BREATH PRAYER

4 Oct

The Explanation

The Bible encourages us with the following words: “pray continually.” The implication is that our lives, hours, minutes, and moments should be a prayer to God. This becomes even more real when we combine it with the natural rhythm of breathing in and out. This type of praying allows us to bring something to God regularly, even amid our busy lives. Or, if you are sitting still, you can slow your breathing down.

The Practice

There are several components to this practice, so learning it could take one day or it could take a week. Do not rush. Take as long as you need to feel that your breath prayer really captures your heart's deepest need or desire at this time. Begin by spending time quietly in God's presence, allowing yourself to settle into that beyond-words place of comfort and intimacy, receptivity and restful repose.

Then, imagine Jesus calling you by name and asking, “_______ what do you want?” Allow your truest answer to this question to come up from your heart, and express this to God. If it helps, you can begin by writing the following phrase in your journal and then just letting your response flow. “God, what I most want from you right now is…”

Work with the word or phrase that comes until you feel that it captures your desire as truly as possible right now. This word or phrase will become the heart of your breath prayer.

Choose your favourite name or image for God as you are relating to Him right now, such as God, Jesus, Father, Creator, Spirit, Breath of Life, Lord, Shepherd… whatever best captures your sense of who God is to you at this point in your relationship. “My most meaningful name for God is…”

Now combine your name for God with the expression of your heart's desire. Place it where it is easiest to say in the rhythm of your breathing. If various possibilities come, write them down and eliminate them or combine them until you have a prayer of about six to eight syllables that flows smoothly when spoken aloud and captures the core of your deep yearning for wholeness and well-being in Christ. Your breath prayer could be a phrase from a biblical prayer or a Scripture passage. Just make sure it is short enough that it prays easily in the rhythm of your breathing.

Once you have chosen your breath prayer, pray it into the spaces of your day when you are waiting, when you are worried and anxious, when you need some sense of God's presence.

Over time, learn to pray it underneath all the other thoughts and words that swirl around you throughout your daily interactions. In times of solitude, pray this prayer to enter into silence and bring your mind back to your desire when it begins to wander. Use the breath prayer God has given you consistently until you feel this prayer no longer captures your deepest need or desire or until God gives you another one.