You know you love Jesus. You know you’re saved because of his great sacrifice.

What you may not know is an ancient Christian prayer called “breath prayer”, and how it can help you to deepen your sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

These are breath prayers: words from Scripture that fit into the space of a single breath. They are not verbal because you’re breathing while you’re praying. You pray the first short phrase while inhaling and finish the second phrase while exhaling. That’s it.

Breath prayers do not replace classical prayers that Jesus taught. You go right on praising God, confessing your sins, petitioning for yourself, interceding for others, just the way Jesus Christ taught us in the Lord’s Prayer.

Breath prayer adds meditation plus physical action to prayer. [Intro to “Body Prayer”.] Breath prayers are one of the easiest and most profound types of prayers you’ll probably ever pray.

The technique is extremely simple:

1. Choose a short verse or phrase from the Bible, and break it into two separate units. For example, in the Jesus Prayer the units are: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God / have mercy on me, a sinner.”
2.  Inhale slowly and repeat the first phrase in your mind.
3. Slightly hold your breath.
4. Exhale slowly and mentally repeat the second phrase.
5. Repeat, ideally 10 times but at least 5 are certainly good. These aren’t one-and-done prayers: keep repeating them. Rick Warren said about breath prayers, “Pray it as often as possible so it is rooted deep in your heart.” 

The Most Famous Breath Prayer of All: The Jesus Prayer

Let’s look at and practice the most famous of the breath prayers, usually called the “Jesus Prayer”. And no, this isn’t the same thing as The Lord’s Prayer. The Jesus Prayer is a meditative prayer that helps us draw closer to God.

The “Jesus Prayer” is a very old practice of meditative prayer based on Scripture. We know it from letters in the 6^th century, but it probably came into widespread use in the 5th century. The practice likely originated with the desert fathers and mothers, who were hermits who occasionally gathered monastic communities around them.

Its modern and best-known form is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s original 6^th century form is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”

Neither version is “better” than the other one; I will pray them both, depending on how I need to encounter God. If my conscience and the Holy Spirit are convicting me of sin, I will pray the “have mercy on me, a sinner.”

By the way, the Western world doesn’t like the concept of sin, but the Western world is drunk. Without the knowledge of sin, there is no knowledge of the Atonement. We need to confess to God and receive forgiveness for what we did — and grace when we don’t know what we did, so we can’t confess it.

Breath prayers like the Jesus Prayer are also for times of fear and uncertainty and loneliness where you need real help, and you need it now. In this case, maybe pray the second version. (Be careful though. Sometimes you really need to pray the “a sinner” part because it’s way too easy to be self-righteous and proud of ourselves.)

Today, the Jesus Prayer is the most widely known and practiced in the Orthodox Church, and is also popular with some Eastern Catholics. You will sometimes encounter it in the Anglican Church, but it’s rare in other Protestant denominations to say the least.

And that is a loss.

Practicing the Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is deeply Biblical. It deliberately combines three famous Bible sayings:

1. In Phil. 2, Paul sweepingly preaches the Godhood of Jesus Christ: verse 11, “Jesus Christ is Lord”. This great Christological passage proclaims that Jesus is not only a man and not only the Jewish Messiah; he is God.
2. The second biblical phrase, “Son of God” appears in Luke 1 in the Annunciation: where Gabriel tells Mary what’s about to happen at the birth of Christ, and that Jesus is the son of God.  
3. “Be merciful to me, a sinner” comes from the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (probably a tax collector) in Luke 18. The Pharisee demonstrates how NOT to pray by saying, “God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector across the street.” (Notice that he doesn’t even bother to say that he’s better than women, because to the Pharisee that’s a given.) But in verse 13, said tax collector prays humbly: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus goes on to say that the humble man got his humble prayers answered. The Pharisee, naturally, did not.

So with three great Biblical phrases we construct the Jesus Prayer. You would simply pray it 5-10 times like this:

“Lord Jesus, son of God  /  have mercy on me, a sinner.”

It’s a Prayer, Not a Relaxation Technique

Any believer in Christ may practice this prayer. Be careful though: it’s not a mantra or a relaxation technique.

It might indeed bring you to a greater sense of peace, and it’s not a bad idea to do some deep breathing beforehand. But breathing and postures are not requirements. The Jesus Prayer stands by itself, as deep prayer and the heart’s acknowledgement of Christ and his love.

It is most especially not a mantra, where certain sounds are key in achieving certain detached states. Christian prayer is never about detachment; it is always about deeper attachment to Christ, and through him to others. And the Jesus Prayer is meant to be understood by the one praying, so should be translated into what language the believer understands. The emphasis is on the meaning of the words to the believer, not on the sounds.

More Breath Prayers

Some Christian circles – including the circle that is me – use the Jesus Prayer, and also add different breath prayers depending on what’s going on in our lives. For example:

• If you are afraid: “Lord Jesus Christ, / give me courage.”
• When you need peace: “Lord of peace / put peace in my heart.”
• Concerned for your kids: “Lord of the children / protect my kids.”

Some others are:

• “Surround me, Lord / I dwell in your peace”
• “Show me your ways / oh holy Lord”
• “Lord Jesus Christ / please help me now”
• “Strengthen my faith / oh Lord my God”
• “God my light / please guide me”
• “Please show me your will / Savior of all”
• “All my trust / is in you Lord”

Why It Matters

When you pray breath prayers consistently and seek the Lord faithfully, the Holy Spirit will respond.

Remember, breath prayers don’t replace the prayer Jesus taught us, they complement it. By meditative prayer and repetition, your open your door wider and wider to the Holy Spirit.

More and more you experience the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These gifts and the gift of the presence of God will start to sink deeply into your mind and your soul and your body and your spirit.

Amen to that.

Watch my video “Breath Prayers for Believers” for more on breath prayers. And watch “More Joy and Peace in Prayer? Get Physical!” for more physical prayers like dancing, kneeling, walking, and raising your hands in the air.

 C’mon – breathe, pray, and dance! You know you want to. 😊