At our last debrief we discussed a personal prayer language. I didn’t give it much thought at the time until a squamate mentioned that she feels like when she sets aside time to be creative that it’s a type of personal prayer language for her. As I looked through the pages of my notebook after Nepal I wanted to share what has become my personal prayer language. So what you see here are how I’ve been praying lately. Inspired by doodles I’ve been doing for years, an appreciation for mandalas that only grew as I entered a culture that has been creating them for centuries, and my own connection with God through putting pen to paper. I found this is how I was praying and worshiping most.
We had structured ministry in Nepal, but a large part of our ministry there was spending time as a team worshiping and praying. And more often than not, my journal was open and my pen was moving. Repeating lines and shapes combined with bible verses, song lyrics and prayers. The act of drawing, especially in intricate repetition, helps keep my mind focused and becomes therapeutic. If you’re familiar with Zentangles or have caught on to the coloring book craze you already know this. And the art teacher in me knows a little bit of the science behind it, but not nearly enough to elaborate here.
I wanted to share this with you for a few different reasons. First, because it has become a very important part of my prayer life. Sometimes I start with a verse and fill the whole page with marks and patterns adding in words and prayers as I go to meditate on. Other days I doodle on a corner of the page as I start to journal. It has all helped me to focus and connect with God on a deeper level.
I would love to see more people try it. Please don’t use the excuse that you’re not an artist or it wouldn’t look like mine. So many of mine are unfinished and filled with flaws that most people would never notice. It doesn’t matter. You can start with repeating circles and squares and see where it goes from there. I just want to encourage you to create in your own unique way. (And if you can color inside the lines of a coloring book I promise you can do this too.)
Because what I’ve realized from this and so many other things on our race is that worship and prayer doesn’t have to look the same for all of us. My God created me to create, he put this desire, this talent and appreciation inside of me. I can’t imagine a better way to worship him than to use it to commune with him.
i tried to put these in order of the date they were created in hopes that you would be able to see some sort of progression, but I would often go back and add more to an old one or start a new one before one was finished depending on what I was praying for. Either way, I hope you enjoy and are encouraged…and don’t study them too closely or you’ll find some of those mistakes I mentioned.
God’s been so great in providing over $16,500 so far on this journey, and if you’re reading this you’re a huge part of that! So thank you, for your prayers, for reading and commenting and for your donations. But we still need about $950 (down to triple digits, woot, woot!) to be fully funded. Would you consider making a donation of $11 today? If all of my blog readers donate just $11 I’d be fully funded, all you have to do is click the donate button at the top of the page. Don’t feel lead to give? You can still show your support by sharing this or any blog post that has had an impact on you over the course of the race. Thank you again for reading!
