Prayer as Renewal

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1‭-‬2 NIV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1‭-‬2 ESV

If you spend much time at church, there is a good chance you are familiar with these verses. Sometimes it is the verses that we are most familiar with that we can overlook or take for granted the most, like the spiritual equivalent of being noseblind we lose our sense of the nuance in the words. Thankfully The Holy Spirit renews the mind by pointing out the new in the old in our time of need. For example let's consider the nuance of emphasis in the translations above. Do we offer our bodies because we are thinking about God's mercy on us with gratitude or is it through God's mercy we are empowered to offer ourselves or is it both? As many translations state it is reasonable and rational and intelligent to respond to God in this way, choosing God with our minds by how we conduct ourselves with our bodies, but the emphasis in these translations is that it is also "true" and "proper" and "spiritual" worship. So what we do with our bodies reflects a mental choice and a spiritual truth. Do we conform to the world and the patterns that it has established in our lives or do we return to the source of our lives with a sacrifice of dying to those patterns so that a new pattern can emerge. Maybe you were born into a family of diabetics and food is your go-to drug of choice, will your conform to this pattern, or with fasting and prayer will you learn to make no provision for your flesh? Maybe your family have been alcoholics for generations and drink is your coping mechanism of choice, will you conform to that pattern, or will you be a new creation, free of those chains. Maybe you cling to notions of youth and beauty and work tireless to maintain your sense of self-worth through your image, will you conform to that pattern or choose beauty that doesn't fade. Maybe you crave safety above all things, will you conform to the world's version of playing it safe, or will you be strong and courageous with a peace that surpasses understanding as everything careens around you? Can you identify the trajectory of your life and whether you are going with the flow of what the world would make of you or the will of God for what He has put inside of you? Are you testing to discern God's perfect will or is God's will for you revealed in your testing?

As you pray to God ask Him to reveal his perfect will; ask Him to show you where you are conforming to the world. How can you worship God with a sacrifice of your body as the temple of His spirit?