Week 14 - "Lord Jesus, I Give You My Body"

Today, we begin part two of this great prayer. We are on week fourteen this week!

Chilcote took this prayer that is divided into four roughly equal parts and provided a theme for each section:
Part 1: Who is God to me? (first paragraph of prayer)
Part 2: What can I give to and ask of God? (second)
Part 3: How does God shape my life? (third)
Part 4: How do I live as a disciple of Christ? (fourth)

Today, we start with part two from Chilcote.

Scripture

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Meditation

God created human beings as a miraculous synergy of body, soul, and spirit. Unlike dualists at that time (as well as today) who divorced material and spiritual things, they valued both. No act demonstrated the value God places on our bodies and material existence more than the Incarnation. The word literally means “in-fleshed.” God “got” physical in Christ Jesus. God embraces creation in the most radical way imaginable. A handmaiden’s son “em-bodies” God. And in his earthly ministry, Jesus spends much of his time healing, feeding, even resurrecting bodies from death. He offers his body for the life of the world and Paul refers to the community birthed by the Spirit as the body of Christ.

In a culture obsessed with the body, we do well to remember that the body is not something to be worshiped, but neither is something to be denigrated. Our identity as the children of God derives from our good bodies as much as it does from our good souls. The body, as Paul taught the Corinthians, is a temple of the Holy Spirit – a sacred place in which God dwells. Charles Wesley frequently observed that we worship God with both our physical and our spiritual being. We glorify God in our body as well as our spirit since both belong to God.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, who created us as a unity of body, soul, and spirit: keep me outwardly in my body and inwardly in my soul and spirit, that I may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

As a recap if you would like to read it, here is the great prayer from Elizabeth Rhodes:

"Grant me, gracious Lord, a pure intention of heart, and a steadfast regard to your glory in all my actions. Possess my mind continually with your presence, and fill it with your love, that my whole delight may be to repose in the arms of your protection. Be light to my eyes, music to my ears, sweetness to my taste, and full contentment to my heart. Be my sunshine in the day, my food at the table, my repose in the night, my clothing in company, my succor in all necessities.
Lord Jesus, I give you my body, my soul, my substance, my fame, my friends, my liberty, and my life. Dispose of me, and all that is mine, as seems best to you, and to the glory of your blessed name. I am not my own, but yours; therefore claim me as your right, keep me as your charge, and love me as your child. Fight for me when I am assailed, heal me when I am wounded, and revive me when I am destroyed.
My Lord and my God, I ask you to give me patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all my ghostly enemies. Grant me sorrow for my sins, thankfulness for my benefits, fear of your judgments, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence for evermore. Make me humble to my superiors and friendly to my equals, ready to please all and loathe to offend any; loving to my friends and charitable to my enemies. Give me modesty in my countenance, gravity in my behavior, deliberation in my speech, holiness in my thoughts, and righteousness in all my actions. Let your mercy cleanse me from my sins, and your grace bring forth in me the fruits of everlasting life.
Lord, let me be obedient without arguing, humble without feigning, patient without grudging, pure without corruption, mercy without lightness, sad without mistrust, sober without dullness, true without duplicity, fearing you without desperation, and trusting you without presumption. Let me joyful for nothing but that which pleases you, and sorrowful for nothing but what displeases you: that labor be my delight which is for you, and let all weary me that is not in you. Give me a waking spirit, and a diligent soul, that I may seek to know your will, and when I know it may I perform it faithfully to the honor and glory of your ever blessed name. Amen."

Part Fifteen coming next Monday...
pcraig