Matt Redman is a British Christian songwriter, and was one of the main wors… Read Full Bio ↴Matt Redman is a British Christian songwriter, and was one of the main worship leaders associated with the Soul Survivor organization. He is now with Passion Conferences and an artist for Six Steps Records. He has authored and edited multiple books on Christian worship, including "The Unquenchable Worshipper" and the book Facedown which accompanied the album. Some of his most popular songs include Heart Of Worship, Let Everything That Has Breath, Once Again, and Blessed Be Your Name, the latter winning the "Worship Song of the Year" award in the 2005 GMA music awards.

He has since launched another album, Beautiful News, and continues to write many more popular songs such as You Never Let Go and Shine.

Songfacts states that Redman's eighth album 10,000 Reasons, was co-written with several of his friends. He then recorded the songs live in Atlanta, leading worship for over 1,000 worship leaders during LIFT: A Worship Leader Collective, put on by Passion City Church and sixstepsrecords on February 18 and 19, 2011. It sold nearly 7,000 units its first week in the US, almost doubling Redman's previous album release We Shall Not Be Shaken. The LP entered the Billboard 200 at #66, his biggest debut to date.

Breathing the Breath
Matt Redman Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We have nothing to give
That didn't first come from Your hands
We have nothing to offer You
Which You did not provide

Every good, perfect gift comes from
Your kind and gracious heart
And all we do is give back to You

What always has been Yours

Lord, we're breathing the breath
That You gave us to breathe
To worship You, to worship You
And we're singing these songs
With the very same breath
To worship You, to worship You

Who has given to You
That it should be paid back to him?
Who has given to You
As if You needed anything?

From You, and to You, and through You
Come all things, O Lord
And all we do is give back to You
What always has been Yours

Lord, we're breathing the breath
That You gave us to breathe
To worship You, to worship You
And we're singing these songs
With the very same breath
To worship You, to worship You

We are breathing the breath
That You gave us to breathe

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Matt Redman's song "Breathing the Breath" speak about the concept of giving back to God what He has already given - the breath of life. The song is a reminder that everything we have and are is because of God's grace and provision, and there is nothing we can give that He didn't first give to us. The opening lines state, "We have nothing to give, that didn't first come from Your hands. We have nothing to offer You, which You did not provide." Essentially, the song is saying that our only response to God's goodness is to give back what is already His and to worship Him with our lives.

The lyrics go on to acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from God's kind and gracious heart, and all we can do is offer back what has always been His. The bridge of the song poses the question, "Who has given to You that it should be paid back to him? Who has given to You as if You needed anything?” The answer to these rhetorical questions is, of course, that no one can give anything to God that He is not already abundant in, and no one can repay Him for what He has already given.

The chorus of the song drives home the message that we are breathing the very breath that God gave us to breathe, and our worship is an act of giving thanks and giving back what He has provided. The song concludes with a reiteration of this idea - "We are breathing the breath that You gave us to breathe."

Overall, Matt Redman's song "Breathing the Breath" is a beautiful reminder of the source of all good things, and our role as recipients and stewards of those gifts. The song encourages listeners to give thanks and worship God with every breath they take.

Line by Line Meaning

We have nothing to give
Everything we have comes from God

That didn't first come from Your hands
God is the ultimate giver of all things

We have nothing to offer You
We have nothing to give God that he doesn't already have

Which You did not provide
God provides everything that we have

Every good, perfect gift comes from
Everything good in our lives is a gift from God

Your kind and gracious heart
God is kind and generous to us

And all we do is give back to You
All we can do is offer ourselves to God

What always has been Yours
Everything we have belongs to God

Lord, we're breathing the breath
We owe everything to God, even our breath

That You gave us to breathe
God is the giver of life

To worship You, to worship You
Our purpose in life is to worship God