Tuesday, January 27, 2009
FOM Solo: Talking with God
In Day 24 the topic is Talking with God. The practical part of the book asks you to lie facedown on the floor to pray as Manoah and his wife did in Judges. Then, notice what it's like to pray this way. It got me thinking. This act of lying down before God is seen in more than one place in the bible. Obviously, it's an act of respect. We bow our heads now as a sign of respect, but the two actions don't produce the same results. When you are lying facedown, all distractions are blocked out, unless you count audible sounds around you. In this way you can really talk and stay focused on your conversation with God. Bowing your head is respectful, but doesn't block out distractions. I don't think we need to change our practice in church and start lying down on the carpet when we pray, but I wonder. When did this practice change?
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2 comments:
Good question. I don't think kneeling was ever replaced with praying "prostrate" Prostrate praying seems to be directed by God in times of greatest need, confession, repentence. It certainly does focus us more... and is the more humbling position of prayer. Good regular prayer practice.
An old friend, Terry Tykl, once told of his first visit to Korea to study how they prayed. When he walked in he thought there had been a mass killing: 7,000 people sprawled everywhere on the ground as if they were poisoned... except they were praying. Praying in complete surrender to God. Terry came back a different person.
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