It All Hinges On This

B

ack in my high school days when life was one big possibility and the world was my oyster, I determined to become a physician.  My decision sprang from my own medical experience as a patient and a sincere desire to help other people. 

Advanced biology was my favorite subject because it was my first introduction into human anatomy and physiology.  We studied all the systems of the body and how they worked.  When we came to the skeletal system, I was amazed at the strength of our bones but even more impressive was the manner in which they were joined together.  We learned about the different types of joints found in the body.  There are hinge joints found in the knees and elbows, there are ball and socket joints, found in the hips and shoulders, saddle joints found in the fingers, pivot joints found in the neck and forearm, and the ellipsoid joint which is found in the wrist; the variety seemed endless.

Of these different types of joints, I became very interested in the hinge joint found in the knees, the elbows, and in the knuckles.  They all allow a part of the body to be extended and retracted.  Have you ever stopped to consider just how many times your knees work in a given day?  Or how many times you flex your fingers or bend your elbow?  We do it with apparent ease and with almost no effort as we perform our daily tasks.

Would it surprise you to know that Jesus spoke of the hinge joint in Scripture?  Would it surprise you to know that the hinge joint holds the secret to the Christian life and our daily walk with the Lord?  Don’t believe me?  Let’s take a look at Matthew 6:5-7, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words…”

A recurring statement can be found in this passage from Matthew’s gospel.  Three times Jesus says, “And when you pray…”  Notice that he does not say “if you pray,” but “when you pray.”  That means prayer is not an option.  It is not something we do if we feel like it or if we get around to it.  No, it is something we are required, expected, and commanded to do.  In Jesus’ day, prayer could be offered standing.  In our day this still occurs.  Whenever pictures from the

Wailing Wall in Jerusalem flash across our screen, we see people standing.  But prayers in the Bible are also offered with the person lying full length before God.

For Christians, kneeling before God is a sign of respect, humility, and acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty over our lives.  We bow before Him and bring our burdens, our cares, and our requests before His throne.  We also bow in prayer to speak to Him, to listen to Him, and to learn from Him.  All this requires prayer and it requires us to spend much more time than we do on our knees, using those hinge joints, bending our will to His and our wants to His commands. 

But more importantly than the bent knee is the bent heart!!  It is one thing to assume the physical position; it is another to assume the heart position before God.  Bending our knees without bending our hearts means we really aren’t serious about praying to our Heavenly Father.  God looks on the heart, not on the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7) and He is far more concerned with our heart attitude than with our physical position.

Prayer is an area of the Christian life that is often neglected.  We let other things get in the way or we simply “throw up a quick one” just to cover our bases.  This is tragic indeed.  Jesus, himself, spent whole nights in prayer drawing strength from his father.  What makes us think we can survive on less prayer?  For the Christian, bending the knee, bending the heart and spending time in prayer with God are essential to our survival.  In fact, it all hinges on this!  Have you used those hinge joints lately?