Ezekiel 37:5-6 – Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live … and you shall know that I am the Lord. (ESV)

When my daughter Sarah was born, x-rays revealed that she was missing a lung and needed the assistance of life support to breathe. The doctors gave her ninety percent oxygen to keep her alive in an incubator. After surgery to move her intestines out of the lung cavity and to close her diaphragm, a miracle occurred in response to prayer, and x-rays revealed a healthy second lung. I describe this experience in my blog.

Most of the time, we take our breathing for granted, for we do not have to consider each breath. Breathing is automatic until we run out of breath or suddenly find breathing a struggle.

Our spiritual breathing can be just the same when we take it for granted. Without the routine of prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to God via the influence of the Holy Spirit, our faith will die, although Jesus is always faithful.

In breathing, we take in enough oxygen to keep the body working, and we dispose of the toxic carbon dioxide. The same sort of process is true for our spiritual life. Being a Christian is having the capacity to breathe in God's influence through prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to Him, and then allowing Him to highlight and remove the crud: sin. What we take in and what we do in our lives makes the difference between being vibrantly alive and being just lukewarm as Christians. Jesus warns, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16 ESV)

In Hebrew, the word for breath is transliterated as ru'ach, meaning wind, breath, mind, or spirit. To Nicodemus, Jesus said:

John 3:8 – The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (ESV)

Jesus breathes out the Holy Spirit to enable us to grow in the assurance of His love for us and to aid us in doing so. Maybe you are a new Christian needing spiritual life support, learning how to grow in Christ. Maybe you are an old Christian who has been through the mill and feel aggrieved with Jesus because life is not going the way you wanted and, frankly, not what you thought that you signed up for.

When the people of God ask, we are given the Holy Spirit and the freedom to listen to His whispers in our minds. Where we travel with Jesus is a lifetime exploration through the life-giving influence of the Holy Spirit. Talk with God, and let the Holy Spirit breathe upon you!

Prayer: Lord, come to us, cleanse us, speak to us, because without the influence of Your Spirit in us, we are doomed to misunderstanding for ourselves, and for those we interact with today. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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