Praying Upside Down

Prayer is important. It is our communication line to God. But have you ever felt like your prayer life was lacking something? I have. I have gone through times where my prayer life feels stale, like the passion is lacking. I've also had times where I feel like God isn't hearing me, though I know He is there and does, in fact, hear.

In the past couple of years, I've been intentionally seeking to make my prayer life better. Closer, more intimate with God.

Artist and author Kelly O'Dell Stanley says in her new book, Praying Upside Down:

I like to pray upside down.
Praying upside down doesn't involve swinging from your knees on a jungle gym. It doesn't require an inversion table or a bungee harness. In fact, it's much scarier: It's all about asking God to let you see. Truly see. To see Him at work, see Him in action, and let go of expectations. It might mean He'll throw your world out of orbit, turn your thoughts topsy-turvy, and change you from the inside out. It will definitely mean your perspective will never be the same again.

 She also says:

Too often, we miss seeing God because we think His answer will look different than it does.

When we think of prayer, we often think of head bowed, eyes closed, hands folded, knees bent and big words. That's not what prayer is at all. Prayer is communicating with our Father and sometimes that communication doesn't even have to be words.

Several years ago I went back to writing a prayer journal, something I had done as a teenager. This helps me to pray, to see my prayers and to go back and see the answers to prayers. Recently I've begun drawing in my journals. Not all of the time and certainly not good. I am by no means an artist and I will not terrify you by sharing them. My poor stick people look like they've been hit by a bus. But when I do it as prayer, I know it blesses the Father. Sometimes my prayer is singing praise songs, sometimes humming or simply saying hallelujah over and over.

In Praying Upside Down, Kelly not only teaches what praying upside down is, but she also gives Prayer Palettes at the end of each chapter which challenge you to do prayer in a different way. If you are struggling in your prayer life, check out Praying Upside Down.





Linking with:
Woman to Woman's Word Filled Wednesday