Again, I see no reason for the custom some people have of sitting after prayer, except the kind of reason children give. Suppose Hermas, whose writing is generally titled The Shepherd, had done something else after finishing his prayer, instead of sitting on his bed: would we insist that everyone must follow that practice too? Of course not. As it stands, the sentence When I had prayed, and had sat down on my bed, simply describes the sequence of events in the story; it does not establish a rule of conduct.⁠a Otherwise, we would have to pray only where there is a bed! In fact, anyone who sits in a chair or on a bench would be going against that writing. Furthermore, pagans do the same thing: they sit down after worshiping their little images. That alone makes the practice objectionable among us, since it is part of idol worship. It is also disrespectful — as even pagans would understand if they had any sense. If it is disrespectful to sit down in full view of the person you honor and respect most, how much more irreverent is it to do so in the presence of the living God, while the angel of prayer is still standing nearby, unless we mean to complain to God that praying has tired us out!