Spiritual Respiration

I have Hypoxia, a medical condition where my bodies organs do not receive enough oxygen to function properly; because of this I am on oxygen 24/7.   

I saw a post on another platform that said, “God is like oxygen, you need him to survive”. I thought, “How right is that!” 

I was reading the Bible the other day and I came across a footnote talking about spiritual respiration. I did some research on this and came up with some good information. Just like we need to breathe in oxygen for our physical respiration, we also need to breathe in God for our spiritual respiration.  

The great John Wesley used the term “spiritual respiration” to describe the closeness we should have with God, he says we should have a “constant and intimate connection”. Just like we take in oxygen constantly we also need to take in God as much as we can. Most people don’t have time for a constant connection but we can take him in through pauses in our actions throughout the day. 

When we fill our lungs with air we are filled with much needed oxygen so we can perform our daily duties like our work. When we are filled with God we are more alert, energized and refreshed and are also ready to take on our day.

If I take off my oxygen mask I don’t feel well and can experience brain fog, headaches and lethargy. If we don’t inhale enough of God we can loose our connection with him which is vitally important to our Christian lives. 

Our physical reaction of breathing is automatic, we don’t need to think about it to inhale and exhale. Our relationship with God is not automatic however so we need to be reminded to fill our lives with him. 

Spiritual respiration is related to yoga. With yoga we learn deep breathing, inhaling and exhaling, while meditating on something meaningful to us. With Spiritual Respiration we can meditate on short Bible verses, breathing them in and out. A good book to find these verses in is the book of Psalms. One that I enjoy is, “From everlasting to everlasting you are my God”, Psalm 90:2. Another one I use is “Breathe on me breath of God”, which is actually a song not a Bible verse. 

Spiritual respiration, breathing in slowly and deeply, also provides a way for us to have a closer intimate relationship with God. Concentrating on him can calm our spirits and center us on what is most important. 

Breathing prayers is another way to experience God and enrich our relationship with him. One that most everyone knows is Psalm 23. While breathing in slowly and deeply recite or pray “The Lord is my shepherd”, breathe out slowly and pray, “I shall not want” and on through the prayer. The Our Father is also another one most people know, try it. 

Through spiritual respiration you can also repent of your sins while enriching your life. Ask God to forgive you for whatever you are feeling is dragging you down. Psalm 51:10 tells us that we are breathing in new Biblical principles and breathing out our old sins. “Create in me a clean heart O God and put a new and right spirit within me.” 

Any way we pray, whether through spiritual respiration or common prayer, we are refreshing our lives with the newness of God. 

Spiritual respiration not only refreshes our spiritual lives but our physical lives as well. Breathing in and out deeply can relieve stress and clear your mind after a busy day.  

Dear God, we breathe in new life through you. Forgive us from our sins, bring us closer to you. Amen


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