The Work of Our Hands
How many ways can we praise the Lord? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as life has been quickly changing and evolving, but my prayer life has remained the same. I have found myself wanting more from my prayer life but not knowing how to start.
When I have free time, I struggle to do anything other than veg. When you work in a field where you’re constantly giving your energy to others, it’s hard to be able to recharge your personal battery. I find myself coming home and binging TV (which is not necessarily a bad thing when it’s not all consuming - but I have to own that it tends to be all consuming for me). I don’t carve out time for my hobbies, much less time for my Bible or for prayer beyond my usual nighttime prayer.
Speaking of hobbies, I have a passion for art and crafting but I really struggle to have the energy to do it. I l o v e to create something out of nothing. When we moved to NJ, I spent a lot of hours painting and all of my paintings adorn the walls of our home. I’m also a seamstress and have aspirations to make myself more clothes and am currently knitting a blanket, which has taken me months to get as far as I have. It’s been hard for me to have energy and balance enough to make time in my day for every single thing, and most importantly, for prayer.
Why do my passions and my prayers have to be mutually exclusive? Answer: they don’t. God gives us gifts and talents for a reason. Whether your hobby directly focuses on God or not, using your gifts does do Him glory. You can pray on what you paint, listen to worship music while you work, interpret a Bible verse or story with your art.
In the liturgy of the Mass (Catholic church service), during the consecration of the blessed sacrament, the priest says, “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.” God is consecrated to the bread and wine, both made by the work of our hands. Our work, our gifts, our offerings are glorifying the Lord in the divine (like at mass) and the mundane.
So how do we get started? Think of something you like to do. Obviously not everyone is into art but, whatever talent or hobby you have, you can use it to glorify the Lord. Maybe you like to run or bike. You could also listen to worship music or a Christian podcast while you’re out. If you like to make arts and crafts, you could try to interpret your favorite Bible verse, or make a prayer painting. If you like to fish you could make a mental list of blessings you see and pray about them. Truly there is a way to honor Him in all things.
There is no wrong way to pray. It’s good to remember that prayer is how you build your relationship with God. Just as you build a relationship with others in your life, your relationship with God is unique and individual to you. Don’t spend your time comparing your worship/prayer life to anyone else’s. He gave you these gifts and passions and He knows you uniquely. In all things, we want to give Him the glory, friends. I encourage you to take the works of your hands and the passions of your heart to give Him praise!
