When did man become a living soul? The typical answer to this question is, “When the Lord God breathed into Adam’s nostrils:” And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)
In reality, however, this was an inaugural rather than a conclusive act. Man is continuously “be(ing)-coming” a living soul with each breath he draws, or rather, with each breath God breathes into his nostrils. Need proof? Stop breathing for a few moments and see what happens.
God created all things by His word, and established us within a “kingdom of words:” spoken, written and thought. John 1:1 confirms, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Words typically convey an idea or concept of/from a spirit, and are carried along (sent) via one’s breath. So, would it be reasonable to conclude in the beginning was the Spirit of God who embraced an idea or concept for creation, and who released this idea in words “carried by” His breath?
While breath is the physical “carrier” of the spoken word, Jesus reveals words are indeed spirit: It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63) While His words are ‘spirit and life,’ ours tend to be ‘spirit and death.’ Nevertheless, words are spirit, be they spoken, written or thought; words are “charged” with life or death; and spoken words are typically carried by or “ride upon” our breath. In this manner, words are also the most powerful seeds God has given us to plant. Could this be among the reasons why Jesus warned us we would be judged for “every idle word?” (Matt. 12:36)
God’s acts of creation and re-creation were signaled and activated by His breath which carried the words of His creative faith, and which He breathed into Adam. (Gen. 2:7) On the Day of Pentecost, He breathed anew, a fresh “rushing mighty wind,” to signal and activate the re-creation of the spirits of believers in Christ. (Acts 2:2)
While God’s words created all things, all of creation continually pulsates to His breath…“the breath of His soul.” Man’s physical life is dependent upon God’s continuously breathing into our nostrils, which is a key element of His communion with us. On one side, God’s breathing (exhaling) into our nostrils (our inhaling) communicates our total dependency upon Him for all we are, have, and do. Even as mankind increasingly denies and disregards this total dependency, God mercifully continues to breathe upon and in us. On the other side, our exhaling of God’s breath back to Him should similarly communicate our appreciation, gratitude and honor of Him for all He is, has and does on our behalf. The psalmist declares: But thou art holy, O thou that inhabit the praises of Israel
So God “inhabits” or is “enthroned in” (N-KJV) the praises of His people, ‘inhaling,’ as it were, the incense of praises and prayers we exhale. This mutual interdependence (coordinated breathing, if you will) sustains all life. Since breathing “communicates,” prayer or talking to God is or should be the “breath of our souls.”
One day while reflecting upon this critical role of breath carrying word and faith, Cameron discovered an excellent way to read the Word of God. Whenever he came across a particular promise, character trait, or power he intended to appropriate to his life, he decided to slow down and b-r-e-a-t-h-e: inhaling slowly to draw upon and receive from God’s deep treasures, by faith; and exhaling to extend sincere thanksgiving for His abundant, faithful supply. Over time, Cameron found this to be an incredible marker for anchoring his faith and reinforcing his God-connectedness. Finally, after many years of a rather ‘ho-hum’ spiritual walk, he was actually able to tap into incredible power released from genuine thanksgiving and stronger, anchored faith.
He decided to share his new-found insight with his friend, Monique, who was regarded in their circles as a strong Christian. Maybe he was hoping she would see this as evidence of his spiritual growth and ... or maybe she would once again “one-up” him, leaving him feeling somewhat lost in the dust of her keen spiritual insight. She had been walking with the Lord for many more years than he … and it showed. One of the benefits of their friendship was the encouragement he felt to push deeper into the “things of the Lord.”
During the next social outing of their church group, Cameron got his wish…an opportunity to share his special revelation. Monique briefly embraced this new idea with enthusiasm, and then launched into sharing her special, new revelation, which was also related to breathing.
“That’s great, Cameron! You won’t believe what I just discovered about the power of ‘breathing in the Spirit!’,” she said. “You know in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples? Well, realizing every physical thing has a spiritual seed, and knowing words are the most powerful seeds God has given to us, I searched for the seed to Acts 2:2 … and I found it!”
Cameron was anxious to know what his friend had just learned, but was also a bit disappointed the direction of the conversation had changed so quickly from his special revelation.
“What, where?,” he blurted out with a half grin on his partially frozen face? “Tell me all about it!”
“John is the seed which produced the fruit of Acts 2:2,” she said. “Prior to His ascension, Jesus ‘breathed upon’ His disciples and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ (John 20:22) Nothing probably happened immediately, but the spiritual seed was sown, and on the Day of Pentecost, this seed bore fruit in the form of the baptism in the Holy Ghost. This may be the first case of ‘intercessory breathing!’,” Monique exclaimed.
“Intercessory breathing?,” Cameron asked with a squint in his eyes.
“Yes, that’s right, intercessory breathing! Why do you think Christ breathed upon them and didn’t just say what He said? There must have been a reason, and I think it may have been in a way linked to how God, through Jesus, first breathed the breath of life into Adam. Your revelation uncovers the importance of breath in our communion with God – receiving and giving thanks. My revelation takes this a step further and demonstrates the power of ‘breathing in the Spirit’ on behalf of somebody else, similar to intercessory prayer in the Spirit. If you can link inhaling to receiving from God and exhaling to express thanksgiving, imagine the power of applying this principle to intercession, which is an act of love. Inhaling can be linked not only to receiving on your own behalf, but, in love, on behalf of others in need; and exhaling can be linked spiritually to distributing what you have received by faith to others, in the same manner in which Christ received and gave the Holy Ghost to His disciples. Since there is no distance or time in the world of spirit, we can similarly link breathing to our intercession for others all over the world, and thereby walk in love.”
“Incredible, that’s incredible!,” was all Cameron could say. His revelation on the power of breathing as applied to things spiritual seemed somewhat self-centered compared to Monique’s broader insight. He made it his intention to pray and meditate on this expanded view.
“And you know what’s even more incredible?,” Monique asked. “A side benefit from linking breathing to receiving for ourselves and others, and giving thanks to God and distributing to others, by faith, in the Spirit is the reduction of fear and anxiousness in our lives. You know one of the best and first antidotes to dealing with stress is to slow down and just b-r-e-a-t-h-e. When we are afraid and distressed, one of the first bodily functions which takes a hit is our breathing. We take short, shallow breaths, which starts the downward spiral as the oxygen supply to our brains gets short-circuited, leaving us more stressed out than before. So thanks for sharing your powerful, new revelation. You know, Cameron, maybe we should sometimes, you know, kinda study the Word together. I am really impressed with the spiritual growth I have seen in you.”
“That would be great!,” Cameron shouted, now with a wide, toothy grin. “Let’s do…” He felt a bit relieved Monique had made his secret suggestion.
Later, when the group was breaking up for the night, Monique yelled across the room to Cameron, “Remember Cameron, just breathe!” Her words seemed to linger in the air as their friends filed out of the room with curious stares on their faces.
“Talking to You, God, is the breath of my soul…”
