Prayer Posture

Did you know that if you say “Let’s pray,” to a bunch of first graders sitting on the carpet, most, if not all, of them will curl up in little balls with their knees under them in the position of “lowly toads” (in the words of Prince in The King and I)? As far as I know, no one has ever told my first graders to assume this position. It just seems to feel right to them. I’ve been teaching first grade for nine years, and they have taken this humble posture ever since we have been sitting on the carpet for Bible-time. Do you think grown-ups would bow humbly like that if we were sitting on the floor to pray? Would our bones allow us to do so?

They impress me with this position, because, if you think about it, when we talk to God, we are, after all, speaking to the Creator, Sustainer of Life, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What better position should we take? He is worthy of that kind of honor and humility.

But when the children talk to Him, they do not cower before Him. They pour their hearts out to Him as one would speak to a father. They don’t seem to worry about how they word their prayers or whether they are asking correctly. They have complete confidence that He is hearing them, that He cares about anything they care about, and that He wants what is best for them. They lay their requests before Him in simple trust.

One of my favorite “Jesus episodes” is in Mark 10:12-14 when the disciples tried to prevent the children from bothering Jesus. Jesus rebuked them, saying, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

Jesus longs to have a that kind of pure relationship with each one of us. We can better grasp the essence of our relationship with the King of Kings, our Savior, by paying attention to the humility and faith of the little children around us.