Breathing

Amy Oden Church of the Resurrection Insights Blog

Acts 4:29

When I learned that the word for Holy Spirit is written in the New Testament as pneuma, or breath, it changed my experience of God. I began to think about my breath, each inhale and exhale, as connected to the work of the Holy Spirit in me, every day in everything I did. God became closer, more real, more present. Not some vague Being “out there,” but a concrete, living Presence “right here.”

I get a lot of comfort and confidence from connecting my breath to the Spirit of God breathing in me. The New Testament word pneuma can be translated as spirit, breath or wind. For me, breath prayer is the spiritual practice of paying attention, on purpose, to the Holy Spirit in me, not just episodically, not just when I’m in distress or need help, but all the time.

Lately, as I anticipate some major life changes in the next year, I find anxiety entering my body. I feel my breath tighten as it becomes shallower. My thoughts go to worry and my heart speeds up. Recently, my thoughts turned to fear of how it all these life changes might turn out, that I might fail or be unhappy. Then I remembered to pause and practice my breath prayer. With focused breathing–simply breathing!–I turn to the One who made me, who intimately knows every cell of my body and the deepest desires my heart.

I inhale deeply… opening up space in my body for the Spirit to flow through me, making room for more than anxious thoughts. I exhale slowly… turning my heart toward the possibilities of abundant life God offers me and pledging my will to the work of the Holy Spirit in me. My body relaxes and I breathe more deeply.

This is not a magic wand to banish all anxiety. But it is a relief, a reset and a re-framing of my attention, away from my fears and back on God, through the power of the Holy Spirit in me. Here, I receive the “complete confidence” of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:29).

Today, I invite you to pause and breathe. Let the Holy Spirit, the pneuma in every breath, fill you with complete confidence.