Dear Friends,
One thing that stands out to me in today's reading is how Hezekiah, in 37:14, physically laid out the threatening letter he received from Sennecherib before God at the temple.
"Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord."
- Isaiah 37:14 (NIV)
God doesn't need Hezekiah to bring the letter with him and physically show it to him in order to see it or to know what it says. And yet, there is something powerful about the physicality of laying the letter out before God as a prayer.
I'm reminded of something the well known teacher Beth Moore once said, that when she is preparing to teach, she often leaves her Bible open to the passage she will be teaching from when she goes to bed and asks God to be at work as she sleeps. When she wakes up, her understanding of the scriptures and how to teach and apply them has grown.
I'm also reminded of what I felt the Spirit speaking to me at the start of this Lent journey through Isaiah, that we are to give up something for Lent that costs money and then physically bring the money saved to church on Sunday morning as an offering for the poor. We can take an offering for the poor any time and give it by any means. But there is something meaningful about physically going without something we desire for a period of time and physically bringing our sacrifices, big or small, before God as an offering to him. I would like to encourage you today to find some way to participate in this if you haven't already. And I'd also like to invite you to think about other ways you can physically engage worship and prayer.
Western culture tends to be physically restrained and to focus on the life of the mind. But, our bodies are an important part of ourselves, and engaging them helps us to connect to God as whole people. If you are asking God for help with something, try physically laying out in some way the thing you need help with before God when you pray. If you want to receive something, open your hands in expectation. If you need to give up something, is there a way to lay it down or destroy it before God? What are other ways you can physically engage your relationship with God?
Kneeling before God as an enactment of humility and submission is one way to engage physically that you can probably do right now. If you aren't alone, move to a place you won't be noticed. Then get down on your knees and bend forward, touching your forehead to the ground in acknowledgement of God as king. Invite him to have his way in every aspect of your life. Listen for anything he wants to say to you.
Love in Christ,
Michelle
