Communing with God in both Body and Spirit

Body Prayer? Unrestricted Prayer? Prayer- Anytime, Anywhere? 24/7 Prayer? Unconventional Prayer? Holistic Prayer?

“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed.”

For the thirty three years Jesus lived in this world, he existed with the physical form of an earthly man. He saw, smelled, heard, tasted, walked, touched and prayed. When Jesus prayed, he prayed in different positions and postures. Jesus prayed, kneeling down. He prayed sitting down. He prayed walking on the road.

Prayer is not simply a matter of words; it is an integration of all of life, through the body. Our bodies are precious gifts from God. They are called the “temples” of God. Our bodies are part of our prayer lives. The use of the body is a way of deepening our life of prayer. Just as nonverbal communication relies on gestures, physical postures extend the meaning of our worded prayers. Our bodies can help us in our common spiritual orientation of seeking God.

There are many meaningful body positions and gestures which invite our minds and hearts to a prayerful presence. Someone says that our bodies have a vocabulary. The meaningful body positions indicate more fully what is on the heart of the person who is offering prayers to God. Many symbolic prayer gestures are universal body prayers. Standing, sitting, kneeling are all part of our prayer vocabulary. A standing position speaks waiting. Sitting speaks peace. Kneeling speaks submission. Consider our hands. Our hand position makes an enormous difference. A very simple body prayer can begin by relaxing our hands when we pray. We may be praying with our hands open or closed, relaxed or with clenched fists. We may be praying with our hands lifting up to heaven. It speaks yearning. Body prayer can also be experienced through simply closing or opening our eyes! Even slow walking can help us move our bodies in prayer. It speaks dating with God. As we age, our prayers can be enhanced through contemplative and centering prayers which help us simply rest, no, be in the presence of God.

Anything we do with our bodies is a prayer form when our goal is opening up to God’s presence. So our prayers are not finished as we walk out of the church. Our prayers are still being expressed. As we drive a car or walk on the street, both our hearts and bodies are still in the presence of God. As we study in school, we are still praying. As we sleep at night, our prayers are still going on in a dream. Our prayers will be going on as we enter into eternity, seeing the Lover of our soul, Jesus.