7 ways to creatively uplift your prayer life
Prayer and devotional life doesn’t have to be on your knees next to your bed at given times in the day. This is definitely an important habit to have but to limit prayer life to these confines could be limiting the depths to which God can reach you and change your life.
Recently I attended a women’s conference for prayer. We practiced several different and creative methods for meditating on God’s word and speaking to Him. It was illuminating, restful and invigorating to commune with God in these different avenues. I want to share some things I have picked up along my Christian sojourn.
1/ Pray and read in nature. Take it outside. In our developed world we surround ourselves with what has been made, what we have attained, achieved and accomplished. Sometimes this is all we focus on and we forget about the real world that God has made and what He has accomplished.
2/ Set it to music. It may be writing a song or playing a song that reflects your thoughts. We immediately think of the Psalms which holds the majority of songs but there are other times when people broke out in song: Miriam and Moses after the parting of the Red Sea, Hannah with the blessing of Samuel and her special offering, Mary after her encounter with the angel, Simeon after seeing his Lord. Music is special and even if we don’t feel we have ‘the gift’ it can still be a beautiful thing between us and God.
3/ Draw the scene. As you depict each character or detail in the scene let your mind see God at work and sometimes new insights will come from this perspective or you will be reminded of details from long ago.
4/ Colour in a verse card. If you google ‘colour in bible verse’ you will come up with hundreds of black and white images that you can print off and colour in. Colours are emotive and descriptive. You can think about the tone and the emotional response you have to the words in the verse. As you colour the words you can begin to commit them to memory, ready to be recalled by the Spirit when you need it.
5/ Bible journaling. You can get special Bibles printed especially for Bible journaling. There are lots of blogs and videos online for getting into it. It is another way to meditate and be mindful about scripture. The deliberate creativity of words and word art helps to highlight the important themes and promises.
6/ Post up a prayer family tree. You can find a picture of a tree or draw a rough sketch on a piece of paper. Then get little post-it notes or sticky labels and write the names of family you are praying for. You can choose to put the reason on there or just the names. You don’t need to limit it to family. You can add in church family or those still finding their way. As you look up at your tree you could pray for a branch each day, star or highlight those whom you have prayed for and work your way around the tree. Write the date when a prayer has been answered. Use it any way that helps you remember to pray.
7/ Silence and solitude. The above suggestions can be done in pairs or small groups quite effectively. And we know from the Bible the blessings that come when we unite with one cause and ask for something as a community (Matt 18:19). We also saw the results at Pentecost. However there is no substitute for our own personal connection with our Lord. To be completely open and vulnerable before Him and allow full access to our hearts. This requires times of silence and solitude with the Lord to lay down our issues and absorb His love. Take time to visualise each issue in your heart. Don’t judge it or hide it, just lay it before Him. Take time to visualise and feel His presence. It’s hard with all our distractions which is why this takes practice. Start with something short like 2 minutes and slowly grow it from there. Don’t be frustrated when your mind wanders in the 2 minutes. Just see it as an opportunity to bring your mind back to Him.
