Reporter: Martha Steele
The Exchange of Information session entitled “Ways To Pray” – Session 1, was presented by Leslie Herd of North Texas Via de Cristo to an audience of 12 attendees. Leslie began by giving a short personal history of how she grew from an embarrassed “I know nothing” pray-er of “911 prayers” to a well-versed teacher of methods and approaches to prayer, which was a total life-changer for her. Referenced in her talk were a variety of books on methods of praying, including the following:
Praying in Color – Drawing a New Path to God by Sybil MacBeth, The Doodle Prayer by OutUponTheWaters.com, Prayer of the Heart by Kelly Schneider Conkling, the practice of the presence OF GOD by brother Lawrence, Praying in Black and White by Sybil and Andy MacBeth, and Drawing to God-Art as Prayer-Prayer as Art by Jeri Gerding. Also in the handout were samples of doodles, a list of “Names for God” for prayer-starters, a page of instructions for how to start your doodle prayer, and a step by step explanation of the Lectio Divina (divine reading) method of prayer. Leslie provided each participant with a generous supply of journal books, crayons, and colored pencils. Leslie led a discussion exploring the obstacles to praying. We ended the session with hands on experiences of the doodle prayer as we pondered the scripture John 4:24 – ” God is spirit and his worshiper must worship in spirit and truth.” while doodling with our non-dominant hand and eyes shut as a way to focus on our prayer while occupying our hands with the doodle movements. The session ended with an opportunity to pray an intercessory prayer. Overall, Leslie and the resources she brought to the group opened up some fascinating new spiritual experiences and ways to pray.
