Episode #232 How to Catch Your Breath and Pray in Hectic Moments – Small Steps, Big Faith

Hey friends, it's Jen and welcome to Good God Talks. As we get into today's episode, could you use the chance to just take a minute and catch your breath?

I know that I could.

My day has been a little bit hectic. I found out around 8 p. m. last night that my kids were not going back to school from winter break today, but they are tomorrow. And so that's drastically changed the plans that I had today, which largely include recording podcast episodes. It's also super cold outside, and we have a three-month-old puppy who does not like to go potty outside. So we've had multiple potty accidents in the house today.

And so suffice it to say, I'm running into this time today excited to spend a few minutes with you and to spend a few minutes talking with God, but really needing this opportunity to just slow down, take a minute and catch my breath.

Maybe you can relate to these circumstances and maybe you have things going on in your world that are even more severe or chaotic than mine. But the good news that I have for you is that no matter what we have going on, God is here with us.

One of my absolute favorite passages of scripture comes from Acts 17. And I'll read verses 27 through the beginning of 28 in the New Living Translation. It says
“his”—talking about God—"His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:27-28a NLT)

Even in chaotic circumstances in God, we live and move and exist, he is not far from any one of us.

The focus of today's episode is actually on the simple practice of breath prayer. This is an ancient practice that has been part of the Christian tradition for centuries. And while it's not directly talked about in scripture, one of the very first well-established breath prayers actually comes from the story of blind Bartimaeus, where he calls out, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.

The practice of a breath prayer is as simple as it sounds. You take a short phrase or sentence, and you use those words as a prayer on your inhale and on your exhale.

And so as you combine the rhythm of your prayer with your breathing, it helps you connect with God in a really practical way. And it's a prayer that you can turn to as you go about crazy, hectic moments where you just need to catch your breath, and you can turn that very natural habit of breathing into a natural rhythm of praying.

And I have a few resources that I'll drop links for here in the show notes. One is actually a series that I did on breath prayer here on Good God Talks. It's episodes 76 through 83. And then the other resource is a Bible plan that I recently got to release on YouVersion on their Bible app. And it's all about the practice of breath prayer. It’s called Breathe: 5 Simple Prayers to Connect with God. And so if you want to learn more about breath prayer and to practice that habit, those resources are available to you.

I wanted to talk about this today because it's really easy for us to discount small steps to want to go for the big gestures or the huge new goal. But without the small step of breathing, we would simply stop living.

In Job 33:4 in the NIV. He says, “the spirit of God has made me. The breath of the Almighty gives me life.” As I've been thinking about this idea and the power of taking small steps and the opportunity that we have even in busy full days to take a few minutes to just catch our breath and to connect with God. I started talking with God about the question I can leave you with today at the end of the episode. The question he gave me is simply to ask him,
“God, what is a one sentence prayer I can offer you today?”

So as I was preparing yesterday for today's recording, and I'm talking with God about this I felt like he gave me that question. And so I took the opportunity to ask him, okay, God, what is a one sentence prayer that I can offer you tomorrow? And I felt like he said to me, you could offer me this prayer, “God, my day is yours, please guide my steps.” And so in the habit of a breath prayer on the inhale, you pray, God, my day is yours. And on the exhale, please guide my steps.

Well, I didn't know, even at that point, that my kiddos would be home today. I for sure didn't know what my day was going to turn out to be like. But God gave me that prayer yesterday, and it's been a prayer that I have turned to multiple times in the busyness of today.

And he has guided my steps, giving me intentional moments with my kids, helping ease my frustration and not overreact in a moment and helping me notice how he is here with me, how even in these things in him I live and move and exist and he is not far away.

And so I encourage you, take a few minutes, catch your breath. If you can, step away from the things that are so busy or that will require your attention a few minutes from now and take a moment to connect with God. And here's a question that you can ask Him,

God, what's a one sentence prayer I can offer you today?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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