The Art of Prayerfulness: Thanking God for Orifices

An ancient prayer of thanksgiving that is to be said after using the bathroom...

"Blessed is he [God] who formed man in wisdom and created in him many orifices and cavities. It is obvious and known before your throne of glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them blocked, it would be impossible for man to survive and stand before you." —Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 60b, circa 400 AD


Yeah. I know. It's funny—in a junior high sort of way.

But I also think this prayer is instructive on many levels if you'll pause just a moment to think about it.

Evidently, ancient Jewish life was saturated in prayer... about everything.

Now consider this: The Bible commands us to "Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." —1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

In light of the New Testament passage above, thanking God for orifices doesn't seem so strange, does it?

What could God do in your life if you grew from times of prayer (at church, meals, or bedtime) to include living a prayerful life?

How might God transform your life if you saturated every nook and cranny of your day with continual short prayers of thanksgiving... about everything... for just one day?

I dare you to try it... starting now... for just one day.

Let me know what God does.

More on prayerfulness here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two fun opportunities for encouragement & equipping in 2024!

Image
Opportunity #1 The Peoria Area Leadership Community  i nvites  you  to invest  a morning together... *  Encouraging  each other in the spirit of Romans 1:12 *  Exploring   the teaching genius of Jesus *  Equipping  pastors, volunteer teachers, and small group leaders Save the Date... (every 2nd Thursday, Jan-April 2024) * Thursday, January 11, 2024 * 8:30 AM to 12 Noon * All invited. Men and women. Volunteers and paid ministry leaders. Where? White Rose Fellowship Church 505 S.Main St Bellevue, IL 61604 Tuition * $15 for training materials. * If you, your church/ministry, or anyone you bring can’t afford the tuition, no problem. Join us! Just let me know ahead of time. *  RSVP This is how we do training! Opportunity #2 The Rantoul Area Disciplemaking Leadership Commuinty  i nvites  you  to invest  a morning together... *  Encouraging  each other in the spirit of Romans 1:12 *  Exploring   the teaching genius of Jesus *  Equipping  pastors, volunteer teachers, and small group leaders S
Read more

So many people trying to find friendship and community...

Image
If video above doesn't appear, go here . So many people trying to find friendship and community. Here's a thought. Instead of trying to "find" community, what if instead you sought to "build" community right where you live , work , play , and church ? But how does one "build" community? As a general rule, I try to take all of my questions to Jesus and the Bible.  So, how did Jesus "build" community?   This is where I invite you to do your own study on how Jesus used meals to connect with people. At a minimum, you could quickly search " Jesus eating. " What can we say with certainty about Jesus and eating in the Bible? It seems that Jesus enjoyed eating meals with all sorts of people—and the meal wasn't about the food—it was how Jesus connected with people. Can you think of a better way to connect with people? Perhaps this is why Paul lists "hospitality" as a requirement for all leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:
Read more

You are invited to a community of encouragement and equipping...

Image
"Always valuable spending time with you and the others in our disciplemaking learning community."   —Pastor Tracey Pfeiffer Encounter Church, East Peoria, IL Rantoul, IL The Rantoul Area Disciplemaking Leadership Community  i nvites  you  to invest  a morning together... *  Encouraging  each other in the spirit of Romans 1:12 *  Exploring   the teaching genius of Jesus *  Equipping  pastors, volunteer teachers, and small group leaders Save the Date...  (every 4th Thursday, Jan-April 2024) * Thursday, March 28th, 2024 * 8:30 AM to 12 Noon * All invited. Men and women. Volunteers and paid ministry leaders. Where? Jesus Is the Way Ministries 602 Liberty Ave Rantoul, IL 61866 Tuition * $15 for  The Teaching Genius of Jesus  book * If you, your church/ministry, or anyone you bring can’t afford the tuition, no problem. Join us! Just let me know ahead of time. *  RSVP For more info on the content of the book, go here . Video Above: This is  how  we do training! The Peoria Area Disci
Read more