Facedown to faceup to the Splendor of the King

When we face up to the glory of God, we soon find ourselves facedown in worship. To worship facedown is the ultimate outward sign of inner reverence.Every posture in worship says something of both the worshipper and the One being gloried in. The raising of hands tells of a soul stretched out high in praise and the worth of the One being exalted. Joyful dancing interprets a grateful heart and points in adoration to the source of that joy. When it comes to expressing our worship, what we do on the outside is a key reflection of what’s taking place on the inside. Out of the overflow of our heart we speak and sing, we dance, and we bow. God reveals, and we respond. God shines, and we reflect. In the very same way, facedown worship is the overflow of a heart humbled and amazed by the glory of God.Facedown worship always begins as a posture of the heart. It’s people so desperate for the increase of Christ that they find themselves decreasing to the ground in an act of reverent submission. When a soul is so captivated by the Almighty, to bend low in true and total surrender seems the only appropriate response.On several different occasions, the Bible allows us a glimpse into an open heaven. Each time is a window of revelation through which we discover more of what worship looks like before the heavenly throne. And there’s a whole lot of facedown worship going on. In Revelation, John encounters the risen and exalted Jesus, whose eyes blaze like fire and whose face is shining like the sun in all its brilliance. Ove rwhelmed to the core, John shrinks to the ground in reverence and fear(see Revelation 1). A few chapters later, the elders too are falling down in holy devotion. And as we journey further into this heavenly flow of praise, we find even more facedown worshippers: All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God (Revelation 7:11, emphasis added).The book of Ezekiel gives us another glimpse into an open heaven, and we find more of the same. The prophet beholds the “appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (1:28). There can be only one response:When I saw it, I fell facedown. (1:28, emphasis added).The reflex of his soul was reverence and submission. Facing up to the glory of God, Ezekiel soon found himself falling facedown in awe and astonishment

Daniel gives us another Old Testament glimpse of this heavenly scene. He sees a vision of the Lord Almighty, whose face shines like lightning and whose eyes blaze like flaming torches. Undone by this divine encounter, here’s another worshipper who cannot stay on his feet:I bowed with my face toward the ground and was SPEECHLESS (Daniel 10:15, emphasis added).So many clues as to what our congregational gatherings should look like are found in these encounters of the heavenly throne. When it comes to worship, the throne always sets the tone. Each time we gather together, we don’t just journey to a church building - we journey to the ve ry throne of God. To lose sight of this is to lose sight of the majestic in worship. Every kingdom has a king, and every king has a throne. And the kingdom of God is no exception. He is the King above all kings, and He has the throne above all thrones. There is no higher seat of authority, power and splendor in the whole of the universe. The elders bow low there, the angels encircle it, and the whole host of heaven arrange themselves around it (see 1 Kings 22:19). One day, a countless multitude, from every nation, tribe, people and tongue, will gather there (see Revelation 7:9). As Ron Owens tells us, “When we come to worship, we come to a throne ... [and] Journeying through the Bible, we find a whole host of facedown worshippers. Abram becomes one as the Lord God Almighty appears to him (see Genesis 17:3). Moses and Aaron fall facedown too, as they encounter His glory (see Numbers 20:6). King David also adopts the posture, in an act of humble repentance (see 1 Chronicles 21:16). And overwhelmed by the radiance of the transfigured Jesus, Peter, James and John are also found amongst the ranks of the facedown (see Matthew 17:6). Throughout Scripture, countless worshippers meet with God—and soon reposture themselves before His splendor. everything else arranges itself around that throne.”