Good Prayer Posture - Martin Wiles

When Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room. Daniel 6:10 NLT

“Clyde, don’t slouch in your desk.”

I was in the third grade when I first became familiar with the definition of posture. Although my teacher, Mrs. Early, didn’t use the actual word, she associated it with the word slouch. So, if I didn’t slump, I would have good posture. Good posture, evidently, meant sitting up straight. But Clyde had a habit of slouching. Mrs. Early didn’t explain why it was important for Clyde to sit up straight. That part of good posture I would learn later in life. For now, it was enough to know 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 God said he went home no better off than when he arrived. The tax collector stood a different way and left with a prayer accepted by God. Daniel knelt while he prayed and found himself in the lion’s den. However, God closed the mouths of the lions.

Lying face down, standing, sitting, and kneeling are prayer postures illustrated in the Bible. Not everyone can do some of them because of health problems or disabilities. But the body’s posture isn’t nearly as important as the heart’s position. Daniel’s outward posture matched his heart’s; the Pharisee’s didn’t. Daniel knelt in his heart and posture. The Pharisee stood before God with his posture but paraded before God in his heart.

Our inward posture should be humility regardless of our outward posture when approaching God’s throne in prayer. We, as mere humans, are approaching the Creator, Controller, and Savior 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 our salvation—the One who loves unconditionally and persistently.

We humbly offer ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Before our lists, we adore him. Before our lists, we confess our sins and shortcomings. And before our list, we thank him for his goodness, which is beyond our imagination. When we finish those things, our list of wants is typically much shorter.

Think about the posture with which you approach God.

Father, in my heart, I fall before you, the deliverer of all good things and the sustainer of our souls. 

I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are a grandparent or just want to hear grandparent stories, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.