Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul – The Perfect Christian Gifts for Women

Greatest gift to myself
I discovered this book through the Bible app I have on my phone looking for “plans” to do for anxiety. “Breath as Prayer” was the first one that came up. The Bible plans usually do not reference the source of the plan but this one did. It specifically showed the cover of this book with the author. As I went through the days of the plan I so enjoyed it I decided to look for the book on Amazon. Ironically this book was released, if my memory is correct, 9/13/22 & I purchased it that day. It arrived the following day & over the last 2 weeks I’ve practiced all 84 “Breath Prayer Themes” as they are called. I now have a handful of favorites I entail in daily in my life. The author, Jennifer Tucker, created a beautiful book that truly claims the title of the book, “calm your anxiety, focus your mind and renew your soul” I can say using this book for more than 2 weeks the first two truly hold true to the claim. I feel over time the third will come. Her detailed description on breath prayer basics & breathing techniques are helpful to those who are new to focusing on their breath, the inhale & exhale. For anyone who practices meditation this is easier to practice. I’ve been meditating for years. The breathing techniques were easy. I had to adjust my thought process while inhaling & exhaling entailing the words that went with each. This took practice but practice was well worth it! 2 of my favorites I took pictures of. What I love the most with each breath prayer theme is how a scripture is referenced & then she provides her insight on the scripture. She does a beautiful job. At the bottom of the page on the left is the small scripture you will inhale & exhale. “THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I HAVE ALL THAT I NEED” is the very first one. I practiced this first & within a couple days I had it! I loved that I could use a beautiful scripture & silently inhale & exhale the words which automatically calmed me. These are true silent prayers which calmed my anxiety. My 2nd favorite is “YOU STILL THE STORMS TO A WHISPER, YOU HUSH THE WAVES OF THE SEA” I’ll say practicing this small piece of a scripture with each inhale & exhale amazingly calmed my heart & head from racing. In learning how to do this so it worked for me I did go to quiet place & was patient with the process. I wanted this to work, felt in my heart this would work but knew I needed to put the time into learning it. An additional benefit to having this book in front of me was how beautifully it was illustrated & how each page was different. Aside from regular book reading I do on my Kindle, this is the greatest, I’d say, not fully a therapy oriented book, but has impacted me enough to say this book has reduced my anxiety & in my own hands I do it. If you are interested a bit into purchasing this book I say, do it. You won’t regret it. This is worth every penny I spent. I hope the pictures I added give you a great idea of what the inside is somewhat about. This was the best gift to myself & one I’ll be giving to others.

Lovely Devotional Practice
I love this book! I had heard about the idea of breath prayer, and it sounded interesting. I did a search and found this book. One of the first things I read was “ The science of breathing and practice of praying God’s Word can work had-in-hand to help calm your body and reorient your mind toward Christ”. This spoke to me – it was exactly what I was looking for. Originally, I started it as an extra devotion to do during Lent; something to bring me into more time with God daily. As I began to read this book and practice breath prayers, it became so much more. It trained me to stop and pause and direct my mind, my heart and my breath towards God; quickly, simply, deeply. It takes but a minute or two to learn. Originally, I had thought I would read one topic a day and pray that for the rest of the day whenever I remembered, but what worked better for me was reading and praying the same prayer for a few days and then moving on to another. As you can see below, the book begins with simple instructions on breath prayers. There are 84 topics and each topic has two pages, which are divided into four parts: the topic is presented with a short descriptive sentence; Then there is a paragraph with questions to aid reflection; the third part is a short scripture verse that relates to the topic and the last part is the actual breath prayers, which is a few words to say when inhaling and a few to say when exhaling – those pages sometimes have lovely illustrations too. The book itself is hardcover with nice quality paper and the illustrations are simple but lovely, in soft colors. Highly recommend.

One of the best devotionals I am blessed to own
This book gets it. For those who want a simple way to get into Christian prayer, possibly in a way that feels like affirmations, this combines both practices. The comfort this has brought me so far is invaluable. I love the combining of scripture and meditation/breath work. It truly embodies the power of both practices in bringing comfort and faith to the reader/practitioner.

Magnifying glass needed!
Really lovely uplifting book. 9-point print makes it really difficult to read.

In this charming gift book, Jennifer Tucker combines proven breathing techniques with Scripture-based prayer to offer tools to “Calm your anxiety, focus your mind, and renew your soul.”Everyday anxiety is something most of us experience more than we’d like. And if it’s not anxiety, it’ll be something else that agitates or distracts or stirs us up. Settling down can be easier said than done.These 84 short readings and prayers come with gentle artwork. If savoured one per day, they can begin building a positive and peaceful habit. They can be read in order or by theme, meeting the felt need of the day (prayers of trust, direction, gratitude, help… there are 12).The book opens with an easy-to-read overview of the idea of focused breathing and brief prayers, grounding firmly in the scientific and in biblical Christianity. Page 21 includes a chart of what breath prayers are and are not, highlighting the difference between Christian practice and general spiritual and self-help practices. The author also points out the difference between anxiety disorder (needs professional help) and the more common everyday anxiety.Each day’s reading features a truth to “breathe deep and know,” followed by a brief devotional reading and Scripture verse. Then a page of pastel-hued word art presents breath-sized snippets of the verse to repeat a few times in sync with slow inhales and exhales. I found this settled my spirit and led me into a sense of God’s unhurried presence.A compact hardcover with lovely art, Breath as Prayer makes an excellent gift book for a friend or for yourself. Highly recommended as a gentle resource for spiritual growth and self-care.

Beautifully presented. Lovely words that calm, reminding that each breath can be a prayer.

Beautiful book. I was given this book as a gift and ended up buying it for a friend who was going through a hard time. The short verses and pretty fonts make it enjoyable to read. I like the small size as well, making it easier to bring it along on the go.