Author: Philip Harman

Clearly not everyone who cares about being fit ever prays for anything. To many this is just too much like magic to be consistent with a serious understanding of responsible adulthood. Or possibly they asked for something once but never got it. Thus they conclude that prayers are a waste of time and energy. But some still hope in the deepest recess of their hearts that prayer just might help when nothing else will.

There are a considerable number of Americans who care about fitness and who often pray pray for some things. it is just that most would never pray for a male body builder’s large shoulders or woman’s hour glass. In most our denominations, The same might be true of being able to run the Iron Man competition or swim a three mile. These would be considered too vain, too personal and too lacking in creaturely concern to be worthy of such solemnity. In other words they would be simply too frivolous for most of us to ask of the Almighty.

Religious positions like this need to be respected.It is the bedrock of the greatest part of American religiosity. Asking for things that ought not to be requested is just not becoming behavior.Therefore, people should be careful in what they ask for ( to mimic a popular expression.)

Nevertheless these same people would never think twice about earnestly praying for themselves when faced with a serious operation or for a loved one in a similar circumstance. The possibility of death and the realization that one just cannot save them self or others can be a powerful catalyst even for the person who refuses to ever set foot inside of a church. Of course, there are still those who prefer to say that simply hang on, hoping for the best. Or trusting that the odds will somehow turn out in his or her favor.

Regardless of the essence of an aversion to prayer, we still are inclined to seek help for what we feels is too much for us. Of course for everyday occurrences we merely rely on daily disciplines and possibly the normal precautions to maintain all over basic healthiness. Thus we never never miss our workouts, never skip or vitamins and always eat the things we know are best for energy production and tissue repair. Doing so we can feel reassured that the body’s natural processes will in fact cause cellular growth thereby enabling us to attain the ends we seek. if we are really that locked into our disciplines, all well and good.

But how many of us can really stay trues to course at all times? How many are so athletically attuned that we would never deviate from the parameters of a fitness lifestyle no matter what? How many of us are so much like a fine Olympic athlete that we would never lapse into old habits that cause the sedentary natures and overweight bodies that we see everyday?

During the early years of training we may often need to tap into a higher power as it has so often been called. That suggests prayer or at least a very strong hope or faith in something or someone beyond our selves. Without this we will fall into old unhealthy ways or stop far short of the time that it takes to get into dynamic fitness lifestyle.

Prayer or powerful hope can keep this from happening.Yet we may feel somehow constrained to not do what we should. If so we should ask why. Perhaps we will then find that asking for fitness is not as worthy as asking for recovery from an operation. If so we should consider that fitness is really the best preventative medicine known to all but practiced by far too few. It really could be the very thing which saves a considerable number of us from the health problems that far too may of us have begun to believe are inevitable.

For further thought on maintain a fitness lifestyle in spite of all which detracts us from staying at it, order my book Think and Grow Fit.