Sybil MacBeth - Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God

2013 First Printing

Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to GodPortable Edition

Copyright 2013 by Sybil MacBeth

ISBN 978-1-61261-353-6

Scripture quotations designated BCP are taken from the Book of Common Prayer 1979, Episcopal Church USA.

Scripture quotations designated KJV are taken from the King James Version (Authorized).

Scripture quotations designated LV are taken from the Latin Vulgate.

Scripture quotations designated NEB are taken from the New English Bible, copyright 1970, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press.

Scripture quotations designated NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated NJB are taken from the New Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc., and used by permission of the publishers.

Scripture quotations designated NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations designated NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated RSV are taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) are trademarks of Paraclete Press, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication is available.
ISBN 978-1-61261-353-6

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Published by Paraclete Press | Brewster, Massachusetts | www.paracletepress.com
Printed in the United States of America

In memory of my mother, Sybilla Jane Bates Prouse,
who gave me my first prayers and a heart for God.

Part From Pen and Paper to Prayer

Prayer Dilemmas

Here are some reasons that you might want to read this book. If any of these dilemmas describe your efforts at prayer, then you and I stand on some common, shaky ground.

Praying in Color

Praying in Color is an active, meditative, playful prayer practice. It is both process and product. The process involves a re-entry into the childlike world of coloring and improvising. The product is a colorful design or drawing that is a visual reminder of the time spent in prayer.

Now, before you slam this book shut with the panicky feeling that this is an exercise for artists, please wait. This practice requires no skill. I cannot draw a cat. Or a dog. Or anything else for that matter. Throughout my years in school, Cs in Art were the blemish on an otherwise rosy-faced and squeaky-clean report card. My artist mother and grandmother could only sigh and wonder what had gone awry in the tossing of the genetic salad.