# The breath of God Day 7 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *O Loving God, who breathed me into being, breathe your Divine Breath in me again this day—that I might be filled with your life and guided by the winds of your Spirit. For the sake of your Son. Amen. (JLB)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 104 #### O Lord My God, You Are Very Great *104 Bless the Lord, O my soul!O Lord my God, you are very great!You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,stretching out the heavens like a tent.3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;he rides on the wings of the wind;4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.* *5 He set the earth on its foundations,so that it should never be moved.6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.7 At your rebuke they fled;at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.* *10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills;11 they give drink to every beast of the field;the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;they sing among the branches.13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.* *14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,that he may bring forth food from the earth15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.* *16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17 In them the birds build their nests;the stork has her home in the fir trees.18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.* *19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;[a] the sun knows its time for setting.20 You make darkness, and it is night,when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21 The young lions roar for their prey,seeking their food from God.22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.23 Man goes out to his workand to his labor until the evening.* *24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.25 Here is the sea, great and wide,which teems with creatures innumerable,living things both small and great.26 There go the ships,and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.[b]27 These all look to you,to give them their food in due season.* *28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.30 When you send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.* *31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works,32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,who touches the mountains and they smoke!33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!Bless the Lord, O my soul!Praise the Lord!* #### The Lord's Faithless Bride *16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.* *6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.* *8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.[a] 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.* #### Scripture for the Day: 1 Kings 19:9-13 #### The Lord Speaks to Elijah *9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.[a] 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”* #### Reading for Reflection: *The Spirit is like a gentle breeze, giving direction and breathing life into every event of our life and every word that we say. Gentle breezes seem to change direction frequently; the Spirit does that with us. We think we’ve got something going, a great inspiration has set us on what seems to be a lifelong way, when suddenly we discover the Spirit anew, and another fascinating encounter with the divine occurs. (Beginning Contemplative Prayer by Kathryn Hermes)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Wind of God *Spirit, come, like a mighty wind;* *Raise these bones back to life again.* *Lift us up from this desert land;* *Breathe upon us and we will stand.* *Come and blow, Wind of God;* *Blow, Wind of God* *Lead us out of our wilderness;* *Be our Savior, our hope, and rest.* *All our idols have turned to dust;* *You alone can deliver us.* *Wind of God, come and blow;* *Holy Spirit, let your power flow.* *Stir our hearts, Breath of Life;* *Speak your Word, and we will rise.* *Come, revive, come, restore;* *We can't live without you, Lord.* *Come and blow, come and blow,* *Wind of God* ### Closing Prayer: *Father, you alone know what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ’s sake. Amen. (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)*