Blogs - Chief of Pray Blog

Bathroom Prayer

It started out innocently enough, a question about prayer from our Prayables Facebook page. “Where’s the strangest place you pray?” It was our biggest flurry of comments so far. And the winner is… the bathroom! Not a big surprise to me. In this era of multi-tasking and luxurious bathrooms, it stands to reason that the place to pray is the place we pee.

One might ask, “Is nothing sacred anymore?” I’d respond by saying, “Everything is sacred from now on.” It’s particularly appropriate to praise God when on the toilet. It’s a time to sit and think about how ingenious God is. We have a miraculous set of organs and openings that keep the body clean. Let’s be grateful.

Standing in the shower, soaping up, is a time of petition. Wet and naked, prayers for our body flow freely: tighter butt, perkier breasts and upper arms that don’t flap in the breeze. It’s when we’re alone in the flesh that we realize we are made in God’s image, inside and out.

The bathroom mirror is a perfect spot for reflection. It’s not just a place to pick a zit and put on make-up. Staring into a 5X magnifying mirror, with the mirrored medicine chest as backdrop, brings everything into perspective. My mind wanders and I think my most creative thoughts when I’m plucking a chin hair. I’m inspired by God and I’m in awe of every pore and every eyelash. The bathroom brings the start of a new day with new possibilities.

I pray at zillions of different places, but I have to agree with the chorus of women who proclaim the bathroom their sanctuary. Not too many of us have the time or patience to pray every day for a fixed period in a shrine or a chapel.  Prayer has become a sound bite we call on when we’re on the go or embrace a minute sitting still. I’m good with that. I challenge the knee-jerk reaction, of pious people who would condemn the practice. Why forego a sacred moment because of the time limitations or the real estate. Everywhere we are, is worthy of our prayers. Bathroom prayer is here to stay.

Toilet Talk 

A single request—
excruciatingly simple:
relieve me.

The plumbing of a human being
has pipes, valves and openings
working in sync with
food I eat and liquids I drink.

Please set into motion
this life-giving process
and I will feel relief—
until it's time
to start all over again.

-Rachel Lee