Visualization prayer is probably one of the most exciting kinds of praying we can do. God’s given us a wonderful gift in our imagination.

We use our imaginations continually. For instance, did you ever find yourself replaying a scene in your mind in which someone said something rude to you, and even though you didn’t respond at the time, now in your imagination you say what you think of the person and see yourself getting the better of him? How about a situation which went all wrong, did you play and replay the scene over and over, experiencing the embarrassment again and again?

Well, this is a destructive use of the imagination. In visualization prayer, we deliberately use the imagination in a constructive way for ourselves and for others. As we consciously make good pictures in our minds, we train our subconscious minds to work for us in a constructive way until it becomes habitual or natural for us to have our conscious minds filled with thoughts that are true, pure, lovely, gracious, and honorable, just as Paul suggests we do (Philippians 4:8.)

Let me make it clear that in visualization prayer we’re not trying to manipulate a reluctant God into doing something for us he doesn’t want to do. Rather we’re seeking to allow God to work in and through us, changing us and our ideas concerning a person or situation if need be. It’s very important to understand this so that we can then pray confidently, expectantly, and with power.

A woman I know needed to get away from her family for a while. I offered to let her have the money she needed to pay someone to come in and be housekeeper and babysitter and cook and to pay for a week at a cabin in a state park so she could get away from her problems and get a better perspective on them. The understanding was that she would repay me the small sum as soon as she could. She said she’d let me know when she could arrange it. In a week she called, saying that a member of her family was terribly sick and she needed to go to them and had no money, would I be willing to give her money for that trip? I said that I would and asked her how much she needed. When she answered five hundred dollars I was startled but told her that I’d send her a check immediately. She assured me that she would repay me as soon as possible, which wouldn’t be long. I sent the money at once.

I saw her only occasionally over the next few years, and each time she assured me that she would repay me. I’d think about her and the five hundred dollars which I could have used to advantage many times, and become quite upset that she hadn’t paid anything back. I’d go over and over the phone conversation, thinking that I should have said, “I can only send you two hundred dollars and I’ll have to have it repaid in six months,” or, “I’m really sorry but I just can’t let you have the money.” Finally I realized what my playing and replaying the phone conversation was doing to me. I was angry with myself for having been taken in by her, I lost faith in lending anyone money, and most of all I was in inner turmoil because I wasn’t being paid back and felt resentful about it. I knew I had to deal with myself somehow.

I prayed about the situation, and it seemed that I should write her and tell her that I was surprised that I hadn’t heard from her about the money by this time. I told her of some financial needs I would be facing in the future and how what she owed me would take care of them. I really like the woman, and so there was nothing harsh about what I said to her. I mailed the letter and felt a release, but then I sat down and imagined her receiving the letter, reading it, and then trying to figure out how she could begin to repay me. I saw her face light up with joy as she worked out how she would repay me without working a hardship on her own finances.

I just thanked God that the debt would be repaid in the right way and at the right time. Whenever I thought of the situation again, I just thanked God that he was working out his will in it — there was no more playing and replaying of what might have been.

Not long after I sent the letter, I had a most cordial note from the woman, and she enclosed a check for fifty dollars. She said she was sorry that she hadn’t sent me any money before, and that now that bills were caught up she could send me fifty dollars twice a month until the debt was paid. Needless to say, I rejoiced. However, nothing came from her at the end of two weeks, yet at the end of a month, there was a money order for one hundred dollars. But that was all. I haven’t heard from her since then. I’m not stewing about it. I’m seeing her joyfully sending me money until the debt is fully paid. I’m sure that this is what she wants as well as what I want.

Often when we use the imagination destructively, we close off part of our heart to other people, and we feel only great weight when we think of them.

I heard of a woman who quarreled with her son about something he’d done. She couldn’t forgive him. She told him to leave home and never come back. He left and sometime later the mother experienced the love of Jesus. She then realized that she needed to forgive her son, but somehow it wasn’t in her power to do this. She just didn’t have room in her heart for him.

Finally, in prayer, she said, “Jesus, I know that you’re a carpenter, and I give you permission to build a room in my heart for my son.” Jesus began to do just that — to build a room in her heart for her son — and there came a time when she could forgive her son, and they were reconciled.

If there’s someone for whom there’s no room in your heart and you know that there should be, sit quietly, relax, and visualize Jesus, strong, capable, a skilled craftsman, standing before you. Confess to him that you don’t have room in your heart for that person and give him permission to build a room in your heart for him or her. Then when you think of that person, don’t waste emotion in a negative way by feeling a closed heart. Simply remind yourself that Jesus is building a room for him in your heart, and then visualize that this is what Jesus is doing, ever so gently, lovingly, and beautifully. Jesus has the ability to build rooms in our hearts for others. He can also melt our hearts from hardness toward others.

A man I know was, I thought, very unjust in his treatment of a very good friend of mine. I thought the man was completely unchristian in what he did to my friend. Every time I thought of the man I’d see a whitewashed tomb with decay inside it. I didn’t like to be around the man, but there were times that I had to be. He was always cordial, sometimes, I felt, too sickeningly cordial, putting on a show for those around him. I continually condemned the man when I thought of him until one day I realized that I’d cut myself off from a fellow human being by my judgmental attitude toward him, and I remembered the words from I John 4:20-21: “If any one says ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” I knew that my heart needed to be melted so that I could love that man. I also knew that I couldn’t do it, so I asked Jesus to melt my heart and let his love and my love flow to the man. I sat quietly, visualizing that my heart was being melted by the love of Jesus and that love was just streaming out of my heart to the man. I didn’t try to love the man, I simply let the love flow through me and somehow in the flowing of Jesus love, my love flowed, too. I can now think of the man without the resentment and contempt I’d felt for so long. And now, I often ask God to let me channel his love and blessing to this man.

If there’s someone you resent or hate or feel contempt for, sit quietly, relax, rest, wait, then visualize Jesus standing in front of you, looking at you with compassion and understanding and tell him how you feel about the person. Tell him you know this feeling keeps you from receiving all the good you can from him. Ask him to melt your heart with his love. Then visualize your heart being melted by his love and that love flowing out from you. See the stream of love flowing to the person you’ve let come between you and God. Just let it flow for awhile and then end your visualization prayer with gratitude for your imagination and for what Jesus has done in melting your heart and letting love flow through you.

It may be there’s more than one person you’ve been separated from, and this would be a good time to see the love flowing to others who have hurt you or misunderstood you and whom vou’ve misunderstood. Take your time with each one. Keep your breathing deep and regular and your body relaxed. Never hurry this process, rather let it flow slowly from you.

I use visualization prayer a great deal in prayer labs or workshops. It’s a powerful way in which to pray and sometimes leads someone who doesn’t really know Jesus personally into a deep experience with him.

A woman wrote me almost a year after a prayer lab and said that during our visualization of Jesus he’d suddenly really been there, and because he was, she had a deep spiritual experience. From what more she said, that was just the beginning of a new way of living for her which has grown better as the days have gone by.

For this particular visualization of seeing Jesus, grow very quiet inside. Let your breathing be light and easy and regular. Be in a waiting, a listening, attitude. Then picture Jesus in front of you. See how tall he is and what he’s wearing. Look at his hands, his feet, and then his face. Look deeply into his eyes, then notice the texture of his skin. Does he have a smile? Is his hair brushed back from his face? Take in all the details that you can, slowly, and rest in his presence. Walk along beside him; feel his hand on your shoulder.

Share silence with him, and then walk on until you come to a place where you can sit together and talk. Tell him whatever is troubling you and tell him that you want and welcome his help. Assure him that whatever he feels would work out the best in your situation will be fine with you. And then thank him that he already has begun to work your problem out.

Why not now bring to Jesus someone you know who needs help? Visualize that person walking toward the two of you. See Jesus and yourself rise to greet the person, and you make the introduction by saying, “Jesus this is _________; _________ this is Jesus.”

Draw aside then, and leave the two of them together. See them talking with each other. See the face of the person you introduced to Jesus light up with joy during the conversation. If the person has something physically wrong with him, see Jesus stretch forth his hand and lay it on the person, and see the person made whole, filled with strength and joy. Take plenty of time to visualize. Watch the person you introduced to Jesus, restored and released into a new life, going on his way, and then bring another person and introduce him to Jesus and see a similar thing happen. Bring as many people as you will to Jesus and let him meet their needs.

In the type of visualization you’ve been doing just now there is relinquishment, for you don’t stay around and try to tell Jesus what to do for the person. You just trust him to know what is best, and you trust that he will do it.

A woman who’d been unable to pray effectively for her son found this method in which she could really release him. His problems began to work out almost immediately. She stood by him, no offering advice, but offering inner gratitude for what Jesus can do when allowed to come into a person’s life.

You see, you can actually keep God from working his will in another’s life by your worry, your continual advice, which often wasn’t asked for in the first place, and by your always seeing the negative traits of the person.

Think of that. The great God of the universe, who created it and sustains it, can be blocked by you. Do you see what you’ve been doing in trying to tell another what is best for him?

You’ve been saying really that he is unacceptable to you as he is and that he should change and change in the way that you say.

I know you love him, that you want what’s best for him, but your idea of what’s best for him may not be God’s idea. Your motives may be good, but your methods aren’t. For instance, someone you love very much smokes. You’re worried that he’ll get lung cancer or throat cancer, and you continually let him know, either verbally or nonverbally, that you want him to quit smoking, that you love him and want him to live, and that you think his life may be shortened if he smokes. Somehow it seems to be human nature to meet resistance with resistance. Perhaps your bringing the conversation around to his smoking only makes him want to prove to you that he is himself, in charge of his life, that even though he loves you, he won’t let you pressure him into changing. Well, if the way you’ve been trying hasn’t worked, why keep on with it? Try this experiment: Sit quietly, relax, breathe deeply and slowly, then picture Jesus in front of you. Bring that loved one to Jesus and introduce him to Jesus then leave them alone. After they’ve been together a little time, see them walk off together, Jesus’ hand on the shoulder of the one you brought to him. And then thank and praise Jesus that he’s having his way with the loved one. Everyday, then, as often as you need to, just say, “Thank You, Jesus, that you’re taking care of _________. Thank You.” Never again say anything to the person about his smoking.

If you find yourself getting tense inside because you see him light up a cigarette or cigar, say, in your your mind “Thank you, Jesus, that you’re taking care of him. Thank you,” and quietly relax inside by breathing deeply.

In college, I had a professor who was a really wonderful person. I asked him once why he continued to smoke when he knew it wasn’t good for him, for I’d heard him say he felt it wasn’t. He answered that it was a habit, and anyway, he liked it. I didn’t say anything more to him about it, but I did the visualization which I’ve shared with you, and each time I thought of him, I thanked Jesus for taking care of him. Summer school ended and I went home for a few days. When I returned to enroll that fall, the professor was the first person I saw on campus. He came toward me smiling and saying accusingly, “You’ve been praying for me.”

“Why,” I said innocently, “What in the world do you mean?”

“I’ve stopped smoking!” he said triumphantly.

Now you may not always get the neat little wrap-up to the story such as I got in that particular situation. For instance, you may just get to the place where you no longer see that smoking or not smoking is all that important.

Each person is answerable for himself ultimately. This doesn’t mean that we just sit with hands folded. We try to help others, but if they don’t want our help, we should be willing to leave them alone. The attitude of “I’m going to help you if it kills you” just isn’t the attitude for the Christian. We can trust Jesus enough to place a person in his hands and we thank him that his will’s being done in, to, and through this person. And even in the face of what seems to be the exact opposite of what we might want for the person, we still say, “Thank you. I know that you’re taking care of him.”

There’s now another visualization experiment

I’d like to share with you. This experiment I call the pool prayer.

First, of course, relax, breathe deeply and regularly, and grow quiet inside. Take your time to do this. Then imagine a ray of light shining down on you. It’s a ray of white light and feels warm and comfortable to you as it shines on you. Rest in the relaxing warmth of it and feel it penetrating into every cell of your body, until you’re aglow with the light.

Picture it radiating from you, forming a pool of light in front of you. It is deep and clear.

When the image is strong — and take time to see it and enjoy it — bring someone you want to pray for to the pool. See him walk into it or jump into or dive into it. Somehow, as you do this particular experiment, the persons you bring to the pool take on a life of their own as they walk with you to the pool, and you’ll often find that they’ll enter the pool in unexpected ways. Let them, and watch as they eventually become submerged in the pool of light. Then you’re ready to bring another and watch him or her, then another, and another, never hurrying the images or leaving out some of the steps, but taking time to see the action of the scene unfold before your inner eyes.

When you’ve brought all the persons to the pool that you want to bring, then bring your church, the minister and congregation, bring your city, your state, your nation, and the world. End your experiment with words such as these: “Thanks so much, Father, that I could bring these people and situations to you. Thank you that your healing light is meeting the needs in each one. Thanks.”

As you experiment with visualization prayer, there will come ideas for visualization which are seemingly inspired. I lead several groups a week in prayer and meditation, and I really never have anything prepared for us to do. I always feel that as we open to God, his creativity will flow into us, and all the ideas we need will be given to us. Not long ago a group was meeting in my home, and after we’d sung some choruses about Jesus, we all grew very still. I closed my eyes and with my inner eyes, I saw Jesus standing in front of me. Somehow his great love reached out to me, and I felt all negative emotions being drawn out from me.

As this happened, I thought of a powerful magnet which draws filings to it. I felt fatigue and problems being drawn out of me, and then I felt completely empty, but only for a few seconds, because then I began to feel power, strength, peace, love, and joy emanating from Jesus. These flowed into me until I felt filled with energy and happiness.

It suddenly occurred to me that what I’d experienced could be experienced by each person in the prayer group, and so quietly I shared with the others what I’d experienced and suggested we visualize Jesus doing the same thing to each person in the group. We took time to do this, then we visualized his doing the same for people we knew, for our churches, our city, our state, and our world. It took about an hour for us to do this. We were all refreshed and renewed at the end of the hour.

You can use this particular experiment in visualization prayer when you’re weary or sad or depressed or in pain. Sit quietly and visualize Jesus with you drawing the weariness, the sadness, the depression, the pain from you; emptying you. Then see the peace, the power, the wholeness, the strength, the love, or the joy flowing from him to you and rest in it as it fills you completely.

Jesus said that he’s with us always. Most of us aren’t yet well enough attuned to see him or sense him with us. Visualization prayer helps us open our inner eyes to the reality of the presence of Jesus.