"Rejoice
always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I Thessalonians 5:16-18
A few years ago, I
was officially diagnosed with asthma.
It's not a particularly bad case of asthma - I don't have 'attacks' and
I'm able to control it with an inhaler, exercise, and watching what I eat. My biggest issue with my breathing is dyspnea
(or "air hunger"). It's not
shortness of breath exactly - at times I can't seem to get a full,
deep breath. If you take a deep breath,
you will reach a point when the breath feels "complete", kind of like
getting over a hump. When I'm experiencing "air hunger", I can't get that feeling of a complete, full breath. As a result, I've become more aware of my breathing and more aware of my overall health.
Breathing is
something that seems so simple and that many of us take for granted. If we are healthy, we don't
have to think too much about our breathing.
Each breath does not require a conscious decision on our part. We don't have to understand the complex
mechanics behind respiration in order to do it.
It simply happens. But the
physiology behind is amazingly complex.
Breathing requires the coordination of a number of bodily systems all
working together, over and over again, all the time. The lungs are amazing organs and the way in
which oxygen is carried throughout our body to nourish our cells is nothing
short of miraculous. And if you stop
doing it long enough, you cannot live.
There are a lot of connections to prayer, of course. Praying is as natural for humans as breathing
and so often we do it without consciously thinking about it. It simply happens. Like breathing, praying does not require
strategies or space on our calendars or a special skill set in order for it to
be meaningful. Also like breathing, we
are not required to understand the particularities and intricate details before
we pray. Most of what occurs when we
pray and when we breathe is a mystery to most of us.
For Christians, we
pray to remain alive. Perhaps not in the
physical sense, but we pray to keep our faith alive. We pray to keep our hope alive. We pray to keep our relationships with others
alive. We pray because we take seriously
the reality of God and God's involvement in our lives and in human
affairs. Even though the extent and
nature of God's involvement is the subject of much theological debate,
Scripture teaches us that the ultimate nature of God's involvement with
humanity is love. For me, prayer is an
on-going, life-giving, conversation with a God Who knows me and loves me. As a Christian, for me, prayer is
"breathing". And like physical
respiration, when I am not praying, when I stop, my spiritual vitality begins
to recede. I can feel a hunger not
unlike the air hunger I feel on occasion.
I can't seem to view things rightly, I can't seem to find motivation, I
have a difficult time being attentive to the Spirit. And, as with my asthma, there are triggers
for my "prayer hunger" - stress, fatigue, an over-loaded schedule. There are other triggers that are more
personal - lack of repentance, pride,
apathy.
When I was a new
Christian, in my teens, I remember be very intimidated by the verse quoted
above. It's interesting that I didn't
really take notice of the two commands bracketing Paul's instruction about
prayer, which now seem much more difficult.
I once thought that Paul's command was out of reach, impossible. You cannot pray 24 hours a day. Unless prayer is not always a conscious act
of speaking but rather more like breathing.
Or if prayer is not words that we say or even set apart times of
contemplation (and both of those are very important), but instead our prayer to
God is much more. Perhaps it is our very
lives offered to God as a "living sacrifice" to God, which in Romans
12 Paul calls our "spiritual worship". Perhaps prayer is more than the words we say
or requests we offer. Perhaps our lives
themselves are prayers - the daily, mundane things we do as well as the
extraordinary, epic things we do.
Just some thoughts I
wanted to share as I seek to keep breathing well. Grace and peace to you!
Wes
