Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Christmas week.
I grew up in a little congregation where they read the Gospel, sang hymns from the heart, and kneeled in prayer. It was a small Reformed Episcopal Church; very conservative, very evangelical, but also very liturgical. Our church even had kneelers. Sunday worship was serious business and I learned as a little girl what it meant to bend my knee in prayer before the Lord.
Now, this thing about kneeling is not a make-or-break issue when it comes to praying. Obviously, God listens whether His people pray standing, sitting, or lying prostrate. Still, Psalm 95, verse 6 says, "Come, let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." So what's my point about kneeling? Only this: I wish I could do it. Being paralyzed, it's impossible for me to kneel in prayer. I remember one time being at a convention banquet, when the speaker closed his message by asking everyone in the room to kneel for prayer. All five hundred people pushed their chairs away from the table and got on their knees -- all except me. I sat there crying; oh, not because I felt awkward, or sad that I was the only one in the entire banquet hall who was still sitting up, no, I cried because as I looked around I was struck with the beauty of seeing so many people bow in worship. I remember breathing a prayer: "O, Lord Jesus, I can't wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. And the first thing I will do is to drop on grateful, glorified knees."
On the day I receive my new body in heaven, I'm sure Jesus will be delighted to watch me stretch glorified muscles and dance on tiptoe. But there's something I plan to do that may please Him more. I will kneel. To choose not to move in heaven will be my demonstration to Him of heartfelt thanks for the grace He gave all those many years when my legs and hands were paralyzed. It will be my sacrifice of praise.
Why do I share this special story on Christmas week? Because this week we are celebrating the Savior’s birth. Christ came into the world to save sinners. What an astounding present God hands to us -- the opportunity to know the great Triune God, the Everlasting Father, the Almighty through His Son, Jesus. It is a gift worthy of our highest praise and deepest adoration. And so, this Christmas week, Psalm 95, verse 6 is especially fitting: "Come, let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."
So today, do what so many who are paralyzed, or too lame, or too old, cannot do. Read Psalm 95 and take the advice of the Holy Spirit, and give an outward demonstration of your inward gratitude by kneeling in prayer – maybe that’s something you used to do a long time ago, but you haven’t done in many years. Well, sometimes a physical expression (like getting down on your knees to pray) is a visible way of showing your highest respect, and praise, and greatest adoration. And believe me, the gift of salvation that God gave us through Jesus that first Christmas morning, well, it’s worthy of taking a moment to kneel, kneel in prayerful gratitude. And one more thing, when you do kneel in prayer, please be grateful for knees that you have that are able to bend to the will of God. Just something to remember and be thankful for from the lady in the wheelchair!
© Joni and Friends
Compliments of Joni and Friends
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