A Breath of Fresh Air: Let the Spirit In
At the moment I have a cold. It’s the third virus I have had this season so I am no stranger to a blocked nose and all that goes along with it. Sleeping is difficult when you can’t breathe. Added to that I am pregnant and my large belly is making breathing difficult. (And unable to take decongestant!)
“Blessed are those who can breathe freely…” are words I would not usually think to say. However when something so vital, so ingrained, so normally ubiquitous and under-recognised suddenly disappears we are rendered helpless.
There is another sort of ‘breath’ that is so vital, ingrained, ubiquitous and under-recognised. The Spirit.
In Old and New Testaments we see this breath is vital to creation.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’
It’s a funny thing this breathing business. In order to breathe in we also have to breathe out and vice versa. If one is impaired then so is the other. We breathe out to allow ourselves to breathe in again. I remember learning early on in simplicity that we breathe in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide. But we actually breathe out a lot of oxygen as well! In fact there is nothing simple about the physiology of breathing.
So to with breathing the Spirit. We teach prayer early on in simplicity that it’s just talking to God. And in so doing we do all the talking. But prayer can be so much more – it’s breathing the Spirit in and out. Letting the Spirit flow through (in and out) your heart and mind.
Over the past two years I have been learning about the practice of silence and solitude with prayer. This ritual of breathing the Spirit in, allowing Him to reign in the silence and enter the heart and mind rather than doing all the talking, has been transformative.
I can understand now how Jesus departed to the mountain to pray. How there were times he was moved to pray all night. How necessary it is to pray in the face of adversity. How we must ‘watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation’. How it can make all the difference.
I have also experienced how the ‘flesh is weak’ and it’s easy to have a ‘blocked nose’ with distractions, worries, overpowering emotions. I want to encourage you to take the time to blow out the blockages, focus on Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit that he gives.
Breathe in the fresh air of the Spirit; let Him flow through your heart and mind.
Blessed are those who breathe the Spirit freely…
