Weekly Breath Prayers: September 2026

Every Sunday, we begin our worship services with a simple breath prayer from Milford First's lay leader to guide us through the week. Below are this month’s breath prayers along with weekly reflections from Deb Johnson. We hope these prayers are meaningful tools for your spiritual life and journey!

Sunday, September 6, 2026

“Now and forever"

As we draw near to the end of the focus upon our shared blessing, it is only

natural that our breath prayer becomes more of a solemn promise. Now and

forever may not seem like a prayer but hopefully this week your intentions will

make it more meaningful!

We live in a very busy world! Pausing to stop and live in the now takes

tremendous self-control and LOTS of prayer! When we pray "Now" it causes us

to remember…take a full breath…appreciate all that is in this moment…the

smell of the fresh breeze.....the light filtering into the room…the hum of activity

around us. Now in this moment we pause to become one with our Father.

Committing to forever…that is a huge breath prayer! So perhaps focusing on

…as we move forward…as we walk through our day…inviting our Father to

walk beside us…guide our thoughts and actions AND remind us to stay on the

path. Remembering that FOR ever and FOR ward start with the same three

letters and we prayerfully wish to stay on this path of devotion!

Sunday, September 13, 2026

“Amen"

Our final breath prayer from our shared blessing is simple yet powerful…Amen.

Whether you say A - men or Ah - men, the meaning is the same…so be it…may it

be true. Often we say “Amen” without really giving it the true credit it deserves.

 This week, let us earnestly focus on 'may it be true'…all I have prayed…may it

be so.

This week's breath prayer is an agreement to all that we pray for…all those we

pray for…all those things we commit to in our Father's presence. It reminds us

that we are 'sealing the deal' with the One that provides so much for us. It is our

solemn promise that we will work equally as hard to keep our end of the deal.

I would like to challenge you this week. Since the breath prayer isn't hard to

remember…I challenge you to say it at least 3 times every day this coming

week. Then pause and remind yourself that you just gave your word…your

promise. May we all be just a bit more intentional in our conversations with God

this week!

Sunday, September 20, 2026

“Like Lydia, I seek courage to be the first to step out in Your name."

Last week, Pastor Steven set us up perfectly for this week's message and breath

prayer. "What stands in the way?" Why is it so challenging to speak

up...especially when we know something is awry. Inappropriate words spoken

or unjust behavior and yet we stand there, unable to move or to speak. It leads

us to later regret that we did not seize the moment to speak up.

This is where prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit steps in! We invite Spirit

prayerfully to go before us, fill our minds and hearts with the actual courage to

act on our hearts. Let's start actually looking for opportunities to allow Spirit to

speak for us. "What stands in the way?"

Together, prayerfully this week, let us embrace the now...no excuses...no

hesitations...Let us lead with joy...kindness...love...and encouragement. May

we publicly talk about our faith and all it has empowered us to do. We have been

given so much...it is time we speak the truth to all we meet...

Sunday, September 28, 2026

“May our past remind us of our future in our Father's eyes."

Famous poet Maya Angelou is credited with saying, "You can't really know where

you are going until you know where you have been." Your experiences, past

history, mistakes and successes make you who you are today. I often think about

the circle of ancestors that went before me to carve a path for my present

day life.

The amazing thing is our heavenly Father has been right there beside us since

the day we were born. Our Father's hope and dreams for us in unfathomable,

unlimited. It is us humans who limit ourselves. By respecting the past and the

lessons we have learned, we can rise to His expectations and hopes for us. We

don't need to be perfect, just willing to keep our heart open and

our eyes on where we are going.

How fortunate are we? May this breath prayer remind us of all we have been

given. May it also inspire us to open our hearts and minds to share our great

news with all that we meet. May we shine just a little more brighter...May we

love just a little more deeply...May we inspire others with the Spirit alive within

us...each and every day!