Receiving Your Body with Gratitude - Your Nightly Prayer - July 13th

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Receiving Your Body with Gratitude
Your Nightly Prayer

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

SOMETHING TO PONDER

At the beginning of Psalm 139, King David shows deep trust and a profound sense of God knowing him and him knowing God. Towards the end of Psalm 139, specifically in verses 19-24, David expresses clear frustration and anger, a passage known as an imprecatory passage. This means David was calling for God from a place of anger and uncomfortable angst.

When we look at Psalm 139 as a whole, we see the intertwined nature of deep trust and safe frustration. While David declared himself “fearfully and wonderfully made”, we tend to harbor deep criticism woven with our thoughts, words, and sometimes actions toward our bodies and to the Creator who made them. Does our inner dialogue fall into anger or hatred about our bodies? It is very frustrating when your body doesn’t do what you want it to do or look how you want it to. Maybe you’re struggling with infertility, and your longing for a baby is causing a divide within your body. Perhaps your hair just isn’t like it used to be. Is something medically going on with your body, causing sickness and affecting your quality of day-to-day life?

I recently saw a meme that said, “I didn’t think aging would happen to me… personally.” Can I get an amen?!

Changing bodies, hard. Going through puberty and aging, hard. Pregnancy and postpartum, hard. Losing weight, gaining weight, and staying fit are all hard. But what if tonight we surrender the hard, ask for us to see ourselves through His eyes, and give overwhelming thanks for this body God has made and sustains. The body that carries life and hugs loved ones. The body that works hard to provide. The body which serves, sweats, and strives. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are evidence of His wonderful craftsmanship. And most importantly (and so incredibly awesome), you are fully known by a good Creator. Rest in this: His hand has woven your body and His breath has filled your lungs. What a gift!

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Lord,
Forgive me for the times I’ve slandered my body. I am made in your image, and sometimes it’s hard to remember that when I’m so hard on myself. If sickness, disease, or ailment is attacking my body, I pray for your healing touch in the name of Jesus. Please forgive me for the times I’ve attacked your creation when I’ve looked in the mirror. Help me see myself through your eyes. I pray for alignment, health, and peace within my body. Father, I thank you for this body that has lived a lot of life. I am grateful for this life and thankful for your sustaining breath. Holy Spirit, soften my expectation of perfection and overwhelm me with grace and gratitude.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

How have you viewed your body?
Meditate on the words “fearfully” and “wonderfully” in our Scripture today. What do they mean to you?
In your own words, thank God for the body that has sustained you and the breath that fills your lungs tonight.

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: © Getty Images/m-gucci

Shea Smith When Shea is not chopping tiny food up for her three tiny humans, or pitching Chipotle to her high school sweetheart-turned-husband, you can find her doing the following: Feeding her sourdough starter (aka 4th child) and baking bread. Putting her Master of Divinity to work by furiously typing about Jesus during naptimes. Posting encouragement and #momlife reels on Instagram. Conquering virtual hills on her Peloton. Renovating "the dream home" with her husband. Co-hosting her church's podcast. Homeschooling the littles. Leading a Barre class. Preaching, teaching, and storytelling. And finally, pretending she will keep her indoor plants alive...this time! You can connect with Shea on Instagram at @SheaHsmith, visit her website at www.sheahsmith.com, and keep up with her posts by signing up here.

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