by Pam Clark
- Well, that is what the Lord gave me this morning... "If prayer is the
belly of the Body, do you have a stomach ache?"
All the parts of the Body should be fitly joined together. We talk about the importance of prayer, but I felt the wisdom of God was speaking to me about its place in the Body.
We all have stomachs but they are internal. People don't usually go around saying, "Oh what a nice stomach you have!" Not unless they are really getting into "the flesh" because of not wearing modest clothing. But that could be a point in itself.
I felt the Lord asking me, "What are you putting into your belly? What are you eating?" Because from that is what prayer comes out of. And from prayer comes the life of the Body.
Are you eating a well balanced diet? Are you just eating junk food? Are you eating the wrong food??? Is what you are eating nutritious? Or does it leave you anemic or sickly? Does it boost your immunities or leave you lacking?
What you put in your body is fuel for your system. What you internalize expresses itself in the rest of your Body. What are you putting in your system? Is it bringing out the best in you?
Do you have stomach cramps because you ate something too sour or unhealthy? Do you have a belly ache because the news was not Good News? Do you feel sick because someone was not loved? Like you took in something you should not have...?
Do you have gas because of the arrogance of your ways? Knowledge puffs up and can make a stink! Do you think yourself better than others because of your belly? Is that what it is for???
Is prayer balancing your life? Does it make you healthy and generous? Or are you nauseous? Are you being equipped to be long-suffering? Or did you eat so much that now you are lazy? Have you gotten flabby from no exercise? Does your belly stick out?
I know, we can all take that a little personal... ha ha. But the point is made. What is the place and role of your prayer life? Do we show it off to be on display? Is that where God put the belly?
Or do have what we need to sing praises that even angels from Heaven can enter in on? What's going on in your belly? Is there a rumble or a grumble in there?
Does the belly serve or give orders? Does it process the intake and manage the output? Does it hear mostly from the Head or the other end? Do you gas people away or invite them into the sweet fruit of the Spirit?
Do the rivers of living water flow? The Body is meant to work together as a Godly system. There should be a productive output that receives and gives life and releases the toxins of waste through the proper channels. How's your internal plumbing?
There is a proper function and order. What you put into it is pretty much what you get out from it! Is the blood supply being properly fueled to reach all the other parts of the Body bringing life?
Do we glorify the belly? Or are we doing things in the proper way so that life comes to the whole?
This morning I woke up with a slight stomach cramp and took it to the Lord. And that is the question He asked me: "If prayer is the belly of the Body, do you have a stomach ache?" And I realized I needed some "nutritious and sweet food" to balance out some of the sour I tried to receive.
Too many sweets can make the stomach sick, but so can too much of the sour! But nutritious foods work best of all, in a well balanced healthy diet.
Do you have a tummy ache or is your body okay? Are you healthy enough with a clear head to preach the Good News in the way God has called you to do it?
We shouldn't live on the wrong things long term. There may be times we need an anti-acid or another type of stomach aid. But healthy bodies need a healthy working system from a good intake. Listen so you can feed your belly properly. God wants to live there.