Do you ever struggle to sit quietly and pray? Me too. That’s why I have turned to a practice called Visual Faith. What is visual faith? Visual faith is a physical and visual spiritual practice that helps ordinary people like you and me focus on God’s Word and prayer. In this post, I give you two kinds of Visual Faith and share resources to get you started.
I live life in the fast lane. No, not that fast lane filled with dangerous things. But the do-things-fast lane. This is the result of two things. Number one: I juggle a bazillion things. Number two: I love efficiency. So if I’m doing dishes, I may also be marching in place to get my steps and listening to a podcast or audio book and admiring the beautiful cardinal on the feeder.
Yeah, I’m a serious multitasker. I know that multitasking doesn’t really work. There are certain times when a single focus is best – reading, chatting with a loved one, and praying. But golly, it’s sometimes hard, especially prayers. Slowing down. Pausing. Stopping long enough to sit still and pray. It can be hard. I always have good intentions to pray for the day ahead or a friend in the hospital or a suffering world. Then, poof! My mind gets filled with to-do lists and other activities.
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Praying Without Ceasing
We are called to pray, and to pray often. Actually all the time.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
It’s the “without ceasing” that trips me up every time.
One of the ways I’ve learned to add more ceaseless prayer into my day is by seeing my prayer life a little differently. When I was a child growing up in a faithful home with godly parents, I believed prayer happened when I bowed my head and folded my hands. Sometimes we knelt by the bed. All the time, we prayed at meals and of course, at church. This was all good!
Over the years, I’ve matured and learned that prayer can be any conversation with God, like chatting with a friend. I am thankful that God hears my prayers even when I whisper them while I’m doing the dishes or riding in the car. We don’t need to have formal kneel-by-the-bed with folded hands and bowed head moments for God to hear us.
Still, I long to have quiet time to pray and study with intention and without distractions. About 7 years ago, I was introduced to a practice that has helped me do just this. It’s called Visual Faith®.
What Is Visual Faith®?
In a nutshell, visual faith is a physical and visual spiritual practice that helps ordinary people like you and me focus on God’s Word and prayer. It helps us to remember what God has done for us, to trust Him, to disciple those around us, and to share His love with the world. (These are the four pillars of the Visual Faith® Ministry: remember, trust, disciple, tell.)
It can be as simple as highlighting a verse in your Bible, Bible journaling, or scribing — handwriting a Bible verse in a simple spiral notebook. Or it can be as artistic and creative as a stunning watercolor or calligraphy in the margins of a journaling Bible. And everything in between.
My first introduction to Visual Faith® was at a women’s retreat in 2016 where I learned about Prayer Spaces. This added so much joy to my prayer life (I’ll share about Prayer Spaces in a little bit). The two women who taught at the retreat are pastors’ wives and creative people who love the Lord. Together with the help of many volunteers, they launched an entire ministry, Visual Faith® Ministry!
You can visit the Visual Faith® Ministry website for free resources, videos, and so much more. But lest you get overwhelmed because they offer so many good things, this post will give you just a brief overview of the things I practice and teach regularly, so that maybe you can get started too!
Things to Remember
- This is not about the product. It’s about the process. So enjoy the process. Dig in and savor your time with the Lord.
- Try something new. Some of these practices might seem intimidating. Start small but don’t be afraid to experiment.
- Don’t compare yourself to others. Again, this is about the process, not the product. Whether you are a skilled artist or you just doodle on a post-it while talking on the phone, you will grow closer to God through a visual faith practice. Your skill level does not determine how He hears your prayers.
Two Ways to Start Your Visual Faith Practice
#1. Prayer Spaces and Prayer Cards
As I mentioned earlier, this is where I started. It’s all I did for about one year. It’s not complicated and it doesn’t require any artistic skill. I love doodling, lettering, and coloring, so this makes complete sense for me. I also picked up a couple of workbooks where I could practice and copy ideas. (This is where I started because it’s fun for me! As you skim through these practices, think about what would be fun for you.)
But what is it? And how do I start?
Sit down with a blank piece of paper and several colored pencils or markers. The pros teach that it’s best to choose just a few colored pencils. If you try using the entire box of ninety-six colors, you’ll get caught up in which color goes with this or what color you should choose next. So true. So decide ahead of time and then you can focus on your prayer.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Writing instruments: Pen, colored pencils, and/or crayons. You don’t need to get fancy here unless you want to get fancy. After years of practicing this, I’ve learned what I like best.
- I really like these colored pencils because they’re soft, but any colored pencils will work! You can buy these on Amazon, and sometimes you can find them at Sam’s Club.
- These pens are usually my go-to.
- Paper or notebooks. I like to use good quality paper or cardstock because it makes writing and doodling so much more enjoyable. You can certainly use regular printer paper as well, it’s just not as sturdy as cardstock or art paper. You can also use plain white index cards which are inexpensive. I also like this sketchbook for keeping all of my nice paper and prayers together.
- Bookmarks. I like to buy a pack of 100 blank bookmarks (any color) from Hobby Lobby or these from Amazon. I can do my prayer doodling on the bookmark and then it becomes something the recipient can use.
Prayer Cards
Begin with prayer! Ask the Lord who you will be praying for in the next moments. Then write her name in the center of the card or paper. Draw a circle around her name. Or a box. Or a diamond. Color it in. Jot the words that come into your mind as you pray for her. Connect them. Or not. Draw a border around the paper. Color some more. Sometimes I add a few flowers or hearts. One of my favorite things to do is “dangles.” But really, you can just draw triangles and cloud shapes and stars. Sometimes I’ll add a cross to the card. All the while, you are thinking of her, praying for her, lifting up her heart cries to the Lord.
How long does this take? However long you want. There is no one right timeframe, no one right way, no one right path. It’s unique to you.
I can tell you what my path is like, though. Most often, I’ll make a prayer card over several days. I will start one day with a few doodles, a few words. That might take me five minutes. I leave the card out on my desk so I can see it often. Maybe that afternoon I’ll add a few more words and pray again. Then the next day, more. The next day, a little more. Sometimes I’ll do it all in one sitting. It varies.
Sometimes I will take a picture of the prayer space and text it to my friend so she knows I’m praying. When I’m finished, I like to send the card in the mail.
My finished prayer cards look like this, but yours might look very different. How beautiful that we are all so unique!
Prayer Spaces
Prayer spaces are a little different. This is usually a single sheet of paper with individual spaces so you can write many names and prayer requests. Visual Faith Ministry has lots of beautiful prayer spaces to download and print for free.
How I use Prayer Spaces: Whenever I get a prayer request, I write the name and a tiny note to remind me of the request so I can pray often. Whenever I want to pray, I put the prayer space in front of me and grab one colored pencil. I will color lightly over the name as I pray. Then I’ll move on to the next name, and so on. Sometimes I have prayed so often for one person, their name is covered with layers of pencil. That’s okay. God heard my prayers.
And I stayed focused.
Sometimes I like to put on instrumental praise music or simple classical piano music as I pray. I can’t pray and listen to music with words, though. Too distracting for me.
Resources for Praying in Color
- Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth
- Praying in Color: Kids Edition by Sybil MacBeth
- Hand Lettering by Marci Donley & DeAnn Singh
- The Art of Drawing Dangles by Olivia A. Kneibler (I love using these for my prayer spaces and prayer cards.)
#2. Gratitudes
This is a simple and beautiful way to begin a visual faith practice. I’ve been all over the board writing my daily gratitudes. Sometimes I write them in my planner or in my journal; sometimes I’ve written three blessings; sometimes one. Most often, this has been a sporadic practice because I didn’t have a good system in place.
This year will be different because I have a home for my simple list. I’m writing one blessing every day. And if I forget? I write the word GRACE in the space and give thanks. Over time, I can visually see all the blessings God has given me, including grace.
If you want to dig deeper into this practice, check out this post. If you haven’t read Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts, then I would highly recommend that as a way to begin this practice.
More Visual Faith Practices Coming Soon!
This just touches on the ways you can practice visual faith. I hope one of these options are a good starting point for you and your practice. Here are some more Visual Faith practices to try!
- The Benefits of Scripture Scribing
- Verse Mapping: A Guide for Beginners
- How to Start Devotional Journaling
- How to Start Bible Journaling
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