Starter Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, help me become in touch with your breath of life within me.

Focus Word: Breathe

Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:4-6; Psalm 104:29-30; Job 12:10.

Optional Read-along: Water, Wind, Earth and Fire pp. 19b-23a (Chapter One: Brother Wind, Section: Wind and Creation.)

Spiritual Direction:

Yesterday we celebrated the power of wind in creation. Today, we celebrate breath.

Read the Genesis 2 passage. Notice how God forms the person from the elements of the earth and then breathes life into the person. Imagine that this intimate act of creation happens again and again within you.

Christine Valters Paintner explains: God meets us in the place of dust and clay from which we emerge and to which we return, and infuses us with this life-giving, energizing connection.

Our task today is to reflect on the notion that your sacred life, and all life, is a mix of earthly elements and divine breath. Learning to pray with an awareness of your breath is perhaps the most powerful you can do to grow in union with God. Praying with attention to our breath is also an ancient Christian prayer practice.

One such prayer is The Jesus Prayer (sometimes called The Prayer of the Heart). Breath deeply, in and out. On the in-breath pray the words: Lord Jesus Christ, son of God. As you breathe out, pray: have mercy on me, a sinner.

Most of us live with constant awareness of our human limitations and weaknesses. At certain times, the vulnerability is overwhelming– when we are carrying heavy physical or emotional burdens. Over the years I’ve found it immensely comforting to breathe deeply and pray the Jesus Prayer. In doing so, I am assured that Christ is in me and I am in Christ. My breath is both the symbol and the reality of my connection to God. Breath prayer is also a way to practice “praying without ceasing”, which Paul writes about in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

You can extend this idea by praying the entire Lord’s Prayer, phrase by phrase, using your in and out breath as prompt and guide. Or you can end a conversational prayer time with God, by  meditating on your breath and your connection to God and all things. Try this: After you have voiced out your concerns or thanksgiving to God, sit quietly and become aware of your breath. Then visualize yourself as: breathing with God, breathing with your loved ones, breathing with all humanity, and finally, breathing with all living things.

For more on the spiritual practice of prayer and breathing, see pages 22-23 of Water, Wind, Earth and Fire.

Be encouraged in your practice,

Katie Martinez

Endnotes

• For daily texts with the Focus Word, Starter Prayer and link to these daily posts, text the word “journey” to 970-500-0970.
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• Join the Orange Dots of Hope Facebook Group for spiritual conversations on the journey.

This daily devotion is part of the Summer Growth Journey: Learning to Pray with Nature with Crossroads Church. Many of us are also reading through Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements by Christine Valters Paintner. To purchase a copy, or for more information, email us at [email protected].