"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Friday, 4 November 2016 "WEEK 7: FULFILLING THE LAW OF CHRIST: GO AND DO"
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4
WEEK 7: FULFILLING THE LAW OF CHRIST
GO AND DO
Fulfilling the Law of Christ to love God and neighbor is at the very heart of all Christian spiritual teaching—in all traditions: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. In this chapter of God Unbound, Dean Elaine Heath mentions the spiritual practice of “breath prayer” as a way of being open to God and neighbor.
Breath prayer is a short, simple prayer that can be expressed in a single breath. Breathing in the love, grace, power, and life of God; then, breathing out your petition, anxiety, fear, or need. The classic breath prayer is this: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” In some sources it is a longer version, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The intention of a breath prayer is simplicity and repetition. The goal is to let it influence our entire life, to integrate interior thoughts with exterior actions.
“Guidelines for breath prayer include the following: (1) Be honest and humble in your petition. (2) Pay a natural rhythm of six to eight syllables. (3) Search for several days to find the most comfortable and personal words; then pray them unchanged for at least a month. (4) Change your prayer as new insights come and your life situations changes.”*
Perhaps we could begin with one of these prayers and then adapt it to fit our own leading from the Holy Spirit:
Option 1, “Lord Jesus Christ, help me love myself well.”
Option 2, “Lord Jesus Christ, teach me to love my neighbor well.”
Please consider posting your breath prayer here. If your wish, add your reasons for praying it during the next month.
*The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, p.45.-------
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