The recollected use of sacred images comes next on our list of prayer methods. Here we have a helpful method for practicing the presence of God. Fortified by the word of Scripture and the image of Christ we are ready to pray. Our senses must learn to serve our prayer rather than distract from it. The principle, however, is very broad.
Sacred images are good for people with poor imaginations or good imaginations.
Sacred images can most certainly serve individual prayer, just as they serve liturgical prayer in our churches. Imaginative representations must be named on our list. A holy imagination enables us to really identify with scriptural scenes, as Teresa did. A playful but disciplined imagination is essential to the classical prayer tradition. Interior images can serve prayer as effectively as exterior ones.