How does posture, e.g. kneeling, change prayer?

Prayer is uttering words. But it is more than just uttering words. It is praying, not merely saying.

Yes, there is a difference between saying prayers and praying. We can mouth words absent of any emotion, any connection. Or we can pray, saying the same words, but meaning them, understanding them, intending them.

And posture " may" be somewhat related to this critical difference. You would admit that a person who stands upright and even arrogant will be less likely to supplicate (fancy word for praying). In prayer, we acknowledge the majesty of God, and approach God, in humility, with praise and request.

Prayer can legitimately contain request, be it request for good health, request for peace in the world, request to win the lottery. The latter request is best left off the prayer inventory, as we are all the better when entreating God for things that are important and necessary. Even if it is a poor person who is in need of funds, the request for adequate sustenance is much more appropriate than the request to win a lottery.

Back to posture. Imagine someone who has fallen deeply in love, and asks his beloved to marry him. One can do this sitting down, or standing up. And one can do this in a kneeling position, in a supplicative stance.

Asking on one's knees conveys the spirit of a genuine plea, that it is something one really wants, and is requesting in authentic humility. Don't you think that makes a difference, and increases the chances that the answer will be "yes"? Of course it does.

And of course praying when kneeling offers the same dimensional leap from mere mouthing to genuine pleading. We have every reason to believe that prayer as true plea is much more likely to reflect what prayer ought to be. There is no guarantee of what the answer will be, but at least the question will be correctly presented.

Originally published in the Ottawa Citizen on March 6, 2010