Breathing is necessary for physical life. We’ve seen how intubating a person to facilitate breathing can save a patient’s life. Another intervention for someone not breathing is for a rescuer or nurse to blow air into a person’s lungs through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. These are all extreme measures to help patients breathe when they are unable to meet their own oxygen requirements.
Spiritual breathing is also important to sustain life. Jesus, meeting with his disciples after the resurrection, breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This holy intervention brought the eternal. powerful Holy Spirit into their spirits. From this point forward, the disciples were focused on continuing the ministry of the new covenant that Jesus has begun.
At times, we need a renewal of the Holy Spirit to invigorate our calling in Jesus. Just as CPR involves another person to breathe physically for a patient, we sometimes need to breathe spiritually for a fellow brother or sister in Christ. We can reach out to one another with prayer and various social connections. Whether it’s through email, a text or a phone call, a simple inspiring message can bring a freshness into someone else’s life.
So send the “breath of the Spirit” to someone who needs a boost of hope! Remember: “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
Carrie Dameron, MSN, RNBC, serves with Nurses Christian Fellowship International (NCFI) as a board member for the CANA Region and chairs the Prayer and Care Committee. She provides resources for Christian nursing on her blog.
This post originally appeared on the NCF blog in August 2014. NCF’s website is brimming with Bible studies, books, events and spiritual care resources for nurses to use and share with other nurses and patients.
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