Mid-week Message

Greetings!

“In all your ways acknowledge God, who will make your paths straight… It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” - Proverbs 3:6,8

Often when we think of praying, we assume that we need to be still, as in, not moving. But it is possible to pray while we do another activity. Sometimes doing something active with our bodies while we pray helps us to connect more deeply with God. What kinds of activities work well for prayer? Anything that you do on a regular basis to refresh your mind or body you can also combine with prayer to refresh your soul. You can pray while you run. You can pray while you knit. You can pray while you garden. You can pray while you do yoga. Many different activities can be combined with prayer.

You start by picking a Bible verse to read at the beginning. The Bible verse centers your mind and sets your intention for the activity and the prayer. A few Bible verses to try are Philippians 4:7-8, Ephesians 3:18-19, Psalm 34:17-18, Psalm 145:8-9, and Numbers 6:24-26. Throughout the activity, you take time to reread the verse at regular intervals. If particular words stick out, you can take time to meditate on those words while you do your activity. It’s the combination of the activity with the Scripture reading and meditation that turns the entire experience into a prayer.

One time I used Philippians 4:7-8 while doing yoga. This verse tells us to think about certain things (whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, etc.). I wrote down each one on a separate piece of paper and put the pile by my yoga mat. Throughout the practice I flipped through the pile of things to think about. While my body was building strength and flexibility, my mind was, too, by meditating on all manner of good things inspired by Philippians 4:7-8. At the end, I felt refreshed and verse 7 was true: the peace of God guarded my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

If you try this kind of prayer, let me know how it goes. May God bless the time you spend in prayer.

Grace and peace,

Rev. Sarina