A
Time of Departing speaks on breath prayers:
"When
[Richard] Foster speaks of the silence, he does not mean external
silence. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home,
Foster recommends the practice of breath prayer—picking
a single word or short phrase and repeating it in conjunction
with the breath. This is classic contemplative mysticism.
"In
the original 1978 edition of Celebration
of Discipline, he makes his objective clear when he states,
'Christian meditation is an attempt to empty the mind in order
to fill it.' In Prayer:
Finding the Heart's True Home, he ties in a quote by one
mystic who advised, 'You must bind the mind with one thought.'
The advice recounts Anthony de Mello's remarks in his contemplative
prayer classic, Sadhana: A Way to God. His approach was
virtually identical to Foster's:
To
silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it
is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever
thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream.
Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed
by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one
thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd
into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence
or word that your mind can be made to fasten on.
"I
once related Foster's breath prayer method to a former New Age
devotee who is now a Christian. She affirmed this connection when
she remarked with astonishment, 'That's what I did when I was
into ashtanga yoga!'" (A
Time of Departing, p. 75)
Breath Prayers and Rick Warren
Are
"breath prayers" a method by which we can become best friends
with God?
Are "breath
prayers" a method by which we can become best friends with God? To direct people on a spiritual journey for 40 days, Rick Warren
wrote The Purpose Driven Life. The best selling book has impacted
millions of persons. Some of Pastor Warren's purpose involves
his recommendations for "Becoming Best Friends with God." The
author shares six secrets to become God's friends, one of which
is practicing God's presence by being in "constant conversation"
with him. After quoting 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ("pray without ceasing"),
Warren asks how a Christian can practice unceasing prayer to which
he answers, "One way is to use 'breath prayers' throughout the
day, as many Christians have done for centuries. You choose a
brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated in one
breath." Then after providing ten examples of prayers, short biblical
phrases that could work as breath prayers, Warren advises "Pray
it as often as possible so it is rooted deep in your heart." In
this context Warren also cites the book of Brother Lawrence (c.1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, who advocated experiencing
the presence of God in the most menial of circumstances, by praying
short conversational prayers throughout the day. The Roman Catholic
practice of praying the rosary is also akin to breath prayers.
Though
breath praying is not found in the Bible, advocates of the practice
recommend repeating a short phrase, the phrase can be biblical,
in prayer throughout the day. For example, in the parable of The
Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus portrayed a tax
collector who in repentance and humility, cried out, "God, be
merciful to me, the sinner!'" Out of this The Desert Fathers,
a monastic group in Egypt during 3rd and 4th centuries, created
the "Kyrie Eleison" ("Lord have mercy.") prayer which later became
known as the "Jesus Prayer." The prayer became a favorite of these
fathers who later expanded it to be, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, have mercy on me a sinner." Click
here to read this entire
article.
Who
is promoting Breath Prayers?
Rick
Warren
"With practice, you can develop the habit
of praying silent 'breath prayers'"—Rick Warren
Also
see pages 89 and 299 of PDL
Saddleback
Church
"Breath prayers are a great way to keep in contact with our
Heavenly Father throughout our day. Just repeat short heart-felt
prayers, such as "You are my God," "I love you
Lord," and "Thank You, Jesus." Consult Chapter
10 of The Purpose-Driven Life for more information."
Rick
Warren's Teens at Saddleback
"I
started slowly to turn my worries into 'breath prayers.'"
Cook
Communications
"helps
you practice the presence of God"
Parable.com
Breath
Prayers for Women
"Be
sure to breathe prayers to God about your conversations …" —Nancy
Ortberg (John
Ortberg's wife)
"I
began practicing meditation, specifically breath prayer, once
again. I integrated the use of Tai Chi and yoga."—John
M. Talbot,
Catholic monk and musician
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