After pondering the process of thinking that people do, by self talk vs visualization, I had a revelation that prayer can be done without words. Apparently I’m a very visual person. I can daydream easily. I was even scolded about it in school when I was very young which really quashed my imagination time. Controlling the imagination is Biblical. Shutting it off is not helpful but actually harmful. Using the imagination correctly takes practice and we should teach children how imagination is from God.
Most people talk in their minds to themselves but I only visualize. I’ve taken a survey of some friends and family about this and found myself, a visual thinker, to be in the minority. Most people talk to themselves in their heads. Now this caused reflection on how my thinking may be affecting me. If I think without words, I also believe I hear from God without words. In fact we all do. Perhaps if we realized that visualizing is just as much communication as words, we would begin to have a better prayer life.
God communicates in vision to me and Satan does as well. Taking thoughts captive would include stopping a visualization of bad things. Also praying for others can be merely envisioning them getting better. Envision your loved one feeling better. That’s prayer. If that seems difficult, use words to help create the vision. “I see myself walking!” “I see mom cooking in the kitchen”
Now that I know I’m a visual thinker, I also realize 1- worry is merely visualizing something bad. 2. Visualizing good things is actually prayer without words.
the {head}-light of the body is the (imagination) or the eye: if therefore thine (imagination) or eye be singlular, thy whole body shall be full of light (or well). But if thine eye (in the mind) be evil (dark) thy whole body shall be (unwell) or full of darkness. If therefore the (imagination) head-light that is in thee be (dimmed) darkened, how great is that darkness! {from Matt 6:22-23.}
As you see, the eye of the mind directs the heart which directs your life. If you are not double minded but rather see only good things for yourself, your whole life will go well. If your imagination is only demise, depression, sickness, how can your life go well?
Phil 4:8 tells us to think only on those things which are good, lovely, pure, etc. This way we can have life abundantly. God wants things to go well for us.
People in comas, unconscious, autistic or even deaf may be stuck in a visual world, like dreaming. I feel that people can communicate with the autistic person in non verbal ways and why not pray over them without words too?
We can communicate with people without words. Think of ways you can pray with people through touch, a look or just visualizing them healed. Norvel Hayes said an angel visited his daughter and delivered her of drug addiction just by looking at her.
