“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”—Psalm 28:7

This post is a little bit of a book review. I read an excerpt from the book, Breath as Prayer; Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind and Renew Your Soul by Jennifer Tucker on faithgateway.com.

I have shared that one of my biggest struggles has to do with worry. When my mind starts to race, it isn’t always easy for me to turn my focus upward. After reading about this book, I knew it was not only something that I might benefit from but others that I know as well.

While you can order it on Amazon, if you order from FaithGateway, you get some downloadable freebies with it. One of them is printable prayer cards. You can also get free US shipping on orders over $35. The perfect opportunity for me to get some early gifts for Christmas.

The book is very clear on what breath prayer is and what it is not. This is not in any way a new age book nor is it a cure for someone who has an anxiety disorder. This is more for someone like me, whose anxiety is triggered by worry or stress I may encounter in my day. An anxiety disorder is much different than my worrisome thoughts. There should be no shame in seeking medical help for managing and treating your mental health. You can read more about Jennifer Tucker’s experience with this here.

Not only does the book clarify its purpose, but it also teaches different breathing techniques. In addition, there are different themes sprinkled throughout the book. They include prayers of trust, surrender, help, God’s presence, strength, gratitude, love, direction, hope, peace, protection, and repentance. Along with each prayer is the scripture that goes along with it. In total, there are 84.

Basically, breath prayer is quoting God’s Word back to Him in prayer. This means, if you go through this entire book, you may have imprinted 84 scriptures on your heart. I don’t know about you, but scripture memorization is not one of my strengths. Maybe this will be how I am able to do this with more success.

I have owned this book for over a month, but I hadn’t picked it up to read it until this week. Monday morning I had received an emotional phone call from my mother. It was about an hour before I was going to her assisted living apartment to help her with some things. I had this foreboding feeling that I was going to be the recipient of her frustrations.

Out of desperation I picked up the book that had been laying untouched on my coffee table. The breath prayer that spoke to me was from Psalm 28:7. It said, Inhale: You are my shield. Exhale: I trust You to help me. The author recommends you do this for at least 1 minute working up to 5 minutes. 5 minutes? No problem. I had an 8-minute drive to my mom’s. I wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper and laid it on my console.

Let me tell you, I was speaking it out my entire car ride. I was saying, Lord, You are my shield. I trust You to help protect me from my mother’s negative attitude. Lord, You are my shield, crush her negative spirit. I know You love me and want to protect me from it. Your Word tells me You ARE my shield. I know and trust You will help me…..I did this until I pulled into the parking lot. It was a way for me to seek God at a greater depth to strengthen me.

It didn’t matter how she treated me because I felt empowered by praying out God’s Word over the situation. I was at peace knowing no matter what I encountered when I walked through her door, God was with me and would protect me. You know what? When I entered her apartment, she had a changed attitude. She seemed happy to see me. I even got a hug and thank you from her while I was there that morning.

Praying scripture back to God Monday morning, was exactly what I needed to do and still do. The rest of Psalm 28:7 tells me, My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Yes, it does! I was filled with joy and gave Him praise as soon as I walked out her door.

Monday was not the only day I used these breath prayers. I have been doing them every day. They have really helped me stay centered. Now, when I read a scripture that speaks to me, I think about how I can inhale/exhale it.

The printable prayer cards you receive with your purchase on Faithgateway.com are perfect to print and keep in your car. These types of short prayers reorient our hearts to seek the Lord and surrender our will to His. We read, pray and live out God’s Word. That is His will for us. The Bible gives us everything we need to thrive.

Father God,

Forgive when prayer to a situation is my last resort and not my first response. Help me to carve out time this week to soak Your Word into my inner being. I thank You for Your grace and mercy in this area of my life. I give You praise for opening my eyes to a new way to infuse scripture into my day. Thank You for resources that help deepen my faith. You are my strength and shield. I trust You to help and protect me. I pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

October Verse

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”—Psalm 28:7

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