Mission Chronicles

Walking as a Living Prayer

Oral prayer is powerful because words are proclamations.
Words are signals to the world at large…
to our spouses and children,
to our loved ones and friends,
to our clients, colleagues, and co-workers, and
to people who don’t even know us but can observe us.

Our words, whether spoken out loud, uttered under our breath, or specifically penned,
set our bodies, minds, and hearts in a particular posture and alignment.
So our verbal prayers are significant, valuable, and influential.

But…
What if my life was my prayer?
What if the way I lived my life was my praise and prayer of gratitude to our Creator?

What does it mean to live as the prayer?

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."
- Psalm 139:13-14

We are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
God had a design and a plan in equipping each one of us with a varied combination of strengths and attributes.
No two of us are alike, not even identical twins.

"But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."
- 1 Corinthians 12:18

If He applied great attention, unfathomable love, and perfect specificity when bringing us to life, then part of the way to live as the prayer is
to dive into each of those blessings,
and live our gifts

Part of the period and process of growing up and maturing is learning our uniqueness and practicing it, understanding it, developing it, and perfecting it as authentically as we can.

A comparison comes to mind of two athletes.
One is naturally talented… among other things,
with a sense of the sport, control of the body, ease of movement, precision of execution, and it all just seems to flow without much effort.
In fact, he doesn’t always show up at practice and arrives late to games with the expected entitlement to play.
He doesn’t always display good manners or noble sportsmanship, having been praised for his skills and abilities from the start.

The other athlete is not especially nimble, doesn’t look fluid and graceful, has to work extra hard and practice in excess, and gives a massive will-of-heart, work ethic, consistency, and persistence.
He is respectful and supportive to the teammates on his squad and is always there to pick up the slack.

Both athletes are successful.
Which one feels more honoring to the gift of his Creator?

To fully realize, hone, and perfect our gifts is taking our inheritance and investing it well.
We were designed to live from our identity, not fight it.
This is one of the highest ways we can honor the gift of who we are and how we were made.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
- Ephesians 2:10

We are God’s Poema.
We are God’s workmanship.
One of a kind…
a masterpiece…
a master’s piece…
made with skill, practice, experience, care, and specificity of purpose.

What does it mean to fully live who you’ve been made to be?
How can you utilize the bounty of design God has equipped you with?
What are your talents and skills?

It is high praise and celebration to activate fully, to challenge your limits, and to test your range.

How unfortunate would it be to have a magnificent home that was designed with exquisite architecture, built with fine craftsmanship and quality materials over many years, placed amongst a perfectly suited garden, only to sit vacant, unappreciated, and left hollow—without a family to live, love, and laugh in it?

Completely unique and one of a kind, and yet…
For all of our uniqueness and distinctions, we are also very much the same as one another…
We were each made with the capacity to love, give care, show compassion, and exercise kindness.

The other—and ultimate—way to be the living prayer is to
live love…
to be Love in Action.