The Breath Of God Gives Us Life
We believe You′re a God who can mend the broken
Turn sorrow to joy
We believe You're a God who can heal our diseases
Repair what′s destroyed
Jesus died and then rose victorious
Now in triumph His life He offers
So breathe on us now, come breathe on us now
Come pour out Your love from heaven
Come breathe on us now, let this be the hour
Come Lord and change us forever
We believe You're a God who can free the captive
Change darkness to light
We believe You're a God who can rescue the sinner
Turn death into life
Bringing peace to the restless soul
Giving purpose and making whole
Life-giving Spirit
Come in this moment
Blessing from heaven
Show us your power
He will wipe tears from your eyes
He will restore what′s been lost
And He′ll give back what's been taken
He will give sight to the blind
He will give strength to the weak
And He will care for the broken
He knows your deepest need
And there is mercy to meet
All of your deepest longings
A taste of heaven on earth
Now freely given to us
The Father′s glory come down
If you call on His name
Then I know He will save
He will not ever abandon
(Nathan Fellingham, Lou Fellingham, and Busbee)
As we begin our time of prayer and fasting, we will all have our own hopes and aspirations about what we are looking for God to do in our lives, and in the life of our church, city and nation.
Our God can mend that which is broken. He can turn sorrow to joy, He can heal our diseases. He can repair that which has been destroyed. He can bring freedom to the captive. He can change darkness to light. He can rescue the sinner. He can change death to life. He can turn restlessness to peace. He can give purpose and make whole. He can wipe tears from our eyes. He can restore what's been lost. He can give back that which has been taken from us. He can give sight to the blind, strength to the weak, and take care of the broken. He knows our deepest needs, and, in His mercy, He will meet all of our deepest longings. If we call on His name, He will save and never abandon.
God isn't holding His breath. He is breathing within us and upon us. He is breathing on our church, our city and our nation. He is breathing new life into us, the fresh wind of His Spirit, filling us profusely with the lavish richness of His being.
The Bible opens with God breathing over chaos. We read in Genesis 1:1-2 that, in the beginning, the earth was empty and unformed, and that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Hebrew word for 'Spirit' is 'Ruach', which can also mean 'breath' or 'wind'. So, God was breathing over the shapeless chaos, and His breath began to form words which brought creation into existence.
God's breath is the source of all life:
Genesis 2:7 - Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Job 33:4 - The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Isaiah 42:5 - Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it.
The breath of God not only creates life; it also brings about new life. It gives new birth to our spiritual life as we are born again of God's Spirit (John 3:5-8). God's ability to recreate life can be seen in Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). There is a moment in the vision where the dry bones are covered with skin, muscles and tissue, but they are still lifeless. It is not until God's breath comes into them that they come to life. The breath in our lungs reminds us that we are sustained by God. Our very breath witnesses to the fact that God has not abandoned us; His life-giving presence is active within us.
The breath of God also inspires the scriptures. All scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). The same breath which gave birth to scripture also brings it to life to us as we read and listen. The Holy Spirit breathes God's truth into our lives.
The breath of God is not so much a doctrine that we need to understand as it is a reality within which we need to live. So, let's approach this time of prayer and fasting with a desire to breathe in deeply God's breath of life so that we can be renewed in every area of our being. As Stuart Townend once wrote:
Holy Spirit, living breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Let the presence of the risen Lord,
Come renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see,
Give me passion for Your purity;
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.
Prayer
Father God, thank You for giving me Your breath of life so that I can live for You. May Your breath of life continue to fill me and breathe through me so that I can show Your glory in all that I think, say and do. Please, Lord, fill my mouth so that I can speak Your words of life and love to those around me. May Your breath of life breathe through Your church, bringing cleansing, renewal and restoration Lord, would You breathe new life into all the home churches so that they can express Your life and goodness. May Your life breathe through every aspect of the church's worship, witness and warm fellowship. May Your breath of life sweep away sin, darkness and corruption from our city and nation. Breathe through Your Word, Lord, to teach, rebuke, correct and train our city and nation in righteousness. Renew glory, goodness and godliness by breathing Your life into our city and nation.We ask in Jesus' name. Amen!
