Breathing Again Through Prayer
Prayer is not an indifferent or a small thing. It is not a sweet little privilege. It is a great prerogative, far-reaching in its effects. Failure to pray entails losses far beyond the person who neglects it. Prayer is not a mere episode of the Christian life. Rather the whole life is a preparation for and the result of prayer. In its condition, prayer is the sum of religion.
Faith is but a channel of prayer. Faith gives it wings and swiftness.
Prayer is the lungs through which holiness breathes. Prayer is not only the language of spiritual life, but makes its very essence and forms its real character.
—Edward M. Bounds,
The Possibilities of Prayer
When you’re battling mental health struggles or wrestling with addiction, prayer can feel distant—like a language you’ve forgotten or a strength you no longer have. But E. M. Bounds reminds us that prayer isn’t a small, optional part of the Christian life—it’s the very breath of it. Just as lungs breathe in air to sustain the body, prayer breathes in the presence of God to sustain the soul. You don’t have to pray perfectly. You don’t even have to know what to say. Just showing up—honestly, even wordlessly—is part of the healing. In your struggle, prayer isn’t a demand; it’s an invitation to breathe again, to receive grace moment by moment, and to remember that you are never beyond the reach of God’s love. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics