What should be the proper position of our body when we pray?  This is a question I posed to my Sunday School class a few months ago.  They are kindergarten and first graders.  The unanimous answer was….we must bow our heads, fold our hands and close our eyes.  This, of course, is what we have all been taught.  However, I decided to shake things up a bit.  The children were shocked!

     The Bible says we are to pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17)  Timothy tells us to pray everywhere. (I Timothy 2:8)  That means I can pray at any time and anywhere.  The children looked puzzled, so I threw in a few questions for them; can I pray when I’m driving my car?    Can I pray when I’m at the swimming pool?  Can I pray while I’m working in the garden or shoveling snow?  The children still  insisted that one must be a the right bodily position to pray.

     “You can’t pray when you’re driving,” Sophie said.  “Your eyes would be open.”       “You can’t pray when you’re swimming,” Josh insisted. “There are too many people at the pool and they are yelling and splashing around.”  “How could you pray when working in the garden?” Kinsey asked. ” You can’t pull weeds with your hands folded.”

     The children still believed that one must pray a certain way.  After much discussion, they admitted it would be good to pray at the pool, if someone was drowning.  God would hear us pray while we are driving, because we might be asking help to avoid an accident.  God can hear and answer prayers anywhere and in any way He desires, simply because He is God.

    I convinced them that God isn’t so concerned with the position of our bodies, but rather the position of our hearts.  He is everywhere and always ready to hear our prayers.  He  loves us so much that He would listen to our prayers even if we were standing on our heads.( I understand that some children are  now saying their bedtime prayers standing on their heads.)

     Talk about a “light bulb”moment.  You see it on their little faces, they finally got it.  Some adults should be so teachable.  We may pray in the church with our heads bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded, but we have anger, greed or unforgiveness in our hearts.   We are so entangled in tradition and ritual that we miss the blessing of continued fellowship with our Lord.

    You tell me, which position is most important to God?