In a class a few weeks ago we took a few moments to practice creative prayer. Our group was guided by the work of Sybil MacBeth. You can read about MacBeth and her approach here.
Whenever we teach this approach to prayer I spend the remainder of our time together doodling, coloring, and recording the images, names, Scripture fragments, and ideas that to my mind while listening to the lecture and surrounding conversation. I had a pen and two colored pencils, green and brown. I wrote down the names of family members I hold dear and thought of their circumstances. I wrote down desires of God that I want to be my desires, for peace, justice, and righteousness. I just noticed that I used line to direct the gaze up and to push myself toward a deeper faith. There is an upward climb from left to a right, and a tree providing much shade. I gave thanks for a recent rain. Concentric circles cause me to pause and draw me inward. I asked God to combat a virus I’ve been at war with.
If you ever get stuck in prayer, if you ever feel you cannot string your thoughts together linearly, pull out a pen, a piece of paper, and a couple of markers or crayons, and linger a while with God.
