Breathing: A Metaphor for Taking in the Holy Spirit as God’s Breath
Abstract
Breathing is essential to life. The breath can be a sign of the Holy Spirit, that is God’s breath. The Holy Spirit as God’s breath inspires and spiritually sustains us. This article compares the process of breathing from a physician’s medical expertise as an essential physical life force, to that of the physician’s spiritual experience, where the process of breathing is a metaphor for an essential spiritual life force. The goal of this work is to use human breathing as a metaphor for taking in the Holy Spirit as God’s breath. Comparison of human breathing to breathing in the Holy Spirit as God’s breath facilitates the metaphor. The potential exists for improved prayer and deepened spiritual life.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Karl Barth and Christian Theology
Religious and Theological Studies
Religion
Spirituality
and Psychology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Anglican Theological Review
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 66–72
- Publication date
- 12 January 2026
- Language
- EN