For when your heart is heavy but your resistance is steady
More than 50 new breath prayers to develop courage and resilience in us that we may walk in love and bring forth justice
Hi friends,
It has been an intense week. There were dozens of news stories that would have been the undoing of us all but now I guess it’s just another day in the apocalypse and so we carry on. As a Canadian, it has felt a bit surreal: our Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a pragmatic, wise, and ultimately hopeful speech at Davos that truly spoke to our moment in time … but we were newly threatened by the American president as a result. The world order continues to rupture. And our friends in Minneapolis are showing us what it looks like when a people who understand neighbouring as a verb stand up and resist together. I have many friends in the area and the way that they all - mothers, pastors, journalists, teachers, business owners, nurses, everyone - are counting the cost and then showing up and doing the right thing. This work, even from afar, has both devastated and strengthened so many of us.
As I began to gather up these particular breath prayers for us this week, I noticed a theme emerging: these seem to be prayers for when your heart is heavy but your resistance is steady. Now is not the time for our voice to shake or to wonder about nuance or to misquote Romans 13 about obeying government authorities. Now is the time for peaceful resistance, steady witness, revolutionary neighbourliness, learning about non-violent resistance, and embodying peace making that disrupts the lies and cruelties while also caring for one another. It is a time to reject lies and embrace truth. It is the time for our highest ideals and our most rooted convictions to show up in our everyday lives. I see this in so many of you and it gives me hope, resolve, and determination to do the same.
I hope that one or two of these more than fifty prayers will meet you well.1
(For paid subscribers, I’ve included a simple printer-friendly PDF download of these prayers for you. It’s at the bottom, just after the last breath prayer.)
First, A Reminder: How to Practice Breath Prayers
Breath Prayer is an ancient form of prayer, passed down through the Church in many streams and still widely practiced today. It is easily adaptable.
Simply choose one or two lines to meditate on and inhale and then exhale through them in a way that feels steady to you. It really is that simple.
You can pray a breath prayer literally anywhere without any special rituals or whatever but I’ve found that I like to find a quiet corner for a few minutes and I usually start by lighting a candle. But these days? Pray them in the street, in your minivan, on the train, at the courthouse, wherever.
Then just quietly become aware of your body. Sit in a way that is comfortable for you, a position that will allow you to take a deep breath in and out. Close your eyes.
Breathe slowly and deeply for a moment to slow your racing thoughts.
As an example, one historic form of breath prayer is known as The Jesus Prayer. So, with that as our basis, here’s how it works:
Inhale. Fill your whole self with breath. Feel the air in your lungs. And then pray aloud or to yourself:
“Jesus Christ, son of God,”
Exhale slowly and fully.
“Have mercy on me.”
And then simply repeat this practice. Start with ten good breaths in and out, with the words being spoken aloud or quietly held in your mind, it’s up to you.
For when your heart is heavy but your resistance is steady
Each couplet of inhale/exhale stands is its own stand-alone prayer. Don’t see this as a litany of words to just gallop through as a huge recitation, but simply pick one or two that speak to you and adapt it you like for your own prayer practice.
Inhale: Braid our righteous anger together, Exhale: with steady love and defiant hope. Inhale: Equip us for what lies ahead, Exhale: prepare our hearts for peace making. Inhale: I embrace what is true, Exhale: I resist what is false. Inhale: Heal what is broken Exhale: around us and in us. Inhale: Your peace is disruptive, Exhale: Jesus, disrupt us. (inspired by MN pastor and chaplain Matt Moberg's sermon) Inhale: Sometimes the most faithful thing I can do Exhale: is to stop praying around the pain and start standing inside it. Inhale: May we be peace makers, Exhale: never just peace keepers. Inhale: Awaken love in us, Exhale: Your love never fails. Inhale: Remind us who we all are, Exhale: beloved and free. Inhale: Every empire falls, Exhale: Jesus, You remain. Inhale: May our voices rise, Exhale: in a song of liberation. Inhale: Bring us to wholeness, God, Exhale: heal all that is broken. Inhale: Bring justice to our streets, Exhale: bring mercy to our hearts. Inhale: May we be loving and generous, Exhale: compassionate and courageous. Inhale: My roots go down deep into your love, Exhale: I will not be moved or shaken. Inhale: I bear witness and serve joyfully, Exhale: I will not turn away from those you love. Inhale: May we never settle for silence or chaos, Exhale: may our song of freedom rise over the noise. (The following is excerpted from The Breastplate Hymn of St. Patrick:) Inhale: Christ above us, Christ beneath us, Exhale: Christ beside us, Christ within us. Inhale: Awake, my soul, Exhale: and know the sacredness of all. Inhale: Make us your midwives, Exhale: for the new world being born. Inhale: We do not wait for permission, Exhale: we will be faithful and courageous. (inspired by Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1) Inhale: He bring down rulers from their thrones Exhale: and have lifted up the humble. Inhale: You have filled the hungry with good things Exhale: but have sent the rich away empty. Inhale: May we love our enemies, Exhale: I pray for those who persecute us. Inhale: We will not deny what our soul knows, Exhale: You have placed eternity and truth in our hearts. Inhale: We practice rest as resistance, Exhale: Joy is our birthright and our rhythm. Inhale: May our lives cooperate Exhale: with all the Spirit is doing here. (inspired by Romans 12:9 MSG) Inhale: I will love from the centre of who I am; Exhale: I run from evil and hold onto good. Inhale: This place is your cathedral, Exhale: our worship is on the streets. Inhale: We will tell the truth, Exhale: Your truth will set us free. (inspired by Psalm 3:3) Inhale: You are a shield around me, Exhale: You lift my head high. Inhale: Peace in our hearts, Exhale: True peace in our streets. Inhale: Bless the peacemakers, Exhale: Protect the peacemakers. Inhale: I place my body in Your hands, Exhale: I place my spirit at Your feet. (inspired by Psalm 34:18) Inhale: You are close to the brokenhearted Exhale: You rescue all who are crushed in spirit. Inhale: We believe, help our unbelief, Exhale: May our prayers move mountains. Inhale: Hope can see in the dark, Exhale: Give us eyes to see what is good. Inhale: You hear the cries of the helpless, Exhale: You bring justice to them. (inspired by Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech at Davos last week:) Inhale: May we name reality, Exhale: and act consistently. Inhale: I will not surrender my hope, Exhale: You are making all things new. Inhale: We behold the image of God, Exhale: in every person we encounter. Inhale: May we be found faithful, Exhale: joyful and courageous. Inhale: Resolute and steady, Exhale: I will love without surrender. Inhale: Awake in us your sacred compassion, Exhale: may we love others as You have loved us. (inspired by Psalm 5:8) Inhale: Tell me clearly what to do, Exhale: and show me which way to turn. Inhale: Keep our hearts steady, Exhale: You are our refuge. (inspired by Jesus' instructions in Matthew 10:16) Inhale: May we be innocent as doves, Exhale: and as wise as serpents. Inhale: Nothing is impossible for you, Exhale: bring the wicked to repentance. Inhale: Make a pathway in this wilderness, Exhale: create rivers in this desert. Inhale: Melt the hardness of their hearts, Exhale: as the spring melts the ice. (inspired by Ephesians 5:16) Inhale: I make the most of every opportunity Exhale: for doing good in these evil days. (inspired by civil rights activist Dorothy Height) Inhale: I want to be remembered Exhale: as someone who tried. (inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:13) Inhale: Faith, hope, and love, Exhale: these will endure. Inhale: Develop courage and resilience in us, Exhale: that we may walk in love and bring forth justice.