Seeds for 08/09/2024 - Breath Prayer - Luke 18:13
In this series on prayer and scripture, we are following the acronym P.R.A.Y. as a guide for prayer. We are considering scriptures throughout the Bible on each theme. My prayer is that studying scriptures on these themes will give us biblical words to use as our own and simple insights for our praying.
Scripture:
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Observation:
On this fifth day of the week, let’s look at a simple way of praying. It’s called Breath Prayer.
The passage from which this type of prayer comes is Luke 18:13. Jesus has been teaching on prayer. He gives a hypothetical that came across as quite realistic indeed. A Pharisee prayed boastfully, comparing himself to the tax collector, grateful that he was better that him. The tax collector, however, had a different tack. Humble and ashamed, he kept his prayer simple, unequivocal, and to the point: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The lesson on prayer is a good one in its own right. But this particular phrasing has influenced Christian spirituality over many centuries too. Given its simple, direct nature, it is well-suited to meditative prayer in which we ponder the truth or truths found within these humble words. It may even be prayed in a single breath—breathing in praying, “God, have mercy,” then breathing out praying, “on me, a sinner.”
Praying with the rhythm of our breath also provides a way to transition ourselves from a frantic pace to an less hurried one so that our heart and mind is more focused on God as we pray.
Though this is a paradigmatic breath prayer, it’s not the only one. Many scriptures can work this way for us. In fact, once we have a basic sense of what breath prayer is, we can see others throughout the scriptures, just waiting for us to employ them for this powerful, useful way of praying.
Application:
Is transitioning from regular life to intentional prayer challenging for you?
What other scriptures come to mind as potential breath prayers for you?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Draw to my attention in reading your Word those verses that may be effective breath prayers for me. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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