Kneeling at Altars

I like the fact that the Methodist Church still has an altar.  With all the changes which have taken place over the years, the altar has stayed in place.  While I cannot say with certainty that every Methodist Church has an altar, the ones around me still have a place to kneel.  What is unfortunate is that no one uses them except for communion.  This may change soon as the hurried "grab and go" method replaces the more traditional way of kneeling with open hands.  

As may have been figured, I grew up in churches that used altars.  I gave my life to Jesus at a hundred different altars before I found one where it took.  Prior to that altar, I gave my life to Jesus and then took it back after a few days!  But, it was also a common practice back in those days to have Sunday night worship.  It was a more informal service than Sunday morning, the brown Cokesbury song books were used, and most every service ended with an invitation for people to  leave their pews for a time of prayer at the altar.  Call me old fashioned, but I long for those days when the service of worship took a little longer because folks were lingering at the  altar.    

As my own ministry unfolded through the years, I always made sure there were invitations for folks to pray at the altar.  Sometimes I invited people to give their lives to Jesus when they came to the altar and sometimes they were just invited to pray about the things of the heart.  I do not suppose the clock will ever be turned back to embrace those days, but then again, who knows when this generation will become so spiritually hungry that the altar will once again be stained with tears?  Kneeling is a good thing.  Kneeling reminds us Who is in charge.  Altars help with this need in our lives.