Life Ministries

“Spiritual Breathing”
Ephesians 3:14-19  and  Proverb 1:22-2:12a.

    A cab driver and a minister were standing in line to get into heaven. The bus driver approached the gate and St. Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a cab driver. Since I’m in charge of housing, I believe I have found the perfect place for you. See that mansion over the hilltop? It’s yours. The minister heard all this and began to stand a little taller. He said to himself, "If a cab driver got a place like that, just think what I’ll get." The minister approached the gate and St. Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a minister. See that shack in the valley?" St. Peter had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when the shocked minister said, "I was a minister, I preached the gospel, I helped teach people about God. Why does that cab driver get a mansion, and I get a shack?" Sadly St. Peter responded, "Well, rewards are based on results. It seems that when you preached, people slept… And, when the cab driver drove, people prayed."...

    Today, I want to focus again on prayer - and the fact that prayer ought to be to our spiritual life what breathing is to our physical life. Just as breathing is a physical response to the presence of life giving air…so prayer should be the response of our spirit to the life giving presence of God.
    First of all, we breathe in. Spiritual breathing begins with inhaling; bringing within ourselves the presence of God and an awareness of His character. A true awareness of God results in awe or a reverent “fear of the Lord.” Breathing in the wonder of God; the holiness of God; the grace of God.
    Inhaling involves all three persons of the Trinity; Paul prayed in Ephesians 3 - “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”…”That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” All three; God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, are involved in spiritual breathing. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”…We need to spiritually “inhale” and be filled with the presence, love, grace, and awesomeness of God!  Breathe in! That’s first.
    Second, when we have breathed in…and are filled, then we can exhale and breathe out all the toxins that have been poisoning our spirit through confession and repentance. This relaxes us and leaves us with a feeling of thanksgiving and relief. The Bible says that “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and ‘cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
    You see, physically, when we breathe in, we take in all the life giving needs of our body. This consists mostly of Oxygen. And, when we physically exhale, the lungs get rid of toxins… Now we are ready to sincerely talk with God. We can talk to him about our needs, our desires, as well as the needs and desires of others.
    Third, we may not realize it, but following the exhale, there is a short period of rest. Spiritually speaking, we may want to use this time of rest to listen to God…or just rest in His peace.
    Nothing answers the need of the anxious hour like a disciplined prayer life. A regular time of spiritual breathing with God. It really will put “life” into our spirit! I think the Apostle Paul understood the importance of this, because he says to us “pray without ceasing!”… And, in another place he says “Pray in the spirit on all occasions.”
    What we really need in this day of anxiety and busyness and lack of time, is a timeless principle of spiritual breathing. Breathing in God and the love of Jesus and the infilling power of the Holy Spirit; And, breathing out the toxins of our lives through confession and repentance; and then bring our requests before God…and before we say a quick Amen!…we ought to rest in his presence and the assurance of His love.
    Jesus was about to be arrested while in the garden praying… And, he said to his disciples; “Could you not watch with me one hour?” Today, he may have said; “Could you not pray with me for 5 minutes?”….
    I am convinced that some of our churches are dying because people are not spending time - spiritually breathing. Far too many of us are like children, who burst into the presence of God at a hundred miles an hour, breathless, panicked, and pouring out our needs.  My concern today, is that during this time we call prayer, we ought to start practicing our spiritual breathing…And, begin by taking a deep breath!...Just breathe in and out for a few minutes…seeking His presence.