Across the Page

An idea occurred to me as I was reading the chapter on the “traditionalist” in Sacred Pathways, and ran across this:

The evangelical movement has suffered somewhat from making prayers too informal. New Christians often need more guidance than the popular “Just talk to God, tell him what’s on your heart” to learn how to pray properly.

So true — but not just for new Christians. I feel it both as a believer myself, and as a parent interested in teaching my children how to pray for themselves. Thomas goes on to point out that rituals, and even ritualized prayers, can have benefits. (I’ve experienced this when my prayer life has seemed stale, and I’ve turned to The Book of Common Prayer or Baillie’s Diary of Private Prayer to inspire a fresh outlook.) And he quotes other writers who describe the way ritual and symbol help to order chaos.

It hit me: why not make a personalized “prayer book” together with my daughters? I don’t scrapbook that much, but what worthier cause could there be than capturing some of the symbols and phrases that express our devotion to God in a work of art, however small? We found some 5″X7″ Pioneer scrapbooks at CVS, and this week we’ve been having a blast.

I had the idea of using “ACTS” (Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication) as a general structure for the books, but I haven’t insisted strongly on it — other than that we would start with Adoration. We’ve copied some of their favorite lines from songs or scripture, and they’ve written some “Psalmic” sentences of their own. I scanned some of their artwork, and we’ve put that in where it’s relevant. We incorporated some scripture they’ve memorized, and some pictures — people we pray for, our church, some references to Christmas.

It’s been a delight to see their enthusiasm. I’ve helped with some of the writing and spelling where asked, but only where asked. “These are books to help remind you of things you care about and want to talk to God about,” I explained, “and to give you words when you can’t think of any.” It’s something they can pull out themselves. I don’t intend to pray with a book every time, but to have these as an enhancement.

Something about the hands-on quality of making the books, and the incorporation of some visual triggers, released and directed some of my 7-year-old’s very genuine zeal in a way that “just talk to God” has totally failed to do. My 5-year-old is excited about making the book, but she has no problem with “just talk to God” — at least not yet. So for her it’s just a fun project.

The best part, really, has been working together. (I’m making one too.) Someone had given me Isaiah 40:11, personalized with my name in it. My 7-year-old asked me to calligraphy it for her, with her name. She said, “I’ll always think of you, Mommy, when I look at this.”

“I’m planning to stay around!” I replied.

“I mean, later — when I move on, and don’t live here anymore,” she said thoughtfully. “And I want lots of pictures of you for in here.”

I hope that doesn’t mean I’m overbearing. I hope it means simply that she is enjoying this project, and finding it revolutionary — as is her mother.

Tags: Spiritual life