Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground. But inside he was laughing, asking himself, “How on earth could I have a son at the age of one hundred? How could Sarah have a child when she is ninety?”
God, you talk as if this was a small thing in your eyes, and you also have spoken about the future of my house, my family dynasty. Is this your usual way of dealing with human beings, Lord God?
Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please excuse me, but I'm not someone who is good with words—not in the past, and not from the time you have been speaking with me, your servant. My speech is slow and I don't say things well.”
So I got up and went to the valley, and there I saw the Lord's glory. It was like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown on the ground.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was being detained there by the kings of Persia.
“At that time Michael the great prince, the protector of your people, will stand up and there will be a time of trouble like never before, since nations first existed. But at that time your people will be saved, all whose names are written in the book.
It even tried to make itself as great as the Prince of the heavenly army—it removed the continual service, and the place of his sanctuary was destroyed.
Fire came from the presence of the Lord and burned up the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. When everyone saw this, they shouted for joy and fell down with their faces to the ground.
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown on the ground said, “God—God of everything that lives—when it's only one man who sins, must you be angry with everybody?”
Then the Lord gave Balaam the ability to see the angel of the Lord standing in the road holding a drawn sword. Balaam bowed low and fell facedown on the ground.
Once when Jesus was visiting one of the towns, he met a man there who had a very bad case of leprosy. The man fell with his face to the ground and begged Jesus, “Please Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean.”
Truly, I count everything as loss in exchange for the incredible benefit I've gained through knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I've thrown away all these things for him, and consider them trash, so that I might gain Christ.
It was appropriate that God, who creates and maintains everything, should bring many of his children to glory, and to completely prepare through suffering the one who leads them to salvation.