“Bring us low in prayer before thee.”

Hymn: “We Are Gathered for Thy Blessing” – Paul Rader (1878-1938)
Tune: TABERNACLE

This hymn was written by a Denver-born American preacher who became the first radio evangelist. In today’s hymnline, Rader brings to our minds the New Testament parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector. I don’t usually include a Scripture passage, but here I think we need to be reminded of the details:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a  Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. [Luke 18:10-14]

This posture of humility… not even looking up when praying… was the more acceptable prayer – elegant in its attitude and simplicity.

“Prostrate” is a good worship word we use that helps us picture “bring us low in prayer before thee.”  It means falling flat on your face… sprawled out on the floor… getting as low as you can in the presence of God… avoiding any possibility of arrogance or entitlement.

When we were in Rome recently, we happened upon a church that was home to a small sect of believers whose worship was done prostrate on the floor before the altar. We were in the small basilica when one of their prescribed worship times began and were witnesses to their unusual ritual. As odd as it was for a pretty staid American Baptiterian, I was fascinated and moved by the way they so seriously lowered their bodies and lay face-down in the Presence for an extended period of time.

These give us mental pictures, but the point to all this is not so much the physical positioning as the heart posture. With as little hubris as possible, we approach the throne in such an unassuming way that our cries for mercy might be heard, and we might go on our way “justified before God.”

So, how low can you go?