Day 27: Waiting Prayer, Part 4
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1:12-16
I love how God calls us to use our imaginations. We use our imagination when we answer His call to remember His faithfulness. We use our imaginations when we remember Jesus as we participate in communion. We use our imagination when He gives us glimpses into heaven. Jesus told forty-two parables. I’m interested to know, and I’ll ask Him when I see Him, how many of the parables were just made up stories, how many were taken from His earthly experiences, and how many were stories about real events and real people.
For today’s waiting prayer, we will ask God to set our imagination apart again, like we did on Day 22. The goal in this time of prayer is to seek to position ourselves for God to move over, and into our lives. We’re seeking to experience His presence. Remember, as you pray, “you [may] find that first attempts can be more frustrating than fruitful.” Because we may do everything that we know to do and not experience the presence of God. But even if we don’t feel God’s presence as we expect, our desire for more of Him is pleasing to Him.
I grew up learning that we know God’s will and hear His voice most clearly from Scripture. Read, memorize, and meditate on Scripture was, and still is, my motto. I was trained to seek prompting from the Holy Spirit, to “bullet point” and outline Scripture, and to seek understanding of what the Scripture meant then, to the people it was written. And now, how it relates to us. I’m so thankful for that training.
However, I only trained to use my imagination in one of my college classes (I should have paid more attention in his class). In that preaching class we outlined our sermons and also drew our sermons in pictures. I didn’t know it at the time, but our teacher was helping me use my imagination in my teaching and in my prayer life.
For this prayerful imaginative exercise, we will use Terry Wardle’s Three R prayer exercise found in his book, Every Breath We Take. Dr. Wardle uses this prayer exercise to help people turn off distractions and focus on Christ. The Scripture tells us to seek God (Jeremiah 29:13), focus on things above (Colossians 3:1), and focus on Jesus (Hebrews 3:1), but Scripture leaves us lots of room on the “how” part of seeking God and focusing on Jesus. Memorizing and meditation on Scripture helps, and this prayer exercise adds in the use of our imaginations.
Prayerwork, Part 1 (3 minutes): Sit really still, take a couple of deep breaths, and imagine a doorway into God’s throne room. The door opens and the other side of the door is Jesus, smiling at you. He motions for you to enter and He says, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” Remember, Jesus died for you on the cross, exchanging His righteousness for your sins. His sacrifice for you means you are significant and accepted. What He accomplished gives us eternal security that began when we believed. Christ truly gives us everything we need. We no longer have to perform to gain importance.
Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to take over your imagination with a prayer like this: “God, please send your Holy Spirit to fill me again, and take over my imagination. Lord, allow me in the name of Jesus to experience the rest that is already ours in Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.”
Take another deep breath, move through the doorway, and imagine yourself experiencing the rest that Jesus gives. Stay here for a few moments and imagine what it feels like to rest, to be at rest, and to be still in the presence of God.
Prayerwork, Part 2 (3 minutes): Imagine, Jesus taking you by the hand; He lifts you up and invites you to walk beside Him. He says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” As you walk with Jesus, you arrive at another doorway. Jesus invites you to walk through this doorway and experience the “lavish love of God.” Imagine yourself walking through the doorway, and Jesus whispers in your ear, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; receive my love.”
Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to allow you to feel the lavish love of God. Say a prayer like this one, “God, please send your Holy Spirit to fill me again, and take over my imagination. Lord, allow me in the name of Jesus to experience the lavish love of God that is already ours in Jesus Christ. Lord, help me to understand and experience “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.”
Take another deep breath, move through the doorway, and imagine yourself experiencing the lavish love of God. Stay here for a few moments and imagine what it feels like to be loved.
Prayerwork, Part 3 (3 minutes): Imagine Jesus, taking you to one more doorway. This doorway takes you into a position to respond to the love of Christ. He says to you, “Fear not, I am with you always. I am with you now, and I will be with you all the way to your death. Because I am with you, you will not experience death. I will see you through death to the eternal life on the other side. And I will be with you there, too. I will never leave you or forsake you.” Imagine yourself walking through this door and responding to His love.
Spend a few moments worshipping Jesus. Imagine yourself falling at His feet to thank Him. Imagine Jesus lifting you up and wrapping His arms around you. Imagine holding on to Him in adoration.
Finish up your prayer time, by thanking God for His faithful presence.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39