Take A Bow

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.” – Ephesians 3:14-15.

Whenever the subject of kneeling or bowing before God comes up, Philippians 2:9-11 is sure to come up pretty quick, and for good reason: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.” 

Paul echoes this in Romans 14:11: ”As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.”  This is the proper response when encountering the name of Jesus. This verse calls on every being in the universe to recognize His position. Because of His position, we should love Him, serve Him, worship Him, praise Him and obey Him.

The reason why we should bow down, and worship God only, is because it is God who woke you up this morning. It is God who blessed you with food to eat. It is God who gave you clothes to wear. It is God who gave you shelter over your head. It is God who healed you when you were sick. It was God who delivered you when you were in trouble. It is God who blesses you to work a job and earn money to pay your bills and provide for your family. It is God who enables you to do well in school. It is God who answers your prayers.  We ought to bow down and worship God because He is our Creator, our Heavenly Father, our Deliverer, our Healer, our Provider from whom all of our blessings flow.

We should bow down because as C.S. Lewis said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. Jesus laid aside His heavenly glory to live among us.”

God is worthy to be bowed down to and for us to give Him worship and praises. Daniel did. “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10)  Peter did as well. “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

Aren’t we all.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you believe bowing or kneeling before God is optional or mandatory? Why?
2. What activities in your life help you most in surrendering, worshiping, and expressing gratitude to God?
3. Do you believe the more we know God the deeper and easier our worship flows? Why or why not?
4. What can we do this week to know God just a little bit better?