Yahweh Prayer
There’s a video available for this practice.
You can practice “praying without ceasing” (from 1 Thessalonians 5:17) by praying with your breath, helping you connect to and remember God as you go about your daily routine. The Yahweh Prayer is a simple breath prayer that invites you to use the ancient Hebrew name for God — Yahweh — as a way of coming into the presence of God that is alive in your body.
- Step 1 – Find a comfortable place to be where you are not distracted.
- Step 2 – Notice your breathing. Extend your inhale and exhale a few seconds longer than usual.
- Step 3 – This ancient name of God is remarkably similar to the sound of breath. The word for “breath” and “spirit” in Hebrew are the same. Add the syllable “Yah” on your inhale and “Weh” on your exhale.
- Step 4 – Continue and notice the presence of God with you and in you.
Other Breath Prayers
Choose a breath prayer from here or make up your own. Slowly inhale and exhale the phrases, repeating the prayer as needed or desired.
For beginning (ending) work
(In breath) I begin/end this work
(Out breath) with a focused heart,
(In breath) grateful
(Out breath) to be of service.
When you are waiting
(In breath) I breathe in patience
(Out breath) I breathe out grace
(In breath) Everything in
(Out breath) the fullness of time.
Waking in the middle of the night
(In breath) I surrender the ache,
(Out breath) and the worry.
(In breath) Breathe in stillness,
(Out breath) breathe out anxiety.
Source: Christine Valters Paintner, Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred (Broadleaf Books, 2021).
I Love You Prayer
There’s a video available for this practice.
This breath prayer invites you to use the phrase “I Love You” as a way of experiencing and embodying the love of God for you and for the world.
- Step 1 – Find a comfortable place to be where you are not distracted.
- Step 2 – Notice your breathing. Extend your inhale and exhale a few seconds longer than usual.
- Step 3 – As you inhale, say the words “I Love You” out loud or in your mind. Let these be the words of God speaking directly to you, reminding you that God loves you right now just as you are… no matter what. Notice how that feels in your body to dwell in that love.
- Step 4 – As you exhale, say the words “I Love You” out loud or in your mind. Let these be your words back to God and to the world. Notice how it feels to embody an offering of love back to the world and to God.