Breath Prayer

Breath Prayer Breathing is an unconscious thing. And breath prayer reminds us that just as we can’t live on one breath of air, we can’t live on one breath of God. God is the oxygen of our soul, and we need to breathe him in all day long. After all, it is in him that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Breath prayer reminds us that each breath we are given is God’s gift and that God’s Spirit is nearer to us than our own breath. Breath prayer or “prayer of the heart” has been practiced in the church for millennia. The Eastern Orthodox Church in particular has seen breath prayer as way of living out Paul’s instruction to “pray without ceasing.” The “Jesus Prayer” is a breath prayer described in The Way of the Pilgrim: Take a seat in solitude and silence. Bend your head, close your eyes and breathing softly, in your imagination, look into your own heart. Let your mind, or rather, your thoughts flow from your head down to your heart and say, while breathing: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Whisper these words gently or say them in your mind. Discard all other thoughts. Be serene, persevering and repeat them over and over again. The Jesus Prayer combines “Son of David, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:39) with “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Breathing in, you pray “Jesus, Son of David,” breathing out, you say, “have mercy on me, a sinner.” This short repetitive prayer frees you from linear thought and allows you to begin to pray in your body, not just your mind. It is meant to be a lived, breathing rhythm of surrender. And it is a constant reminder of the One in whose presence you stand. To practice breath prayer, ponder the nearness of God. Settle deeply into the truth that Christ is in you. Deeply breathe in, repeating any name of God that is dear to you (see “Names for Worshiping God,” appendix 5). As you exhale, voice a deep desire of your heart. When you exhale, offer up the desire of your heart. The brevity of the prayer allows it to be repeated over and over throughout the day. Examples of breath prayers are breathe in “Abba,” breathe out “I belong to you.” breathe in “Healer,” breathe out “speak the word and I shall be healed.” breathe in “Shepherd,” breathe out “bring home my lost son.” breathe in “Holy One,” breathe out “keep me true.” breathe in “Lord,” breathe out “here I am.” breathe in “Jesus,” breathe out “have mercy on me.” Reflection Questions How do you practice Paul’s injunction to pray without ceasing? How do you pray in a way that keeps you as conscious as possible of Christ’s presence within you? How does the thought of repetitive prayer strike you? What are the up sides and down sides of repetitive prayer? How might a breath prayer be shorthand for a longer prayer of your heart? Spiritual Exercises Become comfortable. Breathe deeply. Intentionally place yourself before God. In rhythm with your breathing, gratefully inhale the breath of life. Exhale remembering that Jesus gave his last breath for love of you. Gently and thankfully repeat, “Breath of life, breathe on me.” Decide to pray the Jesus Prayer or some other scriptural breath prayer as often as you are able during one day. If you worry about forgetting, set a clock at every hour to remind you, or put the prayer on your car mirror. Reminders should be gentle and not forced. • In the evening spend time telling the Lord what it means to you to be able to return to him again and again during the day with one particular prayer. Is there someone for whom you wish to pray ceaselessly? Listen deeply to what Jesus’ desire for this person might be. • Form a breath prayer naming God’s adequacy and your desire for the person. Throughout the day as they come to mind, offer up your prayer. Don’t allow yourself to be drawn into long prayer dialogues about what you want God to do in this person’s life. Let the breath prayer carry all your desire to God. Begin and end each day with your breath prayer. Let it be the word that comes to mind as you wake and as you fall asleep. Tell someone what breath prayer means to you. Help a child form a breath prayer to say while at school or at play. Resources on Breath Prayer Soul Feast, chapter 3, by Marjorie Thompson The Way of the Pilgrim translated by Helen Bacovcin “In prayer we seek God. We do not seek peace, quiet, tranquility, enlightenment; we do not seek anything for ourselves. We seek to give ourselves . . . to God. He is the all of our prayer.” —M. Basil Pennington Centering Prayer DESIRE to quiet the heart and rest in God alone DEFINITION Centering prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the prayer seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence. SCRIPTURE “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) “I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking.” (Song of Songs 5:2) “My soul finds rest in God alone.” (Psalm 62:1) PRACTICE INCLUDES resting in and gazing on Christ waiting before the Lord in open attentiveness attending to the presence of the Holy Spirit within taming scattered thoughts by attending to Christ through the use of a prayer word releasing distractions into the hands of God and returning constantly to his presence within GOD-GIVEN FRUIT keeping company with Jesus, trusting that he is working in you while you pray living in more awareness of your union with Christ bringing stillness into the busyness of life learning to listen to God seeking God’s presence and assistance in all things learning to hold Scripture in your heart resting in God’s will rather than your own agenda developing a quiet center within that is not attached to outcomes

Breath Prayer

Share