Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
On My Knees
The wonderful and talented Christian artist Jaci Velasquez once sang:
"There are days when I feel the best of me is ready to begin. Then there are days that I feel I'm letting go and soaring on the wind. Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain how to survive...I get on my knees. There I am before the love that changes me. I don't know how, but there's power when I'm on my knees."
Where exactly am I going with this? Well, nowhere actually. We're not moving a muscle. You'll forgive the analogy, but of the three types of muscle contractions -- positive, negative and isometric -- the isometric contraction has the least amount of movement (zero movement actually) but packs the most punch. Let me explain.
Lifting a weight upward -- even the heaviest possible for just one repetition -- is a positive contraction. Lowering the same weight is called the negative. Now pick something too heavy to move. If nothing comes to mind, imagine trying to move a wall in your home. Got the visual? Well, it takes more force for you NOT to move the wall than it does for you to lift a super heavy weight even one time. (Let that bake your brain). To put it another way, you can generate more force within your muscle by trying to move an immovable object than you can when you are able to move anything else, no matter how heavy it is.
I thought of that yesterday when all the preparation we've put into a pitch/project for PrayFit came to a crossroads, with all roads needing to be traveled. One direction, positive, the other will generate a negative. But even though I'm able and obligated to do both, I did what many a better Christian has done before me and what many will do after me. I got on my knees. There is no greater force than going to the Lord and not moving a muscle. Fact is, I can't lift enough weight, run enough miles or swim enough laps to compare to what I get from spending time with my Savior. It changes me. I don't know how, but there's power when I'm on my knees.
--Jimmy Peña
PRAYER WARRIORS: Before your workout, whether you're a runner, lifter, swimmer, walker, please hit your knees today. I covet your hearts. Of all the names that come to mind, I beg you to let mine be one of them. Thanks guys.
DID YOU KNOW? Speaking of muscle contractions, you can withstand more weight negatively than you can positively. Meaning, you're stronger during a negative contraction than you are during a positive one. I think that deserves an entry. Anyone agree?
Genuine Affection
"This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth." --3 John 1:1
Read: 3 John 1
"I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit." (v. 2) Notice John's choice of words. I hope all is well with you. Everything. Completely. Like, totally. And yet, even to that, John needed to add something. He felt the need, the pull, the urgency to claim good health on his friend Gaius. I'm not sure what John knew about his friend, but we do know from the previous verse that he loved him dearly. And his genuine affection compelled him to hope he was as good on the outside as he was on the inside.
When was the last time we wished that on someone? When I was so sick last year, the first question on a daily basis from my family and friends was, "How are you really doing?" Why? They knew I was on the edge. In truth, if we have Jesus in our hearts, our inside can't get any better. But we all suffer physically. We all endure pain, aches, disease and unforeseen infirmities. And as a matter of fact, many keep it to themselves or worse, they don't know they're sick; apparently healthy but the furthest thing from it. The diagnosis is yet to come. The prognosis even more difficult to predict.
So try this today. As you reach out to people either on social media, e-mail or text, keep it short and sweet. Steep it in prayer. Type it with hope. Claim it for a friend or loved one as you echo the genuine affection from the heart of John and simply say, "Hey...I hope you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit."
--Jimmy Peña
Staggering Stat: The number of U.S prediabetics who don't know of their own condition exceeds the combined populations of California and Texas.
Source: Sugar Nation by Jeff O'Connell
>> To bring this message to your church, write us today at [email protected]! (Click 'play' below)
I Got It, Daddy
"Bear one another's burdens." --Galatians 6:2
Growing up the younger of two sons, I used to love it when Daddy and I would take a ride in his truck just the two of us. Sitting shotgun, of course, was not my birthright, so I'd take advantage by rolling the window down, sticking my elbow out, and letting the wind blow. To a baby brother, the front seat was the promised land -- a 10-year old's olive branch.
Well, every once in a while, Dad would let his youngest son steer. As we got close to the house, He'd slow up, I'd scoot over, and we'd become partners. And although I couldn't reach the pedals, I'd assure him by saying, "I got it Daddy." Truth is, I knew he kept a hand on the bottom of the wheel.
Well, when that same hero drove home the news to me that he was one of the 79 million people in the U.S diagnosed with pre-diabetes, my wheels fell off.
Friends, do you have loved ones who are struggling with their health? If so, don't just go along for the ride. Get involved. Seek help. Let's keep praying for God's strength and wisdom to personally live abundantly like He intended, but let's not forget that we're not on this road home, alone. Like my Dad, someone you love needs you scoot over real close and say, "I got it."
--Jimmy Peña
PRAYER REQUESTS:Who do you know that needs prayer? We're scooting over, and we want to help you pray. Be specific or simply say, "Unspoken" and we promise to pray with you.
DID YOU KNOW? --25.8 million children and adults in the United States -- 8.3% of the population -- have diabetes --Diagnosed: 18.8 million people --Undiagnosed: 7.0 million people --Prediabetes: 79 million people --New Cases: 1.9 million new cases of diabetes
Source: American Diabetes Association
Two Tributes
"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" --Luke 9:23
Read: Luke 9
Undeniably effective for building strength and changing the way your body looks, feels and performs, the squat also happens to be remarkably humbling. As I was looking at today's scheduled workout, I started to look for excuses to avoid my date with the barbell, but then it hit me: I should be thankful I can squat at all.
You see, while I was here racking my head for reasons to avoid this workout, a close friend of mine was struggling with a physical ailment, longing for the day when he could once again test his mettle in the squat or any kind of physical fitness for that matter. He would do anything to get under that bar, to feel the weight pressing him into the floor, to tremble through the uncertain descent that skilled squatters so willingly endure -- and to rise again.
This friend of mine who would give anything to trade places with me on my toughest training day of the week reminds me of another Who traded places with me for all my days to come -- of One who willingly carried the crushing weight of the cross and a certain descent into the tomb, only to rise again.
So today, tossing aside my fears and hesitations, I paid physical tribute to two friends. For one, I squatted. And for the other, I knelt.
--Eric Velazquez
PRAYER REQUEST: This morning, as most of you read this, PrayFit founder Jimmy Peña will be undergoing surgery on his lumbar spine. We ask that you join the rest of our family in praying for him.
Lord, we thank you for the miracles that are our bodies. While we know that our bodies won't last Heaven, we pray that you would help us to be good stewards of our health however long we have on earth. This morning, Father, we pray for Jimmy -- we pray that You would ease his anxiety and fortify his body and mind for the procedure that he is to endure. We pray for his physicians -- we pray that you would bless them with wisdom, discernment and steady hands as they work to repair Jimmy's spine. Finally, we pray for his wife, Loretta -- we pray that you would fill her with courage, energy and her usual, exceptional strength as a woman of God. Lord, we know that You are in control and that you will be by His side throughout it all. We ask that You would whisper your presence into his heart and that you would instill in him a courageous, unwavering trust in knowing that the doctor's hands are in Yours. Lord, today we pray for the body of the man who has made a ministry out of helping so many others take care of theirs. In Your name we pray...amen.
>> Share your own prayers and thoughts for Jimmy below, if you'd like, or drop him a personal message at [email protected]. Thank you for your support!
>> Next week, May 20-24, PrayFit will be going on temporary hiatus, with no new daily devotions or health content being posted to the site. We will be taking the week to commit to prayer for Jimmy's recovery. You can still find tons of valuable content throughout the site (see links below) and can expect delivery of the PrayFit Daily to resume Monday, May 27.
Training - Workouts, training tips and health news
Nutrition - Recipes, eating strategies, weight loss advice
Devotions - You can search our entire library of devotions here
Let Go of the Rope
"I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" --Psalm 91:2
Read: Psalm 91
As promised in yesterday's Prayfit Daily, here's another journal entry I'd like to share with you.
"I never predicted such weeks like this. If I ever get up...if I ever hope and rise and stand...if I ever smile, truly smile and speak and write and encourage, make no mistake, it won't be because I kept fighting. It won't be because of my inner man, my deep faith or some gut-summoned passion of belief. No, I have none of that. If I ever get better, it will only be by the mercy and unbelievable, inconceivable grace of my dear God."
Is that you today? If it is, I understand. For months, I tried -- hand over hand -- to scale the walls of a pit. The perfect patient with an impeccable health ethic. But as you just read, a few weeks ago, I let go of the rope to find myself on my back, looking up at the impossible, knowing that God's grace is the only answer. I tell ya, of all the things our health exposes, our frailty is one of them. Can anyone agree? How many of you reading this today are dealing with unforeseen health issues that you're struggling to overcome? If so, all of us at PrayFit want to pray with you. List your request(s) in the comment section below or simply say "unspoken" and we all promise to lift you up in prayer.
--Jimmy Peña
FITNESS TIP: What's in a Pump?
We are often asked what good "the pump" is during a workout. Here's the skinny on the muscle pump. First things first, a "pump" simply means that the amount of blood vessels that feed those particular muscles increases, allowing for an increase in the delivery of water and blood to the fibers, or a better pump, as it’s commonly known. It’s that enhanced pump that allows for ongoing success in size and strength because blood and water rush into the muscle faster than the circulatory system can remove it.
Why is that good? Well, that pump enhances the stretch on muscle cells, which triggers them to grow by bringing all the nutrients (e.g., amino acids, creatine, glucose, and hormones) and oxygen needed to support energy production, growth, and recovery within the muscle. The pump also helps remove the byproducts of metabolism (e.g., carbon dioxide and lactic acid), which fatigue the muscles and inhibit performance.
So if you lift weights and enjoy the benefits of the pump after a set, there is reason to rejoice. Send us your other fitness and physiology questions and we'd be happy to try and get to them here on the site.
>> LISTEN: Now, you can share the PrayFit Daily -- written and read by PrayFit founder Jimmy Peña -- with a click of the mouse. Click here, listen to your fave devotionals, then use the new "share" tool to spread the faith!