I have a wonderful announcement:
I FINISHED THE OLD TESTAMENT!!!
((insert punch-dance celebration here))
I wrote a really long, great big Old Testament blog in my personal site, so feel free to check it out if you’re brave.
What’s up with the gangster title?
Well, aside from being a hardcore gangster on my free time and doing things like…
rolling down volcanoes in Nicaragua, why not
bearing arms like a boss
petting tigers, no big deal
making a mud-stache and a unibrow, then taking creepy pictures
… This blog is actually about my knee caps.
The Knights that say “knee” was the runner-up title.
High-five yourself if you get that reference.
God wants me to pray on my knees.
My first reaction? Nah.
There’s freedom in Christ. I can pray sitting down, laying down, I can pray while driving, with my eyes open, etc. Besides, praying on my knees when I have absolutely no alone time is a bit showy. We barely have space in our room. Also, I have tendonitis on both knees from track & field, crosscountry, powerlifting, marathon training etc. Lord knows my knees are sensitive. Oh, and my kneeling posture must be off, because my legs go numb so quickly. Yeah. That’s it. Plus, it’s just so stinkin’ uncomfortable.
Nah.
That was my hefty list of excuses. All true.
But God was asking me to kneel, dagnabit!
The real reasons I wouldn’t kneel? Pride. I’m lazy. It’s out of my comfort zone.
Can you believe I actually refused to pray on my knees? Believe it.
But today I got over myself and hit my knees.
I hit my knees when I was praying for my sisters in Christ.
I hit my knees praying for peace, clarity, and discernment.
I hit my knees asking God to heal a little boy’s eyes.
I hit my knees crying out “thank You, God” over and over, because He is faithful.
God wanted me to humble myself and have my physical posture match my spiritual posture in prayer.
We’ve all heard the song “I Can Only Imagine” and this reminded me of the part that says “Would I stand in Your presence or to my knees would I fall? Would I sing hallelujah? Would I be able to speak at all?”
I couldn’t imagine myself casually standing or sitting, much less laying down in God’s presence. He is HOLY, and BIG, and AWESOME, and SHINY. I’m pretty sure I’d be on the floor, facedown. It’d take a lot of time and coaxing for me to get up. Maybe this is what God is trying to teach me.
Start on the floor. Start with awe. Go from there, but stay there a while.
God gives me the freedom and confidence to approach His throne of grace in my time of need (Hebrews 4:16) and my time of need is all the time.
It is up to me, however, to choose how and how much I approach God's throne of grace.
Does that mean I’ll be praying on my knees every single time I pray? Nope. But I’m gonna make a conscious effort to have kneeling prayers.
He’s pulling me through a time focused on
humility, intimacy, and vulnerability.
After much reluctance, I’m busting my pride, my laziness, my comfort zone, and yes…
I’m busting caps, yo!
