and place our hands on our hearts when we pledge our allegiance to a flag or pose in a similar way to verbally sing an anthem about our country, but we quietly sit and bow our heads when we speak to our living God?
I know that this question alone will really turn people off to what I have to say, but I do not want to attack the country that I am from. I am proud to be from a place that offers freedom and privileges that I might not receive in other locations. In fact, this blog entry has nothing to do with patriotism but with our posture toward God.
I really enjoy watching hockey, and I have been a Detroit Red Wings fan for my whole life. They were put out of the playoffs this postseason, but I have still been watching some of the other games. Recently, I found myself watching the Montreal v. Pittsburgh game while I read my book, but I was so distracted by the game that I postponed my reading. I could have turned it off, but I was too excited to stop watching. The crowd was insane! It was being played in Montreal, and they are fantastic hockey fanatics. I found myself rooting for the Canadians and could barely contain myself when they scored their goals (much like when I am watching my Wings). I physically jumped up out of my seat when they scored and did some fist pumping in the air. This is my reaction when I watch a hockey game. My body positioning reflects my inner emotions. Now back to my prayer posture.
I am not saying that praying while sitting with your head bowed is bad. In fact, I think it does show a position of humility. What about when I am praising God for being so good? I should be jumping out of my seat as I do in a hockey game. What about when I am frustrated and crying out to Him? I should be on my knees or on my face verbally crying out to Him. Instead, we typically have the same posture for all sorts of prayers. Sitting in silence with our heads bowed.
Sitting is a posture of prayer found only one time in the Bible (2 Samuel 7:18), and was really not prevalent until pews entered into the church during the Middle Ages. Standing with hands raised, kneeling, or lying facedown were more common ways of praying. I desire to seek after God with all of my being and that includes my posture. Let us humble ourselves enough in our prayers and worship to God to express our love and other emotions with our body language.
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2 comments:
Agree.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on other things!
I think it comes from a sense of fear that was instilled in western theology during the dark ages. God had punished us therefore we are not worthy to look up the His face, or not even worthy to stand and praise him. Very good blog indeed. I think if we look at how God enjoyed His people's (Israelites) praise, its was a time of dancing, feasts, loud singing, etc. Let's get out of the pews people!
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