I am not a hearts, flowers, or butterfly kind of woman. So I am surprised to notice how many times I have started my prayers with a large heart in the center of the page. Here are some ways I have used the heart templates:
1) For couples getting married
2) For friends struggling in their marriages or relationships
3) For celebration of anniversaries
4) For praying about my hardness of heart or the need for a change of heart
5) For friends with heart disease or friends having heart surgery
6) For resentments that threaten to damage my heart
7) For just about any issue in which loving or not loving takes center stage
These are prayers for two men with open heart surgery. Sometimes I write words like hope, recovery, release, healing…in the spaces. OR I might even write my concerns or fears.
Here are two heart templates to download. Click on the jpg or pdf below the desired template. (Download before you print for best results.)
In the heart I’ll write the name of a person or a name for God. Then I’ll start to doodle or color. The coloring and doodling invite my body into the prayer and give the rest of me a time to settle. I don’t chase words away when I pray this way, I just don’t force words. Dumping everything on my mind into God’s ear is a good starting place. However, instead of just ending the prayer when the words run out, I keep drawing and coloring. This creates a prayer time and a prayer space. It gives me a way to stay with the prayer and not run as soon as I’ve had my say or am bored. It is often in the quiet, no-effort times that my real prayers come or that real listening happens.
Feel free to say words or write words while you color. Use the template in any way that enhances your prayer.