What Does the Bible Teach about Visualization?

Submitted by Mark Virkler on February 20, 2012 - 10:32

Question: A ministry I was learning from says that you are teaching visualization which is not scriptural. What is your response to this? Mary

Answer: Mary,

Thank you for your question. What we teach is that if man chooses what he wants to picture and visualizes that, then that is wrong. If God grants you a dream or a vision, or Jesus paints a parable, or the Bible tells a story, it is not wrong to picture these things. We define "Godly Imagination" as picturing things the Bible says are true.

Some Godly Uses of the Eyes of Our Hearts

God gave Abraham a vision of the stars of the sky and told him he would have that many children (Gen. 15:5), and that produced faith in Abraham’s heart (Gen. 15:6). So here we have an example of godly imagery which produced faith in the man who is called "the Father of Faith" (Rom. 4:11). That is a powerful concept. That would indicate that if I wanted faith in my heart which moves mountains, then I would need the same ingredients which God gave to Abraham. These are:

A spoken promise (Gen. 12:1,2)
A divine picture (Gen. 15:1,5,6)

Then as I hold this promise and picture in my heart, meditate on it and ponder it, God produces a miracle in the fullness of time. For Abraham, a child was born 25 years later.

God has created us with eyes in our hearts with which we can see, picture and visualize.
God wants to fill these eyes with His dreams, visions and images (Acts 2:17).
Jesus lived in pictures constantly (Jn. 5:19,20,30).
Jesus filled the eyes of His listeners by constantly teaching with parables (Matt. 13:34).
We are commanded to meditate on the Word, which involves prayerfully rolling it around in our hearts and minds. Since the Bible is full of picture stories, we will by necessity be picturing as we meditate upon Scripture (Josh. 1:8).
When we reason together with God, He uses imagery (Isa. 1:18).
A picture is worth 1000 words, so when I see something, it has the power to change me much more greatly than when I simply think a thought. That is why God says we are transformed (changed) "while we look" (2 Cor. 3:17,18; 4:16 -18). When I see myself clothed with Christ's robe of righteousness (Gal. 3:27), it appears to influence me more greatly than when I simply recall the Scripture verse that "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:9).
God counsels us at night through our dreams (Ps. 16:7).
Even the Lord's supper utilizes imagery. As Jesus broke the bread, He said, "This is My body" and as they drank the wine, He said, "This is My blood" (Matt. 26:26-28). I see this imagery as I partake of the Lord's supper, and by doing so, it impacts me greatly every time I do it.
The Bible is absolutely full of dreams, visions, pictures, images, and parables from cover to cover, so obviously God is big on imagery.
When David prayed, he used imagery (Ps. 23).
When David worshipped, he used imagery (Ps. 36:5,6).
In the Tabernacle in the wilderness, God establised much imagery that was an integral part of approaching Him (Ex. 25:8-22).
In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus is the Image of the invisible God, and we are to "fix our eyes upon Him" (Heb. 12:1,2). So in both Old and New Testaments, God has ordained imagery as part of our approach to Him.

Summary Concerning Godly Use of the Eyes of Your Heart

I personally use imagery in all the above ways, and find it extremely beneficial in my Christian walk. God has told me that whatever I fix my eyes on, grows within me, and whatever grows within me, I become. So instead of fixing my eyes on my sin, or my self effort to become righteous, I fix my eyes on Jesus, and I discover that I become Christ-like, and find myself radiating His goodness and His glory!