The Penitent Man
I expect most of you can remember those quaint Victorian pictures of children in their nightclothes kneeling down beside their beds in earnest prayer. Many now view these images as overly sentimental and unrealistic, but is this really so? Charles Dickens has forever blighted our view of Victorian Britain as one of squalor and misery, but this ignores the enormous and quite honestly stupendous progress made during this time when Britain was a very Christian country. It would be true to say that the British, more than any other nation invented the modern world of the twentieth century, which alas our more recent leaders are doing their best to destroy. The world in my humble opinion cannot ever repay us, the British, for all the discoveries and inventions that we were responsible for and which have made life more tolerable. This was after all fulfilling God’s promise to both Abraham and Jacob. our esteemed antecedents.
Penitence is a state of mind which acknowledges that the Lord God is Master and Creator of all, without whose help and assistance, we can move not one jot upwards in our spiritual development, looking towards that perfect peace which passes all understanding and leaving behind thoughts of unworthiness and failure.
In the very well known blockbuster film, “Indiana Jones and the last Crusade” starring Harrison Ford, we hear the line, ‘only the penitent man shall pass’. In the context of the story this alluded to a concealed trap whereby deadly bladed knives slice through the air at chest height, to kill the curious and greedy seeker after earthly treasures. By kneeling on the ground at the appointed moment, the true adventurer feels only the draught of air as the blades flash above his head. It is interesting, is it not, that whereas the act of kneeling is named after the knee, this is not true of any other posture, such as standing, sitting, lying down etc. We are, therefore, informed of a very special link between kneeling and that part of the body that is employed in this pose or action.
It should be realised that in the area of the knees are very vital nerve ganglions and other connections which link directly to the spine, heart and brain. This is why when we experience a profound emotional surge, we are said to go weak at the knees. The knee is no more just a hinge than the heart is just a pump.
When a man proposes to a woman and when a knight offers allegiance to his king, he does so on bended knee – it is a form of declaration of fealty, loyalty and service to the highest. When a woman curtseys,she does so by bending the knee. Likewise, when we pray, maybe we should do so whilst on our knees. The kneecap which covers the delicate joint is similar to the skull covering the brain. The word cap is a shortened version of the word capita meaning the head. The word for the kneecap, the patella, has a link with pater which meaning father. The name Peter is closely liked with both pater and the meaning of stone or foundation. Thus we see that our knees far from being of little consequence have an important place in our physical and spiritual physiology.
Only the penitent man shall pass – it is a requirement for true prayer to have effect or more effect that we kneel. When we kneel, are we capable of entertaining base and selfish aspirations when truly seeking for an answer to our prayers?
Then if we truly desire to have our prayers answered, let us petition in this manner, in order that we display both our penitence (sense of unworthiness), adoration and supplication. So then may the power of the heavens be unlocked to aid and help us with those things that were formerly hidden. Must we wait for life’s tragedies to bring us to our knees? Or will we rejoice in becoming truly humble knowing that all power is waiting to restore us?
In the Old Testament we are told of the problem facing Daniel when the king enacted a law that proscribed anyone from petitioning any authority save the king himself, should be thrown into the lions den. This was of course a conspiracy hatched up by what you might call the civil service of the time. Nevertheless Daniel could not escape the consequences of this statute. He immediately prayed three times a day on his knees to the Lord, with the result that he was protected by an angel of God. The conspirators were then thrown to the lions and they were devoured. In the New Testament we are told, in Philippians, chapter 2, verses 9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It can surely be no great import that we attempt to pray in the most efficacious manner. Never before has so much prayer been needed and we are instructed to pray without ceasing. Let us therefore, confound the devil, who hates our prayers and help our Lord’s long awaited fulfilment of His Plan to redeem and save His Creation.
Amen
