CENTERING PRAYER
“Show Up and Observe”

by Jack Given

Yahweh, as the name of God, was thought to be unspeakable but was, some maintain, to be breathed.  Yah–weh is an approximation of the sound of breathing in and out. This simple act of breathing gave  me a basis for entering contemplative or centering prayer.

The name, Yahweh, is an introduction to my centering prayer: “Let God and let go”. Breathing in the Yah, of Yahweh is  taking in the life giving oxygen of God to provide for my daily need of air.  Exhaling, the “weh” is getting rid of the “waste” or toxins that I had produced in my body and replaced them with the sustenance of God living within. To “let God” is a  focus for centering prayer in the abundance, wisdom and provision of God for me here and now.This simple centering prayer exercise can happen for a quiet contemplative sit time in the early dawn of a new day, or at the ringing of a phone with a difficult task about to come crashing through.  Just taking a moment to breathe, “Let God and let go” can re-focus my attention from the urgent to the important: the relationship.

– Jack Given