Prayer & Kneeling in the Church

Consistently throughout the Bible, God calls us to pray. There are numerous reasons for prayer, but the simple desire to communicate with God should drive us to our knees. In early churches, worshipers would kneel on the floor of the church or on the ground, depending on the building. However, in many instances, worshipers would demonstrate humility by lying with their face to the ground.

The ultimate position of humbleness is to lie prostrate in prayer to the Lord. Throughout the Bible, in times of crisis and need or in thanksgiving to God, worshipers would fall on their face and pray. “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:3). “And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Luke 5:12).

Prayer position is important in that it is an outward manifestation of what we are feeling. A common Christian prayer posture is to bow your head, whether seated or standing. But how many of us have come before God in a moment of crisis or during a stressful situation beyond our control and literally hit our knees or fell on our face before Him? Our body language echoes the woes of our hearts and shows reverence to whom we speak. This is why many churches offer kneeling furniture, even if kneeling is not part of the worship service.

Kneelers are an important staple in many church sanctuaries. Some churches – especially Catholic churches - have pews that contain built-in kneelers. These kneelers are used throughout the service during the Catholic Mass ritual. Confessional booths in Catholic churches and in some Anglican churches might also contain kneelers.

You might see altar rails with built-in kneelers in many Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches. Within the Catholic Church, church members can kneel and receive communion from their priest. In the Lutheran Church, altar rails are sometimes accessible to members who wish to give confession to their pastor. Altar rails are used in some Methodist churches as a means of receiving communion and during confirmation, in which congregation members seek to become members of the church after a confession of faith.

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Matthew, Jesus describes Himself as “Meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). If this is the character of our Lord and Savior, and if we are to try to model our behavior after Him, then seeking a meek position during our prayer time, when possible, should be a goal.