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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

 

Today’s Reflection

Every breath you take serves as a reminder of God’s gift of life and the Spirit within. The Hebrew word ruach is used interchangeably in scripture for both breath and spirit, as is the Greek word pneuma. A breath prayer is a simple, intimate, and repetitive prayer that can be repeated during each inhalation and exhalation, drawing you nearer to the Spirit of God. This contemplative practice links prayer to the rhythm of your own breath. . . . As you focus on each breath as a gift from God, your prayer becomes a living meditation too, an opportunity to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17, CEB). A breath prayer involves two steps: breathing in and breathing out. When you breathe in, call on a biblical name or image of God. When you breathe out, express the longings of your heart or a God-given desire. Don’t worry about where the words fall in your breathing pattern. Calling out to God with words may soon become as rhythmic as breathing. . . .

Each breath is an opportunity to draw nearer to God.

—Whitney R. Simpson, Holy Listening with Breath, Body, and the Spirit (Upper Room Books, 2016)

Today’s Question

Do you have a personal breath prayer? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

Pray without ceasing.
—1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NRSVUE)

Prayer for the Week

Inhale: Jesus,
Exhale: give me peace.
[breath prayer from Holy Listening with Breath, Body, and the Spirit by Whitney R. Simpson]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Our breath is always with us, which means we can practice breath meditation anywhere and anytime. To give breath meditation a try, follow the steps described here.

Lectionary Readings

  • Proverbs 1:20-33
  • Psalm 19
  • James 3:1-12
  • Mark 8:27-38

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

2 Comments

  • robert moeller Posted September 9, 2024 5:29 am

    No, but Thank You, Lord is frequently on my mind. Everything we have comes from God, especially life itself. Thank You, Lord.

  • Lou Posted September 9, 2024 7:25 am

    More of you God. Less of me.

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