Engaging with God is a lot like breathing.
The more anxious, stressed, worried, or even excited we become, the shallower our physical breath becomes. It speeds up so we don’t breathe as deeply and our heart rate increases. This is important to note because sometimes we walk around for weeks without completely filling up our lungs. We don’t take in the air that sustains us. That means that our bodies aren’t resting.
Sometimes, just changing how deeply we are breathing can help us fall asleep at night, have peace and courage in chaotic situations, and feel more capable of sustaining our daily lives.
Similarly, we sometimes walk around breathing God in but only with shallow breaths—just enough to keep us alive. But we are still anxious, afraid, and tired. Breathing God in has some of the same effects of just breathing deeply: more peace, better sleep, more courage. And just as simple and as quickly as we can take deep breaths, we can breathe God in.
We can turn our attention and our spirits to Him, to connect without agenda—to just say, “God, you’re good. Thank you for loving me.” We can express gratitude, love, and wonder in that small, deep breath. We can feel the Creator of the Universe.
We can breathe deeply.