There are days when I feel the best of me is ready to begin
Then they’re days when I feel I’m letting go and soaring on the wind
Cause I’ve learned in laughter or in pain how to survive
I get on my knees, I get on my knees
There I am before the love that changes me
See I don’t know how but there’s power when i’m on my knees
I can be in a crowd or by myself or almost anywhere
When I feel there’s a need to talk with God, He is Emmanuel
When I close my eyes, no darkness there
There’s only light
Jaci Velasquez
written by David and Nicole C. Mullen, and Michael Hunter Ochs
* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *
One of the joys (and privilege!) of our relationship with our heavenly Father is being in His Presence, and spending time alone just with Him. I call it my ‘quiet time’ with Him. There are many different ways to seek God but, to me, nothing compares to a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time. Think about this for just a moment…what are some of the things we do with our bodies as we seek Him? A few that I thought of were:
we kneel
we sit
we stand
we lay prone
we raise our hands
we clap our hands
we walk
we lift our eyes
Perhaps you are thinking, “Oh, that is NOT for me, Coleen! I am kind of reserved, y’know. And besides, what might people think?!?” Let me remind you, my friends, we are talking about YOUR quiet time with Your Father…most probably no one is around, right?
Let’s look at some examples given in the Scripture of people who, using their bodies, gave voice to the cries of their hearts:
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed,
he went into his house.
The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem,
and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed,
and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Daniel 6:10
While Ezra prayed and confessed,
weeping and falling facedown before the house of God,
an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children
gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly.
Ezra 10:1
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord
in the presence of all the assembly of Israel
and spread out his hands toward heaven.
He said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You
in heaven above or on earth beneath,
keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants
who walk before You with all their heart…
1 Kings 8:22-24
Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved,
so that I am almost dying of sorrow.
Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.
And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground
on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass away from Me;
nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire],
but as You will and desire.
Matthew 26:38 and 39
And there are so MANY other examples throughout the Scriptures to show us that it is a good thing to physically express our love…our adoration…our praise…our great need for our awesome and great God! Just as Daniel, and Ezra, and Solomon, and our Lord Jesus Himself prayed and cried to God, they were ‘on their knees‘ and prone on the ground as they expressed their hearts to Him.
So may I please encourage you to do the same…allow your body to be a part of your expression of the words you are speaking as you spend your ‘quiet time’ with your heavenly Father.
Jesus told us what is required—that we give Him all of ourselves:
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind
Luke 10:27
True worship and praise comes from the heart. If our worship is not coming from our hearts, it will not matter what posture or physical expression of our praise we use.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
