Should we sit or stand during prayer? Or what should we do?

Full Question

Answer

In prayer, attitude of mind is the crucial thing, and our posture is not so important. But it is generally true that our inward attitude to God is revealed by external things. A parable of the Master is recorded in Luke 18. A Pharisee stood before God without shame; but a publi­can stood with head bowed. His words and posture showed the humility he felt in the presence of God.

A survey of Bible passages reveals that kneeling is the most common posture recorded for prayer—examples include Daniel, and the Lord in Gethsemane. But others are recorded sitting — like David, or Moses on the rock while Israel fought with Amalek. For public prayers, people mostly stood (Nehemiah 8:5-6), with head bowed (9:3,4) — in recognition of being only dust in the sight of God.