Featured Do We Bow Down Enough in Church?

Do we bow down enough in church services?

The meaning of the Greek word most commonly translated "worship" (proskuneo) is :

worship or veneration of a divine or supposedly divine object, expressed concretely with falling face down in front of someone (Friberg Lexicon)​

This meaning is very clear in many of the uses of the word "worship" (proskuneo) in the Bible. For example:

NIV 1 Corinthians 14:25b So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

NIV Revelation 11:16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

I feel that many of our Baptist churches (including the one where I serve) may be missing something because we rarely have settings where we physically bow down before God. Of course, our heart attitude is far more important than our physical position. Still, is there something about the physical position of bowing on the floor which helps us feel and show our relationship to God? Does it more clearly show our submission to God? What do you think?

(Thanks to BaptistBoard member “John of Japan” for pointing out the meaning of proskuneo to me.)

 

You bring up some great points.

I too, feel that kneeling in private prayer is often helpful.

Also, the heart attitude is certainly more important than the body position. Still, I suspect that some of the discomfort/hesitation of kneeling in public worship comes from the fact that we don't do it very often.

 

Paul wrote:

ESV Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

Is physically bowing our knees part of Paul's example that we should be following? I think it is for those who are physically able to do so. Those who have knees or backs which are physically difficult to bow can follow this command be reverently bowing their heads. But I think that for most of us physically kneeling has some value. Or else, why did Paul emphasize it? He could have just said, "For this reason I pray to the Father . . .".

 

Yes, it is the heart attitude of submission to God which is most important. Some of our most godly saints are not even physically able to kneel and bow. Yet, for those who are able, the heart attitude should result in a glad willingness and even desire to kneel and bow. And I agree wholeheartedly with what you said:

 

The attitude of the heart is most important, yet there is a danger of misusing this truth. Our heart attitudes should always be reflected in our actions. And I think, based on the many examples of people bowing to God all throughout the Bible, that a heart attitude of submission to God should result in us physically bowing to Him.

Also, our actions do influence our hearts.

I read the Bible (an action) because I value God's Word (a heart attitued).

But it is also true that the more I read the Bible the more I value God's Word. So our actions are both caused by and also influence our heart attitudes.

Perhaps if we physically bowed more often then our hearts would become more submissive to God, just like reading the Bible more often causes our hearts to value God's Word more. It seems to me that it works that way. What do you think?

 

I also frequently pray and praise the Lord while walking my dog . I'm blessed to live in a location where I can walk through fields early in the morning where it is safe to let Sadie off her leash. Many times I feel God's presence on these walks and pray to Him and praise Him. Just this morning I took some picture of these flowers which grow wild where I walk:

 

Yes. And even better, a morning of seeing God's glory in the wild!

 

True! Yet we do not have to choose between a submissive heart and knees that sometimes kneel to pray, worship, and praise. Like Peter, we can have both:

ESV Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed;

 

And thanks for letting me know what they are called. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the names of flowers, plants, and trees, even though I appreciate their beauty.

 

ESV Acts 20:36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

ESV Acts 21:5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed

I'm sure we all agree that praying together is the most important part of the example to follow from the passages above. But Paul must have thought that there was some value in kneeling together with others in prayer, at least on some occasions. Perhaps we should do so a little more often?