Breathe In

You might begin by exhaling peace's opposite which is discord, war, and distress. Imagine peace filling and spreading through your body with each inhale and letting go of any discord, warring, and distress with each exhale.

Soon you'll not only be able to picture yourself breathing in peace but you will have such an abundance of peace it will overflow and you'll begin breathing out peace into the world. Practice consciously breathing peace in and out as long as desired.

Look at today's body prayer, notice a balancing posture that requires us to be rooted and grounded to receive the gift of peace through stillness. Prayerfully rest in the posture allowing your body to experience a deeper welcome and awareness of this particular fruit of the Spirit.

• Begin to lengthen the flow of fruit in your body by beginning with the love posture, moving to joy and resting in peace.
• You might combine the posture of peace with the breathing described above. God delights in your prayer of peace filling and being embodied by your own body.
• Invite your mind and will to join the body prayer. Through the Holy Spirit, we are freely offered the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2). Whether combined with the posture or said lying in bed, driving in your car, standing in a line somewhere, joining others at church, you can prayerfully say,

I have the mind of Christ.
My mind is full of peace.
I choose peace today in my
thoughts, words, decisions, and actions.

Breathe Out

How can you breathe out peace everywhere you go? Remember Hildegard of Bingen's words and allow yourself to be “a feather on the breath of God.”

• As you sit in church or consider the people you worship with, pray and envision peace being breathed over or perhaps growing and ripening in your congregation. Imagine peace growing within each person, breathed among the people gathered there.
• Figuratively or literally walk God's peace through your own neighborhood or larger community. Perhaps look at a community map and divide it into nine areas to pray over. You may even take your own body of peace and walk through each area and with each breath, blessing it with this fruit of the Spirit.
• Looking at a world map, you might consider praying for these nine areas—the seven continents (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America), eight being all bodies of water and nine, all air/space. Whether you pray for a particular area or over all areas today, allow yourself to be led by the Spirit whether with words, picturing peace in a certain place, or silently offering that area to God.

More ways to breathe out and kindle the fire of peace in the world:

• Turning to the New Testament stories of Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter's vision of the sheet coming down and conversation with Cornelius (Acts 10) and Paul's blinding on the road to Damascus (Acts 22), enter in with all of your senses and pay attention to how peace may be present.
• What part of your own self is thirsting for peace?

As you consider the Scriptures you've read, any dreams and conversations or times of prayer, do you have a sense of what the Holy Spirit is saying about peace in your own internal world?

• Who is the Spirit bringing to mind that is in need of greater peace in your external world--workplace, church, neighborhood, family, etc.? Is there a particular person or group of people coming to your awareness that is thirsting for peace today? How might the Holy Spirit be inviting you to widen the welcome by bringing and offering peace to the world? Ask the Spirit to show you what simple step you can take now in offering the fruit of peace.

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This full series will be posted here.