Eureka - painting is prayer!

(Image from Praying in Color blog - it is an example of a one person prayer.)
When I was small and very squirmy, my Dad used to give me offering envelopes to doodle on in Church. I would cover every square inch of the paper and even open the glued edges to have more space to draw on.

I never totally dawned on me that this act of drawing could in fact be a prayer practice. As a teen, I struggled to find a means of prayer and devotion that I would be consistent in participating in. Now that I think on it, much of my journals would be drawing and doodles. As an adult, I have had more consistent periods of time that I've journaled my prayers - and even then the drawings are always there! Even over the last few months, I've been contemplating on paint/praying the Psalms. Isn't it funny how serendipity brings things together?

I think this is a forest for the trees kind of moment for me. My drawings are prayers.
Really, no joke - no farse - it's not cheating. Drawing, painting, doodling - is prayer!

I came across the blog, Praying in Color, today after looking into some prayer resources for my church and was delighted to see that I'm not alone in this "prayer painting" practice. I'm so excited to see that there is a movement for this form of "active prayer".

Please let me know if this is a form of prayer is something you've tried. How had it helped you in your prayer life? How has it benefited others?

Comments

dianne said…

Ah, yes, I love that book and prayer doodling/visual journaling has been extremely helpful to me over the past year or so. Great post and what a freeing realization, eh? ;)

2:52 PM EST

Tara Lamont said…

Yes it is - I can't wait to get the book in my hands!

9:28 AM EST

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