For our bodies to live, two things are essential: food and breath. If you eat, you live. If you breathe, you live. With these two, your body has what it needs to survive.
But what about your soul? What keeps it alive and healthy?
Sadly, many have starved their souls (1 Tim. 1:19-20). Others have tried to feed their souls with the wrong things: empty pleasures, false promises, or shallow spirituality. This leads only to weakness and harm. The truth is simple: your soul needs daily food and breath. Without these, the soul grows weak, shrinks, and eventually dies.
The Daily Care of the Soul
Spiritual backsliding mostly begins when the soul is neglected. Just as our bodies cannot survive without food and oxygen, so our souls cannot thrive without God’s Word and prayer.
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). And Paul encourages us, saying, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). These two - 'Word and prayer' – are the food and breath of the soul.
John Calvin, the 17th-century theologian, compared Scripture to a glass mirror that helps us see God clearly. Without it, our vision of Him becomes blurry. Likewise, the Puritans called the Bible “the garden of the Spirit”, where the soul must walk daily to be refreshed.
Creating Space & Time to Feed
Most people often say, “I don’t have time.” But if we want to be honest, we always make time for what we truly value. We make time for work, for shopping, and even for the pharmacy when the body feels sick. Don’t we! But the pharmacist cannot heal the soul. Only Christ can.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God invites us: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isa. 55:1). God offers spiritual food freely, without cost. Come.
This is why it is vital to plan and set aside time, morning, evening, or during breaks, to feed the soul through Scripture and breathe through prayer. Even a little each day will keep your soul alive and growing.
The Great Promise Ahead
The Bible also lifts our eyes to the future. God has placed a great banner over His Word, a banner that is pointing us forward to such a time: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Rev. 21:1).
One day, this present world will be gone, and God will welcome His children into a new creation, where we will enjoy Him forever. John Owen, a non-conformist Reformed teacher, reminds believers that daily communion with God on earth prepares us for eternal communion with Him in heaven.
So, the church continues to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). Will you join the prayer?
A Call to You
Dear friend, do not starve your soul. Don’t let neglect or unhealthy substitutes rob you of life in Christ. Instead, feed daily on His Word, and breathe deeply through prayer.
Our invitation is simple: come and join us as we open God’s Word together. There is no cost and no barrier. As Isaiah said, “Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1).
Here is the food and breath for your soul. Come, and live.
