Breathe in and Let God Fill You

The garden after rain – breathe in the fragrance of God

Yesterday I wrote and posted this breath prayer on the Light for the Journey Facebook page. Its popularity makes me realize that I am not the only one who appreciates these prayers. I wrote it after wandering around my garden following the first rain we have had for about six weeks. The wonderful fragrance that rain brought to the air with the hint of ozone and free of pollutants was amazing.

Lord Jesus Christ,
I breathe in the wonder of your love,
And say thank you.
I breathe in the fragrance of your life,
And say thank you.
I breathe in the joy of your presence,
And say thank you.
Thank you for love and life and presence.
Thank you for abundance and generosity and faithfulness.
Thank you for blessings that overflow.
I breathe in and am filled with the glory that is You.

I have talked a lot about breathing prayers in the past and use them frequently. This excerpt from Return to Our Senses gives a good summary of some of my thoughts. And here Lynne Baab talks about her encounters with breath prayers.

I love Richard Rohr’s understanding that the Jewish name for God – Yahweh – was not spoken, but breathed. Its correct pronunciation is an attempt to imitate the sound of inhalation and exhalation. We do that every moment: our first and last word as we enter and leave the world…. The one thing we do every moment of our lives is therefore to speak the name of God.  (Richard Rohr: The Naked Now) Listen to him talk about this here.

Prayers like this make me realize my need to breathe in and out deeply at regular times during the day – filling all of my lungs with the essence of God.

Here is another beautiful breathing prayer by AB Simpson

And another by Joseph Tetlow. 

And some of my own prayers:

Here is the first breathing prayer I wrote. It is still a favourite for me and one that I frequently use in seminars.

And another entitled in Faith and Confidence I breathe freely.

It is easy for us to take breathing for granted, unless we suffer from allergies, asthma or panic attacks. But that too can help remind us that breath is a gift from God. As I explain in my post Its Allergy Season but Don’t Hold Your Breath too Long, the breath of God in the bible gives us life, fills us with the spirit and enlivens the scriptures.

More recently I have learned that as we grow older we forget how to breathe properly. Intentionally pausing throughout the day to take deep breaths in and out is highly recommended by many medical experts. Hmm, maybe combining that with moments of prayer would be a good idea. I have also learned that there are many aspects of modern culture that restrict or inhibit our breathing – not just air pollution but fashion, especially women’s fashion often inhibits our breathing. High heeled shoes are a particular deterrent to poor breathing. And not surprisingly sitting hunched over a desk all day is also bad for our breathing.

So take some time to breathe deeply today. Perhaps you would like to use one of the prayers mentioned above, or try this Celtic style prayer which I will be using in our upcoming Celtic retreat Brigit and the Hospitality of God.

Breathe on us God of life,

Breathe in us Christ of love,

Breathe through us Spirit of truth.

Let justice reign,

Let compassion flow,

Let love reign over all.

Breathe on us God who cares,

Breathe in us Christ who reconciles,

Breathe through us Sprit who transforms.

Fill us with kingdom seeds,

Send us out in peace,

Let love reign over all.