Good Prayer Posture

Daniel 6:10 – But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. (NLT)

Like body posture, good prayer posture is important.

"Clyde, don't slouch down in your desk."

I was in the third grade when I first became familiar with the definition of posture. Though my teacher, Mrs. Early, didn't use the actual word, she associated it with the word "slouch". So, if I didn't slouch, I had good posture.

Good posture meant sitting up straight. Clyde had a habit of slouching. Why it was important for Clyde to sit up straight, Mrs. Early didn't explain. That part of good posture I would learn later in life. For now, it was enough to know that I needed to sit up straight. Posture was important.

Posture is also crucial in prayer. The Pharisee who prayed in the temple stood while praying, and Jesus said that he went home no better off than when he arrived. The tax collector stood a different way and went home with a prayer accepted by God. Daniel knelt while he prayed and found himself in the lions' den. God, however, closed the mouths of the lions.

Standing, sitting, kneeling, and lying face down are different prayer postures illustrated in the Bible. Not all people can do some of them, due to health problems — or even missing limbs. But the body's posture isn't nearly as important as the posture of the heart. Daniel's outward posture matched the posture of his heart; the Pharisee's didn't. Daniel knelt in his heart and his posture. The Pharisee stood before God with his posture but paraded pridefully before God in his heart.

Regardless of our outward posture when approaching God's throne in prayer, our inward posture should be one of humility. We, mere humans, are approaching the Creator, Controller, and Saviour of the universe — the One Who has the power to give and take life with a breath from His lips; the One Who loved enough to sacrifice His Son for the salvation of all; the One Who loves unconditionally and persistently.

With humility, we come to offer ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Before our lists, we must adore Him. Before our lists, we should confess our sins and shortcomings. And before our lists, as Daniel did, we should bring thanksgiving to Him for His goodness, which is beyond our imagination. When we're through with those things, our list of wants will usually be much shorter.

In what posture are you coming before God?

Prayer: Father, in our hearts, we fall before You, the deliverer of all good things and the sustainer of our souls. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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