Prayer

Prayer is a wonderful gift from God, as we are able to talk to God about anything, at all times - and stilling our hearts to listen to what God has to say to us.

And it is a joy to share it with our youngest of disciples. Prayer can be personal, corporate, creative, silent, loud, contemplative, joyful, written, illustrated, sung, messy, and so much more. ​We have put together a few of our favourite resources and prayer ideas for you to try out - let us know what works (and what doesn't!) and share any ideas of your own.  
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 " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you"
Luke 11:9

Creative Prayer

Multi-Sensory Prayer
Multisensory worship is usually corporate worship that is designed to engage the senses. Scripture Union have published a bunch of books and resources. Sample Pages for Multi-Sensory Prayer
Flame: Creative Prayer
Flame website has an amazing selection of creative prayers to choose from. A great website to spend hours trawling through! ​
Prayer ideas
Praying in Colour
'Praying in Color' = prayer + doodling. A beautiful, creative way to intercede when:
​1) You want to pray but words escape you. 
2) Sitting still and staying focused in prayer are a challenge. 
3) Your body wants to be part of your prayer. 
4) You want to just hang out with God but don’t know how. 
5) Listening to God feels like an impossible task. 
6) Your mind wanders and your body complains. 
7) You want a visual, concrete way to pray. 
8) You need a new way to pray.
prayingincolor.com
Conversations
Silvia Purdie, from Milson Combined Church, has a website containing resources for prayer and worship. Much of it is oriented to All-Age Worship, using forms of speaking that 'ring true' for 21st century people. Check it out here.
Prayer Jenga
​Prayer Jenga and other games to encourage family prayer time (The Kitchen Table Project)

The Lord's Prayer
How to pray the Lords prayer in NZ sign language. ​(Turn on the captions!)

Prayer Spaces and Prayer Stations
Prayer Spaces in Schools
Prayer Spaces in Schools enable children and young people, of all faiths and none, to explore these life questions, spirituality and faith in a safe, creative and interactive way.

Here are a few prayer stations that have been used in an Anglican School in Wellington
Resources

Labyrinths

Labyrinths
​Labyrinth ideas include:
  • beach labyrinth marked in the sand
  • prayer stations dotted around the labyrinth
  • labyrinth craft on round paper plates
  • mowing one onto a grass field
  • rope of lights marking out a labyrinth in the dark
  • mark one out of chalk in the playground or park
  • masking tape on your hall floor (don't use gaffa/duck tape, it stains floors!)
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The labyrinth at children's church at Johnsonville Anglican, Wellington. ​

Fidget Spinner Prayer

Fidget Spinner Prayer
A fun prayer wheel to get kids praying, using the latest toy craze to sweep the world!  Download the Fidget Spinner prayer and a new kids worksheet worksheet to go alongside it, to draw or write your prayers

Media

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer initiative to pray from Ascension to Pentecost.
​There are lots of great ideas for praying as a church and community.
Family Prayer Adventure
The Family Adventure Prayer Map with Stickers is the new family resource for this year’s Thy Kingdom Come, produced by the Church of England.

Thanks to Sam Hargreaves and Thy Kingdom Come, Strandz has been given special permission to print the A2 Family Prayer Adventure Map, an 11 day prayer initiative for families to take between Ascension and Pentecost. It folds down to be A5 size, and has some stickers to mark your journey. There is also a link to daily family podcasts with games and activities. 

It really is a great resource and will be a great prayer focus for all families. All costs go towards covering the local printing here in NZ. 

While the maps have the TKC dates (30 May - 9 June), they would make a fantastic prayer adventure for any time of the year. 
Download a jpeg of the:
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Family Prayer Adventure Podcast
You can listen to a short podcast for each day of your family prayer adventure. 

Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Ideas

They Kingdom Come Resources

Praying for Christchurch

A printable resource to help churches pray for those impacted by the terrorist acts in Christchurch. Print the file and cut out shapes to decorate a prayer space, prayer wall, make into a wreath, or attach to string to hang from the ceilings and walls. You may like to use the Canterbury colours of red and black, or choose a colour theme for the prayers. 
We have also sent out a Strandz email with ideas and suggestions for responding well to these events

Pray for Paris
A resource put together to help families explore praying for Paris, following the terrorist attacks in 2015, using colours and flags. Pray for Paris (pdf)
Includes a prayer adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book / He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, used here with permission. ​
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