The Aspen Grove

Act Praying with our Bodies

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Act: Praying with Our Bodies

Postures of Prayer

We often think about the words we say while we pray. But our bodies are also an important part of praying. It is through our bodies we can show things like respect or excitement, focus or connection. We are going to pray in a few different ways to see what this is all about:

  • First, sit quietly, bow your head, fold your hands, and pray this prayer to yourself: We give you thanks that Your Son Jesus suffered and died for our sins. We celebrate with joy His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven. We are grateful for the work of Your Holy Spirit in us, which brought us to faith by Baptism. We know that you are faithful to your covenant with us. Show us the way you would have us live. In Jesus name, Amen. (Luther’s Morning Prayer)

  • Next, make the sign of the cross over your heart to remember your baptism, close your eyes, and repeat the prayer out loud after the leader.

  • Finally, stand up, open your eyes, look at one another, and repeat the prayer together at the same time.

What differences did you feel between each way of praying?

Which way did you prefer?

Did one way feel more challenging or comfortable?

Breathing with the Holy Spirit

Another important part of our bodies is breathing. The Hebrew word for Spirit (as in the Holy Spirit) also means breath. In Genesis 2:7 God breathes life into Adam. As our Creator, God has breathed life into us as well. All of this means that our breathing is a special part of us where we can be reminded of our connection with God. One way to do this is using an ancient type of prayer called a breath prayer or the Jesus prayer.1 Early church fathers in the third to fifth centuries developed a very simple breath prayer that became known as the “Jesus Prayer.” This prayer comes from the story of the blind man calling out to Jesus saying: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”- Mark 4:10

Here are the words of the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

  • To make it a breath prayer, breath in as you pray: “Lord Jesus Christ,”

  • And then breathe out as you pray: “have mercy on me.”

Try it now!

What was it like to focus on breathing while you pray?

Do you feel any more calm after praying like this?

When would be a good time during your day to pray like this?

Footnotes

  1. Hester, David. The Jesus Prayer: A Gift from the Fathers. Ancient Faith Publishing, 2001, p. 5. ↩

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