Fr. Dawid Kwiatkowski
St. Anne Catholic Church
In the movie The Passion of the Christ, there is a powerful scene right at the beginning.
Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, visibly suffering due to the weight of the sins of the world, and a snake crawls towards Him. This snake, of course, represents Satan and reminds us of the presence of evil around us, just as it was present around Adam and Eve in the Garden. Despite His suffering, Jesus continues to pray, His whole body trembling. Then, He stands up, covered in clotted sweat, and steps on the head of the snake, killing it.
Jesus praying prostrate before His Father is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 26:39: “And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” Some time ago, I heard an exorcist say that the devil will even enter a church building to tempt you. He will kneel beside you during prayer to tempt you, and he will get close to the altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass— but he will not prostrate himself before God. Why?
Because the prayer of submission, also called the prayer of humility, symbolizes our total surrender to God’s will. It signifies that we recognize God as our Lord and King, and we submit our will and desires to Him. Satan would never show any humility before God nor does he want you to do it.
At our church, when we pray for our country on Thursday nights, people are invited to prostrate themselves before Jesus in the Eucharist. It is a powerful moment for everyone in the church. When you lay on your face before God, even if your mind is distracted, your body prays before God. It becomes a visible sign to you, to the Lord, and to the forces of evil that you have recognized God in Jesus. I encourage you to try this in your private prayer.
Prostrate yourself on the floor in the shape of a cross and pray a prayer of submission to Jesus. You will understand the power of this act.
The Bible records several examples of great prophets praying in this way. In Genesis 17:3, when God appears to Abraham, ” Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him...”* In Numbers 20:6, we read: *”Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.” In 1 Chronicles 21:16, David and the elders of Israel prostrate themselves in humility and repentance before God after the angel of the Lord appears with a drawn sword: ”David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.” And finally, in Joshua 7:6, it says:
”Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel.”
These acts of prostration, like Jesus’ in the Garden of Gethsemane, reflect deep humility, submission, and worship.