Trying Imaginative Contemplation
So I bet a few of you have become curious about the Spiritual Exercises. If you have done any investigation at all, you came across the term imaginative contemplation. This is a form of prayer in which we imagine ourselves in the scene of the scripture (usually a gospel scene). We use our 5 senses to wonder what it was like to really be there with Jesus.
Some are very resistant to the idea of applying the imagination to prayer and scripture. I understand; however, I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts for you to take to prayer before you write it off.
I think resistance usually stems from one of two fears. 1) “I am not particularly imaginative. It feels difficult to use my 5 senses and try to imagine what a scene looks, feels or smells like… what if I imagine something that isn’t historically accurate? I’ll just stick to Bible study. I would rather just read a commentary. ” 2) “This doesn’t seem right. I have way too much reverence for God’s Word to add my imaginative ideas. Besides what if I imagine something that’s not true? It feels like I am committing some kind of heresy.”
Both of these objections make sense at first glance. I personally experienced both when I was first asked to try it. But I have since come to a new understanding. First, as I have grown in my Bible knowledge, my guiding statement about the holy scriptures has become John 5:39: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me [Jesus].” The entire reason we read and study God’s Word is to know God personally, not just know more facts about Him. Second, these fears stem from us not trusting our imagination to be used by God for a good purpose. Yet, once we have come to faith in God and know Him personally, all of our faculties can be sanctified by His Spirit who lives in us, not just our discursive reason or intellect.
When I first came to faith, my reasoning/intellect was dramatically changed by studying God’s Word, but what I didn’t realize was that this was only one of my faculties and that I actually had others that were equally important but that I wasn’t immersing in God’s Word. One of these was my imagination. So, let’s talk about imagination.
You use your imagination constantly, whether you realize it or not. Imagination is simply the power of the mind to form a mental image. (By the way, Jesus loved to use parables which inevitably bring forth mental images). You use it every time you have a memory. Think of your last vacation. Did an image come to mind? If so, you used your imagination. You use it when you plan to do something in the future. Who do you think you’ll spend time with tomorrow? Odds are a mental picture of a person came to mind. Imagination lets us relive the past and anticipate the future. And it takes up much of our present. We use our imaginations to daydream and fantasize. And yes, it’s also at work at night when we dream. Or worse, when you are up all night because you heard a rumor of layoffs at work… “What if I’m laid off?!?…and I go broke and file bankruptcy, my spouse leaves with the kids and I end up living in a van down by the river…” Yep! That’s your imagination at work. But let’s get back to the part about whether this is a theologically sound prayer practice.
As Christians, we understand that all human beings are fallen. We know that our reasoning our emotions, our will, and our imaginations are all fallen, and must be redeemed and sanctified.
So, how do we sanctify our imagination? I propose we do it the same way we sanctify anything else. First we consecrate it (which means to dedicate it) for holy or sacred use. Then, we pray and ask God to do the work of sanctification, which after all, is His work, not ours.
I’ll write more on this topic in the next blog post, but I hope this gets you thinking about your imagination and how imaginative contemplation might be worth a try after all. In fact, it might be a good idea to help sanctify your imagination.
If you aren’t sure how to get started, I suggest trying a guided audio prayer like those offered by Pray as You Go.
photo credit: @clever_visuals
