THE POWER OF PRAYER 3 // Breath Prayer

Follow-Along Notes

Breath Prayers

• Simply a few words you pray as you inhale and exhale.
• Mark 10:47, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (the blind man named, Bartimaeus)

Clip from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Exodus 3:9-15 (ESV) | ⁹ And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” ¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I AM to be remembered throughout all generations.

Put these two together…

• Rey says, “Be with me.”
• God says, “I AM.”

Breath prayers are designed to do just that…remind us that God is with us, always!

God’s Name

• I AM THAT I AM = Yahweh
• Jewish tradition holds that God’s name, Yahweh is a breath prayer
• Inhale the ‘Yah’ and exhale the ‘weh’

Pastor Mark’s Three Favorite Breath Prayers

• Dear Lord, prepare me for today, provide for my needs, and protect me from our enemies.
• Dear Lord, I need you, I have you, I thank you, I love you.
• Dear Lord, hear me, hold me, heal me, help me.

Reflection Questions

1. What is a breath prayer? What is believed to be the ancient root of such a prayer?
2. Pastor Mark showed a clip from the Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, where the character, Rey, offered a breath prayer of sorts. What happened as a result? How does this parallel with the Jesus followers hope and experience with breath prayers?
3. What does God’s self-asserted name in the Hebrew mean? How does God’s very name model a breath prayer?
4. What is the overarching promise of God’s name that is ultimately revealed in the breath prayer?
5. Write a breath prayer for yourself. If you find that uncomfortable or difficult, commit to praying one of the modeled breath prayers from this week’s message until you find a breath prayer that speaks to you.