You Are Good

Its been awhile since I've written on here, surprisingly life has been quite busy for me during this strange time. Today I want to take up breath prayers and what I'm going to call comfort phrases.

Here's a little history on The Breath Prayer.

"Breath prayer is an ancient Christian prayer practice dating back to at least the sixth century. Historically, it is associated with the Eastern Church, particularly Greek and Russian Orthodox churches.

Known as the “Jesus Prayer” or “Prayer of the Heart,” early practitioners would repeat to the rhythm of their breath the phrase, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” In time, the prayer was shortened to, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy” or simply, “Jesus, mercy."

For me, the main purpose of these prayers is to remind me of who God is. To slow my breathing down in anxious moments and bring my mind back to the One who is carrying me through life. So often I get wrapped up in myself, my drama, my selfishness that I lose sight of Him and what He's doing in my life. Over the years I've learned that having a go to phrase or verse can be a real attitude changer in the moment.

In the hard times my breath prayer is simply "You are good." When I am being tried, when my heart is heavy and my mind full of questions this little phrase reminds me that He is good, His plan is good, and I need to trust in Him. (Psalm 46:10, Jeremiah 29:11, 1 John 4:4)

When a panic attack hits it’s Psalm 131:2 "I have calmed and quieted my soul." This verse has honestly changed my life when it comes to anxiety. When my anxiety strikes it feels like my very soul is writhing within me and like I'm drowning. Learning to quiet my soul, like this verse says, is a constant effort and struggle but God is good and He is working in my soul every day.

In times of worry and hurt my comfort phrases are the lyrics to two songs: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and Lord Jesus I Love Thee. The first reminds me that this life is temporary and no matter how anxious and worried I might feel right now, it is simply irrelevant in light of eternity.

"And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace"

The second of these two reminds me that He is my strong tower, my fortress and surety divine. It brings the Psalms to mind and shakes my confidence back into place. He is worthy, it's for His glory that I am living. It's not about me.

Lord Jesus, I love Thee,

I know Thou art mine,

My rock and my fortress,

My Surety divine;

My gracious Redeemer,

my song shall be now,

‘Tis Thou who art worthy,

Lord Jesus, ‘tis Thou!

This is just a short post y'all, and, as always, sort of splattered. I just wanted to share something that has helped me so much, especially with COVID and the constant uncertainties it is dropping into each of our lives. We'll finish off today's post with a little encouragement. God is good and He's got you!

"He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me."

- Psalm 18:19

xo,

Ais