Breathing God’s Word

As genuine believers in Christ we believe that the Bible is God’s word, inspired word for word by God Himself. But even more than mere inspiration, the words of the bible are the very breath of God, they are God-breathed! The Scripture, the word of God, is the breathing out of God. God’s speaking is God’s breathing out.¹

John 6:63 says that the words that He has spoken to us are spirit and are life. In order for us to receive life from the scriptures, we must use our human spirit to breathe in The Spirit by praying the words of the bible back to the Lord, this is called pray-reading.

Ephesians 6:17-18 says to receive the word by “all prayer”. When we pray the words of the bible, we can breathe in God! Our spiritual breathing is our prayer. In Psalm 119, the psalmist says that he will “muse” upon the word – to muse on the word is to taste and enjoy it through careful considering. Pray-reading is also included in musing. To muse on the word of God is to enjoy His word as His breath and thus to be infused with God, to breathe God in, and to receive spiritual nourishment.²

It’s possible for us to read the bible yet not actually contact God Himself. John 5:39 says, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

We contact and enjoy God Himself when we take in His word through pray-reading. When we come to His word, we should come to Him by our praying. We don’t want to contact God’s word in a lifeless way without coming to Him!

We hope that you would join us in our pursuit of the Lord in His word by signing up for a reading group, joining us on the Partaker App, or enjoying the additional material linked on our Resources page.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

John 6:63

And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God,

By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints,

Ephesians 6:17-18

I will muse upon Your precepts / And regard Your ways.

I will take delight in Your statutes; / I will not forget Your word.

Psalms 119:15-16