Why the body matters in worship
And Three Tools To Use the Body in Worship
Part 4 In Liturgical Church
What is worship to you?
When asked to describe worship, many Christians will respond with images of singing to God or “really truly believing in” God.
Worship is typically equated with:
a) the act of worshiping God in a church service or
b) the attitude toward God in one’s heart or mind.
I think these are fair answers. In fact, I think they are good answers. But they miss out on a few key things.
Worship is about aligning ourselves with God
Worship is all about God. In one sense, worship is an expression or overflow of our great awe and love for God. Those moments where we are overwhelmed with God's provision — worship. When I am in awe of God's greatness — worship. When I desire to grow closer to God out of and because of love — worship.
Singing or dancing or acts of corporate worship are, in a way, symptoms of true worship that takes place in the heart. However, worship isn't just an expression, it is also formative.
Worship is formative
One of the beautiful aspects of liturgical worship is how it is formative. Liturgical worship is much more than an expression of appreciation for God, liturgical worship teaches us how to love God more.
I have always thought of liturgical worship as a form of practice. Each Sunday we engage with all that we are called to be. The service starts with waiting and proceeds with singing, scripture, confession, “passing the peace”, saying pre-written prayers and more. The beauty of this type of service is that we are taught the full expression of Christian worship every week.
The prayers we read teach us how to confess, how to praise, how to give thanks, how to intercede, how to mourn, how to confess and how to listen. Worship isn’t something we simply do, worship is something we practice and train. In worship, like sports, practice makes perfect. Good liturgy encompasses practice. Good liturgy teaches us how to worship with good theology and by being fully encompassing (body, mind and soul).
Worship needs all of you — body, mind and soul
You may be surprised to find out you have a body! We know this in moments we look in the mirror, eat food or try to stand up after sitting too long, yet somehow are prone to forget this reality in worship. If we are called to worship with our whole selves, it includes our bodies. When asked the greatest commandment, Jesus quotes back to Deuteronomy 6:5 commanding us to love God with our whole selves:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.“
From the very beginning of scripture and the Christian tradition, the body was included in worship. Bodies are not bad. We are bodies. Jesus has a body. Engaging our bodies in worship is vital.
The Scripture is filled with references that describe worshipping with our bodies:
Psalm 134:2
Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.
Psalm 141:2
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.
2 Chronicles 7:3b
…they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying…
Psalm 95:6
O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
This idea of bowing our bodies, standing to praise God, lifting our hands, and smelling incense are throughout all of the scriptures. Bodies matter in worship because they engage all of us! This is something we know as children and we teach kids to “close their eyes, bow their head and cross their fingers” when they pray! Let we forget how to as adults. So the question remains, how do we use our bodies in worship?
HOW TO WORSHIP GOD
WITH YOUR BODY
The simplest way is to follow the examples given in scripture. I think there are three main ways to use our bodies in worship:
Use body posture as a “reinforcer”
Use your senses as an “aid”
Use physical objects for “centering” and “grounding”
Use body posture as a “reinforcer”
One of the clearest and easiest examples we see in Scripture, the early church, and liturgical worship is using body posture to reinforce what we are praying. For example, during a liturgical church service, you’ll notice people bow to confess and reverence, kneel to pray and receive, and stand to proclaim (at the Gospel or doing Songs of Praise). Others may raise their hands or at certain times make the Sign of the Cross. Some may even dip their hands in the font and others make crosses on the forehead, lips and heart at the reading of the gospel. All of these acts aid in our formation of love and worship for God.
At home, we may try changing our body positions when we pray. A simple exercise is to begin by centering ourselves and sitting with a straight posture and doing a few deep breaths as we let go of the stresses of the day. Next, (and yes this may seem awkward!) bow with your face on the ground while practicing confession. After this, lift up your hands (again it may seem weird! this is practice) and praise God and practice thanksgiving. Next, sit comfortably (or kneel if your knees let you) and pray for those around you in three different ways (vocation, home life, and spiritual life). These body positions of lifting your hands, kneeling, and bowing can grow help reinforce what it is you are trying to pray.
Use your senses as an “aid”
Another biblical example that can enhance your prayer life, is to try experimenting with different sensations. Throughout scripture, different images or senses are used to embody spiritual realities. Incense is used to represent our prayers being offered to God and the smell reinforcers this reality. Fire or light is used to represent God’s presence and so the early church would use special candles to represent a prayer asking God to fill us. Some traditions may even use different sounds as an aid in prayer as well.
At home, try praying with incense and a candle. While lighting a candle, say this prayer “Lord, as your light filled the temple and your fire filled the apostles, so fill me in the lighting of this candle. May the warmth it gives remind me of your warming presence. May the light it gives remind me to be a light for the world. Amen.”* Or a smaller version: “Come, Holy Spirit, Come.” Next, light some incense! The small amount of smoke represents our prayers to God, but the aroma instantly calls the mind to prayer. In the same way that smelling fresh bread or cookies gets your body ready for eating, incense prepares the body for prayer.
Use physical objects for “centering” and “grounding”
One tool Christians throughout the ages have found to be helpful is to use a physical object as a ground and centering tool while praying. The most famous are “Holding Crosses” and “Prayer Beads.” A “Holding Cross” is simply a cross that is shaped to be easier to hold for long periods of time. Often, people carry them while praying, in church services or even while preaching! I keep a cross in my bag to hold that is rugged and reminds me of “that old rugged cross.” To me, it is one way of following Jesus’ command in Luke 9 to “take up our cross and follow” him.
Another aid people use is “Prayer Beads” or even a “Prayer Rope” or a “Rosary.” I am writing a separate article (linked here when live) about how to use prayer beads and their history. Prayer Beads are simply a way of keeping track of prayers on each bead. My favorite way to use prayer beads is to pray for a person in seven or ten (depending on how many beads are on that “row”) ways. I have found this single exercise to be the most profound and deepening experience for my prayer life when it comes to intercessory prayers (praying for others). I wear my prayer beads every day and I wrap them around my hands almost every time I pray for extended periods of time. They help ground me in prayer more than anything else I have ever used.
At home, try praying while sitting in a certain place (my mom had a dedicated “prayer closest” when I grew up) or while holding an object that connects to you spiritually. Physical spaces and objects can ground us just as the beat of a drum grounds singers to a song. Try these three tools and let me know how they work for you.
If you’d like to learn more about liturgical worship, subscribe to learn more. This is part of a series on Liturgical Churches. Find part one here and see the next article here when it is published.
*This is a prayer I wrote. Feel free to share and use it. Prayer is meant to be shared.