Visio Divina | Praying With Imagery

Instructions for Visio Divina

To start...

1. Get in a quite place and ask Jesus to open your heart, mind, and eyes to see where he is leading you today. Settle in for 2-3 minutes before you begin.
   
2. Observe the photo for a few minutes. Notice what stands out to you. See the colors, textures, patterns, rhythms.
3. Now spend about 10-minutes with the image while you ask yourself and Jesus: where are you drawn toward, or away? Notice what comes up. It may be a relationship you're in, a situation you're apart of, or a feeling. Jesus may be leading you to any part of your life or heart, so don't quickly disregard something as "too small" or "irrelevant." This may be a helpful time to journal out what is coming up.
   
4. Respond to Jesus from what he has revealed for the next 5-or so minutes. Express how you feel about what came up (perhaps excited, or scared, or angry) until there are no more words or feelings left to express.
5. As you conclude, take the last 5-minutes to breathe and exhale deeply. As you exhale relax your shoulders, your neck, your arms and legs. You may also pray with each breath a short prayer, like: "Lord Jesus (inhale), have mercy on me (exhale)."

May you find the mercy and justice of Jesus in your time with him through this image today.