Creative Prayer: Speaking the Language of God's Heart

by Chris Tiegreen

A young man is deeply in love with a young woman. He pours out his heart, singing to her, writing poems for her, giving her beautiful flowers. And how does she express her love back to him? She talks, usually briefly. And that’s all.

That’s an imbalanced relationship,but it’s an accurate picture of our communication with God. God speaks with pictures, symbols, music, tastes, smells, and all the rich diversity of creation. So why do we express ourselves to Him with nothing more than words?

Connect with Our Creative God

In Creative Prayer, Chris Tiegreen encourages us to communicate more intimately with God by speaking the language of His heart. Drawing on Bible stories, psalms, and historical examples, Tiegreen reminds us that our praises and petitions can reflect the unique gifts God has given us.

Singing. Painting. Cymbals. Dancing. God has always encouraged his people to respond to him in bold, visual, active, and energetic ways. As God shows us every day in a thousand ways, real love cannot be contained.

Genres: Prayer

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2007

About the author

Chris Tiegreen is an award-winning author of more than 60 books and discussion guides that have been translated into more than 40 languages and read by more than 5 million people worldwide. He is also a collaborative/supporting writer on more than 40 book projects. As a journalist/photojournalist, he has written hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles covering city and county government, sports, and education. His experiences in media, ministry, and higher education bring a unique perspective to his writing, which often focuses on cultural commentary and devotional themes.

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was unlike any other book on this subject I've ever read. I did enjoy it! Chris Tiegreen takes a different approach than most. He approaches prayer from the standpoint of how to engage all five of our senses and use our unique creative abilities in our prayer life. We sometimes have such a narrow view of what prayer is. Creative, expressive prayer is good! We can write, sing, act out, draw, and use many other ways of expression in our prayer life. The writing is engaging, and a bit "edgier" than some titles on this subject, while still biblically sound. This book, along with Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus Name, have been the two books that have had the most positive influence on my prayer life. "Praying Backwards" provided the theological foundation and framework if you will, and this title built on that.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about alternative ways of praying, using sight, sound, smell, touch etc. It's fascinating, because I'd never thought of that way of praying before. Creative Prayer came at a perfect time for me. My personal prayer life had been caught in a rut lately, with me feeling that there must be more to prayer than just what I was used to. This book helped me remember that I was limiting myself by relying solely on words, and that there's nothing unbiblical about praying using more than words--or sometimes not even using words at all.

Reread in 2013: Very, very odd. When I first read this in 2007 I LOVED it and claimed it an instant favourite. This second read-through has taken me 4+ months and I'm putting it away with the last 3 chapters still unread. As "Unfinished" usually makes for an automatic 1-star rating, I'll split the difference and give it 3 stars, in the hopes that it'll redeem itself if I decide to pick it up again.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up skimming toward the end-I had a hard time keeping interest up.

I was expecting more "suggestions" for creative prayer instead of WHY creative prayer.

so, out of 170 some odd pages, only about 5 were what I was really after.

I think this book would be a great primer for anyone who thinks that God only listens to our prayers when we are in a specific position, with a certain formula at an exact time of day ;)

[Tina Bembry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The final chapter especially was full of idea starters for using your senses to connect with God. Easy ideas but ones that do make prayer more real and vivid. I recommend it!

[Gina Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by this book. I hoped for more practical ideas, but he stayed at a theoretical level for most of the book.