Wrestling in Prayer

from portagechurch.org

In the middle of the night while Jacob was alone beside the River Jabbok, a man (whom he later learns is God) came and wrestled with him. (Genesis 32:24-32) Jacob was filled with anxiety at the prospect of re-entering his homeland and encountering his estranged twin brother, Esau. Two days earlier, before sending his family and cattle across the river, Jacob was “greatly afraid” and turned to God in an honest and clear prayer in which  he poured out his fears about what Esau might do to him and asked for help (v. 11). Jacob admitted his unworthiness to receive all the blessings he had (v. 10), repeated God’s command to return to the Promised Land (v. 9) and claimed God’s earlier promises to take care of him and give him a family (v. 12).

Now alone, Jacob wrestled with God. Have you ever “wrestled” with God spiritually, in prayer? Perhaps you asked God  “Why do I (or my loved one) have to go through this?” or “Please give me….”  Or  “please, Lord, take this burden/fear/temptation, etc. away!”  Deep, serious praying can involve the body and the emotions. Hosea 12:4 says that Jacob wept while he was wrestling. Believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit to help them when struggling to put their thoughts and feelings into prayers. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)

Although Jacob held his ground in the match, God showed his superiority:  with a mere touch He  dislocated Jacob’s hip. (v. 25) Jacob showed his perseverance by not letting go without receiving a blessing. (Earlier in his life (Genesis 25 and 27), Jacob had been so desperate for his father’s blessing that he went so far as to buy the right for it from Esau – for a pot of lentil stew – and to trick his father, Isaac, into giving it.) Jacob did get a blessing from God, but he had a limp from his dislocated hip, a sign that he had been touched by God.

Pray without ceasing.  1 Thessalonians 5:17

Now, let’s talk about the hips.

Today you are going to learn how to keep your hips level. Why? Because doing this can prevent problems with your posture and alignment and prevent pain in your back, hips and legs. So here we go!
 

The pelvis is shapped like a bowl.
from wikipedia.org

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and put your hands on your hips. The slightly pointed bone you feel on each side is part of your pelvis. Remember seeing a skeleton in science class or in a Halloween decoration? Notice that  the pelvis is shaped like a bowl and I want you to imagine that the bowl is full of soup. Now you are going to tilt the "bowl" forward as though soup were going to spill out the front. (You will feel like your tail bone is sticking out behind you.)  Then rock your pelvis backward and pretend soup is spilling out the back. (If you have any pain, stop.) Now we're going to bring your pelvis to the in-between position so it is level. This is neutral, and that is how you want your pelvis to be when you are sitting, standing, exercising, sleeping, etc. (In other words, all the time!)  Practice  rocking your hips forward and back and stopping at “neutral.”   In the future, we will be doing other exercises to help strengthen the muscles around your hips to make it easier to hold this position.
 
Try to be aware of having your hips level when you are standing in line, working in the kitchen and while seated. It will be the starting point for some of the other exercises we will be doing, so it's an important step to master. This is one small exercise that can go a long way in improving your length and strength!

Squeeze your Shoulder Blades

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening.  Zechariah 7:11

Time after time in the Old Testament, God’s people, the Israelites, declared their allegiance to God, but then turned away from Him.  They  took up  the customs of their neighbors  (which God had told them not to do), did not worship Him and even made idols and worshipped false  “gods.” They “turned a  stubborn shoulder and stiffened their necks and would not listen.” (Nehemiah 9:29b)

Are we any different in the 21^st century?  Not really.  We are born with the tendency to disregard God and to be the chief executive officer of our own lives. “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt. There is no one  who  does  good, not even one.“ (Psalm 14:3)  God is jealous of our affections and His first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before  Me.” (Exodus 20:3)  So, to set up our own “gods” in the form of self  (pride), material goods, career status, etc., is a sin and separates us from  Him.

God offers a way back to Himself:  God offered His Son, Jesus, as the only needed sacrifice to pay for our sins. (Romans 5:8) God did this because he loves us and wants to be in fellowship with us. The Message  Bible states it this way in Romans 5:10: ”If,  when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best,  just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!”  Restored fellowship with God brings new life.

So God desires to have you in a relationship with Him and wants to be  Number One in your life. Do not “turn a stubborn shoulder” to God.  Instead, stay close to Him and  rejoice  in  this  vibrant new life made possible by Jesus Christ.

Now, about those shoulders…

She is using a corset to squeeze her shoulder blades.
363px-Le_Corset_de_Toilette_-_55_FigB[1]

Remember the game “Freeze Tag?”   If  I  tagged  you now and you “froze” your position,  what would your shoulders look like?   I’ll  bet they are rounded forward. This is a silhouette many of us assume unawares as we get older. This rounded-shoulder  posture  can  be corrected  by squeezing your shoulder blades toward each other, an exercise I consider to be one of the most important ones you can do.

Here’s how to do it:  Pretend there is a small teddy bear climbing up your back and he is right between your shoulder blades. Now give the teddy bear a “hug” with your shoulders. (It may help to actually hold a stuffed animal or small pillow or a soft ball there.)  If you’re doing this correctly, your shoulder blades will slide toward each other just slightly. ( Your shoulders may pull slightly backward but your arms will not move.)  Another technique is to have someone place the edge of their hand in  the  center  of  your  back  and you try to “reach”  toward  their  hand  with your shoulder blades. You could also look  in  a  mirror  to see if your shoulders are moving  inward.  Do you feel broader across your front?  Good!  Hold and count to three. Then repeat a couple more times.

Don’t  worry if it takes a few  tries to get the hang of this one.  Many people have trouble learning this exercise because it is not one we do very often and it  takes a deliberate  effort.  When we train our muscles,  we  have to first train the nerves  (in this case, the nerves that convey the message from your brain to the muscles attached to your shoulder blades). Once this connection is  established, the exercise will become easier.

Try doing this exercise while driving.
Ford Model A at Collector Car Ads

Keep  practicing  a few  times a day – while driving, taking a study break or talking on the phone are possibilities. Strengthening  these  muscles  will improve your posture  and help avoid shoulder problems – both good reasons to add this exercise to your routine!