As part of THY KINGDOM COME the congregation at St John’s is being encouraged to pray for five friends or family members who do not yet know Christ.
We are using some simple prayer aids to help us do this and we encourage others to do the same. Below are the first five.
Prayer Petals
Draw a simple five petal flower or print one like the one below and on each of the petals write the names of the people you want to pray for. Some prayers are answered immediately, while others require us to trust God and wait patiently. Now, fold the petals into the centre, place in some water in a shallow bowl and watch the petals slowly unfold.
Cross
Make a simple cross using two pieces of wood – sticks or twigs and some sort of twine. Sit or walk while holding the cross and ask the Lord to bring the five people that you have named before him. Keep the cross near you at home and pray using it daily.
Tee Light – Light in the darkness
Sit with God and read the below verse.
I was walking with the Lord in my dream. Just wanting to be a child holding onto my fathers hand. We came to a cliff edge and as we often did then we were kids, we lay down on our tummies and looked over the cliff edge into the valley below.
I expected to see the usual thing – green pastures, trees, beauty – but what I actually saw was the darkness of the world. I could see bullying and war and discrimination. I saw poverty and famine, with injustice, and refugees queuing in long lines. I saw knife and gun crime. I saw diseases and the whole gamut of evil in the world.
I sensed that the Lord was telling me that I had to get down into all of that and try and do something about it. I felt totally overwhelmed and asked how I could even get down the Cliff face never mind what I could do about it once I was there in the middle of it all.
Then I notice some steps cut into the cliff’s edge that were so steep I had to carried down them as they were too big for me to manage. I saw that on each step was carved a word – HOPE, COMPASSION, INTEGRITY, FAITHLESSNESS, SINCERITY, LOVE, TRUTH, CONSISTENCY, TENCITY, AND PRAYER.
Having finally arrived in the middle of the blackness, I saw that I’d become like a tiny flickering flame that lit up just a miniscule part of my surroundings. Then as I looked up, or the people came with their tiny flames. Like mine they were almost insignificant, and yet together we began to light that particular part where we were standing, and it wasn’t dark anymore. It was making inroads into the darkness. Gradually those lights lit the lives of people caught in darkness.
Now see how your tiny light can make a difference. Now light your tee light as a sign between you and God.
Skittle Sweets – the promises of God
You may have been praying for someone for a long time. Use a packet of skittle sweets and choose 5 colours. Each one represents a person you are praying for, Place the sweets around the inside of a plate so that the colours are varied and each sweet touches the next. Pour a little water into the middle and wait. As the rainbow of colour appears, thank God for his faithfulness to you and repeat your prayers for the people you are praying for.
Take five small pebbles, draw a heart on each one with the initials of the person you are praying for. Pray this prayer:
Gracious Father, I pray for these five people that you will be very close to them. Help them to see your love for them and help them build their lives on the rock that is Christ. Amen.
Pebbles
St. John's Church Weston 