Yahweh Prayer
What if it is God who initiates conversation (prayer) within us and all we need to do is to simply let God pray through us? If this is the case, prayer does not need to be an arduous task to manage, but a restful union to enjoy. Let us see how it is possible for us!
Did you know that the Jewish name for God – Yahweh (JH-VH) – was not spoken, but breathed?
It is known that only consonants are written in the Hebrew script. Richard Rohr says, “If you are an educated Jew you would have memorized the appropriate vowels and put the appropriate vowels in the appropriate places.”. When you correctly pronounce the consonants in the sacred name, Yahweh (JH-VH), you’ll notice that you cannot use your tongue or close your lips. In fact, it the sound you hear would sound like breath, inhalation and exhalation. On the inhale, the “YAH” is sounded, and the “WEH '' on the exhale.
Why is this? As you might know, it is Jewish tradition not to speak the name of God. Doing so is blasphemy. In reverence of God’s name, Hebrew writers attempted to imitate and replicate the sound of breath when they needed to write God’s name, Yahweh. This understanding has brought a revolutionary change to my view of prayer. Prayer was seen as something - some sort of conversation - I need to initiate with God and carry it through. Once I understood how “Yahweh” is the imitation and replica of our breath, Romans 6:27 made more sense to me. It says, “if we do not know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs and our aching groans.”
How many times do you find prayer hard? Sometimes simply because you are physically tired, or sometimes because you are in so much pain and so weak that you do not have any energy to utter any words. What if the true reality is that God is praying within you and through you already? What if it is true that you are already calling Him out? Do you notice that you are breathing?
Do you notice that you are breathing now?
Whether or not you are aware of it, God is always helping you stay in a conversation with Him.
The evidence of His work is your breath. In each breath you take He has made it possible for you to say His name. What an amazing grace it is!
Let us engage ourselves in a disciplined grace today!
Inhale: Yah
Exhale: Weh
Pause and set your intention to become fully present to God who is with us in this moment.
Breathe IN and say, “Yah"
Breathe OUT and say, “Weh"
Repeat three times
Notice the effect this prayer has on you.