Praying with Imagination

A friend recently told me that when she reads she only has words running through her mind. I, on the other hand, have a whole movie of the story running in my head… Wow, I thought perhaps that's why I can’t read as fast as her … my mind is full of pictures when I read! I have run into this before with a few friends that I practice the spiritual disciplines with. These friends of mine struggle to picture things when I ask us to pray in images … so I thought I’d encourage a fun practice that can help revolutionize your time in scripture with the Lord. Because it has been so helpful to me, not only when I read but also when I pray. It can also be helpful when you are feeling stuck with the Lord, to stir things up … because sometimes words are not enough and we need to set our minds loose with pictures. Have you ever prayed with images? If not, give it a try! 

Let’s grab a passage of scripture - Psalm 103: 6-14 (The Voice)

6 When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered,
    the Eternal is just;
    He makes the wrongs right.
7 He showed Moses His ways;
    He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.
8 The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.
    When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us.
    When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding;
9 He will not constantly criticize,
    nor will He hold a grudge forever.
10 Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve.
    In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.
11 Measure how high heaven is above the earth;
    God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.
12 You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.
13 An earthly father expresses love for his children;
    it is no different with our heavenly Father;
The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.
14 For He knows what we are made of;
    He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust.

How do we start? Let’s dive into it together and you can get a feel of how i do it … it might help you put away some of your words and set your imagination free. Then it’s really about practicing! If it's a new way of thinking for you it may be challenging at first but keep pressing in! That’s why it’s called ‘practice!’ 

Let’s start with verse 6:

‘When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered, The Eternal is just.’

Lord, I have been crushed, and felt enslaved to my sin … ( I imagine being crushed in spirit from things people have said to me, or I imagine heavy stones pressing me down…  I sit next to Jesus and offer Him all the hard things I can picture of late that feel too heavy for me. I picture them as stones and give them over to Jesus. I sit with what it would be like for Jesus to see each of my hurts and care for them, and I ask Him for justice or right thinking over each thing … I may also take some time to think of hard things that my friends or situations in the world are sitting in and picture them as dioramas that I am putting into His hands and asking Him to intervene in. 

Let’s skip to verse 8:

‘The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.
    When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us.
    When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding;’

What does Jesus’ face look like when He is expressing compassion and mercy toward you in your sin? Stand before Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you, ask Him to speak to you after you confess your sin. 

Picture yourself stepping over that line, and then receiving conviction and prodding from the Lord… what does His face look like then? 

Let’s skip to verses 11-12:

‘Measure how high heaven is above the earth;
    God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.
‘You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.

How big is the Lord? Can you picture how big the universe is and then press it out and out and out and out? What does it feel like to swim in that vast reservoir of love? Swim in it. 

What does it look like for the Lord o remove your sins as far as the east is from the west? Picture those compass arrows going out and out and out… that is how far our God removes our sin from us when we bring it to Him… How does it feel to see that?

Now lastly, verse 14:

‘For He knows what we are made of;
    He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust.’

He knows we are frail and made of dust … picture yourself that way… a puff a, a vapor, remember your smallness and finite frame before the Lord, picture it! But also let your vaporous self swim in that sea of love from the verses above and melt into it. 

Friends, these are just a few of my quick imaginings… let your minds loose to enjoy scripture this way, to enjoy God this way! He is big enough to sanctify our imaginations and teach us in more ways than we have yet discovered. Open your heart and mind, and release your words… and let your imagination loose into God’s care as you pray in pictures.