Have you ever thought about breathing Spirit? If we and everything around us is manifestations of God/Spirit, we breathe Spirit with every breath we take.
The Bible speaks about this in the gospel of John 20:22: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In this passage, Jesus breathed Spirit on his disciples.
Other thoughts on breathing Spirit:
In his meditation article, Richard Rohr shares on breathing Spirit
(Minister Adele Ahlberg Calhoun suggests a form of breath prayer that allows us to bring our heart’s deepest longing into our intimate relationship with God)
Breath prayer reminds us that just as we can’t live on one breath of air, we can’t live on one breath of God. God is the oxygen of our soul, and we need to breathe [God] in all day long. After all, it is in [God] that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Breath prayer reminds us that each breath we are given is God’s gift and that God’s Spirit is nearer to us that our own breath. . . .
To practice breath prayer, ponder the nearness of God. Settle deeply into the truth that Christ is in you. Deeply breathe in, repeating any name of God that is dear to you. . . . As you exhale, voice a deep desire of your heart. When you exhale, offer up the desire of your heart. The brevity of the prayer allows it to be repeated over and over throughout the day.
Examples of breath prayers are…
- Breathe in “Abba,” breathe out “I am one with Spirit.”
- Breathe in “Healer,” breathe out “I am whole, perfect and complete.”
- Breathe in “Love,” breathe out “I personify love in my life.”
I love the TV commercial that talks about the sound of nature breathing. (The ad promotes asthma medication, but I was so focused on the sound of nature breathing that I missed that!) Most of us don’t think about nature as an entity that breathes. But if all is Spirit, then nature is a manifestation of Spirit too!
Next time, you spend time in nature, take some big breaths, and breathe in Spirit. Listen to the sound of nature breathing. And maybe add your own breathing Spirit prayer.