Why do we always kneel when we pray?” asked Tommy as he was visiting the Reeds one evening.
“We kneel because the Bible tells us to. It says, ‘O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker’ (Psalm 95:6),” said Harold.
“That’s right,” said Mother. “You see, children, prayer is a form of worship. When we pray, we talk to the Creator of all the worlds in the universe. By kneeling we show that we appreciate His greatness and majesty. Do you remember what Daniel did when he prayed?”
“He prayed three times a day with his window open,” answered Linda.
“And the bad men put him into the den of lions,” Betty Lou volunteered.
“Did the lions eat him up?” asked Tommy.
“Oh, no! God sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths so tight that they couldn’t hurt him.”
Then Mother asked, “Do you remember what the wise men did when they looked upon baby Jesus in His mother’s arms?”
“They gave Him precious gifts,” the children answered.
“That’s right, but they did something even better—they recognized Him as their King, and they worshiped Him.”
“Why don’t we always kneel when we pray?” Harold asked. “We didn’t kneel in the big tent at the camp meeting.”
Mother hesitated. When she was sure she had thought of the right answer, she said, “Sometimes the floor may not be very clean. The Bible tells us that the people stood during the dedication of the temple, while King Solomon knelt to pray.
“It makes a difference where we are and what we are doing,” continued Mother. “One day Nehemiah was standing before the king of Persia. The king asked, ‘Why are you sad, seeing you are not sick? What favor would you like to ask?’ Before saying a word, Nehemiah prayed that he might know how to answer the king. This story shows how quickly God can answer a prayer that is made in faith.”
Mother continued, “One day, while Jesus was standing with His friends at the grave of Lazarus, the Saviour lifted His eyes and thanked God aloud because God always heard Him when He prayed.
“Abraham’s servant prayed that God would help him find the right wife for Isaac. His prayer was answered quickly and he simply bowed his head and thanked the Lord right there where he stood. It is right for us to send up a silent prayer wherever we are, even when we are going about our work.”
“I can understand that,” Linda remarked. “Of course we can’t kneel down and pray while we are walking down the street or playing in the park; people would think us queer.”
“That’s right,” Mother answered. “But we can lift our hearts in silent prayer for God’s blessing. As we go to Sabbath school and church we should have a prayer in our heart that we may be reverent and remember that we are in a holy place.”
“How wonderful it is that morning and evening we can kneel here together and talk to God and call Him our Father!” continued Mother. “The first thing we can do each morning is to open our heart’s door to Jesus and ask Him to come in and stay with us. Talk to Jesus during the day. Tell Him how much you love Him, and how thankful you are that He loves you.”
Happy Home Stories, by Ella M. Robinson, (Teach Services, Inc.)