Praying With the Head, Heart and Gut

Last week, we looked at how our primary instincts influence how we pray and what we pray about. This week, let’s consider the influence that our primary Center exerts.

I’ve written about the Centers previously, so I’ll recap by saying that human beings have three centers from which they operate: the Head, Heart and Gut. Each of us has all three—which essentially map to the soul, spirit and body—but we are “parked” in one of the centers based on our Enneagram personality type.

So, how does where we are parked influence our prayer? Well, each center is asking a specific question and is underwritten by a specific emotion, and these two factors color our outlook on life and on God. Full disclosure: this post is heavily informed by Suzanne Zuercher’s fine little book, “Using the Enneagram in Prayer,” and Michael Hampson’s “Head Versus Heart and Our Gut Reactions,” with a dollop of my own experience and observation as well.

Let’s start with the Head, which encompasses Types Five, Six and Seven. Head types filter everything through their minds, and they are out to discover or discern what Zuercher calls “a central connecting truth that will make everything fall into place.” They bring the written Word and their memorized portions of it into prayer, which is often matter-of-fact rather than relational in nature. They come with their list, they do the talking and then they get out. It’s much easier to have a list, because free-flowing prayer can feel very disquieting to logic-based, linear Head types.

Heart types process the world with their emotions. Twos, Threes and Fours are typically eager for emotion and don’t fear being overwhelmed by it like others can be. They find their value in what they do, so feeling something in prayer often constitutes success for them. This is the “doing” triad, so feeling like they have accomplished something in prayer is important as well – and they will likely self-evaluate afterward. Heart types most easily pray in images and emotions, not necessarily with words.

Then there are the Gut types – Eight, Nine and One. They tend to have an either/or outlook on life, which can make their prayer very “black or white.” Their prayer is often direct and forthright, uncluttered by emotion or too much thought. They pray most easily through their bodies: raised hands, getting on their knees, pacing, dancing. Theirs is an urge to act, so sitting quietly in contemplation or meditation can be quite difficult.

You can see, from this short exploration, how each Center has its “thing,” that style of or approach to prayer. While none is superior to the others, none is complete in itself. Human beings are comprised of sprit AND soul AND body, of head and heart and gut. A fuller experience of God awaits for those who will step beyond their natural inclination and work to activate the other Centers. Hampson says, “Perfect prayer takes all that we are and offers it up to God [as]…a living sacrifice.”

So, if you’re a Head type, why not setting the list aside and get on your knees, let go of your many words and just feel God for a while? If you are a Heart or Gut type, use the examples from this post and the books I referenced to bring your whole self to God. Then please share here about your experience!

PLEASE SHARE