Praying in Color

  • Home
  • Sybil MacBeth
  • Books & DVDs
    • Books & DVDs
    • Praying in Color
    • The Season of the Nativity
    • Pray and Color
  • Workshops / Events
  • Examples
  • Handouts
  • Contact
  • Blog
Mobile Nav MenuLogo

Archives for June 2016

Prayer for Lois

June 27, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth 7 Comments Leave a Comment

I started praying in color over a dozen years ago because I was at a loss for words in prayer. A dozen friends and family members were ill with cancer. My words vanished. I just didn’t know what to say or what to pray for. Doodling and coloring gave me a way to create a visual, non-verbal prayer for them. It gave me a way to be with God and stay focused and present.

Once again I am without words. My mother-in-law Lois, who is 87, fell a few weeks ago and shattered her femur. After the surgery to repair the break and alleviate her pain, she seems to have “checked out” even more from life. She doesn’t know her sons’ names and she doesn’t want to eat or drink. A devout Christian, Lois can no longer say the Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm–words that were part of her everyday vocabulary. I feel such sorrow for her and for her children who were used to their mother as a sharp mind with an endless supply of stories.

I am confused about what to pray for. Is it okay to pray for her death, for a swift end to her life? Or should I pray for a long life and full recovery? She lost her zeal for living a year or so ago. Now she has no memory of her lost zeal. Instead of asking for the specific outcomes, a prayer of blessing seems the best idea. I want Lois to feel God’s love, protection, and comfort. In my blessing prayer for Lois, I remind myself that God is with her, that no matter what the details of the rest of her life, she cannot “go from God’s spirit or flee from God’s presence?” (Psalm 139:7)

IMG_5463

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • More

Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: Blessing Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, Praying in Color

Intercessory Prayer on a Coloring Page

June 14, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

Most of my visual prayers start with doodling and then include coloring. The doodling focuses my attention and invites my eyes and hand into my prayer. Doodling and coloring give me time to slow down.They help to calm the chatter in my mind and help me to get quiet enough to listen. The lines, dots, swirls, and arcs are like little nonverbal prayers.

Although I love to doodle when I pray I have come to appreciate the value of a pre-drawn template. The format is already laid out. The first words on the coloring page are the name I am using for God. In this prayer, it is Almighty God. Then I add people’s names or write words of intercession, gratitude, or concern. Then I begin to color. Each stroke of color can become a wordless prayer. A coloring page/template can be used for almost any kind of prayer. Coloring prayers can also be progressive. There’s no need to fill in the whole coloring page in one sitting. I can add new names on another day or add words for the people already on the page–my requests, emotions, fears, hopes….

I keep the emerging prayer in plain sight so whenever I notice it, it prods me to pray again.

Intercessory Prayer Jun 13, 2016 (1)

This is #1 template in the book Pray and Color: A Coloring Book and Guide to Prayer. I have to admit it was really fun to draw the pages.

Pray and Color Front Cover

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • More

Filed Under: Praying in Color Tagged With: coloring book, Doodling and Prayer, Pray and Color, prayer, Praying in Color

FIND ME ON
Find Me on Facebook
  • Home
  • Praying in Color
  • Sybil & Andy MacBeth
  • Books & DVDs
  • The Season of the Nativity
  • Pray and Color
  • Workshops / Events
  • Handouts
  • Examples
  • Contact
  • Blog
© 2016 Sybil MacBeth. All Rights Reserved. Website by Paraclete Web Design.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.