Bowing the Knee
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! Psalm 91:6
Bowing our knees to pray is not as popular as it once was. With utter exhaustion at the end of each day, we just do not often get on our knees. There is an indescribable feeling of being humbled when this occurs when we look up to pray.
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An Amazing Fact: The largest and most complicated joint in the human body is the knee. It is a mobile pivotal hinge joint that permits flexion and extension. It is capable of slight turns that change the whole movement of the rest of the body. At birth, babies do not have a conventional kneecap, but a growth formed of cartilage. It becomes a normal kneecap for girls at age three and for boys at age five.
It is much easier to reach the ground when you are kneeling. Bending over to pick up an object on the floor can stress your lower back. If you spent a couple of hours weeding your garden by bending over, you will feel the horrible results the next morning.
Kneeling also demonstrates submission, reverence and obedience. Humility can be demonstrated by a kneeling posture. The apostle Paul writes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. …He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross” (Philippians 2:5,8). Paul practiced humility himself by referring to himself as “the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9). It took great humility for Christ to take the form of a “bondservant” and come “in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
On a visit to the Beethoven Museum in Bonn, a young American student became fascinated by the piano on which Beethoven had composed some of his greatest works. She asked the museum guard if she could play a few bars on it; she accompanied the request with a lavish tip, and the guard agreed. The girl went to the piano and tinkled out the opening of the Moonlight Sonata. As she was leaving, she said to the guard, “I suppose all the great pianists who come here want to play on that piano.”
The guard shook his head, “Paderewski [a famed Polish pianist] was here a few years ago and said he wasn’t worthy to touch it.”
It is much easier to reach God when you are kneeling. Bow on your knees before the Lord today and remember who is most worthy of praise.
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Melody in G flat major by Paderewski
Loving Father, please let me be humble in Your Presence as I seek to be more like You every day. AMEN.