Our might resides in our bodies, and we rightly interpret this to mean serving the Lord with our bodies. That includes ways in which we express love to God in prayer, music, art, work, service and worship. In the spiritual formation traditions, creative expression of worship through our bodies has emerged as a significant personal and group experience. Similar to liturgical dance, Body Prayer is interpretive movement and can enable our souls to express the deeper longings of our soul.

Through Body Prayer, we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit in creative ways. It enables us to engage our whole being in communion with God—Mind, Heart, Soul and Body. When our bodies are allowed to express the longings of our soul, we experience new freedom in prayer and a deepening sense of being in touch with God.

So, I offer you this morning prayer and encourage you to use your imagination to form movements of your body (perhaps like Yoga) to express the yearnings of your soul as these words guide you.

Morning Body Prayer

Lord, I stretch to You like a flower to the sun, seeking Your life-giving Presence to imbue me with the power and energy I need for the living of this day.

I bow to You in Worship and Praise, for You are “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,”[1]—Lover of my soul, Redeemer of my life, and Eternal Guardian of all that is. You are the God who comforts me like a perfect Mother and who reveals truth to me for my life.

I bow to You in deep and sorrowful contrition for all my many manifold sins and failures—the things I have done that I should not have done, and the things I should have done but did not do.

I stretch out to You in absolute surrender, for You are Sovereign God and I am Your creation, created and re-created in Christ Jesus for good works which You have fore-ordained that I should walk in them, and which I have failed to do as I ought to have done.

Wash over me with Your waves of Love, Mercy and Grace; and cleanse me till I am “whiter than snow”[2], until I have clean hands and a pure heart, that I might stand in Your Holy Presence and see You, O Beautiful God, in all Your Glory—and serve You forever.

I thank You for all my sustenance in life and the Presence of Your Holy Spirit to guide and teach me. Hold me up when I and others fail, as we often do in the course of life. Bring me back into Your Womb of Love and Transforming Grace. Bring me back through gestation in Your Will and remake me in Your Divine Image. Re-form me like clay on a potter’s wheel until I am shaped according to “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ,”[3] into a vessel fit for service in Your Kingdom.

Fill me with Your Spirit and enable me to stand and move and have my being for the Praise of Your Glory now and forever. Amen.

[1] Isaiah 9:6 (NRSVue)

[2] Psalm 51:7 (NRSVue)

[3] Ephesians 4:13 (NIV)

Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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We praise you for the clarity of your teaching and the strength of your life with us and in us to live according to your teachings. Thank you for the gift of your Spirit to guide us into the truth you have for us—the truth about your high call for us to love and forgive.

To be truthful, we frequently fail to avail ourselves of all that you offer and provide. We forget to help others find that possibility, too. We prefer to set ourselves up as authorities and pass judgment on others, rather than encouraging and giving them room to grow.

We often fail to accept your forgiveness for ourselves and choose to live with self-condemnation. Likewise, we tend to hold others under judgment to the extent that they cannot enjoy the freedom of forgiveness either.

Like birds in a cage with the door open, we beat our wings against the walls rather than avail ourselves of the open realm of freedom beyond.  Forgive us, O Lord, and help us forgive ourselves and others.

Help us remember that we are not called to judge, but to welcome and affirm, to reveal you and your teachings, to open doors for growth in the knowledge of you.

Help us remember the words of your prophet Micah, who said that what the Lord wants of us is to act justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)

May we do so more and more through the power of your Spirit and the wisdom of your Word as we follow Christ as Lord. Amen.

Matthew 7:1-6 (NRSV) – The Words of Jesus Christ

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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We may take pride in our commitment and accomplishments—and not recognize the darkness of sin that lurks in the shadows of our minds and hearts.

We have proclaimed that you are the stronghold of our lives and that it is our desire to live in your presence. Yet, we more often live apart from you with hardly a thought of you in the busy currents of our lives. We have declared with hymns of joy that you are our Sovereign God, to whom we would offer the most reverent praise. Yet, our minds often wander far away even as we sing, and our lips may not say what our hearts are considering. Our hearts may be full of anxiety or frustration, maybe even anger. We admit there is some pride behind that anger, more often than not. We would rather wallow in our hurt feelings than admit any error on our part.

Lord, perhaps we need to pray with the Psalmist this simple prayer: “Search me and try me and see if there be any unclean way in me” (Psalm 139). You dwell in absolute righteousness and require purity—more purity than we want to admit. You have said that those who enter your presence must have clean hands and a pure heart. Jesus said we must become as little children—unstained and pure. But, we have darkened our lives with more impurity than we want to admit.

So, cleanse us, O Lord. Renew a right spirit within us and hear our prayers as we pray in the words of King David (Psalm 51, NIV):

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin…

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Thanks be to God that through His Incarnate Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed and made new. Hallelujah! Amen and Amen.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Instead, we are more like sheep of your pasture, who are given so much by your grace—yet prone to wander from the pathway. We nibble our way out of your presence and away from your purpose—by wanting, seeking and clamoring for more than enough. We build and buy bigger and better when we should be content with what we have so that others may have enough. We need to simplify rather than complicate our lives so that we can focus on the people you call us to love and the world you have created for our habitation.

We are like students with wandering attention spans—daydreaming, doodling, blissfully unaware that tests and exams are coming. Like the disciples of old asked of you, we too need to learn how to live, how to pray and how to fulfill your purpose for our lives. We need to turn our attention from ourselves and notice those around us in need—the sick, the lonely, the hurting, the oppressed and imprisoned, those in need of daily bread and goods, as well as and those in plenty who are starving to know love, forgiveness, peace and hope of abundant life for now and eternity.

And so, we ask for a fresh beginning—to follow the guidance of your Spirit and learn from our Master Teacher, to follow the Great Shepherd. We turn our attention to you this day, to open our hearts in your presence and receive renewed strength and wisdom for the living of our days through faith in Jesus, the one who ever lives to intercede for his own and whose Spirit guides us in the right way.

As wanderers, we are not able to transform our lives without your life-giving power, so we pray as the author of Hebrews prayed: “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip us with everything good for doing His will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21, NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Speak to us in this interval between the busyness of the past hours and the challenges of the looming tasks and coming days. Help us to know you are as present as you were with the disciples in the upper room. In the moments before you appeared after the resurrection, they were not aware by sight that you were there. Keep us mindful that sight does not yield faith. Sight yields facts that can hide the truths that faith can know.

Help us to listen in our souls for the holy hush of your loving presence and to look with spiritual vision farther than we have ever looked before. Touch the chords of our lives, blend the various notes of longings and make the sweet melody of hope in our souls. May the peace you have promised settle in our hearts and create harmony in our lives so that others will know that we have been with you.

And may we learn what it means to pray as you have taught us to pray…

Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

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We rejoice that you love us with an everlasting love, beyond the expanses of our imagination and reaching into and beyond the breadth and depth of our need. We rejoice that you have provided for our salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, and that we can have the assurance of forgiveness, removal of the burden of guilt and cleansing from the sorrows of our soul. We rejoice to follow your guidance, to listen for the still, small voice of your Spirit and trace your will through the pages of scripture and know your love along the steps and stages of our lives.

In all ways and through all times, you have been constant in pure love while we have been inconsistent and fickle in our devotion and commitment. We acknowledge our need to change and to grow and we pray for your guidance at this point in our lives. Lead us, O Lord, to a time of refreshment and renewal, assurance and growth. Teach us to recognize your work in our lives and serve you by blessing others with the gifts you bestow upon us. We pray in the name of the One who makes all things new and who taught us to pray…

Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and The Glory, forever. Amen.

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We may remember that fresh day in our lives when we were baptized—when our faith was young and hope was bright—when the light of Christ seemed to shine in our hearts and chase away the darkness and sadness. But, the heavy demands of life lead us through valleys and shadows, and we call out to be found again—to have you close to us once more.

The prophet Isaiah said that, in those times of feeling estranged, your arm of divine power and love has not shortened so that You cannot reach us and your ear has not gone deaf so that you cannot hear us. Rather, our iniquities have hidden your face from us and have put a barrier between us. We have not been diligent to obey your guidance and so we have drifted apart.

We recognize we must first clear the debris that clutters the space where we really want you to dwell. The overgrowth in our lives needs to be pruned in order for us to find our way back to you. We must be honest and confess that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts have not been entirely righteous—not always. And so we ask for forgiveness and cleansing.

We have learned that we cannot demand your Spirit and we cannot rush your Spirit. Slowly, we come to understand that waiting precedes your coming. It is not on our terms or our whims that you draw closer. You come when we quit playing games with you or ourselves—when we desire you enough to wait for you. Still and quiet—or active and busy—you come in your time and in your way.

So, we wait and pray—sometimes with words, sometimes with thoughts, sometimes with groans, sometimes with silence, sometimes with songs—and sometimes with the words of the Psalmist:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23, RSV)

Scripture quotation is from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:1-8 NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Let us pray in response:

Father, with the words of Isaiah’s story gripping our minds, we turn to you in amazement. With questions, we turn to you. With bewilderment, we turn to you. There is so much we do not understand. With transfixed gaze, we see you in our imagination as Isaiah described and we wonder in awe at what he saw. You are beyond our expectations and our wildest imagination.

Help us to remember that you have not changed, that you are the same yesterday, today and forever. You are now and eternally high and lifted up. You are exalted above our ability to comprehend. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts; your ways are wiser than our ways. Your love is truer than our love. Your purposes are holy and pure, certain and absolute.

May we learn from the examples of Isaiah and the seraphs to approach our Holy, Awesome God with praise, in an attitude of reverence and humility. Forgive us when we live by a smaller image of you, and when we take you for granted. Inspire our understanding as we reflect on who you are and seek to enter your presence with a contrite heart, honest about ourselves before you. Help us recognize that we do not come close to measuring up to any level of worthiness to enter your pure presence, for we have sinned and fallen short of the glory you intended for your creation. We fail and live among people who fail day after day.

Touch our lips today, O Lord, and cleanse our speech. Touch our thoughts today and cleanse our minds. Touch our hearts today and clear away the guilt, the fear, the anger and hurt. Cleanse and comfort us with your redemption and forgiveness. Grant us assurance that you welcome us and extend your arms of love to u.

Open our ears to hear your call sounding out over the eons, still calling as to Abraham, Moses and Isaiah. Help us take courage to believe you are also seeking us in our times “to go for you”—to do your will. Strengthen us to step out by faith to accept your call, crying out from deep within our being like Isaiah, “Yes, Lord, here am I, send me.”

We pray in the name of the One who answered your call on our behalf, the One sent to seek us out, sent to reconcile us to you and to one another, even Jesus the Messiah. Amen.

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Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (Luke 1:1-4, NRSV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Thanks be to God for the trusted, orderly account of His Truth at work in our world. I encourage you to read all 24 chapters. Make that a summer reading project! Perhaps this prayer will echo your response to the “orderly account” of the life of Jesus…

O God, our God, Father of all Creation, Giver and Sustainer of Life, Spirit of Light and Truth, we lift our praise to you for those who have given voice to your will and your ways, in times past and in our own times. Thank you for the confidence we can have in scripture as a fountain for a true and right understanding of life and a dependable guide for the direction of our lives.

Through the influence of your Word, we gain insight into the power of love and righteousness. As the light of your Word falls across our lives, we understand more clearly the ways in which we fail to live according to your plan, and we are encouraged to trust in your forgiveness when we confess and choose the right way.

Through the guidance of your Word, we see more clearly how to live for peace and the prosperity of others, rather than ourselves alone. We gain wisdom to place value on the right virtues and to avoid that which leads us away from the harmony of soul that makes life meaningful.

As we face the tremendous need around us in our world today, we gain strength through the effect of your Word to act courageously and give generously that others might have hope raised, bodies healed, minds enlightened, and faith renewed. Guide us all to express your love wherever there is need—to defend the helpless, give hope to the oppressed, uphold the homeless, feed and clothe the impoverished, care for the sick and comfort the dying.

May we remember that we are called to do so for friend and foe, as you give your sunshine and rain, fruit and grain, to any and all. May we love without boundaries, by the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and the instruction of Your Holy Word… Amen.

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II Peter 1: 16-18 (NRSV)

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Let us pray…

God of all Glory—Majestic Glory—as Simon Peter expressed it, we honor your Word as Truth above all truth. We receive this ancient word of testimony with joy, for we find our bearings in your word.

We are encouraged with this reminder that the authors of scripture did not follow cleverly devised myths in passing on their knowledge of You to generations to come, and we are grateful that the gospel reached us through the faithfulness of many believers down through the centuries.

This book we call the Bible is a remarkable book indeed. Thank you for the dependable declaration of Saint Peter—that the Bible is not fiction. We rejoice that through its pages and the testimony of those who have believed and followed the truth revealed to them, we too have come to know the power and wonder of your revelation to us in Jesus. We are grateful that, through faith, we too have become eyewitnesses of His life and His love at work in the lives of His followers.

Grant us grace and power through Thy Holy Spirit to share the Word of Truth effectively in our day, in these days of skepticism, cynicism, and criticism. Help us to keep our faith firmly grounded and not be uprooted by the powerful forces of disbelief raging around us in our culture today.

Most of all, help us to live with the confidence of those early eyewitnesses, living and sharing our faith day by day so that others will also give glory to you, Merciful God and Everlasting Father. We pray by faith in the name of Jesus, Son of God, Savior of mankind, Resurrected Lord. Amen.

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