Day 14 - Issue 27
John 20:21-22 NLT
'Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."
Peace is God’s gift to us. Yet, peacefulness often eludes us. One reason is the level of stress we experience in everyday life. Stress can be useful in equipping us to deal with challenging situations. The problem is when we live in a constant state of stress and our body’s chemistry is permanently flooded with stress-related hormones. This seriously affects our health over time.
When stressed, oxygen flows away from the brain as the body prepares for flight or fight. One practical, simple way to address stress is to concentrate on your breathing. If you observe an infant breathing, you will see that their stomach rises and falls with each breath. We however tend to breathe short, relatively rapid breaths from our chests. This reduces the amount of oxygen entering our system to calm us. After concentrating hard on something or being in an especially stressful situation, like being late or stuck in traffic, you involuntarily give a deep sigh. You have been under stress and your body, starved of oxygen, experiences a measure of suffocation. Your sigh is the body discharging that physical stress.
God breathed life into Adam and here breathes the life of the New Covenant into the disciples. From the birth of the Church, breath prayer has been central to its practice. Very simply, it’s taking time to be still and at rest, breathing deeply. Breathe in, inflating the stomach, not the chest, and holding at the top of the inhale, before breathing out and resting momentarily before inhaling again. Five minutes focused breathing at the start and end of our day can help us acknowledge and manage stress. Having practised this for quite some time, I take 20 minutes in breath prayer before starting my day. As I inhale I quietly mouth, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God”, pause and then exhale, saying, “have mercy on me, a sinner.”
QUESTION: What practical steps can you take to find peace when you feel stressed?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to remember who I am in you: loved, accepted and secure.
