I was part of a worship conference some time ago. One of the speakers, I believe she was in her 70s, stood up and said that it was very tiring for seniors to stand for a long time while singing songs during worship services. I loudly said amen to that. We are from a generation that usually sat while we sang hymns, and of course we sang from hymnals. With the coming of the charismatic renewal came new forms of worship. We raised our hands, we put our songs on screens, and we stood while we sang. We stood because we wanted to express our reverence for God and we were told that it was also a better posture for singing. This was in the late ’70s. I was in my early 20s.
Many years have passed. My body and my energy levels are not the same. But we still stand when we sing. I like this and know what we are trying to do. The struggle comes when we sing for half an hour or more, with many songs and many repetitions. Sometimes we “linger in the presence of God”, which basically means we continue to sing. After a while I find that I am spending more energy forcing myself to stand up than focusing on God.
I would like to sit down and continue singing. But I am afraid that if I do people will think that I am not showing reverence for God or not respecting the worship leader. It’s none of those things. I am just tired. And frankly I don’t see any Bible verse that insists that I must stand every time I sing. So this expectation that we must stand while we sing, though a good practice, is not something that is explicitly commanded by the Word.
I have decided that during worship services, when I feel tired, when I am more focused on standing up than on God, I will sit down. More enlightened worship leaders will give this option though it still feels a bit awkward and rude to sit down when everyone is standing. But I don’t care. I have decided that my focus is the Lord. I am here to worship Him and He knows my heart. People can think what they like. I am especially tired when I come to worship after having given a two- or three-hour lecture standing up. Though tired, I don’t want to skip worship services if I can. It does mean that sometimes I sit down to sing.
The church must think seriously about things like this with an increasingly ageing population. For many seniors, singing unto the Lord is a key way of expressing their love for Him and a key means of spiritual formation. The church should ask how she can help them to continue corporate worship in ways that take seriously their chapter in life.
Recently, I heard a good sermon on Exodus 17. Exodus 17 contains these verses:
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Moses had every reason to remain standing. It would show his reverence for God, and it would be easier for the troops in the valley to see him and be encouraged. But his hands grew tired. He needed to sit down and needed help to hold up his hands. Aaron and Hur didn’t question his faith and commitment when Moses grew tired. They helped him.
At our worship services we would have some worshippers in wheelchairs. These folks can’t stand even if they wanted to, and I am sure some of them want to. I wonder how they feel each time they hear the exhortation “Let’s stand and worship God”? They would have any number of reasons not to come for corporate worship. Yet they make it a point to come. God sees their hearts. God knows they are standing, in their hearts.