Imagining in Prayer

Over at People for Others,  some of Vinita Hampton Wright's suggestions for making prayer imaginative are up today.  These would make wonderful foundations for many prayer encounters, including a brief one right now:

“If I could do anything I desire, it would be…”

Anything at all?  I would restore my son's life to him.

That obvious response aside, I realized this morning, in the context of helping a young woman explore questions about career and further education, that I am in fact doing exactly what I otherwise desire: pastoring a church, doing spiritual direction, giving the occasional retreat or presentation, teaching (usually), writing, and spending time with my family.

 “The most critical aspect of my life right now is…” 

My damned broken ankle!  This is one long recovery process.

“If God were a song, that song title would be. . .” 

"Blowin' in the Wind."

 “If my spiritual life were a movie, that movie title would be…”

My immediate answer was The Vikings (which is a History Channel series and not a movie), for reasons having to do with a sense of life as a series of challenges to overcome in a cold and barren land.  But maybe it would be Titanic.  The spiritual life as hope and memory in the face of doomed glamour and romance?   Or Ordinary People.  The most unexpected catastrophes ripple through the lives of the most ordinary people. 

“If I could write the perfect song about faith, it would sound a lot like the songs of [name a songwriter or recording artist]” 

Laura Nyro.

 “If I could go to the most prayer-friendly, spiritually inclined location on earth, I think that would be…”

Maybe Iona (where I've been) ?  But I'm guessing it might be the Ganges River (where I have not).