Of the necessities of life, breathing is the most important. A study shows that you can live for up to 3 weeks without food. Without water, you can go up to 3 days without it. Without breathing, however, you can only survive an average of 3 minutes.
Breathing is the act of inhaling and exhaling air to sustain life. It's simple, necessary, and every living human must do it. As is the case with many things in the physical realm, there is a spiritual reality behind it. What does it mean to "breathe spiritually?" For the answer we need to go back to the Greek. The Greek word for "breath" is pneuma (πνεῦμα). There is a dual meaning as Pneuma is also the word for "Spirit." In other words, the Spirit is breath! To breathe spiritually is to inhale and receive the Spirit. John 20 is the first mention in the Bible of the Spirit being breathed by man.
Breathing is the act of inhaling and exhaling air to sustain life. It's simple, necessary, and every living human must do it. As is the case with many things in the physical realm, there is a spiritual reality behind it. What does it mean to "breathe spiritually?" For the answer we need to go back to the Greek. The Greek word for "breath" is pneuma (πνεῦμα). There is a dual meaning as Pneuma is also the word for "Spirit." In other words, the Spirit is breath! To breathe spiritually is to inhale and receive the Spirit. John 20 is the first mention in the Bible of the Spirit being breathed by man.
And when He had said this, He breathed into [them] and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit,
–John 20:22
Every believer should be a breather.
There are many ways to breathe, just as with our bodies we may breathe with our mouths or with our noses; we may take large, deep breaths or short, shallow ones. Different people prefer different methods, but what defines something as spiritual breathing is the taking in or receiving of more of the Holy Spirit. In particular, prayer and calling upon the name of the Lord are two well-known and effective ways of breathing spiritually. In addition, singing, reading the Bible prayerfully, and even praying the Bible are other notable ways. My main burden for this post, however, is to highlight the importance of spiritual breathing and to point out some of its characteristics. Here are 5 points related to physical breathing that can apply to spiritual breathing:
There are many ways to breathe, just as with our bodies we may breathe with our mouths or with our noses; we may take large, deep breaths or short, shallow ones. Different people prefer different methods, but what defines something as spiritual breathing is the taking in or receiving of more of the Holy Spirit. In particular, prayer and calling upon the name of the Lord are two well-known and effective ways of breathing spiritually. In addition, singing, reading the Bible prayerfully, and even praying the Bible are other notable ways. My main burden for this post, however, is to highlight the importance of spiritual breathing and to point out some of its characteristics. Here are 5 points related to physical breathing that can apply to spiritual breathing: