BREATH PRAYERS
In his famous book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren recommends that I invite God to be with me all day long. In addition to the special quiet time I reserve for him and the time I spend in fellowship with other believers, I should ask him to sit with me at meetings, provide me with strength while I exercise, enjoy watching movies with me, and even help me pick up after my dogs. But I usually get focused on all kinds of other things, things that don't matter in comparison to God. Still, He is constantly knocking on the door, and whenever I open it, He is happy to come in and eat with me. (Revelation 3:20)
So how do I open the door? Warren says the answer is prayer. I can walk with God all day long if I "pray continually." (I Thessalonians, 5:17) Of course, there are many situations where it's socially unacceptable to close my eyes, bow my head, and pray for a minute or two. For this reason, Warren suggests using "breath prayers", which he defines as "brief sentences or simple phrases that can be repeated... in one breath." I agree with Warren completely, and so I have been building an arsenal of breath prayers, which are listed below.
I note that this is consistent with the teaching of Brother Laurence in
The Practice of the Presence of God.
In some cases, I am presenting modified forms of what is actually found in the Bible.
His Omnipresence
| The Lord is with me when I am with Him. | II Chronicles 15:2 |
| The Lord is with me. | Psalm 118:6 |
| If you seek Him, He will be found by you. | II Chronicles 15:2 |
| You will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. | Jeremiah 29:13 |
| You will find the Lord your God if you look for Him with all your heart and all your soul. | Deuteronomy 4:29 |
| In Your presence is fullness of joy. | Psalm 16:11 |
My Relationships with Him
| You are my god. | Psalm 31:14 |
| You are my lord. | Psalm 16:2 |
| You are my king. | Psalm 44:4 |
| You are my father. | Psalm 89:26 |
| You are my savior. | Psalm 89:26 |
| You are my teacher. | Job 36:22 |
| You are my strength. | Habakkuk 3:19 |
| You are my Holy One. | Isaiah 43:15 |
| You are my redeemer. | Isaiah 63:16 |
| You are my refuge and my fortress. | Habakkuk 3:19 |
The Sufficiency of the Lord
| You're all I want. | |
| You're all I need. | |
| You're everything I've hoped for. | |
| You are necessary and sufficient. | |
| Without Him, I can do nothing. | John 15:5 |
| I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. | Philippians 4:13 |
The Nature of the Lord
| The Lord is a consuming fire. | Deuteronomy 4:24 |
| The Lord is love. | I John 4:16 |
| The Lord is the Rock eternal. | Isaiah 26:4 |
| The Lord sees all mankind. | Psalm 33:13 |
| The Lord is so powerful that no one can defeat Him. | II Chronicles 20:6 |
| The Lord is our only savior. | Isaiah 43:11 |
| The Lord is a merciful god. | Deuteronomy 4:31 |