“I’m not even asking you to keep him, Lord, just one last dance in the window of time. You’ve already given him to live.” When my dad took his last breath, I glanced down at my left hand, resting near his knee. My engagement ring shimmered against the rough hospital blanket. It was ten weeks before my wedding day.

My imagination of God had slowly shifted to someone I could trust for His vast wisdom but whose plan couldn’t be changed by my prayers to dance with my father on my wedding day. I know my unanswered prayer is smaller than some of yours. In my pain, my image of God had shifted toward a powerful God and away from a caring and kind One.

Have you ever considered how your prayers (answered or not) have shaped your idea of what God is like? The way we talk to God—or don’t—reveals something hidden that we believe about God’s character.

An inescapable part of prayer is getting comfortable in the presence of God. All I can promise is that God is listening.

Breath Prayers

Breathe in, breathe out. There are many ways to pray, and breath prayer is a beautiful way to pray in the moment—especially in tragedy. It takes around eight seconds, and you can use it at the beginning of a more extended prayer or on its own throughout the day, especially if there is something you want to remember.

Breath prayer is a four-second inhale followed by a four-second exhale.

Repeat up to three times, or consider repeating at scheduled intervals.

You choose your prayer ahead of time, and in the moment you need it, you can pause and breathe the prayer in and out.

It might be a phrase of Scripture, a truth about God, or a request you are bringing to God. Here are a few of my favorites, if you want to try them:

A Prayer for When My Needs Feel Big:

My God will supply (breathe in)
all my needs (breathe out)

A Prayer of Worship

You are good (breathe in)
all the time (breathe out)

A Prayer for Awareness

Help me trust (breathe in)
that you are here. (breathe out)

Or make your own

________________________(breathe in)
________________________(breathe out)

Allow your prayer to come from your breath today as your reminder of God’s loving character (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Want to uncover more? Stick around for the next 5 minutes of our interview with Liz on prayer!

For deeper reflection, listen to 1 Thessalonians 5 today!