| Recently, on a Sabbath afternoon, as we watched the ordination of Pastor Wilson Bridges, we saw everyone kneel, in appropriately socially-distanced fashion, during the ordination prayer. They all rose safely from kneeling. When we attend Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in person, most attendees kneel in congregational prayer; those in choir and in the balcony usually stand for prayer. But some of us have weak knees, perhaps praying at our seats, for getting down and up from kneeling is difficult. Now, when we are home, attending church remotely and serving through prayer and acts of concern, how are our knees? One of the trees in the Washington, DC area grows strong and tall, even in swamps, because it is balanced on its knees that rise up beyond its widened trunk. It is the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), a cone-bearing tree that drops needles in autumn from its long drooping branches. In winter, its branches sway easily in icy winds, for they bear only the weight of dry cypress cones. It is not essential to physically kneel in prayer. God knows us and hears us in any position we may be. We can kneel–in our thoughts–to honor God, as we pray. That is what must stay strong. And, as we pray, we can leave aside all other concerns, for God knows them all. We can raise our hands–in our thoughts–to praise God: not a thing needs to weigh us down. “Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather, be healed.” Hebrews 12:12,13 English Standard Version |