The Breath of Life
Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8,NIV.
The day was one of those you dream about. The earth was fresh from the hand of God. "Let us make man in our image" He said (Gen. 1:26, NIV). Bending over, He carefully formed the first human being from the dust of the ground. He lay there. Fragile. Made of dust. There was no movement or life.
God bent again. And He breathed into that dusty form. Air flowed into the being's nose and down into his lungs. It brought life. What joy God must have felt as He witnessed that first breath of His new creature.
Air is the breath of life. We are fully dependent upon it to give us oxygen to operate the powerhouses in our cells. These powerhouses, called mitochondria, are the backbone of every activity carried on in our bodies. They use the oxygen to burn the food that fuels our cells.
There's also an air supply that provides power to our Christian experience. The power comes from air that's unpolluted by any smog. Martin Luther called this air the "breath of the soul," for just as surely as our physical bodies need air to survive, so our spiritual selves need the power of this air supply to continue to grow. The air that provides such a heavenly atmosphere is prayer.
"Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him" (Steps to Christ, p. 93).
God longs to be your friend. He wants you to talk with Him the same way you'd converse with your best friend. The only way you can do that is through prayer. Share your thoughts, your problems, your joys and successes. He listens. The Bible suggests that we should "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). That means becoming so comfortable with the fact that God is our friend that we have a continual open communication with Him. That's when prayer becomes as natural as breathing!
Are you looking for a life full of vitality, happiness, and joy? Are you needing a breath of fresh air? Prayer is the air your soul needs to breathe.
The day was one of those you dream about. The earth was fresh from the hand of God. "Let us make man in our image" He said (Gen. 1:26, NIV). Bending over, He carefully formed the first human being from the dust of the ground. He lay there. Fragile. Made of dust. There was no movement or life.
God bent again. And He breathed into that dusty form. Air flowed into the being's nose and down into his lungs. It brought life. What joy God must have felt as He witnessed that first breath of His new creature.
Air is the breath of life. We are fully dependent upon it to give us oxygen to operate the powerhouses in our cells. These powerhouses, called mitochondria, are the backbone of every activity carried on in our bodies. They use the oxygen to burn the food that fuels our cells.
There's also an air supply that provides power to our Christian experience. The power comes from air that's unpolluted by any smog. Martin Luther called this air the "breath of the soul," for just as surely as our physical bodies need air to survive, so our spiritual selves need the power of this air supply to continue to grow. The air that provides such a heavenly atmosphere is prayer.
"Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him" (Steps to Christ, p. 93).
God longs to be your friend. He wants you to talk with Him the same way you'd converse with your best friend. The only way you can do that is through prayer. Share your thoughts, your problems, your joys and successes. He listens. The Bible suggests that we should "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). That means becoming so comfortable with the fact that God is our friend that we have a continual open communication with Him. That's when prayer becomes as natural as breathing!
Are you looking for a life full of vitality, happiness, and joy? Are you needing a breath of fresh air? Prayer is the air your soul needs to breathe.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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