Your Bodily Prayer coaches
You’re not doing this alone.
You have coaches - ancient Christian Practice trainers - who’ve been guiding souls for centuries on the practice of lifting hearts to God.
Gym members meet them at Coffee with Coaches live on Wednesdays at 3:30pm Eastern.
Subscribe to Free Range Priest - and follow the directions in your welcome email - to get Trexo posts in your email inbox, and join us for Hearts up! - the oldest practice of Christian worship.
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I’d like to introduce you to two of them with particular connection to the Bodily Prayer Practice:
1. Tertullian of Carthage: Your ‘make it constant’ coach
North African theologian, c. 155-220 AD
Tertullian says:
‘In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupieth us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross.’
Tertullian’s experience:
Early Christians made the sign of the cross constantly. Not just at church. Not just during formal prayer.
It was the Christian’s identifying mark. It sanctified every ordinary action. It marked them as belonging to Christ in a world that was very hostile to Christians.
Tertullian’s coaching :
Don’t separate ‘spiritual’ from ‘physical.’ Your body is spiritual.
When you cross yourself - or practice any other form of Bodily Prayer - you’re:
Marking yourself as belonging to Christ.
Teaching yourself - and others - the basics of faith.
Engaging directly with God.
Sanctifying ordinary life.
Tertullian’s assignment:
For one week, make the sign of the cross at every transition:
Entering/leaving your house.
Getting in/out of your car.
Before opening your laptop.
Before picking up your phone.
Before any important conversation.
Do what the early Christians did:
Whatever employment occupieth us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross.
Notice what happens when you make every transition sacred.
2. St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Your ‘don’t be ashamed’ coach
Bishop of Jerusalem, 4th century (c. 313-386 AD)
Cyril says:
‘Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in our goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are traveling, and when we are at rest.’
Cyril’s wisdom
Bodily Prayer is public witness.
When you pray with your whole self, you are praying boldly, publicly.
The cross was Rome’s method of execution for criminals and slaves. It was meant to humiliate and shame. Jesus made it the instrument of our salvation. To make the sign of the cross is to boldly say: ‘I follow a crucified God, and I’m not hiding it.’
Bodily prayer is supposed to be visible. Your body becomes living testimony.
When you:
Cross yourself before a meal in a crowded restaurant = You’re witnessing
Kneel when others stand = You’re confessing humility
Lift your hands in prayer = You’re declaring openness to God
Cyril’s assignment:
This week, practice ONE visible bodily prayer in a public setting:
Cross yourself before a meal when others can see
Bow your head deliberately in thanksgiving somewhere public
Kneel during a prayer when others are sitting
Do it “with boldness” as Cyril says.
Notice: Your body is preaching even when your mouth is silent.
Common Struggles & Solutions
As you practice Bodily Prayer you’re doing something new. You’re building your soul’s endurance. It can feel hard.
This is normal. Here’s how to work through the most common struggles.
‘What if people at my church don’t do this?’
Bodily prayers are ‘personal expressions of piety’ - which can be done in public worship.
Most Christian traditions use Bodily Prayer extensively - but in different ways.
Catholic Christians (Anglican, Roman, Orthodox) tend to use the sign of the cross, bowing, genuflecting, and even prostration in worship.
Non-denominational and Evangelical communities often raise their arms in the orans position when they sing or pray.
Mainline Protestant traditions don’t do as much bodily prayer, but they do kneel or stand to pray.
All of this is Scriptural: “Lifting up holy hands” (1 Timothy 2:8), “Let us kneel before the Lord” (Psalm 95:6).
You Can:
Practice the gestures most often used in your community.
Be ‘counter cultural’ in your worship context and use a Bodily Prayer not usually practiced (like crossing yourself in an Evangelical church, or lifting up your hands in prayer in a Protestant church).
Only use Bodily Prayer in your private devotions.
The key: It’s all part of the earliest Christian tradition. All our ancestors took part in some form of Bodily Prayer.
What about my physical limitations?’
Use your body as you are able to focus on engagement with God.
Can’t kneel?
Bow your head instead.
Sit forward on your chair with head bowed.
Lower yourself as far as you’re able.
Can’t lift your hands?
Lift them as high as you can.
Open your palms where they are (in your lap, on armrests).
The intention matters, not the height.
Can’t stand?
Sit with dignity and reverence
Focus on interior posture (heart lifted to God)
The Incarnation teaches: The human form is made in the image of God. We are reflecting that with our posture, as we are able.
How do I teach my kids this?’
Bodily Prayer is wonderful spiritual formation for all ages.
Just like in physical exercise, they’ll follow you.
Cross yourself before meals, and watch your kids start doing the same.
Tell them why you’re lifting your hands in prayer or bowing when the cross goes by in procession.
Make it their spiritual protection: “When you’re scared, you can cross yourself and remember God is with you.”
My seminary lived in community - we ate meals and prayed together every day, all the students and faculty and our families.
I remember once watching some of the young kids playing after church: they were playing ‘procession’! One of them held something up, and the others followed him as he walked. When they walked by some of the other children - who were 3-5 years old - the kids bowed their heads!
It was great fun for them - and they were learning to turn towards God with their bodies, even before they understood how they were doing so with their souls.
The Complete Bodily Prayer Practice:
You were made for more.
More peace, more direction, more grounding, more purpose. More JOY.
Get started stretching and strengthening your soul.
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