Imaging Prayer and How to Do It
If you’ve read the Bible lately, there’s all sorts of wonderfully weird things in it. Leviathans on hooks, and the Nephilim of the Old Testament, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on all us believers in the New. And then there’s Revelation…
The thing is, it’s all true. I mention it because the “dreams and visions” of the Bible are not weird. They are one way He speaks to us. Look at Daniel, Isaiah, and Revelation if you don’t believe me.
But you don’t need to have the spiritual gift of prophecy to see God the way Isaiah saw Him that time: not in the big things, not in the wind, or fire, or earthquake, but in the Still Small Voice. The Whisper of God.
Sometimes He whispers in His audible voice, as with Isaiah. Sometimes He sends dreams and visions, as with Peter, Paul, and John.
Here’s one of the ways: Imaging Prayer
Its formal name is “contemplative prayer using the imagination.” It’s been around the church since the 4th century. Imaging prayer, along with its companion imageless prayer, are both contemplative prayers of silence. In both, we look to God without using our own words. In imageless prayer, we become aware of His felt presence. In imaging prayer, He reveals Himself in the imagination that He Himself created.
Let me give you an example. This was a waking vision from the Lord.
I am in a dark attic room. I wake up and swing my legs off the cot where I sleep. The attic room is a rectangle: long from its door to the back wall where my cot is, and a narrower width. The sun is up, and I am sitting in a pool of sunlight. But as I look towards the attic door at the opposite end of the space, it’s still shadowy and dark. So, what was I seeing? I get up and take a few careful steps closer. I see a huge black rooster standing up on my kitchen table. Before I have time to worry, he looks straight at me and crows. I can understand what he’s saying in English: “Wake up, wake up, wake up!”
And the imaging prayer ended. Because I recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit, I knew this vision (not a dream, not a daydream) was from Him. He gave me its interpretation: I wasn’t sure if I should do spiritual direction professionally, i.e. seek clients and charge money for it. He had told me to, so was I somehow holier than God because I felt funny about charging? And I was using my dilemma to keep from making the decision to do spiritual direction full-time.
In this vision, the Lord was telling me that this was part of the provision that he had planned for me. And to stop using the excuse of not being sure if I should charge or not.
He was telling me to WAKE UP and do what He gave me to do.
And so, I did.
How do you hear His voice, always listening in the framework of the Bible?
To start, the most important thing, or this won’t work at all, is you need to be a Christian. I have many non-Christian friends of many faiths and beliefs. I love them. But I wouldn’t partner them in imaging prayer (nor would they want to).
Why? Because imaging prayer is NOT visualization, or guided prayer, or a night dream, or a daydream, or just making stuff up. The Holy Spirit is doing it.
To begin, just be quiet and pray something like, “Lord, please show me what you have for me today. Your servant is listening.” He’ll often respond with an image that He will develop into a narrative, or resolve into words. After a little while, you’ll easily tell the difference between something you’re making up and Him. When we’re making it up, that action will seem forced… because it is. Just relax into how the Holy Spirit is leading you.
Here’s another example of a starting image. You could be floating down a river in a log boat, like a kayak made of wood, and approaching you is a tunnel that the river runs into.
Or you’re a bird, you’re flying, and suddenly you see a storm approaching you. What does God call you to do—avoid the danger or fly straight into it?
Or you’re on a seashore looking out at the waves and suddenly you get sprayed right in the face—and then you see Jesus approaching you.
Sometimes the images can be dramatic. It’s all up to the Lord. In another one of my imaging prayers, I’m a handicapped child living in the early part of the 20th century. I’m in a ward of sick children. My legs are crippled, and I can’t get out of bed by myself. Jesus comes in and helped me up. He leads me out of the ward, pretty much carrying me; but then every few seconds He sends lightning coursing through my legs. It hurts… but every time my legs are that much stronger, and I was closer to walking and running with the Lord.
The interpretation: Healing is not always easy. The healing process itself can hurt. But it’s healing that lasts.
First, get your starting vision. Ask the Lord where to start, and sit in silence. You will see the picture forming like the images I already mentioned. Or start with a set of swings, or hiking through the forest, or walking through a busy city, or scheming to let a circus tiger out of its cage. (That’s an exciting one!)
You can also do this as part of a group when you take time to contemplate the Lord in silence. In my small weekly group, the Lord usually gifts me with a vision that I share as a starting point. Then, each woman goes into silence and the Lord deals separately, and beautifully, with each one.
God gave me a vision of a large city and a dark alley to share with my group. The alley had tons of graffiti and garbage bins, and you couldn’t go back. Forward was the only way. Each of us started with this same image, but each woman imagined it differently… and the Holy Spirit dealt with each one of us individually in our imaging prayers.
Something that was perfect for us, and something that we each shared within the Once you start with your image, let the Holy Spirit speak. Let the images move.
Here’s another example from my own imaging prayers. I am walking through a swamp and I’m wearing really good boots; I love those boots. Then I started to sink. I wasn’t in danger, but the only way I could get out was to leave my boots behind in the sucking mud. I’m pissed! All of a sudden, Jesus appears. I say, “Oh Lord, I’m so glad You’re here. I don’t want to leave my boots in the mud!”
What does He do? He shoots me up out of the water! I’ve got my boots and I’m jetting upwards 40 feet in the air, and then He brings me back down again, and I land gently right next to Him. I am cracking up, and so is He.
The interpretation? I had started my spiritual direction ministry but felt stuck, and I didn’t know how to get free without just stopping the valuable work I was doing. Jesus was saying, “I’ll free you in an exciting, clear way that you would never have thought of. Boots intact. Listen to me. Watch for me.”
That’s just what I did, and He redeemed my ministry and increased my gifting.
When does the imaging prayer end? When it does. Sorry! But you can sense it. When an imaging prayer is finished but you’re not sure it’s over, wait a few seconds and see. What NOT to do is make something up as if you were writing a movie. This isn’t you making this stuff up. This is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through dreams and visions. When He’s done, it’s done.
The Holy Spirit isn’t downloading a novel or a short story where you need some closure. He’s giving you a flash of something that he wants you to consider and prayerfully interpret with his help, something he’s telling you. Come out and ask Him to help you interpret. If you’re doing this in a group, share your experience and we’ll interpret it together in the leading of the Holy Spirit.
My book is on Amazon: Open the Floodgates of Heaven: The Transforming Power of Christian Imaging Prayer