Do we have to be on our knees to pray?
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Asked August 29 2014
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Amber Chase
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Hairy Animals
Not at all! Although it is commonly accepted in the Christian community that you must pray on your knees with your eyes closed, that is not necessary. God looks at the heart. He will hear our prayers no matter what position we are in. You can pray standing up, sitting down, while walking, while running, and while lying down. You can pray out loud or silently in your mind. There is public praying (praying in public with a group) and private praying (having long talks with God when you're alone). Although there is nothing wrong with public praying, the Bible especially stresses the importance of private prayer. Jesus teaches us how to do private praying in Matthew chapter 6. "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." So when you do private praying, you are to be alone. You can pray in your closet, like the KJV says. You can pray in your room, as other versions say. But basically, private praying should be private. You need to be alone. It is a time to pour out your heart before God. You are to pray with a humble mindset. It is often best to be on your knees when praying in private, but it is not necessary. There are also quick, silent prayers you utter in your mind while doing other things. One example would be from the Book of Nehemiah, when Nehemiah came before the king. "Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king....." Nehemiah did not tell the king, "Okay, let's just end this conversation for a while. I need to get on my knees and pray." He uttered a quick prayer in his mind before he spoke. He did not have time to get on his knees. There are many other examples of this in the Bible. So the bottom line is: no, you do not have to pray on your knees. It can be helpful to be on your knees when you pray privately, because it will make you feel more humble. But it is not necessary. God will hear your prayer no matter what position you are in.
Steven Scott
No, you DON'T need to be on your knees to pray. You can pray standing up. You can pray sitting down. You can pray in bed. You can pray in the shower. You can pray on the balcony. You can pray ANYWHERE,in ANY position! TALK to Him as if He were your earthly father. He wants to hear from you at ANY time, in ANY position in EVERY aspect of your life! {Happy times, mad times, glad times sad times...}
MR RON SHANNON
I don't have any scripture but this may help. I have back damage, so it is a problem for me to get up and down into a kneeling position. I usually envision in my mind me kneeling and sometimes even laying face down flat on the floor. My spirit is very capable of kneeling to GOD. GOD knows your heart and that is what he looks at. Man may see you sitting but GOD sees you kneeling. I hope this helps. GOD BLESS
Sharon Jenkins
Very interesting question, I do not believe that you have to bend down on your knees every time you pray. I pray constantly throughout the day. It is stated that a person should pray without ceasing. If that is so, you may not be in a predicament to kneel in prayer. I do believe that whenever it is possible that a person should kneel or lay down and submit their prayer to God.
Helena Jones
Absolutely not, we do not have to bend on our knees for our prayers to be accepted by our Lord. I find it is (bending on my knees) the most honorable method of coming into his presence. We can use our Lord and Savior Christ as an example, when he was hung up on the cross by the disbelieving religious ones, he prayed out to our Father in heaven, he prayed and accepted people into the Light right up to his last earthly breath. Just like Jesus from the cross, there will be times when we are in a position where we will need to pray and can't wait until we are able to bend down on our knees.
Jyotish Mishra
While it is true that no where we have been commanded to pray upon our knees yet for every spiritual activity we have to follow our Lord Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith (please read Hebrews 12:2). We notice that in garden of Gathsamane while Our Lord was praying He was on His knees (Luke22:41). Apostle Peter knelt down by the side of the dead body of Tabitha and prayed (Acts9:40).. Apostle Paul often knelt down and prayed (Please refer to Acts 20:36;21:5;Ephesians 3:14) The Old Testament saints also prayed upon their knees as we read about Daniel at Daniel 6:6:10. Ezra also made his great public confessional prayer oh his knees as we notice in Ezra9:5. King Solomon also offered his temple dedication prayer while oh his knees as we notice in 2Chronicles 6:13. The psalmist in Psalm95:6 encourages us to knell before The Lord our maker. From these scripture references it becomes clear that praying upon knees was/is a posture which pleases The Lord as we see from the life of our Lord as also in the life of His apostles. Therefore if our knees are medically fit let us strive to pray and worship The Lord on our knees. But there is no restriction that you cannot pray while lying on the or while walking or while sitting on a chair or even from the belly of the fish as Jonah the prophet did. Our Lord is reasonable and He looks at our heart and knows our circumstances so pray without ceasing and preferably on your knees if they are medically fit. A broken and a contrite heart He will not despise Psalm51:17.
Andy Mangus
NO, you don't have to be on your knees! Yes, it is a sign of reverence and humility as "we step before His Throne, to ask what ye will of the Father..."; but, you can address God in any conscience state of mind and in any physical situation you may find yourself having the need or desire to "bring any petition or request before His Throne of Grace, which is in Heaven". I used to find myself having that strong desire to pray while I was out riding my bicycle getting my exercise; and, I remember them being complete and reassuring! God loves us so much that He hears each and every prayer request we make with a trusting and heartfelt abiding spirit! --Andy--
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