A Prayer about the Bodies God Made

Creator God,

Forgive us for being so spiritually-minded 

we sometimes see little bodily good!

Pastor Sam Allberry points out that our bodies do matter*—

they matter to you, as we realize 

when we think of how you formed Adam. 

You didn’t first create a soul or spirit 

and then find a container for it. 

No, you worked as an artisan 

in fashioning the body of Adam (and later Eve), 

and then you breathed life into it. 

We confess, we don’t always like parts of our bodies 

or even the whole thing.  

Maybe someone made fun of us 

for being too small or too big,

 too tall or too short, 

too brown or too white. 

Help us, Lord. 

Help us to look again in the mirror. 

Help us to see there 

the dark umber or bright hazel eyes 

you have fashioned, 

the long curly or short straight hair, 

the sturdy bones or wiry frame.  

Help us to name where our bodies 

have been broken by the fall. 

Help us to know how you have redeemed our shame 

over our bodies 

by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. 

And help us to remember that one day, 

when Jesus returns, 

we will live in a renewed and whole body forever. 

May we learn to thank you for the body you have given us, 

and may we learn to inhabit and steward it for your glory.

In Jesus’ enfleshed name. Amen.

Read Genesis 2:5-7, 2:21-25.

*For more on this topic, see Sam Allberry’s excellent book, What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves