“The Lord was with Joseph and remained loyal to him.” – Genesis 39:21 (CEB)
How do you pray when you’re in the pit? Not everyone in a hard season can manage long, composed prayers. Some days the words won’t come. That’s where one of the church’s oldest, simplest practices helps: the breath prayer. A single short line you can pray on one breath, over and over, until it runs as naturally as breathing.
Breathe in: the Lord is with me. Breathe out: I am not alone. Joseph didn’t need eloquence to stay connected to God in prison; he needed presence, and so do we. When the long prayers are beyond you, a breath prayer keeps the line open. It fits in the cracks of a hard day, in the car, in the waiting room, in the dark. What one short line could you pray on repeat this week?
God who hears the shortest prayer, when I have no words, let my breathing itself be a prayer to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.