What is the right position for praying?

May 29, 3:44 PMMethodist ExaminerJames-Michael Smith

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"So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all these years!" 

I received this question via email yesterday:

JM,

What is your take on prayer?  Sitting in a bended knee position does not feel natural to me.  Am I weird? Am I not being sincere enough since I’m not on my knees.  Something was read from a Christian book and maybe I heard it wrong, but it said something about not praying on your knees and praying the lazy way in bed…I pray this way!  I felt terrible,  thinking really I’m not meaning to be lazy, or am I? Sorry this may be such a lame question, but it does bother me. I felt the person talking was saying the same thing that praying “in position” is the serious way to pray.

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This is a great question.  I've heard many people say that there are "right" and "wrong" positions to use in prayer, or that some positions are "more spiritual" than others.  

As with everything, it helps to go to Scripture to see what we find.  When we do that, we find people praying in about every position imaginable:  

Abraham's servant praying to find the right wife for Isaac while standing beside a spring (Genesis 24:12-13)

Moses spreading out his hands in prayer for God to stop the hail and thunder plagues in Egypt (Exodus 9:29-33)

Samson prayed standing between two pillars before bringing down the temple of Dagon (Judges 16:28-30)

Hannah standing up praying silently, only moving her mouth, appearing to be drunk! (1Samuel 1:13)

Solomon and the Israelites praying in repentance facing toward the Temple in Jerusalem (1Kings 8 and 2Chronicles 6)

Hezekiah praying with his face against the wall (2Kings 20:2 and Isaiah 38:2)

Ezra praying while weeping and throwing himself down before the temple in front of the Israelites (Ezra 10:1)

Daniel praying on his knees in an upstairs room facing Jerusalem three times a day (Dan.6:10)

Jonah praying from inside the fish--no telling what position his body was in at that point!  (Jonah 2:1)  Then later praying while sitting in a temporary shelter under a vine sitting outside of Ninevah (Jonah 4:2-11)

In the New Testament, Jesus taught many things about prayer.  Yet He NEVER prescribed a specific bodily position…even when His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray.  If there were a position that were holier than others, it would be unthinkable that the NT writers would’ve left it out!  

What we see in scripture is that when it comes to prayer, the emphasis is on the position of the heart rather than the position of the head, hands, knees or face.  This is summed up quite nicely by the editors of the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery in their article on “Prayer”:

“In many societies certain times and postures become symbols of prayer: a bowed head, closed eyes, folded hands or a kneeling position. In Scripture, posture, movement and time are mentioned in relationship with prayer, but no single time, place, gesture or posture becomes a metonymy for prayer. When Hezekiah prayed for deliverance he took a threatening letter to the temple and “spread it out before the LORD” (Is 37:14 NIV). People pray while standing, kneeling, lying down, lifting their hands, sitting, bowing or pounding their chest. The physical activity symbolizes an engagement of the whole being in the act of praying. But the bodily symbol is significant only if it accurately reflects the heart’s position toward God.

Prayer is deeply affected by the fact that human beings look “on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7 NIV). Long prayers in public places oppose the stance that Jesus taught (Mk 12:40). Likewise, even eloquent prayers are shunned if they are spoken by the unrighteous (Prov 28:9; Is 16:12). The posture most important in prayer is a posture of rest (trust in God) and of action (obedience).”

[Leland Ryken et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 659.]
 

So, does your body position matter when you pray?  Only if it affects how you pray.  If there is a position that you find uncomfortable to the point of distracting you from your conversation with God, then it is not a “holy” simply because it’s harder to maintain.  Think about it; would your spouse value talking to you more if you did so while struggling to balance on one foot?  Or would it actually hinder authentic communication between the two of you?  

Likewise, if praying in bed leads to you falling asleep before you’re able to fully express your thoughts and open your heart to God, then perhaps that is not the best position for you to be in for extended prayer times.  Again, this is why important heart-to-heart conversations with your spouse are often best carried out at another time and place than as you’re falling asleep in bed.  

Hope this helps.  Great question!  Keep ‘em coming!