A Call to Prayer for the Nations
A Call to Persistence
The Power of Prayer
Praying for New Life
God’s Presence Goes with Us
Justice and Prayer
Empowered for Mission
You will need:
Multiple printouts of maps of the world
Colouring pencils
The scripture passage Luke 4:14-19, written or printed out
How to set up:
Lay the maps on a table, or flat surface, with the colouring pencils next to them
Pin or put the paper with Luke 4:14-19 close by, where it can be seen easily
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
Instructions:
For this prayer activity we are praying for God to heal our world and our nation
Choose your own country, or a country God has placed on your heart, and pray for God’s forgiveness and healing as you colour in the map
Read through the scripture describing what the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to do, pausing on phrases that stand out to you
Pray that the nation you are colouring on the map would experience the good news, the freedom, the recovery, the healing and the favour that the passage describes. As you cover the map with colour, pray that God would cover the world with his glory and lift his name high!
You will need:
Children’s building or stacking block toys
A written list of challenges, causes or people your community regularly pray for. Some examples might be:
Those struggling with food poverty
The mentally or physically ill
Those dealing with addiction
The homeless community
Conflicts in our world: wars, divides, and interpersonal issues
Prejudice and discrimination
How to set up:
Put the list next to a pile of blocks/bricks
Leave the blocks flat on the ground – not in a heap or already in a structure
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
Instructions:
This prayer station is about persistently praying for something again and again until God moves and change happens
Choose something from the list of things your community is currently praying for or choose something in your own life that you have been asking God to change for a long time
Pray over and over for the same thing as you stack up the blocks
When you are done, knock over the blocks as a symbol of God hearing your prayer and change happening
Repeat as many times as you want to
You will need:
A physical cross: wooden, cardboard or drawn on paper
Cushions or a blanket to lie on the floor
How to set up:
Put up your cross, or stick it to the wall
Make a space for people to comfortably kneel, sit or lie down next to the cross
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
Instructions:
This is the time to pray daring, bold, big prayers. Because the power of prayer is not in us, but in God – who hears and answers prayers in his will, with his grace and in his timing
Spend some time thanking God for prayers he has answered for you, for your community and for your nation in the past
Kneel before the cross in humility, confessing the things you’ve done wrong or good things you’ve left undone, admitting that you need God’s help. If you feel led, you might want to talk to god about bigger issues: things your community or your nation has gotten wrong, things that you need God’s help to change
Dare to pray the big prayers at the foot of the cross that you haven’t prayed before, or you stopped praying because you didn’t think they’d be answered. Pray for God to be known in your life and the life of your nation in a completely new way: for his glory to be known in your community and shine out across the world!
You will need:
A bucket of soil
A stack of small plant pots, or seed trays
A small trowel
Gloves to keep hands clean
Seeds
Watering can or jug of water
Plastic or old fabric sheet
A tray to put pots on
How to set up:
Lay the sheet on the ground to protect the floor
Fill a bucket with soil and place the bucket and trowel on top of the protective sheet
Place the plant pots on a tray next to the bucket along with the seeds, water and gloves nearby
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Ezekiel 37:4-6
Instructions:
In Ezekiel’s vision, the Spirit of God brings new life and new hope into a lifeless place. Who are the people in your life, your community and church who need new hope and new life?
Put on the gloves. Begin to fill a plant pot with soil and pray for God to prepare the hearts of people to listen
Put a few seeds into the soil and ask God to speak into the lives of the people you are thinking about. Say their names as you plant each seed
In this passage, the Holy Spirit is described as a wind. Elsewhere in the Bible, he is also represented by water
Set the pot down on the tray and water it, asking the Holy Spirit to come and flood into the lives you are praying for, bringing his life
Take the plant pot home as a reminder to keep praying for new life and new beginnings
You will need:
Bread and juice
A window to look out of, or a few photos of creation
Device to play music
Comfortable chair, or a cushion to sit on
How to set up:
Set out the bread and juice on a table
If using: pin photos of creation to the wall above the table
Move the chair or cushion close to the table and wall
Place a speaker or other music device (each person could use their own phone) alongside the table
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Exodus 33:15-17
Instructions:
This prayer activity uses our senses to practice increasing our awareness of the presence of God
Touch: sit and feel your breath slowly rising and falling. Thank God that he is as close to us as our breath
Taste: thank God for his generosity to you as you eat the bread and drink the juice
Smell: think about the things you can smell, the bread, objects in the room. Practice focusing on God’s presence as you become more aware of your senses
Sight: praise God for his creation. Look out of the window, or at the photos in front of you, and thank him for his creative and inspiring presence
Extra action: Continue to practice being in God’s presence by setting a daily reminder on your phone to pause and spend time with him
You will need:
10 or more pieces of A4 paper cut acrossways into 10 strips of 3cm width
Glue stick or other easy to use glue
Pens
How to set up:
Put the cut strips and pens on a table, or flat area for writing and gluing
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Instructions:
Take two or more pieces of paper and write down the name of a person, a situation, or place that needs God’s justice and mercy
Add a line of glue to the short end of the paper. Bend the other short end round to form a circle and stick together to form a loop
Keep writing more prayers on the paper. Loop each piece of paper through the previous circle and glue it together to make a chain of prayers
On the final day of the prayer week, break the chain to show how God answers our prayers and breaks chains of injustice that prevent people from living in his freedom
You will need:
A space with clear corners, different areas to use
Enough space that you can walk around
How to set up:
Title a piece of paper ‘mission area 1’, ‘mission area 2’ etc with as many areas as you want to pray for
Think of people, places, schools, workplaces etc that can be mission fields for your community and write them on the pieces of paper
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Instructions:
Spend some time in the middle of the room asking the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and guide your prayers. Pray for courage to leave this prayer room ready to share your faith with others
Walk to a piece of paper with the title ‘mission area’ on it, and pray for the topic it displays
Continue your prayers as you walk around the room to each ‘mission area’. Keep walking and praying as a symbol of being God’s feet taking his word around the world
Before you move on, ask God to send you out from this prayer room ready to be witness for Jesus
