A genuine question to all the Christians on here ?!
As a Muslim, I have always wondered Why don’t Christians pray like how the prophets did?
The holy Bible :
“And he (Jesus) went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed..." (Matthew 26:39)
"And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship..." (Joshua 5:14)
"And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces…" (Numbers 20:6)
"And Abraham fell on his face..." (Genesis 17:3)
"…and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God." (Revelation 7:11)
"…Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces." (1 Chronicles 21:16)
Etc.. Throwing your face to the ground means your forehead is touching the ground.
Similarly in the holy Quran :
“ ....Those were the ones upon whom Allah bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of Adam and of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel [i.e., Jacob], and of those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping” (Chapter Mary verses 57-58)
“O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed” (chapter the pilgrimage verse 77) Etc.. But personally, I have never seen a Christian in my entire life ever place their forehead on the ground while praying. Christians;
Muslims :
Ps: this is a respectful genuine question, so please no hate 💕
Christian traditions did not transfer well from East to West, and Christians also do not have a prescribed routine for prayers, as Muslims do (5 times per day, facing Mecca, and using specific head movements and standing, kneeling positions).
The choreography is copied from certain Jewish practices.
Eastern Christians, especially the traditionalists, will kneel and touch their forehead to the ground, as they approach the Pulpit.
When Christianity spread to the West, During Constantine's time, anything related to Jewish practices was purged from Christianity. However, you should try to find information about The Rite of Ordination, or when someone becomes a Priest. Not only do they touch their forehead to the Pulpit, they also flat on their stomachs, for a good part of the ceremony.
Christians in the United States and Canada, include a majority of Evangelicals and born-again Christians who write their own rules, when it comes to prayer.
I will remind you that Jesus was not Christian, he was Jewish, and there is no proof he intended to invent a new religion. His followers, and their followers, created Christianity, and one of the toughest decisions they had to make, was whether uncircumcised people can be Christian.
Mostly though, and in general, Christianity preaches that prayer is not about "ceremony", but more about a personal conversation with God, that can be performed whichever way the individual feels. As in, God is not expecting parade, more like an intimate conversation.
This is an observation on my part, although I am Atheist, I was born to a Catholic religious father and a Jewish agnostic mother.
Did someone give you these verses to show that Christians are wrong? Have you actually read the bible? Because you've left out lots of examples of different positions: Sitting – I Chronicles 17: 16-27 Kneeling – I Kings 8:54, Ezra 9:5, Luke 22:41, Acts 9:40 Bowing – Exodus 34:8, Psalm 72:11, Nehemiah 8:6 Standing – Nehemiah 9:5, Mark 11:25, Luke 18:13 Uplifted hands – 2 Chronicles 6:12, 13, I Timothy 2:8 Walking – 2 Kings 4:35 Prostrate – Joshua 7:6, Ezra 10:1, Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:35
Seems like most of the answers you have received people haven't actually read it either. ;)
@Abstraction I have challenged a lot of people of different faiths and it often boils down to that ‘haha Mormons think Jesus appeared to Joseph smith that’s crazy isn’t it? But the Virgin Mary appearing to catholic girls is normal… come on she didn’t have to cross the Atlantic unlike with Mormons that’s crazy’
@pianoplayingsteve Yes, I agree there is a lot of that. It's an attitude held by many from different worldview perspectives from atheism across the spectrum of religions.
But it's not everybody. I was responding to your slight over-generalisation. It's not me. It's not most people I associate with even. It is common though, and seems to be the norm on this site.
@Abstraction I already know all of these verses and theyr included in Muslim prayers too.
but there are still lots of these forehead to the ground verses done by almost all the mighty prophets in the Bible So I was wondering why I have never heard or seen it done by Christians before , I was curious so I decided to ask on here.
I got different point of views and replies on here from Christians and Catholics And Thanks for sparing your time too To write all that. Have a good day
Used to be a Catholic & they did teach us prostrated prayer as a footnote, said Christians didn't do it much but I forget the exact reason. Might've been having to do with the fact that prostrated is meant to be deeply humbling, and Christians see themselves as children of God -- which is kinda not a humbling position.
@BlueVeins I think prayer is different depending on which sect of Christianity you follow then. As a Muslim, It’s Interesting to read all the different point of views from Christians Catholics Jews even non religious people on this post
@FreeSpirit1 same mosque but either different rooms or a barrier between them Or men downstairs and women upstairs or different buildings But same prayer
@FreeSpirit1 because in Islam a stranger man and woman need to keep some distance from each other and not stare too much at each other out of modesty etc.. and that’s difficult when they are cramped in one room to pray you know ? That’s why each have their own section They all hear and do the same prayer though But the woman are upstairs and men downstairs Or same room with a simple barrier between them or different rooms Depends on the mosque and place really I hope I answered ur question ?
God who knows all things,, He knows if the one praying to Him is genuine in their communications with him or is putting on a show to attain social approval from people viewing their physical or verbal display.. Jesus said in the Bible..
Matthew 6: KJV 5 "¶ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {6} But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
So Jesus taught that we should never make our prayers a public performance trying to seek the approval of other men.. But we should pray to Him out of sight of others privately. The person engaging in a one on one communication with God directly in secret is not doing it to gain social approval or status within their religious community.. They are doing it because they genuinely want to talk to God directly about things they are genuinely concerned about..
@SW-User this is a ‘see Islam has the right way of doing things so you Christians should convert’ post whilst ignoring the errors in their own religion such as the adoption of black cube worship and changing the direction of prayer from medina to Mecca due to quite literally an error
@SW-User Daniel prayed in his window every day. No one knows if he was standing, kneeling, or bowing. Ezekiel was hiding in a cave. Probably didn't have his face to the ground.
@pianoplayingsteve this is your sad mindset , My post was pure and genuine.
This “ black cube” was built by angels and Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael.
We don’t worship it , we worship god the one in heavens. We only pray “towards” it for unity in compulsory prayers Anyone who worships the Kaaba is a non Muslim And by the way the piligrame and mecca are mentioned by name in your holy Bible. + The direction of prayer was never to Medina 😂 It was first towards Jerusalem , Muslims used to pray towards Jerusalem then god changed it towards the Kaaba in Mecca since it’s a sacred house and to test the faith of the believers at that time. If you want me to tell you about all the contradictions and scientific mistakes when it comes to Quran vs holy Bible You are more than welcome in private message I have got many notes ready lol
I didnt know about these quotes on the bible. But it makes a lot of sense. In catholic church we have parts were we stand, sit or kneel. It's like a choreographed slow dance. But never did I learn anything other than kneeling to pray
@MaliaAgain I was surprised too haha I know Christians personally and not personally yet I never saw or heard of them ever prostrating with their foreheads on the ground I even got dirty looks once from a Christian lady only cuz I was praying with my face on the ground lol Then I saw that it’s actually done by all the prophets all over the Bible too and then I was like hmmm...
As a Muslim you can make a supplication while standing or on your knees even in bed any time and any position But when praying the five compulsory daily prayers you must prostrate as in your forehead on the ground If I count correctly all Muslims around the world (almost 2 billion ) Prostrate with their forehead to the ground At least 34 times a day
@pianoplayingsteve perhaps or perhaps not. Regardless, its still interesting to see how certain parts of the bible are compared to current practices of various religious groups. How praying ought to be done or if it even matters is a different subject.
@Moon3624 I don't respect satan. I don't respect islam. I am by the Grace and Calling of Yahweh a Christian. Tell you what. If you worship the same God as I do pray this simple prayer. "Father Yahweh please forgive my sins in Jesus' Name I pray amen".
@hippyjoe1955 Muslims also believe that Christians are deceived by Satan By associating in worship with the one true god other partners (aka my beloved prophet Jesus son of Virgin Mary May peace be upon him and the holy spirit which is only a commandment from god ) Does that make it okay for me to say your deceived by the devil? Of course not!
You didn’t even say Im deceived by the devil but straight ahead that i worship Satan ... when my Religion is against Satan. Anyways the Quran says :
{And do not argue with the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) except in a way that is best} 29:46 In conclusion, I don’t respect Satan either. and you linking Islam , an abrahamic religion to Satan and calling us Satan worshippers is utterly disrespectful. Peace and goodbye.
@Justmeraeagain In our church we stand or sit or kneel depending on how the Spirit is leading. We don't put our butt in the air and kiss the ground. We talk to Yahweh and the only rote prayer we recite is the Lord's Prayer. The rest of the prayers are extemporaneous utterings by the one doing the praying and yes many people lead in prayer again as the Spirit leads.
SW-User
I'm Irish and I'm Catholic, Christian people in America always seem so radical 😊😊
@SW-User everyone seems radical there because their media like to blow everything up for views. Unless it is something damaging to the left, then they bury it
@Tastyfrzz personally I’d say “ right now ur on a planet with gravity with the capacity to prostrate to God so why not ?” Anyways, that’s not the question either way Muslims Christians Jews etc All know they can pray any time and anywhere And that God is all hearing all knowing But my genuine question was why I have never seen or even heard of Christians prostrating Even though the majority of the mighty prophets did according to the Holy Bible That’s all Thanks for the comment ! Have a great day
@Moon3624 My guess is that it is because Christianity arose in Roman occupied lands and prayer had to be kept secret or the Romans would turn you into a living torch.
@Moon3624 I am not a mind reader but I can discern the seriousness of responses here and who is taking this post seriously. For a Christian, Jesus is God. To call him a Prophet only would diminish who he actually is. Jesus even suggested going into a closet and praying there in secret. So that what God sees in secret he will reward openly. Matthew 6:6.
@Pfuzylogic sir with all my good wishes and respect,
this is not a religious debate post.
I view Jesus May peace be upon him as a mighty prophet born of a virgin and sent by God to preach the oneness of God, while you view him as God. To each is their beliefs. The Quran says {For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.} 109:6 However I’d be more than happy to hear more from you and have a conversation with you about this in private message if you’d like ! But this post is just not the place for it 💕
@Moon3624 The Post concerns me because it gives the impression that the position of prostration makes a prayer real. I do believe that in passion prostration can be very appropriate but not as a practice. I am not sure what I can share with you in private message. Suffice it to say that Jesus taught that he would give us a helper (the Holy Spirit) until he came back on the clouds of Heaven.
They have a standing sitting kneeling and shaking hands with people who have colds and flu. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna put my forehead on the floor too.
@Moon3624 No. Allah means 'the god'. I already explained that we Christians do not worship the god. We worship Yahweh. Very very different being. Our God is made up of Three Persons. Father (Will) Son (Thought) Holy Spirit (Effective Agency). The muslim god is completely different. He supposedly only has will.
@hippyjoe1955 Sir Actually “ al ilah “ Means “the god “ But “Allah “ means “the one god” The same almighty Abrahamic god with no partners or offspring. And why Even dispute with me about Abraham when the Torah and Bible only came after him? If you don’t wanna believe in what I believe then simply dont But this is our beliefs We believe Jesus May peace be upon him to be a prophet born of a virgin with miracles but not god But you believe he is. So please Don’t enforce your beliefs on me Everyone in the comments is being respectful Im not even here arguing about whos religion is right , my post is about something completely different lol
@Moon3624 I know what allah means. I also know what god means. It means the thing you worship. Money can be your god. Fame can be your god. The word god does not specify any individual. For the satanists and muslims their god is satan. For Christians and Jews our God is Yahweh.
@walabby I find Islam and judaism have a lot in common when it comes to the oneness of god , and humans not inheriting adams and Eve sin etc.. Though We disagree mainly on 2 points : * Jews believe Jesus never fulfilled the messiah and that he was a false prophet , While Muslims believe he was the messiah and a prophet born of a virgin (but not son of god/god) *Jews believe Mohammed is a false prophet , while Muslims believe he’s the seal of the prophets. I think these are the two important points
@walabby Christianity is completed Judaism. I have several very good friends that were raised Jewish but became Christian later in life. They still maintain the Jewish traditions even as they accept Jesus as Messiah and Second Person of the Godhead.
I'm a Christian by birth and raised in the faith but don't practice anymore. Christian in a few words are lazy and hypocrites for the most part. They pick and choose what they want from the bible and ignore the rest unfortunately. a True believe only needs to focus on Jesus' simple teachings of Love one another as Jesus has loved you, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You follow those 2 teaching and you will be a good person. The rest is all meaningless
