Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. (Is 42:5)
כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר הָאֵ֣ל ׀ יְהוָ֗ה בּוֹרֵ֤א הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ וְנֹ֣וטֵיהֶ֔ם רֹקַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶ֑יהָ נֹתֵ֤ן נְשָׁמָה֙ לָעָ֣ם עָלֶ֔יהָ וְר֖וּחַ לַהֹלְכִ֥ים בָּֽהּ׃
haec dicit Dominus Deus creans caelos et extendens eos firmans terram et quae germinant ex ea dans flatum populo qui est super eam et spiritum calcantibus eam.
οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ πήξας αὐτόν, ὁ στερεώσας τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ διδοὺς πνοὴν τῷ λαῷ τῷ ἐπʼ αὐτῆς καὶ πνεῦμα τοῖς πατοῦσιν αὐτήν·
Breath is fleeting, yet essential to life. It is even a synonym for life. Death is recognized, among other things, by the absence of breath. God gave man the first breath, initiating in the being formed from the dust of the earth the rhythm of life. Sometimes the awareness of breath helps in prayer, as long as it is not just a technique. The biological process of breathing can become a starting point for gratitude to God for every liter of air, for every sigh, for the rhythm of the working diaphragm. In this way, my body can be included in prayer so that the whole person may pray — with all the heart, with all the soul, with all strength.
The Hebrew word נְשָׁמָה [nᵊshāmâ] means the breath/spirit of the Lord God or of a person, also the human spirit. In the biblical context, it refers to everything that has the breath of life—physical and spiritual—given by God. The word comes from the verb נָשַׁם [nāsham], meaning “to breathe.” The Greek equivalent of this word is πνεῦμα [pneuma].