For years, I struggled to find a meaningful pattern or rhythm for prayer.
As one who struggles with patterns, I found it difficult to build consistent prayer habits. For clarity, I have always prayed. Probably not as much as I should, but I’m sure you relate to that.
As a pastor, I have found prayer to be even more vital to my own spiritual vitality and health. Yet, I still find it incredibly difficult. There are personal, environmental, and societal influences that have influenced that difficulty, but that does not change the fact that more prayer is needed in my life.
The need to pray comes not from a legalistic need to earn points with God. I know I need to pray because he fills me with life. When I pray, I allow him space to work in me and in my life. I don’t earn anything, but I do give him the ability to help me.
As someone who has always been busy, I struggle to sit for long periods of time. I love reading, but I don’t read for long periods. I love doing actives, but find often myself changing to do something else.
This busyness impacts prayer in my life.
As I have focused more on prayer over the past 2 years (and read on prayer to spur that growth), I have found breath prayers and other liturgical methods incredibly helpful.
While books upon books have and can be written on prayer and its various forms, my reflection today simply draws on the breath prayer.
A breath prayer is simply a short prayer one can pray with a single breath.
The Jesus Prayer is a well-know example of this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
Recently, I read a chapter from Richard Foster’s Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home on breath prayers. [You can buy this in my amazon store front here; I do receive commission.] In trying to scatter them throughout my day, I find that prayer is accessible, easy, and restorative. Foster has a great chapter on to this practice and it has helped me immensely.
For clarity, I am still engaging in longer times of prayer and intercession, but this practice of giving single breaths to God in prayer has been instantly life-giving.
I think we all want to pray more…
I’m reminded of the Star Wars scene when Kylo Ren gives this iconic line that everyone can connect with… “I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it.”
We all know we need to pray more, but without asking God for strength, we quickly find we don’t have the strength to pray. I am learning if we start with one breath, God will come and give us the strength for more. We just have to start with one.
I hope this gives you courage and hope. Even pastors struggle to pray. Sometimes, we simply start with praying one breath.