I am wondering if any of you ever pray while looking at an icon or some other sacred image. I find praying with icons to be a very effective way to enter into contemplative prayer.
My favorite icon and the one I focus on when I begin to meditate is the Holy Trinity icon painted by the Russian artist Andrei Rublev in the fifteenth century. It depicts the three angels of God who visited Abraham and Sarah in the 18th chapter of the Book of Genesis. It is interesting that later Christians came to interpret the three figures in this story to be the three persons of the Holy Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When Rublev wrote his famous icon, he was inspired to portray the Mystery of the Holy Trinity through this wonderful story.
I would encourage you to try praying with an icon or image, if you are not already doing so. For me the icon “primes the pump” of my imagination. It enables me to focus and get centered. It helps me enter into the Divine Presence. And then after gazing at the icon for a little while, I let it go and focus upon resting in God’s presence without the image, knowing I can return to it anytime I need to refocus. (Many people actually practice Centering Prayer by using a sacred image instead of a sacred word.)
I would enjoy hearing from any of you about your experience of praying with icons or images.
~ PR