![]() If I were paralyzed, I would still be free to worship, to cry out to my Savior. I understand that I am free to commune with my Savior prostrate in the dark, in an idle moment in class, or walking through a grassy meadow. This emphasis is scriptural, and not without its peculiar benefits. The Reformed theological tradition lays particular emphasis on the contents of our prayers and our attitudes in offering them-the posture of our hearts, so to speak, over the posture of our bodies. ![]() Indeed, the Apostle Paul’s exhortation that we “pray without ceasing” requires a certain flexibility: If prayer is a continuous aspect of our daily ritual, then we must be prepared to pray while standing, walking, or lying in bed. While Jesus instructs us in the content of prayers, Scripture provides illustrations of the postures we might assume during prayer: standing, kneeling, bowing, lifting our eyes to heaven, lying prostrate, and raising our hands. The bulk of Jesus’ instruction comes in an exemplary prayer that includes the key elements of adoration, submission, supplication, and confession. In Matthew 6, when Jesus instructs the disciples how to pray, he only briefly addresses the delivery of prayers, cautioning them not to “heap up empty phrases” or to seek attention. How ought we to pray? Kneeling, standing, sitting, prostrate? Should we pray out loud, in song, or silently? The most specific instructions we receive in Scripture pertain to the content of our prayers, not to the outward delivery of those prayers.
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