Put your body into it: solitude, meditate, lie flat & dance?! Yes! Let's do this!!!

RELEASING THE BODY TO GOD - Certain steps can be taken so that the body can serve as a primary ally in Christlikeness. These steps help us “present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, very pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1, PAR). 

This total yielding of every part of our body to God, until the very tissues and muscles that make it up are inclined toward God and godliness, breaks all conformity with worldly life in this age. It transforms us into conformity with the age to come by completing the renewal of our mind—our powers of thought and imagination and judgment, which are deeply rooted in our body. 

We must actually release our body to God. This needs to be a definite action, renewed as appropriate, perhaps on a yearly basis. But you will not drift into this position before God, and you will not stay there without decisive action. Take a day in silent and solitary retreat. Quiet your soul and your body and let them get clear of the fog of your daily burdens and preoccupations. 

Meditatively pray some central Scriptures before the Lord, especially those dealing directly with the body (see above; also Romans 8:5-14; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Colossians 3:5-10). I recommend that you then lie on the floor, facedown or faceup, and formally surrender your body to God. Then go over the main parts of your body and do the same for each one. Ask God to take charge of your body and each part, to fill it with his life and use it for his purposes. 

Accentuate the positive; don’t just think of not sinning with your body. You will find that increasing freedom will follow naturally from active consecration of your body to God’s power and his purpose. Remember, a sacrifice is something taken up in God. 

Give plenty of time to this ritual of sacrifice. Do not rush. When you are done, give God thanks. Arise and spend some time in praise. (An ecstatic reading—chant and walk or dance—of Psalms 145–150 would be an excellent exercise.) Put your body into it. Later, share what you have done with a spiritual friend or pastor and ask him or her to bless it. Review your ritual of sacrifice in thought and prayer from time to time over the following weeks and plan to renew the same ritual surrender year by year.