What did Lord Jesus Christ disciple the church about ‘posture’ during prayer?
Jesus’ disciples are the ones who asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and the reference is there.
Thank you and shalom in Jesus name
Hello @Fredjames
I’m not totally sure what you are asking, but I will give it a shot. It’s a common misconception that Jesus prescribed a specific physical “manual” for prayer. In fact, if you look at the Gospels, Jesus was a bit of a “posture rebel.” He seemed far less concerned with whether your knees were hitting the floor and far more concerned with where your heart was pointing.
He used various physical stances depending on the situation, but his teaching always prioritized sincerity over ceremony. Jesus himself modeled several different physical positions. I suggest that this is showing that the “correct” posture is whichever one matches your current spiritual state:
The most common Jewish posture of the time was standing. Jesus assumes this in many of his parables, Mark 11:24-25, for example.
“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
Kneeling was used in moments of intense petition or submission. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke 22:41 notes he knelt to pray.
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,”
Prostrate or face down. In that same moment of extreme agony in Gethsemane, Matthew 26:39 says he “fell with his face to the ground.” This represents total undoing and absolute surrender.
When multiplying the loaves or healing, Jesus often looked toward heaven (Mark 6:41, John 11:41), symbolizing his connection and appeal to the Father’s authority.
Then Jesus talked about the posture of the heart (The “Inner Room”). When Jesus explicitly taught about how to pray (rather than just modeling it), he focused on spatial posture rather than physical limbs.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6), he warned against the “Legalists” of his day—the Pharisees—who stood on street corners to be seen. He taught: Go into your ‘inner room’: This is a posture of secrecy. By closing the door, you strip away the “audience” and ensure your prayer isn’t a performance for others.
Avoid “vain repetitions”: This is a posture of relational trust. Legalism suggests that if you say the right words enough times, you “activate” God. Jesus taught that God already knows what you need; you aren’t “informed” by your prayer, you’re “aligned” by it.
Hope this helps.
Peter
First of all, let’s not be haughty and wise in our own conceit.
Instead of making things and answers short and simple like our Master given to children, we unwisely make it complicated and irrelevant.
Confusing the children even more than they already are, because Jesus teaching is simple even in regards to the ‘posture’ given or forbiden to the church.
It’s in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, let’s stick to that and thank you.
Jesus didn’t give any specific instructions as far as the correct posture for prayer, but I believe we can conclude from Scripture that the posture of our heart toward God when we pray is to be like a beloved child talking with a parent—respectful, truthful, trusting.
As far as physical posture, I think it is appropriate to stand, sit, kneel, depending on the situation. The church I attend has times of prayer in the service in which churchgoers are invited to kneel, and I find that this submissive, reverent posture can help my heart adopt the same kind of posture toward God.
One other thing I’ll note is that Jesus warned several times not to pray for the sake of sounding good or looking impressive to others. So, I would say, whatever posture you feel is most natural to you and allows you to focus on God rather than what others think of you and your praying is probably the best.
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How would you apply that to what I shared to answer the question?
What is your example that you seem to be the answer to the question? At the beginning of Matthew is a geography, the birth of Jesus, etc. How is any of that
Peter
Amen. God does not care how you come, just that you do. Jesus biggest complaint was being a “Holy for show only” person. He said they have their reward.
Peter
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What about the sermon on the mount, the beginning of Christ making disciples for the Kingdom of GOD after they became born again?
And the same before His ascension, He commissioned them to make disciples of all nation as well?
Why are you and alike, give us your own teaching about the ‘posture’ during prayer, and ignore Christ’s teaching even in context?
Looks like you and alike are not His disciples, but rather disciples of man made doctrines and church traditions.
GOD does not care how you come??
As a result that’s why we have divided denominations and lawlessness in Christendom, where each church does their own thing.
Without faith in the every word that proceeded out of the mouth of GOD, one cannot please GOD.
Yet GOD pours out HIS goodness during the grace period for repentance and change, but towards the end there’ll be live or damnation.
While there’s time to get serious, let’s get serious, because obeying His commandments is to love Him.
Thank you
Can someone help me out here? I must be missing something. The question is
pos·ture /ˈpäsCHər/ noun The position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting.
I responded that Jesus showed us it did not matter
Standing, praying on His knees, face down. He is not concerned with your posture, but rather that you come to Him in prayer anyway you can. I guess this is not what @Fredjames was asking?
I guess someone needs to clarify the question a bit more for me. If you @Fredjames is saying there is only one posture to prayer, then YOU are the one who is giving us your own teachings, and not following what Jesus Himself demonstrated.
Peter
Serious allegations from you here, “you and like”…
…the context of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) makes it clear that His statements were primarily directed to His disciples rather than to the crowds at large. The opening verse of the sermon explicitly frames it as a teaching to “His disciples” -Matthew 5:1–2[1]. The repeated pronouns and imperatives in the Beatitudes and throughout the sermon assume a committed, ongoing relationship with Him, which is characteristic of disciples, not casual listeners.
When Jesus speaks about being salt and light, about loving enemies, or about fulfilling the Law, these instructions presuppose the capacity for intimate adherence and moral formation, which He expects from disciples who have responded to His call and are undergoing formation under His instruction. The crowds may observe, but the content is addressed to those who are following Him and who are being trained to embody the kingdom ethic.
In terms of “making disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), that is a commissioning statement given later, after the resurrection, which extends beyond the immediate context of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon lays the ethical and spiritual foundation for discipleship, whereas the Great Commission operationalizes that discipleship outwardly. In other words, the teaching of Matthew 5–7 is preparatory and formative for those already committed, not a universal call to all people in the crowd.
Mat 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.
J.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them - ESV ↩︎