Breath Prayers

I first heard the idea of "breath prayers" in Paul Miller's book A Praying Life. 

He says that the Greek Orthodox Church still uses a simple little prayer they call the Prayer of Jesus.

"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Millers says that they call these types of prayers "breath prayers."

According to a really neat resource found on a site women of the United Methodist Church, breath prayers are "short, one sentence prayers that may be said in one breath as we breathe in and out."

HealthySpirituality.org says that "breath prayer generally involves quietly repeating a chosen phrase for several minutes, allowing the prayer to take on the shape of one's breathing so that the words accompany every breath."

Do you have a breath prayer?

During this season in your life, wherever you may find yourself, what piece of the Lord's promise do you need to breath deeply//in and out//all day long?

Lord, I put my trust in you.

Lord, you are all I need.

When I am weak, then I am strong in you.

You sustain me.

You give all things life.

You renew.

Father, you are my hope.

Lord, give me peace.

Lord, give me comfort.

Lord, give me strength.

That last one is mine. And it has been for a while. In my job, things come at me fast and very difficult situations and decisions tend to hit me from all angles. I find myself asking for strength many times throughout the day.

Like breathing, it's life giving. 

It isn't me asking Him to muster up strength that I already possess. It isn't Him reaching inside me and pulling some magical strength from my depths. Instead, I'm asking Him to give me the strength that can only come from Him. The power in knowing He is stronger than anything I'm battling. The assurance that He knows what is to come and will never leave my side. The comfort in knowing I serve a strong and mighty God. That He is my warrior. That He fights for me.

All of that in a simple four-word filling-of-my-lungs prayer.