Breath Prayer focuses on a short phrase divided into two parts, to be recited on your inhale and exhale. Breathing brings oxygen to your brain and calms your nervous system, and focusing on a phrase helps you internalize its meaning. For example, you could use the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 47:10). On your inhale recite “Be still and know” and on your exhale recite “that I am God.” Do this repetitively for a designated period of time. Then as you go about your daily activities, return to your breath through recalling this phrase to refocus your mind on God, regulate your body, and find inner peace.

Choose a word that can serve as your "prayer anchor." Then, sit with your back straight, feet grounded on the floor, and palms turned down or open on your lap. Take a few deep cleansing breathes. Next, try to let go of any thoughts, allowing your thinking mind to stop all its hard work and rest. When thoughts return recall your word to help refocus your intention of staying in the present moment. Imagine your thoughts being leaves floating down a serene river. Let yourself sink into your body, accepting any physical aches, pains, or discomforts. Give yourself the gift of simply being. Over time, you will find that this practice helps your mind, body, and heart heal and open.

Lectio Divina (divine reading) is a way of prayerfully reading ancient scripture that allows God to personally speak to you today. It involves four movements: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditating), oratio (praying), and contemplatio (contemplation). First, you slowly read through the passage, which could involve conducting an exegetical study to understand its contextual meaning. Then, you read through the passage again, listening with your heart to what God’s Spirit may be saying to you through these words. Next, you talk to God about what has been revealed to you. Finally, you let go of all your thoughts and simply rest in union with God.

The Serenity Prayer is most famously known for its use in 12-Step programs, but the original version can be attributed to Christian theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr. Use this prayer whenever you are having difficulty letting go of a situation, person, or feeling; when you want to control, fix, or meddle; you are afraid, anxious, or stressed; or your mind is caught in a loop or obsessive thinking. You may want to print out the prayer so you can reference it often or commit a phrase, line, stanza, or the entire prayer to memory and recite it like a meditation, slowly in repetition. Begin your prayer knowing that you are speaking in union with God’s Spirit, drawing on a source of strength that is already and always within you.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Civil Rights activist Audre Lorde said, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Practice self-care by noticing when you are feeling disconnected from your self or your physical reality. Pause and take a deep breath. What are you currently doing or talking about? Give yourself permission to shift your focus—turn off the news, stop looking at social media, or change the topic of conversation. Take some time to meditate, pray, play, eat well, drink water, get sleep, laugh, take a bath, or go outside, knowing that you will re-engage in the social needs around you when you need to.

Vizio Divina is a way of prayerfully gazing on images to cultivate a divine way of seeing the ordinary, every day world. Begin by picking an image to reflect on (a photograph, painting, or something in your landscape like a leaf). Take a deep breath and settle into your body. Let your eyes softly gaze upon the image without engaging your thinking mind. Notice the colors and lines, shadows and light, shapes, and any other details. Then let your gaze rest on one aspect of the image. Observe it, noting what emotions, associations, or thoughts surface. What might God be revealing to you? What invitation is being extended to you? Let this lead you into prayer or journaling. Then rest in divine presence, taking this new way of seeing into your daily life.