Breath of heaven.

A baby is born completely helpless. Someone must provide for its every need. Yet if it is to there are certain things it must do for itself. Breathe, for instance.

Lungs are complex organs. Simply put, they take a gas your body needs (oxygen) and converts it into a poisonous gas your body must quickly discharge (carbon dioxide). Without even thinking about it, you breathe in and out between 15 to 25 times per minute. When you exercise, your breathing rate goes up--again without your having to tell it to do so.

You breathe so regularly that it's easy to take your lungs for granted. You forget they're there. In fact, you can't stop yourself from breathing, even if you try. Hold your breath, and your body will eventually override that action and force you to start sucking in air again.

Clinical studies prove that oxygen intake, overall wellness, and even life span depend on proper breathing. Improper breathing either worsens or has a hand in causing every illness known to humankind.

Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, says that "the simplest and most important technique for protecting your health is breathing. I have seen breath control alone achieve remarkable results: lowering blood pressure, ending heart arrhythmia, improving long-standing patterns of poor digestion, increasing blood circulation throughout the body, decreasing anxiety, allowing people to get off addictive antianxiety drugs, and improving sleep and energy cycles."

According to research, 99 percent of our energy should come from breathing, yet most of us access only 10-20 percent of our full capacity in that area, leaving us short of energy and compromising optimum health and well-being.

One clinical study of 5,200 people over a 30-year span showed that pulmonary function measurement is an indicator of general health and vigor and, literally, the primary measure of potential life span. Doesn't this make you want to sit up straight and take in a deep gulp of air?

What oxygen is to the body, prayer is to the soul. Just as our Great Physician put within us all a way to rid ourselves of poisonous gases while taking in life-sustaining oxygen, so prayer provides a spiritual umbilical cord through which God sends us His healing--forgiveness of sin--and spiritual life-sustaining power while helping us remove impurities of thought and action.

There's no substitute for prayer. Through it, our hearts are brought into immediate contact with the Creator. While it can be said that no one will be saved merely because he or she prays, no one will be saved unless they pray. A born-again person who doesn't communicate with God will not survive. Yes, the prayers of others may sustain him or her temporarily. But like the newborn baby who must breathe in oxygen, so must we breathe in the spirit and goodness of Christ. If we don't, we will suffocate and die spiritually.

The results of neglecting prayer can go unnoticed at first. But in time, the symptoms are unmistakable:

* Heartfelt prayer becomes only empty words and a formality.

* Once lofty values become like those of the world.

* Spiritual elements fade from conversations.

* Private time alone with God becomes less and less frequent, until it vanishes altogether.

* Resisting sin becomes unimportant. It's combated only when it would have the most serious consequences.

The Bible admonishes us to pray without ceasing. This doesn't mean that we must be on our knees at all times; it just means that prayer should be running in the background of our lives like the antivirus program humming away in the background of your computer. Our hearts and minds should be continually connected to God.

I don't breathe to get something. I breathe to stay alive, to be. When I'm sick, I breathe. When I'm well, I breathe. My union with our Great Physician is just like that. No matter what I'm facing, my heart is open to Him. Through that refreshing, lifegiving breath of heaven, God will fill me with spiritual growth and meet my every spiritual need.

Why not take a moment and breathe in some of that sweetness right now?

Richard O'Ffill enjoys the warm air and the breath of God's presence in Longwood, Florida.