Creative Thursdays: Prayer
Second in the series of posts that celebrate creativity and spirituality.
During the summer, I will be combining my paid subscription content on trauma-sensitive spiritual practices with the Creative Thursdays Posts. I am making them available to all subscribers because, aside from the religious element, these practices are a path to regulating the nervous system, exploring creative urges, and embracing life. Three things that often are challenging to those impacted by trauma.
The series of posts that began last week grows from my belief that it is between the “shoulds” that we are taught and the “can’ts” that result from the impact of trauma. This applies to much more than spiritual practices! I focus on spiritual practices because that is where many of my readers feel most constrained to “do the practice correctly.” I am giving you permission to explore the creative middle!
What I realized is that my extensive trauma—both childhood and religious— made many traditional forms of spiritual practices inaccessible. Therefore, I depended on creative ways to connect with God but never realized what I was doing was a spiritual practice.
My Spiritual Practice of Prayer
See below for a definition!
God and I wandered the paths of my life together in a relationship that seldom involved me consciously asking for anything—because I couldn’t. When the answers came, I sensed that God understood my unconscious asks that could not be verbalized. I have seen this in the lives of many who suffered trauma. God meets those who suffer where they are and hears the pleas they cannot voice. Slowly, as they begin to trust and find their voice, they can ask and believe that God cares about their needs.
I overcame the “asking” hurdle by not asking directly. Instead, I created vision boards and lists filled with hopes and dreams. I would have never considered this as prayer in any traditional sense—but God met me there and we have partnered together to make the vision boards I created come true—something that required my effort alongside God who was working on my behalf.
One day around two years ago, while sitting in the recliner in my office—the office that I would soon no longer be available, I lamented (that is also prayer). In the middle of my lamenting, I felt God’s quiet voice. “What if it is better than you could imagine?” The impact of this moment stunned me as I stared out the window at the trees in full spring bloom. I paused to create the image below as a reminder. After we moved to the cottage, I came across this image and realized our life truly is better than I could have imagined.
There was a bunch of stuff that happened along the way that was absolutely not more than I could imagine. There was ample lamenting. Vision boards and “asking prayers” are not magical, but sometimes God works through others who are listening (like our friends who own this cottage) and is able to provide more than we can imagine. It is OK to lament and ask In any creative form, this fulfills the purpose of prayer.
What is a spiritual practice—specifically prayer? The following is an excerpt from the paid subscription content:
What is the purpose of the Spiritual Practice of Prayer?
The purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. The key to developing a practice of prayer that fulfills the purpose of drawing closer to God is a relationship with God that enables you to be vulnerable and share true emotions including the expression of needs and desires—for both you and others.