Breath prayers are short two-phrase prayers said with the rhythm of our breathing. 

Ruth Haley Barton says they are “an expression of our heart’s deepest yearning coupled with the name for God that is most meaningful and intimate for us at this time.”¹

You can adopt breath prayers that others have created or make your own.

• Choose your most meaningful name for God. Say this as you breathe in. 
• Then add a cry of your heart. Say this as you breathe out. 

For instance: 

Inhale: Holy One
Exhale: Show me the way (Ps 143:8)

Another common technique uses phrases directly from scripture.

• Choose a short sentence in scripture that expresses your heart’s cry.
• Divide it into two parts.
• Breathe in as you say the first line and breathe out as you say the second line.

For instance:

Inhale: I won’t be afraid
Exhale: For you are with me (Is 41:10)

Here’s my personal breath prayer based on Psalm 27:8:

Inhale: Your face Lord
Exhale: I will seek

Pray your breath prayer whenever you are waiting, anxious, or needing God’s presence or help. The brevity of it helps us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) and refocus our attention on God. 

I’d love to hear some of your breath prayers.

1. Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006), 70. ↩︎