BREATH PRAYERS
Fred Schaeffer, OFS

Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours [Mark 11:24]. Our prayer is our means to communicate with God. Jesus told us: I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me [John 14:61.] We pray in different ways. All manner of prayer is good, but often we do not know where to start. We find some time to sit down and concentrate on the Lord, but then nothing comes. We cannot find anything to say to God. For many, there is this urge to formalize or intellectualize prayer, but that is not necessary either.

I found a book in the library, titled: "The Breath of Life: A Simple Way to Pray, " by Ron DelBene with Herb Montgomery (Winston Press, 1981). The content of that book rang a bell and caused me to recollect a word in the Dutch language about a special way of prayer that always worked for me. The Dutch word “Schietgebedje” means Ejaculatory Prayer, or, Aspiration, but I prefer the word "Breath Prayer" after I read the above-mentioned book. A Breath Prayer is a spontaneous mental prayer that one utters to God, probably dozens of times a day for many. I am not always conscious of it but usually the prayer ultimately calls my attention to God if I say it often enough. So what does one say?

Well, it depends on your level of intimacy with Jesus... and for most of us that is usually only known by each of us, but not known of each other! I can tell you that one's public prayer posture and one's inner intimacy with Jesus is quite different. The neat thing about Breath Prayer is that it can be carried out while doing other things, and that is not at all disrespectful to God. Why? Well, because our work, our interaction with others (community), and also our time to play is our existence and it is always God's gift to us, so when we pray in this fashion, we are involving God directly in these actions. That's good! Jesus is our Master, but He is also our dearest friend, an association that helps me personalize my inner relationship with God. So what are these Breath Prayers?

I frequently say: Jesus, I love you, and I ask Jesus to be with me. I may not say that precisely in that form, but something like that. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me be with Jesus in all that I do and say to God. God is very approachable; God does not stand on formalities... as long as you don't.

Especially during my ministry to the residents of St. Margaret Hall (a nursing home in Cincinnati in 1997) on Fridays, as I see people, people I know from meeting them previously, people who suffer with Alzheimer’s or some other disability, I become more aware of Jesus because I see Jesus in the faces of those I minister to. I see His suffering in their suffering and my inner prayer is a constant companion and I feel close to God. As you, in your ministry, as Special Eucharistic Minister or Lector, or as Franciscans living God's Word, encounter other people, please keep God in the picture through these "breath prayers”.

What happens when you pray? For some of us, little. For others, very much. It differs. It differs by season, by inner disposition, by how we feel. There often is not any rhyme or reason to it. Often, requests for favors get answered. My knee hurts (probably arthritis) and the following week after I pray about it, it doesn't hurt anymore. Well, you reason that it does not hurt because the weather is more favorable, it is dryer, but think again... Jesus made the weather too... and that prayer you sped to God really did help. Very often, prayers that may have helped you were uttered by someone else for you. Regardless, God heard! Keep praying, my friends... God will reward you with great peace of mind.

Fred Schaeffer, OFS
April 1997, rev. 2021

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