By J. Davis Creach
In our last blog post, we talked about the differences between training and prayerful training. From an individual perspective, prayerful training is about our own personal focus in training. Are you motivated by the self-importance or self-ridicule of Ego? Or are you motivated by the grace, mercy, and praise of God? Do you find strength in the refuge of your own self or the strength of the Lord?
Physical fitness as much as faith has much to do with our individual experience and personal journey. After all, it is our souls undergoing immediate change. It is our muscles that burn and tear and our physiques that show the difference. It is our minds and hearts that are challenged by the pain and doubt posed in training and our actions that show the difference. It is our lungs that breathe in the breath of God, and it is our life that shows the difference.
But the truth of these statements is not simply true for you alone. It is true for your neighbor. And therefore, it is true for us.
Just as a life of faith, a life of prayerful training will inevitably lead us into community. Whether this community takes shape in the form of a fitness class or a training partner or even just a good friend that comes to the gym at the same time you do, it is God’s loving will for us that we do not do this work alone. We always have the Lord, of course; the Spirit of God is all around us, lifting us up and breathing life into us in every moment. But physical presence, a tangible smile or grimace, the touch of an encouraging high-five, the clear sound of human voice, is so important for human beings. Being embodied creatures, we desire and even require physical reminders of love, support, and encouragement. This is why the Christian faith has Sacraments like Eucharist and Baptism. It is the same reason that Christ came to dwell among us and gather us together. It is the same reason that Christ gathers us together now to be the Body of Christ.
To embody prayerful training as a group is to live out the promise of community in Christ. It is to share abundantly the grace and compassion and even fire of the Spirit with one another instead of hoarding it for ourselves. It is an opportunity to lift our voices in praise of God, sometimes literally and sometimes spiritually, pushing one another to greater heights of physical and prayerful fitness. Community training like this forms the group into a congregation, the Body of Christ set in motion to glorify God and experience God’s grace for and with us. Prayerful training in a group transforms the individual discipline of supplication and adoration into a profound experience of corporate worship. The Body, though made of many members, embodies the faithfulness of Christ in surrendering to, cooperating with, and trusting in the will of God. The many are made one in the Spirit, receiving a foretaste of the Kingdom in the midst of their suffering together.
At Laudate, we intentionally design our Elevated Prayer classes to facilitate this transformative experience with and for one another. Each workout begins and ends with prayer, but we also specifically encourage vocalizing prayer and praise during the session so participants can not only lift praises together but also model praise for one another.
Each training session begins with each member of the group, after spending time in prayer with God, writing a prayer or intention for the day’s training. Our prayers and intentions are laid bare before the whole community, allowing each member of the congregation to hold one another in prayer. We then pray aloud together in unison as a way to prepare our hearts and minds for the training ahead while finding encouragement from the voices around us. Corporate prayer is a powerful thing—a transformative and sanctifying activity—that opens the gates of our hearts to God and to one another. It is a way to collectively declare our faithfulness and our desire to grow in that faith, all the while standing in prayerful solidarity with one another as Christ teaches us.
During the AMRAP portion of Elevated Prayer, we often conclude rounds with praises and proclamations of God’s goodness, holiness, and strength. These proclamations are intentionally designed to be Call and Response, allowing individual members to go at their own pace without leaving behind the rest of the group. It leaves space for each participant to be where they are on their fitness journey while nevertheless inviting the whole congregation into their journey and vice versa. It takes the pride and self-congratulation out of the picture, as the conclusion of each round calls us to praise God and not ourselves, to seek God and stay present with the community instead of the Ego.
Breathe work and breathing control is also crucial for staying present with God and neighbor. Proper breathing keeps us in rhythm, provides our body with oxygen and flushes our carbon dioxide, keeps our trunk steady and stable, etc. Our breathing can hype us up and calm us down. It helps us recover and it helps us keep moving. All of this is part of the reality of God’s breath within you, and when you recognize that you can give thanks and seek the mercy and strength of God with every breathe.
As a community, we practice breathing together through a dedicated cooldown time of breathing prayer that involves intentional breathing, Scripture reading, and the head coach leading the congregation in prayer. It is just as important to rest and recover in the Spirit as we push ourselves. When we reach our absolute weakest, we experience the strength of God’s grace. In our most calm, especially as we feel our heart rate going down and our lungs filling with air, we experience God’s peace, the Spirit among us.
By Iron, through Iron, to Iron. Laudate!
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
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