Settle into a comfortable posture.
Let your hands rest easily.
Allow your shoulders to soften.
Gently close your eyes, or lower your gaze.
Begin by becoming aware of your breath.
Not changing it.
Simply noticing the quiet rhythm that God has placed within you.
Inhale slowly…
and exhale gently.
In the book of Psalms, we are told that prayer is not only praise, but refuge.
Psalm 3 is a prayer written in distress — when David was fleeing from danger, betrayed by his own son.
And yet, it is a psalm not of panic…
but of trust.
As we enter this meditation, we place ourselves in God’s presence.
Not to fix anything.
Not to solve anything.
But simply to rest in the One who already holds us.
“O Lord, how many are my foes…”
Hear the opening words of Psalm 3:
“O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of me,
‘There is no help for him in God.’”
Let these words touch the places in you that feel overwhelmed.
The pressures you carry.
The voices that tell you that you are alone.
The fears that rise quietly in the night.
The Christian mystic Teresa of Ávila once wrote,
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God never changes.”
As you breathe, notice what disturbances are present in your heart.
You do not need to name them aloud.
Simply acknowledge them before God.
Inhale…
and exhale…
Jesus himself knew what it meant to be surrounded by opposition.
He said:
“In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart — I have overcome the world.”
Let that sentence settle into you.
In this moment, you are allowed to admit your trouble.
And you are allowed to rest in courage.
“But you, O Lord, are a shield around me…”
Now listen to the turning point of the psalm:
“But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.”
Pause here.
Imagine, gently, that God is surrounding you —
not above you only,
not beside you only,
but around you.
A shield does not remove the battle.
A shield allows you to remain standing within it.
Saint Augustine wrote,
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
Notice where your heart feels restless.
Where it longs for protection.
For reassurance.
For peace.
Let yourself picture God as your shield —
not distant,
not abstract,
but near.
And then hear this phrase again:
“The lifter of my head.”
When we are afraid, our heads bow down.
Our eyes fall to the ground.
But God, gently, lifts your face.
As Jesus once said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not let them be afraid.”
With your next breath, imagine your head being gently lifted by God.
Your eyes opening not to danger…
but to presence.
Inhale…
and exhale…
“I cried aloud to the Lord…”
The psalm continues:
“I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill.”
Prayer is not performance.
It is cry.
It is whisper.
It is silence.
The mystic Meister Eckhart taught,
“The most powerful prayer is simply to be silent in the presence of God.”
Right now, you do not need to speak.
God already knows the prayer beneath your words.
Notice the stillness beneath your breath.
Notice the quiet space inside you where God listens.
Jesus promised:
“Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened.”
But sometimes the deepest answer is not a solution…
but peace.
Rest here for a few breaths.
Inhale…
exhale…
“I lay down and slept…”
Now hear one of the most tender lines in all of Scripture:
“I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.”
This is a psalm of night prayer.
A prayer for those who cannot sleep.
For those who carry worries into darkness.
Thomas Merton wrote,
“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.”
Even in sleep,
even in unconsciousness,
even when you can no longer pray…
God sustains you.
Let yourself imagine lying down in God’s care.
Every concern placed gently into God’s hands.
Jesus once said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.”
With each breath, allow yourself to rest more deeply.
Notice the support beneath you.
The air around you.
The steady faithfulness of your breath.
Inhale…
and exhale…
Here, you do not have to stay awake in vigilance.
God keeps watch for you.
“I will not be afraid…”
The psalm continues:
“I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.”
This is not denial.
It is courage rooted in trust.
The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said,
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
Fear often comes when we forget that we are not alone.
Jesus reminded his disciples:
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
And yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Even the hairs of your head are numbered.
Do not be afraid.”
Let these words gently loosen the grip of fear.
Notice where fear sits in your body.
Your chest…
your stomach…
your shoulders…
As you exhale, imagine fear softening.
Not disappearing,
but loosening.
Inhale courage…
exhale tension…
“Salvation belongs to the Lord…”
Now hear the final words of the psalm:
“Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people.”
Salvation does not belong to your effort.
To your perfection.
To your control.
It belongs to God.
The mystic Julian of Norwich wrote,
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
Not because life is simple…
but because God is faithful.
Jesus said:
“My peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.”
Let that peace settle now.
Imagine God’s blessing resting upon you —
not earned,
not deserved,
simply given.
Inhale blessing…
exhale gratitude…
Closing Prayer
As we come toward the end of this meditation,
return your awareness gently to your breath.
Notice the calm that may now be present.
Or simply notice the quiet.
We close with a simple prayer:
God our shield,
lifter of our heads,
keeper of our nights,
giver of our peace —
receive our fears,
renew our trust,
and teach us to rest in You.
Amen.
When you are ready,
slowly deepen your breath.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And when it feels right,
open your eyes.
Carry this peace with you.
For the Lord sustains you.