Iconography as a Starting Point for Prayer

“I have occasionally found the experience of sitting before an icon to be startlingly similar to the experience of intentionally opening myself before God in prayer and worship. If the attention stays with the visual object, that object may become an idol: that which intervenes in the place of God. As something that opens, leads or guides to God (another meaning for icon in the early church), it can be a legitimate starting point for prayer.”

— Patricia Loring, 1997
Listening Spirituality, Volume 1

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Today’s Invitation

Hold an object that is meaningful to you for a few minutes of silent prayer. What do you notice about the experience?

Query of the Week

How can spiritual discipline enrich your life?

What areas of spiritual practice would you like to improve on? How can you practice patience with yourself as you move toward your goals incrementally?

Author

  • Maeve Sutherland

    Maeve Sutherland is a communications professional who never recovered from her wonderful childhood at a Quaker elementary school. She has spent her career helping nonprofits share their stories, from schools and universities, to museums, to radio stations. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Maeve spent a year living in “Peaceable Kingdoms,” pacifist intentional communities around the world, where she learned that everyone has a role to play in shaping a better world. She worked as a freelance social media manager before joining Thee Quaker Project. After returning to Quakerism as a young adult, Maeve now attends Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in Philadelphia.

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