Devotional Thoughts for Today

Falling Before Him

 Genesis 44:14

When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground.

I became a Christian in college and I remember at my very first college retreat, during the response time to one of the messages, we spent a considerable amount of time in individual prayer. I was still a new believer, just learning how to pray, so my prayers were often very formal, even forced, since I felt like my prayers needed to be polished, like a well-written piece of literature! However, at this retreat, I was struck by many people around me who fell on their knees in prayer and were screaming in repentance before the Lord. What struck me was the freedom they showed in their prayers despite (or because of) this sense of unworthiness before God. They simply bowed before Him, desperate for His grace. This left a profound impact on me: realizing that I did not need to be so formal in my prayer, realizing that God was so much greater than me, I similarly fell before God and experienced a powerful sense of grace as I unashamedly expressed my desperation for God.

Obviously, Joseph is not God, but Judah and his brothers had a similar sentiment. They were stricken with a sense of unworthiness before Joseph given his position of power and given the appearance of guilt. (Benjamin was found with Joseph’s silver cup.) They were utterly desperate due to Judah’s promise to keep Benjamin safe – they did not want to fail their father, Jacob (again). They knew there was nothing they could do except come before Joseph, pleading for him to show mercy to Benjamin and to the brothers.

Though the brothers were left to wonder what Joseph’s response would be, we know that God welcomes us in our desperation for Him. Today, let’s set aside time to bow before our God in desperation, knowing just how unworthy we are. Yet, despite our unworthiness, in this posture of need and repentance, He comes to us and gives us grace. May we unashamedly fall before our Lord this day, holding nothing back before Him!

Prayer: Lord, I come to You with nothing to offer except my life. May I bow down before You, not just with my body, but with my heart as well, as I recognize my utter need of You in my life. I know I fall short of You again and again, so I need Your grace. Come, Lord, I need You this day!

Bible Reading for Today: Numbers 30-31