Physical Prayers

One thing I believe God has taught me about lately is the connection between the soul and the body, especially in prayer and worship. I read about it in The Screwtape Letters and my dancer devotional, and I have heard at least one or two speakers talk about it recently. Maybe God was trying to get a point across. 🙂

Our souls and bodies are connected while we live on Earth, so our bodies can affect our prayers and worship. When we have the opportunity, I believe it is important to be in a physical position that matches what we are praying.

It is definitely okay to pray behind the wheel without closing your eyes, or just hold a conversation with God as you fall asleep. But when you can, match your body language to your prayer. Bow your head, lift your hands, close your eyes, gaze at the sky, laugh, shed tears, sing, dance… You can do whatever would help demonstrate to God what you are saying. God is to be revered, and I think using the bodies he has given us is a great way to show sincerity, respect, and adoration.

I understand if you aren’t an outwardly expressive person. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you must dance for God like David did. But you can do something as simple as kneeling and bowing your head to thank God for everything he has done, because he has done a lot, and he is undoubtedly worthy of our wholehearted praise.

And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. – 2 Samuel 6:14

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, – Ephesians 3:14

And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. – 2 Chronicles 29:28

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. – Psalm 95:6

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. – Psalm 150:6, KJV

How do you physically pray?