Why Do We Kneel in Prayer?
There used to be a time not long ago when pews or sitting furniture of any kind were wholly absent from the sanctuary. Let’s be honest, we’re a bit removed from the ancient traditions of the Church when it comes to furniture and prayer. We now live in an era when comfortable chairs are replacing pews.
Kneelers have given way, and comfort is more important than anything else. Nevertheless, whether it is the early church’s triclinium or the ecclesia’s empty naves and great basilicas, our tradition of prayer and worship is almost exclusively based on standing and kneeling.
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Whole-Bodied Worship
It cannot be overstated that liturgical worship is participatory and whole-bodied in nature. While many traditions and churches have distanced themselves from the faith of the historic church, they have relegated their experiences to the purely mental. Liturgical worship incorporates sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Rather than a 45-minute sermon geared toward one’s ability to think—and I think that right doctrine is sound!—worship according to ancient practices intentionally engages the whole person. God desires the worship of all who we are.
It is common to kneel during all prayers. This includes the confession and absolution of sins, the Eucharistic prayer after the Sanctus, and the blessing given by the priest. Kneeling in such contexts is far more than merely keeping to tradition or the status quo. It is an intentional decision by the individual and the parish to honor the Lord both verbally and physically.
Kneeling, Worship, & Submission
To kneel is to submit, it is to worship, and it is to recognize that He is King and we are not. This is why actions are just as important as words. When the Lord of Lords enters into our worship through the assembly, Word, and Eucharistic elements, it is only natural and right to proclaim our loyalty to him through word and deed. Failure to do so, while not inherently wrong, would be to separate our minds from our hearts and bodies.
All of this leads us to a simple question: why do we kneel in prayer? The biblical witness, the ancient practices of Judeo-Christian worship, and a whole-bodied theology of worship offer insight into this rich and robust experience.
Biblical Witness
Throughout Scripture, the powerful stories of individuals who gestured with their bodies during prayer to honor God are laced. It is abundantly clear that the position of our bodies can and should match the spiritual realities and attitudes of our hearts. Offerings, sacrifices, gestures, movements, songs, proclamations, actions, rituals, and ceremonies have been at the heart of Christian worship. This has been the case since the time of the Garden when Adam and Eve were to direct the worship of creation back to the Creator.
Moses encounters the Living God in the burning bush and is commanded to remove his shoes,
When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Exodus 3:4, 5
The simple removal of sandals demonstrated and acknowledged the holiness of God. David danced “undignified” before the LORD when the Ark of the Covenant was returned from Philistia.
Prophets, Apostles, Kneeling in Prayer, & the Lord Jesus
Daniel, chapter six, records his thrice-daily practice of kneeling in prayer to YHWH. This practice led to his evening stay in the Lion’s Den (Daniel 6:10). Solomon knelt before the altar and prayed to the LORD. He did this with his hands stretched toward heaven (1 Kings 8:54). Ezra fell on his knees before the LORD at the evening sacrifice (Ezra 9:5). In his epistle to the church at Ephesus, St. Paul writes a prayer. He says that he “bows his knee before the Father” (Ephesians 3:14). The prophet Isaiah and the New Testament writers all point toward the day when,
… “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
Rom 14:11
Even Jesus knelt in prayer to the Father (Luke 22:41) while in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest and subsequent murder.
Perhaps most apparent is the verse from which the psalmist urges the assembly,
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Psalm 95:6
There is an inherent connection between kneeling and worshipping: that which we do with our bodies is as expressive as our words, if not more so.
Ancient Practices
The Acts of the Apostles is the earliest glimpse we have into the church’s most primitive years. Throughout its pages, we find Peter and the other apostles kneeling in prayer. Peter knelt before raising Tabitha (9:40). Paul did so after speaking to the crowd (20:36). Luke recounts another experience in Acts 21:5. The earliest Christians firmly believed in kneeling for prayer.
I have already pointed out the two most obvious practices of Jewish worship and the worship of the early church in the verses above: daily prayer. Contrary to the semi-popular belief from the early 19th century, the worship of the church grew out of and continued the practices of Israel. They worshipped YHWH in the Temple and synagogues. Our worship is appropriately Judeo-Christian in nature. The offering prayer, recited at set times throughout the day, is not a Christian invention. As early as Daniel—and perhaps earlier—we see prayer occurring three times a day.
Daily Prayer Established in the Old Testament
Daily prayer involved kneeling, a la Psalm 95:6 and Daniel 6:10, as a gesture of humility and reverence. The Church began facing Eastward, looking for the Lord’s second coming in the sky, during Sunday worship and the celebration of the Eucharist. To kneel in prayer while facing toward the East was to submit yourself fully to God’s story, plan, and holiness.
It became common in the church’s worship to kneel during the words of the Eucharistic prayer. This is the pinnacle moment of the liturgy. The traditions of both Judaism and Christianity indicate that kneeling is a fundamental gesture that is inseparable from prayer. We are a whole people made by a Holy God. Our worship of Him ought to acknowledge such a reality: to kneel is to worship through prayer.
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