An occasional surprising aspect for visitors to Heritage is that we kneel in prayer at certain times in the liturgy. Sometimes this causes people to ask if we’re becoming more Roman Catholic or Anglican. The answer is that we’re trying to be more biblical in worship. Consider that kneeling is the most commonly mentioned posture for prayer in the Bible:

• 2 Chronicles 6:13, Solomon knelt before the assembly to pray at the temple dedication
• 1 Kings 19:18, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal
• Isaiah 45:23, ‘to me every knee shall bow’ as at Phil. 2:10; Rom 14:11
• Ezra 9:5, Ezra kneels for a public prayer of penitence and confession
• 2 Chronicles 7:3, all Israel knelt before God
• 2 Chronicles 29:29, King Hezekiah and all with him knelt in worship before the Lord

We are not teaching that posture in worship is the essence of biblical teaching, but it is clear that the bible does not have a “whatever” attitude about it either. It ought to grab our attention that kneeling in worship is plainly commanded:

Psalm 95:6, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”

Even in the New Testament, kneeling is mentioned frequently noted as a posture for both private and corporate prayer:

• Luke 22:41, Jesus in Gethsemane
• Acts 7:60, Stephen’s prayer for those who stoned him
• Acts 20:36, Paul and the Ephesian elders
• Acts 21:5, Paul with the Church at Joppa

Sitting is typically our most common posture in prayer, but it is very questionable whether or not it can be scripturally recommended. Three examples:

• Exodus 17, Moses when he was tired
• 2 Samuel 7:18//1 Chronicles 17:16, David sat before the Lord (although some argue the force of the Hebrew is not speaking of posture as much as simple that David went before the Lord)
• 1 Kings 19:14, Elijah sat under a broom tree and prayed that he would die!

PCA pastor Robert Rayburn writes, “The position of the body is itself an act of worship. When you kneel or stand because you are in the presence of the Almighty and are to speak to him, you are honoring him with your entire self, with your soul and body together expressing reverence. In Holy Scripture, whenever men or women came face to face with God, they always immediately and instinctively assumed postures which were appropriate for a creature and a sinner before the living God. When we are before him by faith, we are as really before him as we would be by sight! And we ought to behave the same way.”

John Calvin comments on Psalm 95:6, “We observe that mention is made not only of inward gratitude, but the necessity of an outward profession. The three words which are used imply that, to discharge their duty properly, the Lord’s people must present themselves a sacrifice to him publicly, with kneeling, and other marks of devotion—an entire devotement of themselves to God.”

This suggests to us, among other things, that kneeling is something you accomplish with your body, and not just as an attitude of the heart.

As mentioned earlier, some wonder if this is a Roman Catholic or Episcopal practice. Indeed it seems like kneeling in worship is a hallmark of their customs. Surely, though, they should not have a monopoly on reverence in worship. John Calvin (who thought the Pope was the Antichrist!) himself recommended kneeling in prayer to assist our hearts: “The bodily gestures usually observed in prayer, such as kneeling and uncovering of the head, are exercises by which we attempt to rise to higher veneration of God.” —Institutes Book 3, chapter 10, article 33.

If you research the subject, you’ll find the occasional argument appealing to Reformed and Presbyterian tradition that kneeling in worship is wrong or proof that those who do it aren’t really Reformed or Presbyterian. This is silly. We are not bowing down to a priest, to the elements of the Lord’s Table, or to a crucifix. We are simply kneeling before the Lord who is especially present in gathered word-and-sacrament worhsip. Besides, there is a better argument for kneeling in worship from Reformed and Presbyterian tradition than not. Historically, Presbyterian and Reformed churches have made a big deal of worship being biblical. That is, we have argued that we ought to take our direction in worship very strictly from the Bible itself: do what it tells us to do and refuse to do what it does not tell us to do (the regulative principle of worship). If we throw out kneeling—even though it is biblical—just because people we don’t agree with on other matters do it, we are contradicting our own principles.

Here are four very important reasons to kneel in prayer in worship:

1. It enables us to pray and worship with our whole selves, body and soul together. If you read the commandment to kneel before the Lord, but you feel it’s fine just to kneel “in your heart,” you are suffering from some of the effects of the Gnostic heresy.

2. Body posture can help the soul in getting and keeping a proper attitude. Kneeling helps our wandering and fallen thoughts and feelings keep their proper focus. We sit usually as spectators and it is a very ordinary thing to do. When we kneel we and everyone around us know that what we are doing now is no ordinary thing at all.

3. Kneeling in prayer crosses cultural boundaries (race, wealth, education, etc. are all unimportant when kneeling before the Lord), it crosses temporal boundaries (it is as relevant today as at any time in history), and it crosses generational boundaries (all ages who are physically able can participate together).

4. This posture gives witness publicly to the fact that the church is in the very presence of God and that she is speaking to God. Many evangelicals grew up attending a kind of worship that was largely disembodied (body didn’t matter; it was all “in your heart”). The great weakness of that worship was that it did not convey to the soul or to the congregation or to the world that in the gathered and public worship on the Lord’s Day the saints were coram Deo, before the face of God. The fact that we did not act like we were in God’s presence gave testimony that we weren’t. In the Bible, when people realized they were in the special presence of God they immediately assumed a posture appropriate to that momentous encounter.

So, as we use kneelers in worship, we’re not trying to be Anglican or like anyone else in particular; we’re trying to be biblical, recognizing out weakness, and our presence before the presence of God. It may take you a few weeks to get used to it, and that’s okay, but let’s give thanks for the opportunity to pray as scripture commands.