Prayer rarely makes the top 10 ways to lose weight but it is more in the news lately as faith-based weight loss programs become more popular. It may not be the best way to lose 10 pounds in ten days according to science but those who belong to religious Christian groups say that it does work.
The theory is that you can “pray the 10 pounds off.” It is based on a quote from Luke 6:25: But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” This is not a quote that is saying that eating is a sin. However not eating in moderation may be a sin because it defiles the body “your Temple of the Holy Spirit” and causes medical problems much as back pain, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Another issue that Christians have with overeating is that food should not be your source of “feeling good.” That feeling should come from your relationship with God, which is your own source of goodness. In essence, caring more about the welfare of your stomach then you care about your soul is a sin; not the act of eating to provide your body with the fuel and nutrition it needs to thrive.
Yet another consideration is that overeating drains the environment of needed resources including the extra food, extra large clothing and the fuel wasted transporting and supporting an obese body that cannot walk or fend for it.
One of the affirmations that is common when it comes to praying that the pounds will peel off is “HE must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. Praying this day and night acts as a way of giving your obesity problem over to God to handle; the more spiritual you are the less you will desire food.
Another spiritual prescription for weight loss is to read the first twenty-one verses of the Gospel of John which details the meeting of Nicodemus (a wealthy and decadent individual) with Jesus. These verses are all about being “Born Again.” When you embark to redo yourself and make yourself fit this is all part of being “born again.”
Many churches in the United States conduct weight loss meetings called WORD. This is an acronym that stands for Winning through Obedience, Repentance and Deliverance; it also simply stands for following the “Word of God.” In these meetings people gather as a group to discuss their accountability for the behaviors that might be causing them to gain weight.
The goal of Word is to be spiritually whole. A point sheet and a work sheet are used to help members achieve their weight loss goals. The goal of the program in terms of an achievement is to reach 100 points. Fifty of those points have to do with reaching goals to do with weight loss. Other areas in life account for ten points each and have to do with developing such healthy lifestyle habits as getting enough water, getting enough sleep, attending the WORD meetings regularly and memorizing and applying Scripture verses. This is actually a Christian holistic strategy that can succeed in fixing bad lifestyle habits.
