UMR Communications is offering the latest headlines in the RSS format.
Q & A
Q&A: Author describes new way to pray Mary Jacobs, Mar 21, 2007
COURTESY PHOTO
Praying in Color author Sybil MacBeth demonstrates her method of prayer.
Sybil MacBeth would like to help people draw closer to God - literally. She's developed a simple new approach to prayer described in her book Praying in Color, to be released in April by Paraclete Press. She talked about her method recently with Associate Editor Mary Jacobs. Here are excerpts.
Tell me about your approach to prayer.
I would describe it as visual way to pray. I started praying this way about four years ago, when I had a whole slew of friends who had cancer all at once. I didn't know what to pray. I got tired of the saying the same old things: "Please, God, make them better, make them comfortable."
I'm a doodler. One day I was sitting on my porch doodling and I realized I had put the name of somebody in one of these shapes. I thought, "I don't know what to say but I can sit with this person in prayer. I can do that by drawing and coloring and constantly keeping my attention focused on the person and lifting him up to God." And that's how it got started.
Do you need to have artistic ability to do this?
Absolutely not. I can't draw a cat. But I love color. I think that's one of the reasons that it works for me.
Describe the steps you take.
I might draw a shape first. Then I'll put the name of a person I want to pray for in the shape. Or, sometimes I'll put a name for God in the first shape. I don't try to force words because the words sometimes get in the way. Then I'll draw around the shape. I'll do squiggles or curlicues or lines, just different shapes-just to keep my hand moving and always my attention on lifting the person up to God.
I'll spend 3-5 minutes on the person. Then I'll move to another spot on the page and do another shape and pray for another person who is on my mind. So I might end up with one person on the page or I might have ten, depending on how many friends or family members need prayer.
Then I'll often carry that sheet with me. Sometimes I'll put it on the fridge, or I'll put the sheet in front of an icon and a candle in the kitchen. So every time I'll walk by the sheet, I'll see it and it jogs my memory to pray unceasingly for the people on the paper. Not necessarily with words-just offering them into God's care.
Who does this method seem to work best for? Does it resonate with people who have certain learning styles?
I've been surprised at who likes it. I tend to be pretty right-brained, and I have a friend who is very left-brained. She came to one of my workshops, and I was scared when I saw her. I thought, "She's going to hate this!" But she loved it. She did it every day for Lent and said it was the first time she was able to stick with a Lenten practice.
I think it's good for people who can't sit still. When I try those contemplative prayer forms where they say, "Sit up straight, put your hands in your lap, hold your body still"-I want to scream. Because I'm a dancer, that's not how I get still. I get still by moving. The body can be a distraction when you're trying to say, "Sit still." With praying in color, it's just enough movement that I can then focus better.
I wonder if this might work well now because we're such a visual culture.
I think that's true. I think we're also an attention-deficit culture. It's a way to help you hold your attention. We multi-task a lot-this is a multi-tasking prayer form. You're drawing, you're coloring and at the same time you're drawing your attention back to the person you're praying for or the word you're focusing on.
Did you ever sit down to pray about something this way and come to a new understanding for the person or the problem about which you were praying?
I think that usually comes after the fact for me. Typically I won't have an "a-ha" moment right then and there. That happens later on. I think God often comes through the left-brained work we do in a right-brained way. It's like when you're studying for a test and you're stuck on a problem in a test. You go to sleep or you take a shower and then the answer comes to you. I think God works that way. We put in our bits, we open the door to receive and sometimes that does come later.
What's your personal "praying in color" routine?
The materials can be pretty simple. Sometimes I take a clipboard, a pen and a few colored pencils to Starbucks. It creates a little prayer place for me. I can tune out what's around me. Sometimes, in a restaurant, where there's butcher-block paper on the table . . . I've actually prayed in color right then and there while I was waiting for my food. I've had waiters comment and ask what I'm doing. I tell them, and they don't usually run. They usually say, "Oh that's really interesting. That might be a good way for me to do that."
COURTESY PHOTO
I'll spend 3-5 minutes on the person. Then I'll move to another spot on the page and do another shape and pray for another person who is on my mind. So I might end up with one person on the page or I might have ten, depending on how many friends or family members need prayer. 
