John Wesley wrote: "God is continually breathing, as it were, upon the soul; and his soul is breathing unto God. Grace is descending into his heart; and prayer and praise ascending to heaven: And by this intercourse between God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God in the soul is sustained, and the child of God grows up, till he comes to the 'full measure of the stature of Christ.'"
Wesley wrote that to answer the question of how we are born again in Christ. He called it spiritual respiration. Like our breathing keeps us physically alive, communion with God keeps us spiritually alive. Breathing is constant and essential. So, too, should be our awareness of God.
Our faith, then, isn't static, stale or mechanical. It is a living, relational rhythm with God. As God breathes grace into us, we respond with prayer and praise. That, says Wesley, is how God keeps us alive in Christ.
When we stop breathing spiritually, our soul begins to suffocate. We hold our spiritual breath by neglecting prayer, worship and service to God. As such, these practices are not ways to get in good with God. Instead, they are our responses to God's grace that help maintain the divine rhythm. And that is how we maintain fellowship with the Lord.
My wife is jealous of how quickly I can fall asleep. I've always told her it's because I know how to breathe to fall asleep. More people are learning how to use breathing techniques to control anxiety, quiet anger and find focus. So, breathing is more than having breath. It's having life!
Take care of your breathing. Breathe in grace. Breathe out praise.
Stay blessed...john | 
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