Using Our Imagination in Worship

William Law’s excerpt from A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life offers a timeless approach to deepening our worship and prayer life through the power of imagination. Law encourages believers to envision heavenly scenes, such as angelic choirs and the presence of Christ, as a means of stirring the heart and our souls with the reverence and joy found in heaven. Below is a modernized excerpt. Law’s insights remind us that worship is not just an act of the body, but a union of soul and imagination, lifting us into the presence of God.

Using our Imaginations in Worship

Finally, since our imagination has great influence over our hearts and can deeply move us with the things it pictures, it would be very helpful for you to use it at the start of your devotions. By doing so, you can stir your heart and bring it into the right frame of mind for the prayers you are about to offer to God.

For example, before you begin a psalm of praise and rejoicing in God, make use of your imagination in this way:

Pause for a moment and picture the heavens opening before you, revealing the glorious choirs of cherubim and seraphim surrounding God’s throne. Imagine you can hear the music of those angelic voices, never ceasing, day and night, to sing the praises of Him who is, and who was, and who is to come (Rev. 4:8).

Let your imagination be aided by passages of Scripture, such as this one: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne…and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’” (Revelation 7:9-12, ESV).

Meditate on this vision until your imagination lifts you above earthly concerns, placing you among the heavenly beings. Let it create in you a longing to join in their eternal music.

If you regularly practice this method, letting your imagination dwell on such heavenly images, you will soon find it to be an excellent way of awakening a spirit of devotion within you.

Always begin your psalm or song of praise with these imaginations, and at each verse, picture yourself among the heavenly choirs, adding your voice to theirs. Imagine that the angels are joining with you in song, and that you, though singing on earth, are united with them in the praise of heaven.

At other times, imagine yourself as one of the disciples, singing with our blessed Savior when He sang a hymn (Matt. 26:30). Picture the majesty in His face, and imagine standing close to Him, surrounded by His glory. Think about how your heart would have been set aflame, how full of joy and ecstasy you would have been, singing with the Son of God. Reflect on how joyful and devoted you would have been in that moment, and let this teach you how to sing psalms and hymns of thanksgiving today.

Or, sometimes imagine you are watching King David, with his hands on his harp, his eyes lifted to heaven, in a state of awe. See him calling out to all creation—sun and moon, light and darkness, day and night, men and angels—to join his soul in praising the Lord of heaven.

Dwell on this picture until you feel as though you are singing with David himself. Let such a thought inspire you to lift your heart to God in the following psalm, which you can use to begin your morning devotions:

Psalm 145: “I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever” (v.1, ESV).

Psalms such as 34, 96, 103, 111, 146, and 147 are wonderful in declaring the glory of God. You can choose any of them to use during different times of day, as you see fit. Or you can combine the best parts of various psalms to make them more fitting for your own devotional time.