Amy and Praying in Color

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

Today is our second day of praying the STEEP Cycle of Prayer. Each person in our community is invited to pray for each other by name. The STEEP Cycle of Prayer contains approximately 30 households per day, arranged Monday through Saturday, so that each day, our community prays for the same 30 households, each Tuesday the next set of households, etc. It is a powerful ministry and a powerful instrument of unity.

How can we integrate the STEEP Cycle of Prayer into our daily prayer practice? There are no right or wrong answers to this. One way that I have begun praying in recent weeks has been through coloring. It’s not just because I love to color – which I do – and I haven’t had enough time to color since I was about 7 years old – which is also true. It’s because I find that when I occupy my hands in this way, my mind is stilled, and my spirit can focus on the names and faces of those I am holding in prayer, and, most importantly, I can listen more deeply for God.

The Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer defines prayer as “responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words. Christian prayer is response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (BCP p. 856)

God already knows our prayers – even before we ask. God already responds to the needs of others even before we ask. God is always present, always faithful, always merciful, even when we can’t imagine it. I invite you this Holy Week to discover new ways of praying and listening to God, with or without words.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

Peace,
Amy

To learn more about praying in color, please visit Sybil Macbeth’s website prayingincolor.com