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STANDING: BEING READY
Imagine your normal posture; perhaps you most often sit or even slouch? Now, imagine someone in authority comes into the room, perhaps the Prime Minister, the US President or a member of the Royal Family. Chances are that you would get out of your seat, stand straight and look attentive. Now, the Lord of heaven and Earth is present with us here. Let’s stand.
Notice how you need to use your muscles to remain upright; standing before God means being prepared for action. When you stand, you are ready for anything: ready to walk or run anywhere. When the prophet Ezekiel is called into service by God, God begins by saying to Ezekiel, ‘Son of Man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.’ When Ezekiel stands, God continues, ‘I am sending you…’ Paul encourages the church in Ephesus to put on the armour of God, ‘So that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand’ (Ephesians 6:13).
We stand in readiness before God. Let your posture be a prayer stating that you are ready to be called and sent.
KNEELING: PETITIONING
Imagine that you are going to ask someone to marry you. What is the traditional position for this? Or think about when you really desperately need something from someone, you might say, ‘I’m on my knees!’ It is very unusual in Western culture, but kneeling still has the power to show that you are asking respectfully for something. Now, God our perfect provider is here with us. Let’s kneel.
When you kneel, you make yourself lower than the other, you are acknowledging that the other, in this case God, is greater than you. You may notice that you feel more vulnerable while kneeling; it’s not so easy to simply run off, so you have to entrust your well-being into God’s hands. In the Gospels, people are constantly falling on their knees before Jesus, begging him for help. In Matthew’s Gospel alone there’s the leper who kneels and says, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean,’ (8:2), the man seeking help, who kneels before Jesus begging, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son!’(17:15), the Canaanite woman seeking healing for her daughter who kneels and cries out, ‘Lord, help me!’ (15:25), and many more.
We kneel in petition before God. Allow your posture to state your need for help. God already knows your needs, but in this moment you may want to speak them out to him, and pray in the simple words of the Canaanite woman, ‘Lord, help me!’
BOWING: REVERENCE AND AWE
Imagine a bright light suddenly appearing, so bright that your eyes can’t cope and your brain struggles to process it. In the light something mysterious is moving. Is it a man? Or some other creature? You are filled with a heady mix of fear, excitement and awe. If you were to respond like most people dealing with this kind of experience, you may well bow low to the ground or even fall on your face. Jesus the light of the world is present with us. Let’s bow low.
When you are bowed low, you are in a place of complete surrender. You acknowledge that you are utterly defenceless; there’s no running away, there’s no fighting. When the apostle writes in the book of Revelation of his vision of the risen Jesus, he says, ‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.’ We bow before that same Jesus, the son of God who has conquered death and evil. We are in awe of the light of the world. Spend some time in reverent worship, simply being.
SITTING: RESTING
Imagine running in to a really good friend that you haven’t seen for some time, and neither of you are in any great hurry to go anywhere. What would you like to do? Of course, many of us enjoy walking, or even running, with friends. But when it comes to a really good catch-up, or just being together with a loved one, we often find somewhere to sit together. Now, the friend of sinners is here with us. Let’s sit down.
When we read of Jesus sitting down in the Gospels, it’s most often in the context of sharing a meal with friends, or clarifying some detail of his teaching with his inner circle of disciples. Sitting down is not the moment for great discourse or for teaching large crowds. It’s the time for questions and answers, for listening and sharing. In the story of Jesus having a meal in Martha and Mary’s house, Jesus praises Mary’s ability to come to rest by his feet, intimately close, listening to his words, while Martha is on her feet, distracted by her long to-do list and chores.
Let’s rest a while in the presence of Jesus. Say with your stillness and your relaxed muscles that you aren’t going anywhere in a hurry. Jesus has your full attention. Quiet your own thoughts, and listen out for the still small voice of God.
RAISED HANDS: PRAISING
Imagine that your favourite sports team scores the winning point just at the last moment of the match. What do you instinctively do? It is a very natural thing to lift your hands, punch the air or wave your arms around. It is a joyful, exuberant and grateful posture. Now, the victorious God of eternity is here with us. Let’s stand and raise our hands.
Raising hands in worship has become a charismatic Christian cliché, but it has roots in the Bible. In Nehemiah 8:6 it is reported that when the prophet Ezra led the people in worship, they all raised their hands to praise God. The Psalmist encourages us to ‘Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord’ (134:2).
If you are not used to it, raising hands can feel awkward or even embarrassing. But in some ways that might be part of the point - you are stretching out in a very obvious and visible way, as if saying to God and the world ‘all of me belongs to God’. As you move beyond your inhibitions it can also feel very freeing and joyful to raise your hands with abandon to God.
Use your posture of raised hands to give God praise. You might want to start singing a song, or lifting up prayers of thanks for who God is and what he has done.REA
