Weekly Breath Prayers: January 2024
Every Sunday, we begin our worship services with a simple breath prayer from Milford First's lay leader to guide us through the week. Below are this month’s breath prayers along with weekly reflections from Deb Johnson. We hope these prayers are meaningful tools for your spiritual life and journey!
Sunday, January 7, 2024
We continue to seek you, Lord!
It is a new year and many of us use this time to reflect, reframe, and redirect our goals for the year. But I do believe there are some things from our past that we need to continue to develop, to improve upon in the new year. Perhaps one of your new goals is to increase your "one on one" time with your Heavenly Father…a breath prayer is a great and easy place to start!
This past year we have been focusing on drawing nearer, spending more time in prayerful reflection. So let's take that concept in our breath prayer this week and continue to seek where our Lord is leading us. Then we can use that foundation to help guide us into 2024.
We all have great aspirations and intentions, but what if God has greater plans for us? The only way to know is to seek Him…to quiet our hearts…and to listen. He knows our hearts and sees the big picture all around us…take the time to find all that our Lord wishes to reveal.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
The beauty of a breath prayer is you can take it anywhere with you and you can use it at any time! Whether privately in your head, or silently whispered or with great confidence said out loud, a breath prayer allows us to instantly connect with our Father. I personally love the story of Samuel and his willingness to put himself at the hand of God…no matter what the request, he was willing to serve. Do we have that kind of faith? Let's practice a bit together. I will offer a situation, and you will respond with the breath prayer:
When I am unsure of which direction to choose today…
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
When I see someone sitting all alone…
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
When the phone rings and you really don't want to stop what you are doing…
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
When a friend asks you to stop by because they really need to talk…
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
When that same negative person is headed toward you with a frown on their face…
Here I am, Lord. Here I am!
Sunday, January 21, 2023
Empower us to go and proclaim.
Empowered...that is a word of strength! I think we all love to feel empowered each and every day! So praying for empowerment from our Lord is a natural step if we hope for the courage to step out and do His works. That's what is the intent of this week's breath prayer...give us the courage to do Your will!
Once out in the world I know we have all felt spirit urging us to move forward. But we humans are quick to respond with so many reasons and justifications as to why we should not! Right? If we are feeling the Holy Spirit at work in us, then like Samuel we MUST respond..."Yes, Lord! Here I am!" So a healthy dose of empowerment might just be that extra push we need to ACTUALLY do God's work and not just "think about it!"
There are so many ways we can proclaim to others the joy we have in our hearts. Probably the least of which is standing on a corner proclaiming the Good News! Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words. May this breath prayer set you into motion to put into action what your heart already knows...and continue to pray for empowerment!
Sunday, January 28, 2023
I wish to see my neighbor succeed.
We live in a competitive world and I don't mean just in the sports world…jobs, academics, driving on the highway…everyone seems to be competing for a better position. This week, let's take some time to prayerfully consider those we meet or come in contact with during our day. As a teacher, when I met a student or parent that I struggled to understand, I tried to re frame it and remind myself that was someone else's special child or spouse. It helped me to step back and see them in a different light. We are all someone's special person and a child of God!
This week, let's pray for the courage to see others succeed, to step back and allow them to find success, to even perhaps step forward and offer them a hand in achieving their goals. May this breath prayer remind us that we are all brothers and sisters of a much larger community. We could all use that encouragement!