I can still remember a bar routine I did in a gymnastics practice over forty years ago. I don’t simply recall the skills I did, I remember the way it felt, like I was flying, soaring. My timing was perfect. I could pause in all the right places. It felt light, free, and easy. My body, mind, heart, and spirit were all together in the movement of that one routine. All the years of training and discipline came together in one glorious moment that involved my entire being.
That moment comes to mind when I read the opening line of Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!
Psalm 103:1
The Psalm suggests that our prayers to God should be more than routine repetition of words. Our prayers should come from the deepest movement of our hearts, and involve all aspects of our being coming together in one movement reaching toward God in praise and thanksgiving for all of our life.
Praise that involves our whole being can only come from practice. By practice, I don’t simply mean praying regularly or in a routine way, though that is part of practice. What I mean by the word practice is a way of life, a way of living. This way of living is characterized by awakening to the presence of God day-to-day and moment-to-moment.
One way to awaken to God’s presence in all aspects of our being is to begin with a focus on our bodies. We live so much in our heads, we get lost there and move through the world without experiencing it. When we pay attention to our breathing, to the way we walk, and the way we sit, we escape our circling thoughts and find ourselves grounded in the present moment. In and through this grounding, we open ourselves, our minds, hearts, feelings, and bodies to God’s presence.
Many of our physical gestures in prayer are deeply relational. When we kneel and hold our hands together, we express our need and desire to be still before God. When we bow our heads, we recognize God’s sovereignty over us and our trust in God’s loving care. Sitting still and straight while observing our breath in contemplative prayer expresses our desire to know God deeply present within us. By saying grace before we eat, we experience our gratitude that God is the source of the food that nourishes our bodies. Prayers before bed, and prayers when we wake up enfold our entire day in awareness of the presence of God.
Mindfully attending to these moments of God’s presence throughout our bodily existence day-to-day might lead us to remember God when we are walking, when we are doing a mundane, repetitive task, or when we are driving. Soon we might find that our awareness of God’s presence forms and shapes our days so fully that God is as close to us as our next breath.
Despite our best efforts, there are bound to be days when our physical, mental, and emotional limitations press upon us in ways that make it very difficult to pray. Sickness, fatigue, restlessness, aches and pains, disappointment, anger, and sadness often feel so consuming that we find it difficult to lift our hearts toward God. But if we can remember to turn to God in the midst of our small miseries, not trying to rise above them, but trusting that God will meet us there, the limitations that once separated us from God, might become the path through which our relationship deepens.
I imagine the reason I remember the feeling of that one bar routine over forty years ago is because I did it right before I experienced an injury that would end my gymnastics career. The feeling of flying and soaring was momentary. Years of daily practice were required before I received it, but that moment has stayed with me the rest of my life. It inspires me to keep practicing prayer through all days, all moods, and all life experiences.
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!
Psalm 103:1
