Tips for Imaginative Prayer
But how would I begin? Do I sit down and picture Jesus? What if I struggle to know what He looks like? Sometimes I’m distracted; is that normal? Honest questions amid friendship are one of the most refreshing gifts. Discussing the topic of imaginative prayer with a friend the other day, the Holy Spirit began to prompt me to write a post on how I enter into prayer. This is more a practical tips post, but what works for me may look different for you. My encouragement is to take what I say and try it for yourself, finding what helps you experience the Father.
The Normal Routine
Prepare a Space: I sit down at 5:30 am with a pottery mug in hand. I find that a routine time ensures this intentional time happens. Sometimes I sit on my bed or sit at my desk; either way, I have space physically in the room where Jesus is sitting when I begin my time with Him. Even if I plan to go to an area in my mind, I will often leave a physical space for Him to sit. So, if we are sitting in a canoe, with Him facing me in my imagination, in the present, I will sit at my desk, and I leave a space on my bed for Him to sit across from me (like He is sitting in the canoe in my mind). I don’t always do this, but it often helps me get settled into recognizing His presence.
How are your Emotions? How these are in the morning will determine how I begin. If I’m anxious, stressed or feel distracted, I may start with worship or reading the word to set my heart and mind on Him. In this process of prayer, I began to recognize how influential my emotions can be to the process of entering into prayer. When our amygdala is working hard (i.e. anxious/angry/stressed emotions you feel), the part of our brain wired for connection shuts off. This makes entering into a space of relationship with Jesus much harder.
Prayer of Sanctification: I often begin with a simple prayer for the Holy Spirit to sanctify my imagination and draw my eyes back to Him. Our minds sin when our thoughts run ahead, trying to control and anticipate outcomes anxiously; this is a way we can unintentionally agree with the enemy. Asking the Spirit to cleanse our imaginations helps us to repent and bring ourselves back under the control of the Father.
Listening to Music: I will listen to music where I feel the Holy Spirit brings me; this is after Jesus has introduced a space to me. At the cabin, I listen to this rain music, sometimes we sit by a bonfire, and I listen to this campfire music, and other times we are at the ocean, so I listen to wave music. It’s just a way of helping my mind enter the space, giving room for my thoughts to focus on the other senses (touch, sight, sound and smell).
The Space: If I feel Jesus nudge me to a new place, I ask Him where He wants to take me. I give Him a blank space and see if He brings up a location. Often, it is easier to picture places I’ve been to before that have fond memories attached. Once He suggests a place, I take time to notice what I see, feel, smell, and hear – noticing the weather, beauty, and peace in the space. Sometimes Jesus is there already, or I’m alone at first. It takes a bit of brain energy to picture someone with me, so I sometimes wait to get a sense of the surroundings before asking Him where He is. For normalcy, often Jesus walks up to me; he doesn’t just appear. At first, when I began imaginative prayer, He would sit slightly away from me. This was because I didn’t trust Him yet. Now, when He enters, He sits next to me, always holding my hand or wrapping me in a hug.
How do you Picture Jesus? Honestly, I have a picture of the Jesus character from the Chosen on my phone that I look at. In my mind, Jesus doesn’t look exactly like that, but pretty close. At the beginning of practicing this type of prayer, I would wrestle to picture His face. So, I have a picture nearby on my phone and use that as a base. I think you could ask the Holy Spirit just to show you how He wishes to show Himself, and He could reveal Jesus that way as well. I believe it will look a bit different for everyone.
Don’t overthink it: At the beginning of practicing imaginative prayer, I would overthink everything. “Is that really Him speaking? … What if I’m just making this up? …He must judge me because I get so distracted.” Oh, how excited I am to see the ways the Father shows you His grace and humour through this process. Even in the past month, one day during prayer, I thought about how I would organize a new curriculum (I am a teacher) in binders! When I realized my rabbit trail thought process, I snapped back to the present to see Jesus sitting in front of me smiling. “What?” I asked, a little embarrassed by how much I think about school. “I love the way you think,” He replied, with a huge grin stretching across His face.
Let me speak some truth for a moment. He doesn’t judge you when you get distracted. He isn’t disappointed when you are worried about an upcoming event and struggle to centre on Him. He doesn’t judge you for the sin you habitually commit; nothing surprises Him. In prayer, we fumble into His presence, into His arms, and into his grace-filled, extravagant love. You’re His child; when you enter His presence, I see Jesus sitting there, smiling with a tear-streaked face, wrapping you in a hug and whispering, “I am SO grateful to have you here. I’ve been waiting to meet with you; let’s sit.”
How long? This depends on the day, how into it I get and how much I’m distracted. Some days it’s maybe 10 minutes, other days it can be an easy 30-40 minutes. I currently feel Him calling me to longer, but I haven’t found how to do that yet. The whole time isn’t this uninterrupted time of sitting and talking with Jesus. Some days I’m distracted by my to-do’s – so I speak to Him about all the things I need to do. On other days (like today), I feel triggered by a comment someone said the previous day, so Jesus brings it up and asks if I want to talk about it. Amidst our conversation – whether it’s a dog outside, a mosquito in my room, me having to get up for some reason, or a distracting thought process, I can be pulled away from that space. I’ve learned to catch those stray thoughts and bring myself back to the space with Jesus. I guess I say this to normalize the ebb and flow of prayer. I used to think it was this constant zone you’re in; I’ve found that not to be the case all the time. It’s more similar to any other conversation that you have to focus on and engage with.
I pray this helps and is an encouragement to some. The Father’s heart is always love towards you, He wants to meet with you even more than you hunger for. It’s the perfect combination for connection.
-Bree
