Then Abram fell on his face.
– Genesis 17:3
That’s actually all I want to read from this verse. There’s so much surrounding this in Genesis 17 as God speaks to Abram and gives some covenant promises and tells Abram how much he’s going to bless him and how he’s God Almighty, who is for him. It’s an amazing scene, and that’s just it.
Genesis 17:3 portrays the Awe-Filled response of true worship.
The reason I want to read Genesis 17:3 and lead us to prayer according to just this small part is because of Abram’s response. Abram fell on his face when God spoke to him in this way, and I just want to ask you, when was the last time you fell on your face before God in awe of who he is and in awe of his Word, which is no less majestic today than it was for Abram then.
It does seem odd, doesn’t it? That falling on our faces is a rare, almost non-existent posture for people who gather with others to worship the same God of Abram every single Sunday. Why is it so rare that we would fall on our faces? And I don’t know how often this happens in your personal time with God, but surely it should happen somewhat regularly. And again, maybe it does, but if not, I just want to encourage you with this biblical posture of worship, just like we see different postures, including standing, including raising hands.
Genesis 17:3 teaches us to worship in humble reverence.
There are many times in the Bible where we see people falling prostrate on their faces before God, and it is appropriate biblically. It’s good to worship God the way we see God being worshiped in the Bible, and it makes sense. Just spend a few moments thinking about God Almighty, about his power, his love, all of his perfect attributes, and then think about his words to you and his love for you.
Just think about it. Doesn’t that lead you to just fall on your face before him and worship into humble awe and thanksgiving? Oh God, we pray that you would help us, teach us, to respond to your glory and your Word appropriately, knowing that our spirituality is not dependent on particular postures at particular times, but God, when we see all these different postures in your Word, we pray you’d help us to reflect the worshipers who have gone before us, and to revere you with appropriate awe and humility, God, whether that’s standing with our arms raised, or whether that’s seated just in focused meditation on your Word, or that’s on our knees bowing down, or falling on our faces.
God, we pray that, individually and collectively in our churches. God, we pray that you would help us to worship you appropriately. And that you would transform us as we worship, to be more like Jesus… To be drawn into deeper love relationship with you and deeper awe of you… Wonder before you, humility before you. And God, help us then to rise and to go and spread your wonder in the world around us… To people around us, to people around the world.
Prayer for the Raddi People
God, we pray for the Raddi people of India. 86,000 thousand Hindus who bow down and worship before all kinds of idols in this world that are not God. None of them are God.
You alone are God. So we bow down and worship you. And then help us to rise and go… And tell the Raddi people about the one true God who’s worthy of all worship. We pray for the spread of your worship among the Raddi people… That they would bow down… Fall on their faces when they hear the good news of Jesus and are reconciled to you. We pray all this according to this picture in your Word in Genesis 17:3. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
