Ways To Praise: Stand Or Kneel

Leon FontaineDevoted

Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Nehemiah 9:5

 

Have you ever wondered why we tend to stand in church during praise and worship? And how did the tradition of kneeling to pray get started?

We’ve been on a series of devotionals talking about different ways to praise God, and today we’re going to cover a couple more. Standing and kneeling are biblical ways to worship God.

Both Nehemiah 9:5 and 1 Chronicles 23:30 talk about standing to worship God. Deuteronomy 10:8 talks about how priests used to “stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name,” and whenever God’s Word was read in the synagogues, God’s people stood to their feet. Standing is a way of communicating reverence.

Kneeling is also a way to praise God, according to Psalm 95:6. It says, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Even in the New Testament, kneeling is mentioned. Ephesians 3:14 talks about kneeling before God, and Philippians 2:10-11 talks about every knee bowing at the name of Jesus.

Does this mean that we have to stand or kneel to praise God? No, you can praise God while driving your car and first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. You can praise him while you’re sitting at your desk and when you’re in the shower. However, standing and kneeling can help you focus on God, so if you’re having trouble keeping your attention on him during your prayer time, try it. These are just two more tools you can use to help you cultivate his presence every day.