With my husband being a pastor we often walk with people through difficult times of life. It’s both an honor and a heavy calling. One particular night at church as I sat alone waiting for a service to begin I was overwhelmed with all the current needs represented in our church...

Cancer. Separation. Sudden death. Grief. Addiction. These were just some of the issues that barged into the lives of our church family and friends. I grabbed a blank piece of pink construction paper and a pencil and felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to sketch an umbrella. In each panel of the umbrella I recalled and wrote out the names of God I had recently been studying in a Bible Study. As I wrote out the names of God I praised Him for being all of those truths. It was comforting and reassuring to know I could trust all of who God is.

Under the umbrella I began writing out the names of people who were walking through such deep waters. More names popped into my heart and mind and I wrote those down as well. The visual of these hurting loved ones being placed underneath the umbrella of who God is was a powerful moment for me. Right there nestled under the protection and covering of who our God is we can take refuge from the torrential storms of life. We can also bring our loved ones there and pray for them.

I folded up my umbrella prayer and never told anyone. It felt a bit childish. It was deeply personal and so it stayed in my Bible for over a year. Meanwhile I would sketch out umbrellas in my prayer journal and recall attributes of God from scripture and write them in my umbrella. After spending time in praise I would take my family, myself, friends, church members and write their names underneath the umbrella as a reminder that our God is a refuge and shelter for those who trust in him.

One day I decided to show my prayer group my idea of Umbrella Prayers and they latched on and asked to know more. From there I began hosting in-house workshops and that grew into larger group retreats and conferences. Later God would lead me to develop an Umbrella Prayers Leader Kit so other women could lead Umbrella Prayers in their sphere of influence.

Umbrella Prayers is a creative prayer tool that teaches women to cling to God in prayer during the storms of life. Using the Umbrella Prayers Workbook we look at attributes and characteristics of God. Using simple colored pens & paper we draw an umbrella and write out the attributes of God inside the umbrella covering. As a visual of God being our Shield and Protector we bring underneath the umbrella of who he is our deepest cares and concerns. On the handle of the Umbrella we write out Psalm 63:8 “My soul clings to Thee, your right hand upholds me.” This serves as a visual reminder that our souls cling to the One who is the only person who will faithfully hold us up.