A Healthy Heart – The Mind of Christ –
Maximal Exercise and Prayer
Because cardiac muscle is different from skeletal muscle, heart muscle can’t be strengthened. Yet the heart function can be improved through exercise by improving the overall health of the cardiovascular system. For example, vigorous exercise keeps blood vessels flexible while simultaneously preventing the formation of plaque which can build up in the vessel and prevent good blood flow or increase blood pressure, while decreasing heart health and efficiency.
Exercise has manifold blessings to the body, yet for the heart it takes time to develop a benefit. It’s actually about the time of the Lenten season for regular exercise to bear the fruit of lowering blood pressure. What’s also intriguing is that as soon as exercise stops, the benefit diminishes.
The website Healthline lists 28 different behavior changes which benefit heart health; seven of those are exercise related.
Jesus often described hearts becoming unhealthy. Of course, His description was not about the physiology of heart health, but the spirituality of heart health. But the two are connected. Like the list of 28 behavior changes, Jesus’ list of positive or negative heart effectors may seem oblique but are connected to soul health. In the Healthline list, there are curious heart benefactors such as owning a pet, or brushing your teeth. (Blame the Cleveland Clinic for that one). But they circuitously help the heart. In the same way, tangential “heart health” practices keep the heart of faith vital. Consider prayer.
Luke introduces us to the power of prayer in the beginning of his 18th chapter this way: “Now He (Christ) was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart….”
During maximal exercise, the heart can actually pump about 5 times as much blood per minute, as when at rest. When we vary the intensity of our exercise from a state of rest, to light exercise, strenuous exercise, and finally maximal exercise, all sorts of changes in blood flow occur. And they are not all equal, nor do they follow a typical pattern. The blood flow to skin will initially increase, and then actually decrease at maximal exercise. Meanwhile, blood flow to the kidney and abdomen gradually decreases to about 20% of what it receives in a resting state. But the only organ to remain static no matter what level of exercise is the brain. It receives 750 mL of blood flow per minute. We recall that “Christ is the Head of the Church!” (Eph. 1:22) Keeping the Head running the show – in all circumstances – is prayer’s role.
In our lives, sometimes we experience tremendous stress, similar to maximal exercise. At other times, we are at rest, like vacation, or a Sabbath. St. Paul said that “we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2:16b) He also reminded us in Colossians 2 to “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2) Prayer is both seeking to think like Christ (“Thy will be done…”). And it is also seeking to keep everything in life in a heavenly and earthly balance. Prayer is a leveling agent when we are anxious; we cast our burden and become calm. Prayer can also give us the energy and zeal to do Biblically heroic things like fighting giants or confessing Christ. The heart might be pumping like mad if we are being tempted or tested; but prayer helps to give us the mind of Christ, a heavenly perspective.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, keep us steadfast in our prayer life. May we always “set our mind on the things above.” When the burdens and crosses of the world befall us, may the mind of Christ take over, moving us to our knees, opening our heart to You, seeking Your will and the assurance of Your presence and Your peace in anxious times. In Your Name we pray. Amen.