How important are our bodies in prayer?
More important than we think.
I tend to focus on my spirit and my mind when I prepare for prayer. Am I in a right relationship with God spiritually? Am I distracted by other things?
But John Bisagno, author of The Power of Positive Praying, says: "The spiritual condition of the believer can be closely related to their physical condition."
He adds: "God cares about the body he indwells. If you would sincerely know the will of God, first offer him your body as a living sacrifice."
Bisagno was echoing the apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:1:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him."
More important than we think.
I tend to focus on my spirit and my mind when I prepare for prayer. Am I in a right relationship with God spiritually? Am I distracted by other things?
But John Bisagno, author of The Power of Positive Praying, says: "The spiritual condition of the believer can be closely related to their physical condition."
He adds: "God cares about the body he indwells. If you would sincerely know the will of God, first offer him your body as a living sacrifice."
Bisagno was echoing the apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:1:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him."
When I am misusing my body, I am misusing the temple of the Holy Spirit - not a good thing to do. Misuse can involve anything from sexual sin to neglect of the body.
Ruth Haley Barton, author of Invitation to Solitude and Silence, realized she needed to pay attention to her bodily demands when she hit the brick wall of exhaustion. She was so busy that she found herself too tired to pray.
She notes how God dealt with Elijah's exhaustion in the great story of the prophet fleeing from Queen Jezebel who was out to kill him (1 Kings 19). Elijah had just won a great victory over the prophets of Baal and Jezebel was furious.
Elijah stopped running after a long journey and prayed that he might die. As Barton says, this is "dangerously tired".
"God did not waste time trying to deal with him intellectually or even spiritually, because it wouldn't have done any good," Barton writes. "He began by dealing with Elijah's physical weariness and depletion - he let Elijah sleep."
Then, when the prophet woke up, God sent an angel with food. After another sleep, he was ready to go on to Mount Sinai where God spoke to him and commissioned him for his final tasks as God's emissary.
Barton says her spiritual director saw her need for physical recovery - more sleep, better eating, and time apart. She had become depleted and any attempt to pray and study the scriptures proved frustrating.
"There is a very deep kind of refreshment that comes when we incorporate rest into our times alone with God," she says.
"When I am dangerously tired," Barton states, "I can be very, very busy and look very, very important but be unable to hear the quiet sure voice of the One who calls me the beloved."
I love Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
Jesus knows our needs. He knows we are human and have our limits.
He knows we need rest - physical and emotional.
He works with us best when we are rested and not distracted.
Our bodies are important.
She notes how God dealt with Elijah's exhaustion in the great story of the prophet fleeing from Queen Jezebel who was out to kill him (1 Kings 19). Elijah had just won a great victory over the prophets of Baal and Jezebel was furious.
Elijah stopped running after a long journey and prayed that he might die. As Barton says, this is "dangerously tired".
"God did not waste time trying to deal with him intellectually or even spiritually, because it wouldn't have done any good," Barton writes. "He began by dealing with Elijah's physical weariness and depletion - he let Elijah sleep."
Then, when the prophet woke up, God sent an angel with food. After another sleep, he was ready to go on to Mount Sinai where God spoke to him and commissioned him for his final tasks as God's emissary.
Barton says her spiritual director saw her need for physical recovery - more sleep, better eating, and time apart. She had become depleted and any attempt to pray and study the scriptures proved frustrating.
"There is a very deep kind of refreshment that comes when we incorporate rest into our times alone with God," she says.
"When I am dangerously tired," Barton states, "I can be very, very busy and look very, very important but be unable to hear the quiet sure voice of the One who calls me the beloved."
I love Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
Jesus knows our needs. He knows we are human and have our limits.
He knows we need rest - physical and emotional.
He works with us best when we are rested and not distracted.
Our bodies are important.
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