Learn Prayer Breathing
Ever been in the middle of a pray only to realize you ventured off down a mental rabbit hole that included thoughts about what’s for dinner or work deadlines, or for me, a new quilt pattern design. (Did I mention I am a quilt pattern designer and ADHD?)
There was a time I would have beat myself up for this sort of inattention to God - for being an inadequate Christian – one who can’t even pray as she ought to – until I learned about the gift and practice of prayer breathing.
Learning about prayer breathing changed the way I think about prayer as a whole – individually and corporately. I lightened up a bit…which felt good and holy. Instead of following a particular set of rules for how to ask God for something or saying all the right words in the right way – prayer became more of a conversation – it became a way of being – remaining connected. It is a discipline I fall in and out of at various times in my life, but one I have found during the pandemic to be most helpful. So, I offer it to you now…and how I have expanded on the practice for myself.
So, what is prayer breathing?
Prayer breathing is a spiritual discipline thought to be born out of Psalm 150, as best I can tell. The monks in the 5th century took the final verse of the final Psalm to heart and created a method of praying with each breath in and each breath out.
For purposes of teaching the practice here, let’s set a foundation.
STEP 1: I was taught to begin by writing down a couple of lines to God that express what is most on my heart and mind at the time. As an example, for me today, right now, at this moment, I might write:
“Dear God, there is so much hurt in the world. Send your light. Shine so brightly we can’t miss the joy and peace that comes from your love. Help me be that light for others. Amen”
So, go ahead…write down your couple of lines to God now.
STEP 2: Close your eyes and breathe in and out, calming your mind. And here is a little something I added to this part for my own self-care and prayer practice – if you lose your place and find yourself thinking about something else, jot that thing down on your list and say, “Oh…that’s okay…back to centering myself.”
Then give yourself grace.
There is a lot going on, and centering ourselves is not easy right now. Again, breathe. Now, read through what you wrote a couple of times out loud, and as a word or phrase sticks out to you underline it/them.
“Dear God, there is so much hurt in the world. Send your light. Shine so brightly we can’t miss the joy and peace that comes from your love. Help me be that light for others. Amen”
Go ahead and underline now.
STEP 3: Now breathe again. Close your eyes and recenter. Open your eyes and look back at your paper. Now only read your underlined words or phrases out loud. As you do, listen for the single words or three-word phrases that represent what you are truly lifting up to God. Circle those – Mine are bold here in my example.
“Dear God, there is so much hurt in the world. Send your light. Shine so brightly we can’t miss the joy and peace that comes from your love. Help me be that light for others. Amen”
Without centering myself and listening, I might have focused more on the pain in the world. It is human to do that. Instead, as I listened, what I heard more was a focus on the light. God’s light.
Go ahead and circle now.
STEP 4: Now, using only what you have circled, write out two different one to three-word phrases that you can breathe in and out. One to three words on the inhale and one to three words on the exhale. You may need to move the order of the words around from the order they appear in your original paragraph. In my example, I landed on this:
Inhale: You are light
Exhale: Shine through me
So, as I begin my practice of prayer breathing this time, I will breathe in deeply and think in my heart and mind “You are light.” As I exhale, I will think “shine through me.” This is repeated throughout the hour or morning or day or week or month. I will continue on with this breath prayer until my heart tells me it is time to move back to step 1 and start again.
So, what if you feel like you messed up…you didn’t…
First, you WILL lose your place. You WILL be interrupted. You will head off down a rabbit hole. You will just get frustrated and stop. THAT IS OKAY! Just simply say to yourself – “self, you lost track. Recenter and begin again.” Then forgive yourself and begin again. Start again and again as many times as you need to. In the midst of the quantity of time praying, the quality time will serve to draw you closer to God. It will help you recognize God’s presence in your practice.
Secondly, there will be times when you don’t have the energy or will to begin at step one. In that case, below are some breathing prayers adapted from scripture that you can use. They aren’t lesser prayers than the one you would come up with on your own – they aren’t cheating – they are real prayers. Remember – we don’t know how to pray as we ought and the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf – take comfort in this…the goal is the quantity of time, so you might feel God’s presence closer to you and take from that the comfort that God loves you and values you.
Third, this is a great practice for driving and for the creative process. Just don’t close your eyes. **wink**
Finally, find a prayer-breathing friend or small group. Share this post with them and encourage each other. Try it for a week and check in with each other for encouragement and motivation, or you may check in with me here on the website or on social media.
Other Prayer Breathing Petitions from Scripture:
INHALE this section/EXHALE this section.
I come to you/give me rest. – Taken from Matthew 11:28
Your kingdom come/your will be done. – Taken from Matthew 6:10
Lead my path/restore my soul. – Taken from Psalm 23
Be still/God with us. – Taken from Psalm 46
Here I am/send me Lord. – Taken from Isaiah 6:8
Psalm 150
Praise for God’s Surpassing Greatness
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!