Visualizing God in prayer — dangers of anthropomorphism, suggestion to visualize light

Danger: Scripture says no one is like God and he had no human form before the incarnation. Assigning God a physical human image is pagan. Visualizing Jesus overemphasizes his humanity. Mike suggests thinking conceptually about God's attributes (love, power, goodness) rather than picturing a person. If visualization is needed, use light — God is light and in him there is no shadow of turning (James 1:17 / 1 John 1:5). Another suggestion: pray with eyes open, as Jesus often did (he lifted up his eyes and prayed). Eyes open in private prayer can aid focus. Both eyes-open and eyes-closed prayer are acceptable.