Seeing Is Believing: Experience Jesus through Imaginative Prayer

by Gregory A. Boyd

One of the most common problems with Christians in our modern secularized world is that they don't feel the reality of Jesus. Sure, they believe in him and love him, but he somehow doesn't seem to enter their daily lives in a real sense. Some might say, "You ought to pray more." Others would advise, "You ought to witness more." While this may be true, we don't get closer to God just because we "ought to."
Boyd believes that the way to true spiritual transformation and feeling the presence of God in your life comes from a little R and rest and reality. Boyd encourages readers to stop striving and learn to rest in an experience of Jesus as real. The best way to do this, he says, is through imaginative prayer. Experiencing Jesus will teach readers how to use God's gracious gift of creative imagination to know him better and feel his presence in their daily lives.

Genres: Christian, Prayer, Spirituality, Theology, Religion, Christianity, Christian Living

222 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Gregory A. Boyd is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and founder and president of ReKnew. He was a professor of theology at Bethel College (St. Paul, Minn.) for sixteen years where he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor.

Greg is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (BA), Yale Divinity School (M.Div), and Princeton Theological Seminary (PhD). Greg is a national and international speaker at churches, colleges, conferences, and retreats, and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows. He has also authored and coauthored eighteen books prior to Present Perfect, including The Myth of a Christian Religion, The Myth of a Christian Nation, The Jesus Legend (with Paul Eddy), Seeing Is Believing, Repenting of Religion, and his international bestseller Letters from a Skeptic.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book brings up the concept that, "it's not so much what we intellectually believe to be true that shapes and impacts us; rather, it's what we experience as real". Boyd goes on to explain that to experience Jesus as real we'd have to see him with our imagination, habitually, and that the degree of our seeing will correspond toward our level of enjoyment in prayer/worship, renewing of the mind, and the fruit of the spirit. In other words, we become what we see.

I liked this following quote and it sums up a lot of what he addressed.

"No matter how much we believe Jesus is with us, for example, many find the practice of envisioning him standing before them to feel like make-believe. Yet if Jesus really is with us, isn't a vivid image of him being in your presence closer to the truth than any image we might have of our environment that would exclude him?" (129).

I thought Boyd also did a good job of debunking the idea that "only the physical is real and the imagination is mere fantasy"––being that we are already imagining and seeing millions of mental images everyday, and every word heard, read or even thought is, in fact, a symbol of a re-presented image. That, and everything man-made is first sourced out of the imagination.

In a nutshell, the book explains that human beings don't grasp or retain abstract concepts. We think in pictures, and so it makes sense, and would be incredibly advantageous for believers to actually "see" the one we believe in as an integral part of our day, it's not make-believe, rather, it is aligning ourselves to a deeper experience of the truth.

[John Martindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad had been sharing with me about using relaxation techniques and then while in a relaxed state, picturing spiritual realities in our mind eye. He has been really excited about it all and one of the many times he talked with me about this, I was reminded about this book by Boyd that I once heard about. So I thought maybe it might be a good Christmas present for him, but I wanted to make sure so I bought it on my kindle and read it first. And I must say, the book past the test and one landed under the Christmas tree with his name on it. It is interesting to me how it was my dad sharing with me about the power of imagination in our walk with Christ, that opened me up to reading this book, for the first time I heard about this book, I was skeptical to say the least. Imagining Jesus giving us a huge and talking sweet nothings in our ear, just seemed odd and like a steaming pile of make-believe. But my dad soften me to the idea and I've now had some experiences that seem to confirm to me that Boyd and my dad may be on the right track. Recently, after reading another chapter in his book, I set on my bed, prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide my imagination and than within my mind, i saw Jesus coming in my room and he set beside me on my bed and we had a very meaningful conversation, I cried through the whole dialog. It was so precious and deeply moving that it did not seem like mere make-believe, it really seemed as if the Holy Spirit was guiding my imagination so I could experience Christ in a vivid, concrete way. So yeah, i am thankful for the book, I hope to make resting in Christ a way of life.

[Grant Klinefelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really big fan of this book.

[Josh Crain · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Seeing is Believing: Experience Jesus through Imaginative Prayer" may be a misleading title for Boyd's book on using our imaginations as receptors for commmunicating with God. Many people that have posted reviews seemed to have bought the book hoping for a biblical analysis on prayer. Had that been Boyd's intention in writing this book he would have failed miserably. Thankfully, however, that is not Boyd's aim and he makes that clear throughout.

Boyd is not primarily teaching in this book how to pray; rather, he is endorsing an ancient Christiant tradition that works supplementary to prayer. He calls this "resting in Christ" and it is essentially a time of devotion with God in which you enter into an experience with Him instead of simply going through a list of religious observances.

Though Boyd does not quote great amounts of Scripture in order to back up the practice of resting in Christ, he does use a great deal of Scripture to show how people in the Bible experienced God through visions, dreams, and true encounters. So the questions becomes: why do we not tend to experience God this way in 21st century American society? Boyd believes the problem isn't with the way God communicates, but with the way Christians have become obsessed with the importance of the physical and have essentially determined that anything that can't be touched, smelled, etc. is merely imaginary.

Boyd conludes by showing how to "rest in Christ," a practice that will allow us to open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit in order to experience Jesus rather than just have intellectual knowledge about Jesus. He shows us a devotion that Christians have been practicing for hundreds of years, from Ignatius to A.W. Tozer. This book is not for everyone, but if given a chance it has the ability to help you become more passionate about worship, more devout about prayer, and more experiential in your faith through encounters with Jesus Christ.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s not so much what we intellectually believe is true that impacts us; it’s what we experience as real.” Starting with this statement, the author builds a case for the practice of imaginative prayer and how it can help us reconcile the difference between our experienced self-identity, which is influenced by and inherited from the deception of the flesh, with our true identity, as is defined by God.

[Jake Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fluff and stuff that was very basic, but overall super enjoyable and will take a lot of the more specific practices of imaginative prayer that he talked about and will definitely be incorporating them.

[Miss Polymath · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were many things I disagreed with, but Boyd helped me establish some really helpful insights I can use in my relationship with Jesus. Perhaps more of a full-fledged review later.

[Lypenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Boyd's book, "Seeing is Believing: Experience Jesus Through Imaginative Prayer", for a second time recently. It's prompted me to start a new prayer habit which I'm calling my "experiment".

The main premise of the book is that we grow in our relationship with God by resting in Christ. He talks about the futility of the "try harder" solution to the Christian walk. We don't get closer to Jesus because we "ought to", or through will power. It might change short term behavior, but in the long run it doesn't work and causes burn-out. Boyd says it's like putting the caboose before the engine, assuming that what the believer does determines who the believer is, rather than vice versa. To put it differently, it puts the doing before the being.The pattern of this world, our Adam nature, does need to be overcome, but as Merton once said, we can't squeeze our eyes shut and try harder to become fruit. We Westerners are so inclined to associate growth with hard work.

In contrast to the 'try harder' solution, the New Testament generally speaks of godly behavior as following from the believer's identity in Christ. If we are going to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we have to know who we are in Christ. This is who we really are, but the identity we experience is often not in line with this. There is usually a discrepancy between our true identity in Christ and our experienced self-identity. This is the battle between flesh and Spirit that scripture talks about. The flesh is not our true nature, and this is why Augustine says "our hearts are restless until they rest in God".

Boyd says that a person's picture of God is all important. Given the dysfunctional view of God most of us have going in our brain, Boyd invites the reader to picture who Jesus truly is. God wants to make Jesus truly real to us, as Someone we can abide in. Scripture tells us who this Jesus is. We can ask the Spirit to make real what we intellectually know to be true.

The word I kept hearing through the book felt like such good news: REST. True spiritual transformation and feeling God's presence comes when we stop striving and learn simply to rest in an experience of Jesus. The best way to do this, as the title suggests, is through imaginative prayer. This is cataphatic prayer, praying with images, as opposed to apophatic, without images.

Following the model of St. Ignatius, he suggests we go to a private place in our minds where we can always meet the Lord. This is the inner sanctuary, a place that is set apart. Here we can be honest and open before God.

As a child, I used to go on long bike rides along "Bergen's Cutoff", a manmade hill close to my home. It was a place I felt joyful and serene. I imagined pulling my bike over and just sitting under a tree along the side of the hill. This is where I began my prayer experiment of just sitting with Jesus.

Years ago, while enduring headaches, I used to imagine Jesus just sitting with me, and it's like I picked up this practice again. My hill morphed into a nature spot in Assiniboine Forest. Boyd suggests we find an actual picture of Jesus that we like, and I was drawn to the Jesus with two faces, divine and human.

During prayer, I bring myself to this place. As St. Ignatius prompts, I try to imagine it with my five senses as vividly as I can. I imagine Jesus with me and I pray. I do this in the morning, and while falling asleep, and lately I bring this Jesus to mind during the day. This has been my "experiment".

As I've spoken my prayers, one thing I've been noticing is how formal and fake my language can sound. I would never talk to regular people that way. "Dear Jesus please help me through this day." Who talks that way? So I remember the Psalms and just try to bring myself there, as honestly as I can. "Jesus I'm feeling discouraged. I don't know what to do about ______. I know you see me and my situation more fully than I. Can you show me the way?"

I've also noticed that there is a consolation in having this "place" with me all the time. I have been practicing resting there while driving, or food prep, or even while talking to people. I imagine Jesus' face there.

I confess that most often Jesus seems silent, but I rely on scripture which tells me that Jesus wants nothing more than for us to rest here and relate to us, so that's what I keep doing. It's ok if he doesn't seem real. It's ok if I'm feeling like a fraud. It's all ok, I can just keep coming back and resting.

Often, waking in the morning, I feel super stiff and really depressed. It's hard to get out of bed, but then one morning I imagined the ever-present Jesus just standing there, offering me a hand, saying, "It's ok, I'll help you get up." If I'm having a nap, I imagine myself resting in the sacred space. This is "practicing the presence of God" and abiding in the vine. The "divine/human" picture helps because the breadth all my experience is caught there. There's nothing in me that Jesus doesn't understand.

So that's my experiment. It's now 2+months since I began, and I want to continue. I often feel so "mud bound", with ongoing underlying depression, so it has been giving me hope. All I have to do is rest. That feels like good news to me.

[Lila Diller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book by Greg Boyd is a little hard to follow. Like usual, Greg Boyd's ideas are academic with high, abstract concepts that are very hard to understand. While I appreciated his focus on resting in Christ instead of striving in our own power, I had a hard time seeing how this whole concept could be practical without doing something—what he would call striving.

The first four chapters are all about the what and why, the reason behind the resistance to the practice of imaginative prayer, which he calls resting in Christ. Part 2, the next five chapters, supposedly debunk several arguments the practice, especially focusing on Western resistance to using imagination in Christianity. There is only one chapter devoted specifically to how to perform this spiritual discipline. The third and final part gives three examples of individuals who were freed using this particular method.

I found it contrived, mystical, and slightly hokey. I don't discount the need to visualize Jesus when we pray to him as he is the physical representation of God. However, even though he specifically says this is not about getting a feeling and experiencing a powerful charismatic moment, this is exactly what it sounded like. I tried this practice several times myself and it only worked once. Perhaps after weeks of therapy, which of course he provides in person, this would begin to make sense to someone who really is struggling with a traumatic memory. For those of us who are not, it's hard to see the benefit.

I did appreciate the small section on visualizing lyrics in worship music. Imagining the word pictures in lyrics helps me to turn my whole heart and mind to the Lord.

Maybe this practice didn't apply to me because I already have such an overactive imagination. I read this with my sister, and she said she had a lot of trouble visualizing spiritual things in general and Jesus in particular. She seemed to like the book better than I did.

One of the examples was amazing and memorable (the last one), but everything else felt contrived or at least subjective, including his own story, which was about changing a repressed memory of him as a three-year-old not getting a present. While flipping back through to find my favorite quotes, I realized how many of them were in the negative. Much of his arguments were against modern culture and the current Christian mindset. While much of that was true, it didn't give me much to practice. I just don't think this is the answer.

Favorite quotes:

“In terms of what we believe, we differ significantly from non-Christians. But in terms of how we live—what we do with our time, how we spend our money, even our basic moral practices—we differ very little.” (p. 13)

“When we buy into this strategy of obtaining fulfillment from our performance, we must hide everything about ourselves that isn't consistent with the performance we are giving.” (p. 45)

“Take it on faith that the you who responds to situations in ways that manifest the truth that you are a temple of God, filled with God's love, joy, and peace, is the real you.” (p. 99)

“Resting in Christ does not take work, but it does take faith.” (p. 106)

“Yet to the degree that the Western scientific worldview has pervaded our thinking, this belief about what lies beyond the physical realm has little or no concrete impact on our lives. There is often no real place for God in our materialistic worldview, and hence he seems remote and distant to us.” (p. 128)

“...some parallels might be best explained as part of a demonic strategy to counterfeit God's truth.” (p. 133)

“Trying to feel something when the feeling isn't there is another form of striving.” (p. 199)

“If you use this or any other exercise as a means to attain an emotional experience, you will defeat the purpose of the exercise.” (p. 202)

“The decisive difference between Christianity and other religions and philosophies is not in how we pray—whether imaginatively or not—but to whom we pray.” (p. 218, note #11)

[Robert Dalgleish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harnessing the Sanctified Imagination! Recovering an Ancient Way to the Heart of the Christian Faith!

So intuitively true. I have been looking for an author who understands that the sanctified imagination is in fact the most perfect vehicle for bring all of us into a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus. God gave us our imaginations for a very good reason - so that we could imagine Him. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and George McDonald all knew how important the imagination is to a deeper devotional life. I am going to use this book as the basis of a practicum on “How to Pray With our Sanctified Imaginations.” It is my hope and prayer that our participants will find a “Place” in the imaginations where they can go at any time to be with our Lord. Where they can rest in His Presence; listen to Him, ask Him questions etc., and to enter into a full relationship with him. I chose this rating because I am so very thankful for the book and it’s fantastic potential for renewing the dynamic faith of many!

[Jenny Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been told as a Christian that you need to “try harder” or “do better”? Have you ever been told that imagination is “just for kids” or “a waste of time”?

The “try harder” approach to Christianity seems to be more about DOING more Christian things. It shifts the focus from our power to the power of the Holy Spirit. In these moments of rest, the Holy Spirit can use our imagination to transform us from the inside out.

I am reassured to read a pastor who views the imagination positively and that the imagination can be used by God for art, fiction and restoring us. However, I am wary of the “reworking the memory” step of the process. I would think the other steps would provide sufficient healing. I also worry that reworking a memory could create a false memory. I would still recommend this book.

I bought this book and this is my honest and unbiased review.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has taken me two years to finish, which is absurd, but more revelatory about my relationship with Christian books. Boyd is so smart, he's hard to digest at times, so I'm pretty sure I started this book over at least once. I love the crossover of psychology and theology and the acknowledgement of how our Western culture affects our ability, or lack thereof, to use our imagination to experience Jesus as real in a life-altering way. I think my only "criticism" is that it didn't contain more practical, step-by-step practices with imaginative prayer. The real life stories and examples were very illustrative in that regard.

[Aaron White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have heard a lot of good things about Gregory Boyd, so I went into this book with high expectations. But I would have to say I was disappointed. Nothing particularly wrong with the book, and I’m sure his insistence upon imaginatively resting in Christ, rather than trying to should and ought your way into spiritual progress, is a helpful message. It just wasn’t very interestingly written, not terribly imaginative. I found myself wanting to skip large sections because I could see where it was going. Maybe it just wasn’t the right book for me at the right time.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone familiar with imaginative prayer might find this book a bit too basic. For the uninitiated, Seeing is Believing introduces the reader to "resting in Christ" and using the imagination to let God speak to them. Boyd grounds the practice in Scripture (the first half or more is a defense of the method) and later gets into the practice. The appendix might be a good place to start if you have basic questions.

[Lisa Hopkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book for a class on Imaginative Prayer I took at church. While I like the concept of the book I found the delivery to be flat and somewhat boring. The information may be more engaging if you are attending one of his seminars. More facts to back up some of the statements made by the author would have been nice.

[MR S C RAWSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading. Challenged some of my preconceived notions and Western mindset about the important role imagination plays in our faith. It's packed with scripture references and quotes from Christians down the centuries to anchor three book's purpose in orthodox Christianity. I would recommend it.

[Erin Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although, at times it did feel a bit slow. But, he is extremely knowledgeable on imaginative prayer (using your 5 senses when praying to our Heavenly Father), learning to rest in the Lord, how to cope with anxiety and depression, and did a 3 case studies. Overall, I found it informative and would recommend it to anyone who might be struggling in their prayer life.

[Tom Greentree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't think imagination is safe or good to use in your spiritual life? Think again. Greg Boyd helps us realize that it's only through the use of our imagination that many things become truly real. I love this book - 2018 was a third read for me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing Is Believing is a beautiful, earnest, thorough, and practical guide to meeting the divine through the imagination. It blends theory and theology, stories, and step by step advice into a masterpiece of Christian devotional literature. Unspeakably enriching; highly recommend.

[Tia Westad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing! Literally brought me to tears hearing accounts of people’s lives being restored through the love of Christ. And knowing the same can happen to us! It was slightly slow at the beginning and the end, but overall, great book!

[Brett Leyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most impacting books I've ever read.

[abigail jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

helpful. down to earth. fascinating

[Daniel Brisbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I remember this book correctly it basically says that if you imagine God being real enough maybe you'll actually be able to believe that he's real.

[Tabby Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The first half of the book was like reading an academic paper rather than a book. The second half was where all the good and practical stuff was.

[katherine mccray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would companion this book with "Boundaries For Your Soul" by Alison Cook & Kimberly Miller. While the "Boundaries" book is a heart-based approach, this book, "Seeing", is a head-based version of the same thing. Big idea of both book: Using pictures to connect to self & God.

After reading both, I appreciate the biblical background and the firm foundation Boyd lays out. It's extremely thorough and solid. He's done a lot of work to write this book. I read the book, then read it aloud to my husband. I'm heart, he's head. The logic and structure Boyd gives gave grounded wording for the woo-woo-heartness of it all. He brings it from the clouds down to earth. Earthlings need the tangible & Boyd has that perfectly.

However Boyd is light/vague on the application or the process of using your imagination. That's where the "Boundaries" book shines. "Boundaries" is far better on the application/process side. Both books refuse to offer a formula for perfect change. But a few guidelines and more examples, offered in "Boundaries", gives a better feel for the process.

Together they are a great pair.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

This poorly written book is a mediocre guide to imaginative prayer built on vapid theology. Save yourself some time and go read something of substance.

[Ryan Mcguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Greg takes the reader through some thought experiments aimed at aligning your experiences with the truth of who God is. He challenges the reader to become aware of God's presence in the everyday things in life, and to be fully awake.

He also challenges you to reimagine your own life's trauma in light of the cross. He tells stories of people he's worked with - and each time he had them imagine Jesus speaking truths to them as found in the bible about how God feels abut them at the highest moment of a traumatic memory.

Of course this whole idea raises a bunch of questions. The most pressing for me was whether or not it's even a good idea to try to change your own memories. I wondered what purpose there could possibly be in creating a nicer version of bad memories. Then I tried it.

Here's the purpose: it tunes you in to the reality of your life's trauma and the reality of God's presence in the midst of it. Often we go through life assuming God isn't present in our pain, but the reality of the cross and the implications of the cross teach us that God not only identifies with our pain, God also enters into our suffering personally because God has been made alive in us through Jesus. Therefore, it stands to reason that imagining Jesus as part of your own memories is more in tune with reality than not imaging Him there.

[Paul Dubuc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good book on imaginative prayer. This form of prayer is liable to be controversial for some Christians, which is understandable. However, I think Boyd does a very good job of explaining the biblical and historical precedents for this method and of answering common doubts and questions about it. It's sometimes difficult for me to imagine Jesus saying and doing some of the things he does in the case studies presented, but imaginative prayer is a highly individualized experience. This, in itself, is not a problem as long as it doesn't conflict in character with Jesus as revealed in scripture. Imaginative prayer seems only applicable to the "inner healing" of damaging memories of past experiences. I wondered how it would help for those who experience difficult situations in the here and now. The book is well worth considering carefully even if you have trouble accepting some of the experiences described in it. It makes the case that the use of our imagination in prayer is important if it is to be a formational experience, not something that leaves us much the same as we've always been, struggling entirely by our own efforts to better ourselves.

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. I was always raised to keep my emotions in check and consider my personal experience suspect in regards to my faith. After all, we humans are such fickle creatures and so easily manipulated. While Greg repeatedly affirms the supremacy of scripture in shaping our perception of Jesus, he also uses excellent scriptural and historical support for the cataphatic tradition and many of his insights have changed how I experience my faith, particularly in the area of worship and prayer. Far from making me retreat from biblical study in favor of flights of fancy, this practice encourages me to dig more deeply into the scriptures in order to inform my imagination; not merely as an academic study of a historical or devotional text, but to find fuel for my imaginative encounter with Jesus. The book ends with several substantial anecdotes about people who have experienced significant healing and change through the practice of imaginative prayer. In the end I greatly appreciate that this book affirms my God-given emotional capacity, my imagination and creativity, and the persistent work of the Holy Spirit to actually, really, truly engage me in those areas of my life.

[Matt Diephouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing is Believing teaches that we can use our imagination while we pray. While this seems uncomfortable and untrustworthy to our post-enlightenment sensibilities, Boyd says that it's actually a Christian tradition. (And evidently he's in agreement with the likes of Richard Foster.)

While we're often told to work harder in order to not sin, Boyd argues that we sin because we our rooted in our fleshly nature by the power of our memories. Because we experience things so vividly here on earth, we absorb the "truths" of those experiences very deeply. If our spiritual life is limited to cognitive, abstract ideas, we cannot absorb God's truth as deeply.

The answer is to encounter Jesus in our prayer by allowing the Holy Spirit to use our imagination. By experiencing Jesus with all our senses, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

I found this book to be really interesting. I was completely unfamiliar with imaginative prayer. And while I can understand feeling awkward about trying it, I thought it made a lot of sense. I look forward to trying imaginative prayer in the future.