Let's begin with your breath.
No technique,
Just breathe.
Feel yourself breathing naturally for a moment and notice it.
Notice your breath flowing in and out.
Beloved your breath is a gift you did not give yourself.
It arrives without effort again and again and again.
The Hebrew word for spirit is Ruach which also means breath,
Wind,
The movement of God.
You see with every breath you take you are participating in something holy.
So,
Breathe in and breathe out and let this be your first prayer.
John chapter 20 verse 22 And when he had said this,
He breathed on them and said to them,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
Hear this again dear friend.
He breathed on them,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
This is an intimate moment in the Gospels where the risen Jesus is standing in a locked room with frightened disciples.
Jesus leans in and breathes on them.
Not a sermon,
Not an explanation,
Just breath.
And this is how the Holy Spirit comes.
Not always in fire and wind and earthquake.
Though sometimes that too,
But often in the quiet,
Close,
Intimate exchange of breath.
And the moment when God leans in close and says,
Receive.
Spring is a season of Pentecost approaching.
The wind of the Spirit moving over dormant things and waking them up.
And this morning,
The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is available to you.
Not in some distant theological way,
But close.
Closer than a breath.
What in you needs the breath of God today?
What feels locked up like those disciples hiding behind closed doors?
What in you needs to be animated,
Awakened,
Renewed by Holy Spirit?
Bring them to the forefront of your mind and hold them before God as you breathe.
Now,
Let's pray.
Holy Spirit,
Breathe on me.
I receive you.
Not because I have prepared myself perfectly,
But because you chose to come.
Because the risen Christ still breathes life into your people.
Oh Lord,
Come into the locked rooms of my heart.
The places I've sealed off from hope.
The places where I've stopped expecting anything new to happen.
Come in,
Even there.
Yes,
Especially there.
Breathe life into what feels dormant in me today.
Breathe patience into my interactions.
Breathe peace into my anxiety and anxious places.
Breathe creativity into what feels dry.
Breathe love into relationships that have grown hard and cold.
I don't want to go through this day on my own strength,
Lord.
I want to be carried by your breath.
Moving through me and through this day like a spring wind.
Have your way in me,
Holy Spirit.
I receive you now.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now,
Dear friend,
Receive this closing blessing.
Go now,
Filled with the spirit of the risen Christ.
You do not walk out alone.
For the Holy Spirit goes with you.
Not as a distant guide,
But as a present breath.
Breathe deep throughout your day.
You are not empty.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
