Even Jesus, who was God in the flesh, put prayer as a top priority. He would take Himself away from doing ministry for frequent visits with His Father. Prayer was a vital part of who He was, and He was God's own Son! In Luke 11:1-13 the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. They could see that there was something different when He prayed and they wanted a part of that. Jesus tells a parable about being persistent and keeping at it, reminding us that prayer takes time, effort, practice and persistence.
This past Sunday we set up 9 stations in the Youth Room, allowing the teens to practice communicating with God and being in His presence. Each station had a set of directions to follow as teens were encouraged to spend time in prayer at each. Below are some pictures from our
time together along with a brief description of the station.Station 1 : Communion
The words of Jesus were below the juice and loaf of bread, calling for us to remember His sacrifice as we took part in communion at the foot of the cross: His Body broken and His Blood poured out for us.
Station 2 : Being Real with God
Pictures of different emotions were displayed and the directions call for us to focus on being real with God. Are we faking it? Are we happy? Are we angry? Teens were asked to write a letter expressing to God exactly how they felt.
Station 3 : Art
Art supplies were offered for teens to express to God anything that were feeling, questioning, praising or needing. This was a place to be creative in their expression of prayer.
Station 4 : Community Words
Prayer is not simply an individual experience. We learn from one another through shared experience and conversation. The words "Forgiveness" "Grace" "Peace" "Love" and "Joy" were written across the wall and teens were asked to define those words. As you spent time at the wall, you would read what others had written, processing and praying through the thoughts of others in order to deepen understanding of these truths.
Station 5 :
Candle LightingGod hears our prayers for healing and hope in His name. Prayers for those hurting or prayers for hopes we have were lifted to God by lighting a candle. Teens were asked to envision their prayers rising to God just as the smoke rose from the flame of each candle.
Station 6: Prayer through Music
Two MP3 players were offered for teens to listen to one of three songs ( "I Believe in Love" by Barlow Girl, "Unashamed" by Starfield, and "I'm Coming Your Way" by Jared Anderson) and to prayerfully read through the lyrics. We then offered a journal for them to write their own thoughts or prayers in response.
Station 7 : House of the heart
A blue print of a house was set up on the floor, symbolizing the blueprint of the heart. The 6 rooms represented different parts of our lives:
The Bedroom: Intimate relationships
The Family Room: Family relationships
The Office: Work, school and entertainment
The Kitchen: Attitude and service to others
The Living Room: Our public image to others
The Attic: The secrets God only knows
They were asked to sit in the room they felt most needed God's strength and guidance, praying to invite Him in to that area for the upcoming week.
Station 8 : Praying the Psalms
The Psalms are full of amazingly deep expressions of prayer to God. A list was available giving the general theme of each Psalm. Bibles were offered and teens were asked to read through Psalms which had particular interest to their own lives. Post it notes were laid around the station so they could write things that stood out to them, or their own prayers and stick them on the wall.Station 9 : Confession Stones
7 sins were represented by 7 jars: Greed, Laziness, Hate, Envy, Pride, Overindulgence, and Lying. Questions related to each were on a piece of paper. If teens felt they had committed those sins over the past week, they were to place stones in the jar as a way of confession.
