Breath prayers for the Week.

I posted these couple of breath prayers on the Light for the Journey page this week. Their popularity encouraged me to post them here as well. I find that prayers like this are powerful ways to keep the presence of God with us throughout the day. Whenever I get anxious or uptight because there seems to be too much to do, I love to pause and recite one of these prayers while slowly breathing in and out.

This first one I wrote some years ago as a reminder of the fact that breath is something that cannot be held onto – we breathe in and fill ourselves with life, but we cannot keep breathing in unless we also exhale and share it with the world. Breath is life giving when we draw it into our bodies, but it can also be life giving when we share it with someone else as in CPR.

Breathe in the love of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in the peace of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in the life of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.
Breathe in all that is of God,
Breathe out and share it with the world.

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The second prayer is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is the breath of God that breathes life into us and into all we touch. God intends that we are filled with the spirit so that we can breathe out life into the world.

Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with love for God.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with love for neighbour.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Fill us with life renewed.
Holy Spirit, breath of God,
Breathe on us,
breathe with us,
breathe through us.