The Posture of Prayer

Thursday, November 7, 2019

We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.  Daniel 9:18b

Many people think that worship is music or the singing portion of the Sunday morning service.  But worship is so much more. Prayer should be approached as a time of worship instead of just a time that we can ask God for whatever we want.  It should not be focused on us but on Him.  We are not worthy or righteous enough to come before Him, but He is worthy, and His mercy makes it possible for us to be in communion with Him. The devil loves to make us think that we are too undeserving to pray.  He doesn’t want us to pray because he knows the power in prayer! God does want to hear what we have to say.  He wants to hear our troubles and fears.  He wants to know our frustrations and trials.  He wants to hear our heart.

When we come to the Lord in prayer, we should have a posture of prayer.  There are two main postures of prayer – physical and spiritual. Our physical posture of prayer is of course – physical.  Our spiritual posture of prayer is all about our heart, and it is a posture of worship.   

The Physical Posture of Prayer
Prayer is humbling ourselves before God.  Bowing our heads and closing our eyes is one way of humbling ourselves and showing Him honor and reverence. In the Bible we find people praying in all kinds of different postures.  There were times when people fell on their faces before God in prayer, times of kneeling, and times of hands up and arms open. Paul said, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  I Timothy 2:8 There is no right or wrong way to talk to God as far as our physical posture. God wants us to talk to Him all the time.  He wants the lines of communication to stay open. If we believe that we cannot pray unless we are on our knees or prostrate on the ground, we won’t feel open to pray without ceasing – any time, any place.

A Posture of Worship
All worship is an act of the heart.  If it is not, then we are just going through the motions.  When we acknowledge that God is God and that we need Him, it is an act of worship.  When we petition Him, we show that we value Him as the One True God.  We profess Him as great and mighty and our faith is in His power and sovereignty through prayer.  

It is not wrong to ask God for things. If God is our father, then it is not wrong for us to ask things of him. . He tells us, "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"  Matthew 7:9-11 It is wrong when we only make prayer all about us and what we want God to do for us. We need to pray bold prayers and tell Him the desires of our hearts, but not in an attitude of entitlement.   

We should begin our prayers by thanking God for what he has done – even if we don’t feel very thankful about the things that are going on in our lives at the moment. God is good.  He has been good, He is good, and He will do great things in the future.  We should have a posture of adoration and praise.  When we pray this way, it helps us remember just how great and awesome He is.  Prayer should also include some silence; just listening to God.  - "Be still and know that I am God." Psalms 46:10  

The amazing thing about God is that when we are so unworthy, stuck in the muck of our lives, He still comes when we cry out. He hears us and comes. He, in His holiness, meets us in our unworthiness and accepts us right where we are. Confess where you have failed; praise Him for who He is and what He has done; pray for the needs of others; ask God for what you need; and then be quiet in his presence and listen for his still, small voice.