Do You Need To Kneel Before The Lord?

DO YOU NEED TO KNEEL BEFORE THE LORD?
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith... Ephesians 3:14-17

How many times have you crumbled on the floor crying out to the Lord to help you as you face your marriage crisis? Will you humbly bow down on your knees before the Lord crying out for your husband or wife's salvation and their obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ's voice before you go to church?

In some churches you have the opportunity to kneel every Sunday. Some churches talk throughout the service about repenting of your sins or you may go forward and pray at the front of the church. Now that we have many large mega-churches you often do not have the opportunity to go forward and kneel at an altar. I pray that you will not to forget to bow down and kneel to the Lord in prayer even if it is at home during your devotion time. May we never forget the holiness of God.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:6-7

I must admit to you that I was blessed where I attended church while Bob was gone, as they had an altar all across the front of the church and had a special time of prayer every week for anyone to come forward to pray for a special need or to praise the Lord. I know in my heart that was a very special time with my Lord each Sunday, as well as my time at home at the end of our bed. In the past three years since Bob has died, I have had times where I will kneel down in front of Bob’s chair and pray or cry out to the Lord for His comfort, His direction, His wisdom or knowledge. Whenever I get up, I always have felt a peace that is beyond understanding.

Humble yourselves before the LORD, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

In one of my concordances it says that bowing the knees is the usual posture in prayer, showing the condition of the soul, bowing in humiliation, solemn and in urgency. I know before Bob died, he could not kneel on his knees due to knee problems or you may be sick. The Lord knows your physical limitations and your heart condition, so you do what you can do physically. But for the rest, I ask you, “Do you and I need to humble ourselves before the Lord more and kneel down as we go into His presence?†What did Jesus do?

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.†He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.†Luke 22:39-42

Will you join with me to bow down, kneel and cry out that thousands of prodigal husbands, wives and children will have a heart transformation like Saul did on the Damascus Road this Sunday? (Acts 9) As you know, I believe that on the Lord's Day many people have the Holy Spirit speak to them so strongly due to so many people praying in agreement for lost and backslidden souls to turn their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’†So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:11-12

I started this devotional with Paul kneeling down praying for his fellow Christians. May I repeat and continue the scripture that you and I can pray personalizing the scripture for all prodigals and for your beloved husband or wife.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you, ______ (your spouse or children) with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in (all) your hearts through faith. And I pray that you (and your family), being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

Oh, dear stander, I pray that this scripture will come alive in your heart today. If you do not know this scripture by heart or pray it regularly for your beloved husband, wife or child, I pray that you will read and pray it every day this week. This was Paul writing a letter to the church in Ephesus, but also knowing it would be circulated to the many other churches throughout the province of Asia. Paul's heart's desire, as mine is, was for his readers to advance in faith, love, wisdom and revelation of the Father of glory. Is that not what you want for your husband or wife? Paul wanted the Christians to live lives worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. How are you doing?

Do you know how many people in the Bible knelt down before God and the Lord Jesus? I cannot list all the scriptures, but here are a few:

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. Daniel 6:10-11

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!†she said. Matthew 15:25

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “LORD, have mercy on my son,†he said. Matthew 17:14-15

Will you obey the Lord and continue to pray and stand strong for the healing and resurrection of your hurting or dead marriage? I know the pain and hopelessness that you see in the natural, but may you never forget the power of your awesome mighty God who sent His only Son to die on the cross for all sinners. Yes, the circumstances may get worse for a season, but that is the enemy trying to get you to stop praying! Never forget the power of prayer. Let us follow the example of our Lord Jesus. Today let us pray for all the men of God who will preach the Gospel. Pray that they will “let down the nets†for a large catch of prodigal spouses and loved ones to repent and come home!

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.†Simon answered, “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.†When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!†For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men.†So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:4-11

Have a blessed day,

Charlyne Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.