This is the Truth Network. Encouraging prayer. God offers an open invitation for His people to talk with Him at any time about anything. On encouraging prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.
And now, here's James.
Well, I am intrigued today on encouraging prayer as we're going to get physical in prayer, and at least we're going to talk about getting physical when we pray, Robbie.
So I'm very curious and where this is going.
Okay, well, you know, it is really important for us to understand that our bodies matter when we pray, and you see that in Scripture. You know, for example, you see in in Psalm ninety five, David says, "Come, let us bow down and worship; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." You know, or you see Mary and Martha, and what's married? Martha's running around, but Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet. You know. Or there's another one in Scripture where you see David dancing before the Lord, and you know he's praying, he's praising God, he's thanking him, and so there's scriptural precedent for what we're about to talk about, and I really want to underscore that strongly as we start because I think our nature is to push back against this.
Yeah, yeah, I. No doubt it does, but I'm very, I'm more intrigued. Carry on.
Okay.
Well, Tim Hawkins, the Christian comedian, has this great routine that a lot of us have seen. And if you haven't seen it, you know, if you're one of our listeners, you haven't seen it, then then look it up on YouTube. And what he talks about is hand raising styles during worship. And you know he he jokes about carry the TV or big screen or my fish was this big or hold my baby all all these different things he he goes through, and you know he's he's kind of looking at the tendency to people that people have to use their bodies in different ways, and it's fun the way he does it, but you know. This matters.
It really does matter. Do we just stand there, or or do we give ourselves physically, or do we say, "No, I can't get down on my knees because my knees hurt"?
Well, you know, as you and I were talking about beforehand, what about praying about your knees before you get down on them? I mean, you know, God. You know, I think about James. They said he had camel knees, right? Refer to well.
You know, he was probably an old guy at that point, and you know, whatever it took, there he was.
Well, yeah. When you think about it from a human perspective, if somebody came to you with their arms crossed and they're talking to you like this, it's the body language you are reading that full on, exactly, exactly. But if they come to you, I mean, and honestly, you know. You know, I can't picture it necessarily, but if they did get down on their knees and they're pleading with all their heart, and you see the humility in that, your attitude towards that is going to be completely different. Yeah, yep.
And and if if this challenges you a little, please stay with me. I'm not meaning to offend anybody, but I am meaning to say there is more because look at the way Robbie points out body language. I think that is so helpful. C.S. Lewis writes this in in Screw Tape Letters.
He says, at the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers, for they constantly forget what you must always remember. And here, you know, this is one demon talking to his, his under secretary, and he says, "What you must always remember is that they are animals, and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls." And man, that's that's true. And Lewis writes elsewhere: the body ought to pray as well as the soul. Both soul and body are better for it. And.
Man, I I think that is so true. You know, if if you if there hasn't been a time in your life where where you have sinned and and you feel like I can't confess the sin without getting down on my knees before God, even if it hurts, then something's wrong. You know, because because we need to use our bodies when we pray. We just need to, and it helps us pray better. And I would point out, from my personal experience, for that, that if your knees start to hurt, get on your face.
It's it's another posture, but it's a posture of humiliation. Like I can't believe, you know, as C.S. Lewis would say, the inner cesspool inside of me is a real stinker, and sometimes. You know, you have to confess that, and and you can't get too low. From my perspective, it it that that I've heard it said that God is so close to humility; it's like his shadow.
You know, because he is so humble that you know anything that's prideful, that like what you're too good to get. No, no. And again, it's your soul, and it it it may be more that you need it than he needs it. That's right.
So, so lie down before him, kneel before him, lift your hands, bow. You know, just just dance before him. You use your body to praise him, because again, Lewis gets it right. I think you know the body ought to pray. As well as the soul, there's a passage in Deuteronomy 10 that that fits this perfectly.
From my perspective, it says to keep these commandments. And I wish I could give you the exact verse right this second. I can't, but I can tell you it's in Deuteronomy 10, and it says you keep all your commandments and you keep the the ordinances and the statutes for your own good, not for God's good, right? It's for your good. And so I love way C.S.
Lewis puts that. It's not necessarily that God needs you to do that; is that it's for your good. You will be blessed if you do these things. It's beautiful.
Well, it'd be a good time to pray. Let's do it. Abba Father, I'm lifting my hands as I pray to you right now because I know this is pleasing to you, and I know it helps me. And so, Lord, I ask that you would just help us to lose any inhibitions that we have with regard to using our bodies, especially as we pray in private before you. Lord, please just bless us to give ourselves wholly to you.
In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
