Thanks for this post. It reminds me of the “Breathe” song by Michael W Smith, as well as “pray without ceasing” by Paul in I Thess 5:17.
Counselors frequently use breathing exercises in “mindfulness training.” I’m not sure if there is a relationship or not–the thought is that it regulates and decreases excess CO2 blowoff.
I am not sure if there’s a role for another thread, but do you have thoughts about teaching children to pray? As my kids grow older, we’ve been trying in our bedtime prayer to graduate from “help us to sleep well” to incorporate first thanks, then prayer for others, then prayer for themselves (if they want to use the last). It seems to train them to confidence and other-orientedness. However, I have a lot to learn!
That reminds me of a song by Michael Card called “A Breath of a Prayer.” Now I’ll think of it in a whole new way – thank you!
It takes a single breath to pray:
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
A breath of a prayer to say:
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God
Have mercy on me, a sinner
Father hallowed be Your name
Your kingdom come (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy)
Give unto us each day our daily bread (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy)
Forgive us, as we forgive all those who sin against us
And lead us not into temptation
It takes a single breath to pray:
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
A breath of a prayer to say:
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
I made an effort to try it today, and I must say that I got something from it. By coincidence, I had a lot going on, and praying as you suggested actually did have a calming effect, and I gained some clarity from the spiritual exercise.
Now, the problem is that I have a dusty exercise bike in sight right now. I’m really good at resolutions. Ouch!
That was how I felt about all forms of meditative prayer for most of my life. (Edit: It also goes by the name of “contemplative prayer” in many Catholic writers.) But I ran across Dallas Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives in the early 2000s. He introduced me to Richard Foster, who introduced me to a whole stream of Christian spirituality that was tossed aside in the Reformation.
Anyway, one of the disciplines that I practiced for a while (longer than a couple of weeks!) was meditative prayer. It was interesting and worthwhile, but I have to admit that I suffered from what’s called “monkey mind.” I could never really clear my mind. Every time I got close, either I would fall asleep, or some mundane thought would pop into my head and set me spinning. I don’t think I’m wired for meditation. Breath Prayer is a little simpler for my monkey mind. haha
Randy, yes mindfulness training is connected in that it ties the breath to the focusing power of the brain when it is in the calming branch of the nervous system. That is, we are able to be more mindful when we are not in fight/flight or freeze. The excess CO2 has to do with the body’s interpretation of our surroundings as dangerous and that it is no longer nourishing for our body, which needs O2 for life.
I’m always happy to talk about teaching children to pray! A very simple approach is in the book Sleeping With Bread. Simply, look over the day for 2-3 experiences that stir gratitude/playfulness/happiness in the child. Have them say them aloud and after each one say, “God, thank you.” Then look over the day for places where they felt sad/fear/pain/grumpy. After hearing them say, “God, help me.” If you want to join in the sharing of your experiences (obviously adapted for children’s ears), then you can amend the response to, “God, help us.” This prayer form is based on the Examen from the Ignatian Exercises. If you would like other options and ideas, feel free to contact me through my website www.EmergenceInitiatives.com.
Thank you, Pastor Wiens! This is fascinating. Just so I don’t distract from your original article too much, I posted another thread; maybe you can expand on that more? I appreciate your expertise and experience.
I am aware of Orthodox monastic practices that require quite and repeating “Lord have mercy” and these are based mainly on the teachings of St Palamas. I took and active interest many years ago as a young man, and I feel the practice of meditation and prayer, helped with the Psalms, was very beneficial for a spiritual peace and a good outlook. The many cares and duties of family life and work however, soon flood one’s mind and time seems unavailable. This is unfortunate.
I guess I cannot contribute more to this discussion,
That’s an interesting question. I looked this up in Up to Date, and there were studies on it for asthma with yoga classes; but the anxiety branch included this:
"Breathing retraining — Breathing retraining is a commonly used somatic coping skill [41]. It is supported by evidence of respiratory abnormalities in panic disorder/agoraphobia possibly due to hypersensitive medullary CO2 detectors, resulting in hypocapnia (ie, lower than normal levels of PCO2) [42].
Traditional breathing retraining involves slow, abdominal breathing exercises. However, its value has been questioned in terms of the degree to which it actually corrects hypocapnic breathing [43].
Capnometry-assisted respiratory training (CART) [44,45], in contrast to traditional breathing retraining, uses immediate feedback of end-tidal PCO2 to teach patients how to raise their subnormal levels of PCO2 (hyperventilation) and thereby gain control over dysfunctional respiratory patterns and associated panic symptoms (eg, shortness of breath, dizziness). CART has been shown to improve panic disorder/agoraphobia symptoms [45] in part through reducing hypocapnic breathing [46], although another study showed equivalent effects using immediate feedback of end-tidal PCO2 to either reduce or to increase CO2 levels [47]."
No. It’s not a mystical prayer. As a regular practice, breath prayer just promotes mindfulness of God’s presence, his forgiveness, his goodness, etc., depending on the words that one chooses to pray. In times of stress (or for those who have stress-related disorders), breath prayer also can have calming effects, as Randy detailed above.
Edit: It’s probably more similar to “praying the Scriptures” than to contemplative prayer, if those categories are helpful distinctions.
Very good analogy. If prayer is a conversation, what does the other end of it look like? Do we enjoy conversation with someone who talks but never listens?
Edit: Why do I always post and immediately have something else to say? Why do I ask so many questions without answers? haha. In any case, it seemed a good time to give a shout out to the author, @Nancy_Wiens, for her thoughts on the direction of the conversation.
James, that’s a great question, since breathing can induce different awareness levels, depending on the pace and the ratio of inhale and exhale. However, that is not the intent of Breath Prayer. As I understand the ancient tradition, it is a contemplative prayer in that it hones our attention on God and awaits God’s response to us; it is a receptive form of prayer. That is, it is not aimed at asking God for something (petitionary) or proclaiming something about God (praise). While it is not the aim, Breath Prayer may become mystical, as any prayer form may become, in that God can Self-reveal/communicate so that a person has a living encounter with God. As Christy noted, Breath Prayer focuses on the inherently interconnected physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of a human being, bringing them to bear on the desire for intimacy with God. The words chosen further focus our longing for experiencing God.
I’m curious what experiences of contemplative prayer people may have had and how they may or may not relate to these interconnections.
My father would often fast (of course, following Jesus’ guideline not to tell anyone, I didn’t know about this till later). He said it helped him focus with prayer and memorization. I haven’t done that nearly as much as he, I think, but I should!
I just found this quote by Dallas Willard–“Prayer is talking with God about what we are doing together.” In a way, that sounds like a variation of breath prayer, to me.
Randy, I am deeply intrigued by fasting and how it opens me to deeper acceptance and recognition of my dependence upon God. Thank you for bringing that form of contemplative practice/prayer into our conversation. Also, I love this quote from Dallas! Playful and inviting us into relationship.
I like to think of prayer as my part in a relationship with God, as my intention for being in relationship. God’s grace bids it and then actualizes it, yielding fruit in my life and the world. A shorthand I often use about this call and response is partnering with God in God’s dream for the world. As I see it, each form of prayer has different intentions and fruits. The intention in Breath Prayer is to steadfastness and faithfulness, tied to the ongoing nature of breath. It is bid by God’s steadfast love and justice, beckoning me into prayer without ceasing. It yields a wholeness that mirrors the Shema in Dt. 6: 1-4, loving God with all of aspects of me, even as God is One.
Phil, I am so grateful for this invitation from you to pray with Psalm 46. It is exactly what I need in my life right now. Thank you so much!
Inhale on “Be still,” and exhale on “and know that I am God.” I particularly like the shorter inhale than exhale, since it adds to the physiological impact of returning to calm and restoration.
Bless you!
