Prayer and Our Bodies
By Flora Slosson Wuellner
(Upper Room Books, 1987)
ISBN 0-8358-0568-9; paper; 144 pp.
Book Review by Larry Peacock
Whether in print or leading retreats, Flora Wuellner is a wise guide, offering sage wisdom for health and wholeness. In Prayer and Our Bodies, she reflects on the body as "life partner," a wonderful and contemporary image even though the book was penned in 1987.
Our "life partners" can teach us much about prayer. Flora advocates listening to the parts of our bodies, even our aches and pains, so we might receive guidance. She counsels us to listen to the signals our body gives and suggests trying different body positions in prayer. As in her books, she gives suggestions for guided prayer experiences. I liked a meditation on reconciling with a part of our body that we have disliked, been ashamed of, or taken for granted. Like Paul in 1 Corinthians, Flora wants us to honor and respect all parts of our bodies, for they all function together.
An incarnational theology weaves its way through the book. The body is the temple of God, our companion "to be loved and heard." Our bodies are priceless, incomparable gifts from our Creator.
Flora is at her best when she addresses the wounds, memories, and inner pain we carry. These themes dominate her writing and, for many, this book opened new territory. She is always respectful of a person's timing and cautions people to honor and value one's own and one another's freedom and rhythm in working with deep hurts and wounds. She counsels us to take Jesus into those painful places.
Illnesses and disabilities are to be loved "not because of the problem (which would be masochistic), in spite of the problem (which would be patronizing) . . . rather, our bodies should be loved within the problem, as part of our whole life experience. . . . Such guidance would help many face and befriend their illness or disability."
Flora sees beyond the individual and includes chapters on the communal body and the body of the earth. Healing takes place in groups and communities of faith. She notes how our "earth body" has been taken for granted, abused, and destroyed. Can we listen to the earth's pain and join God's prayer for the earth and also work for our health?
Hidden in the chapter "Healed Empowerment and Our Bodies" are wise words and ethical questions for expressing our sexuality. In this contentious time, her questions form a framework for claiming and expressing our sexuality as a gift in committed, compassionate, whole relationships.
Near the end of the book she includes a wonderful guide to practicing the presence of God in our daily lives, in our waking, cleansing, eating, working, playing, sleeping. Flora would have us appreciate our bodies every day of our lives. Amen to that.
The Rev. Larry James Peacock is pastor of Malibu (CA) United Methodist Church, a retreat leader, a spiritual director, and an author — most recently of Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer (Upper Room Books, 2003).
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