Praying with Pen and Paint

The Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:26-27 (Living Bible)

Often, when words feel inadequate to express deep concerns, it seems that as the Holy Spirit prays for me, I join in that prayer through pen and paint, drawing and painting. In recent weeks a number of people dear to me have been facing all sorts of very challenging circumstances, and I’ve felt drawn into prayer throughout the day. It is a tremendous privilege to partner with God in prayer for others, and I have found myself drawing closer to God as I express the prayers of my heart on paper.

This drawing of a hen sheltering her chick came about after a dream in which I was trying to hide from an enemy but knew I was in plain sight with nowhere to hide. But then, instead of spiraling into fear, as usually happens in such dreams, I had a sense of God covering me so that I could see but could not be seen, and I woke up feeling calm and filled with gratitude. Right away, the words of Psalm 91:4 came to mind:
He will cover you with his feathers,
 and under his wings you will find refuge… Psalm 91:4

I decided to draw that picture as I prayed for family and friends and was planning to draw an eagle sheltering a young eaglet under her wings. But as I meditated on God covering me with his feathers and sheltering me under his wings, my thoughts went to Jesus saying that he longed to gather the children of Jerusalem together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings: Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Matthew 23:37). I love the tender, intimate feel of Jesus’s longing to gather his people like a hen with chicks, so I decided to draw a hen with a chick under her wing instead of an eagle with an eaglet.

I did that first drawing of a hen with her chick, but it kept niggling at my mind that Jesus said he longed to gather “children;” he didn’t say “a child,” at least in that particular passage. As I pondered that in my visual prayer of drawing, my thoughts went to how we need to stand together, side by side, in our battle against the enemy of our souls, drawing strength and comfort from being sheltered together in God’s care, so I made this second drawing of a hen sheltering multiple chicks under her wings. Now, as I look at this drawing in my studio, it is a reminder to me to be willing to be gathered with others in Jesus’ care, united in and protected by his love.

The next day, while praying again for those I love who are facing fierce storms in their lives, I remembered watching hurricane-force winds dashing huge waves against the rocks in Maine. While I watched, a tall man stood motionless and calm on the edge of the rocks with waves crashing and foam spraying all around him, his coat blowing wildly in the wind. And he stood surveying it all. That picture forms my prayer tonight for myself and those dear to me who are surrounded by the chaos, clamor, and confusion of the storms of life. May we all stand firm and at peace on Christ the solid Rock, even while storms rage about us.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18