Ministry: "A House of Prayer" - Prayer Stations

Hey Y'all!

So if you didn't know, my passions (other than disney) revolve around kids. More specifically, Kids Ministry. Which means, one of my favorite things is teaching sunday school!

I got the opportunity to teach on the topic of prayer...a daunting task! Our kids are very restless when asked to sit and listen so I attempted to create a lesson that would give them a tangible grip on what prayer really is, and how they can pray for different aspects of their lives.

I focused on 5 prayer "stations": Confession, Reflection, Healing, The World, Our needs.

We split up our group between our three teachers so the stations would be as close to "one-on-one" as possible. I also set up a CD player with kids worship music playing softly in the background in order to create a more "worship"-like atmosphere.

Here are the 5 stations - I meant to take pictures but completely forgot! I'll list what the set up looked like and the instructions I left at each station for the teacher to follow.

Station 1) CONFESSION

What you need: 

- slips of paper

- trash bucket, 

- sign with "Sea of Forgetfulness" written on it

- pencils/pens

Set Up: 

Place the trashcan in the "front" of the group. Attach the sign to the trashcan with tape. Prepare a slip of paper and pencil per child. Tape the following instruction to the wall at the station:

Instructions: 

God doesn’t want us to feel guilt – when we CONFESS our sins and struggles to him, he forgets them completely!

On the paper in this station write a sin or something you feel guilty about and confess that sin to God. Then tear it up and throw it into the “sea of forgetfulness”! You no longer have to worry because God has already forgotten about them!

Station 2) REFLECTION

- one handheld mirror per child

Set up:

Place one handheld mirror per child at the station. Tape the following instructions on the wall at the station:

Psalm 139:14 “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!”

Station 3) HEALING

What You Need:

- 5 pieces of brown constuction paper to create a cross or a cross of some sort

- bandaids

Set Up:

Use the construction paper to create a cross on the wall. Place the bandaids at the base of the cross. Tape the sign with instruction on the wall:

Isaiah 53:5 “His wounds have healed us!”

It says in the bible that because Jesus gave his life for us we can experience healing form sickness! Do you know of anyone who has been healed of a sickness?

Think of someone who is sick and needs God to heal them. Pray for God to heal them and when you are done, stick a Band-Aid on the cross to remind us that Jesus’ sacrifice gives us healing!

Station 4) MISSIONS

What You Need:

- A world map (a globe would work too!)

- red string (you can also mark up your map if it isn't of value!)

- pictures of missionaries your church supports,

- descriptions of the work being done by the missionaries

Set up:

Tape the map on the wall. Tape the missionary pictures near the countries they serve. Use the string to make a connection between the missionary and the country. Tape the following instructions below the map:

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…and He saw that it was good”

God created every person in the world – that’s 7 billion different people! There are so many things we can pray for our world! People are sick and many refugees are trying to find a safe place to live away from war.

As you look at the pictures of some of our missionaries, thank God that someone is sharing the Good News with people from all over the world! Pray that our missionaries would be kept safe and that the right people would be out in their paths.

Station 5) PRAYER BOARD

What You Need:

- A large frame, glass and back removed

- string

- Hot glue

- paper slips

- clothespins

Set Up:

To make a prayer board, glue the string end to the frame, criss crossing all the way up and down the frame. I was going for something like this. place the prayer board on a table, or hang it up on the wall. Place some clothespins on the strings, and have extras put to the side. Tape the following instructions near the frame. 

Psalm 34:4 “I prayed to the Lord and He answered me, He freed me from all of my fear”

God hears us when we pray. He hears us if we scream out our prayer or if we whisper it in our heads! He will always answer us when we pray – He may say “yes”, “no”, or “wait” – but he will always answer us.

Try and think of at least one thing you want to pray for this week. Write it down on a slip of paper and attach it to a string with a paper clip. We will keep praying for these things for the rest of the year, and you can add another slip every week if you want!

And that's it! It seems like a really daunting task at first, but it is super simple to set up all of the stations! Make sure to place the stations in separate corners of the room, you want to make every station as quiet and private as possible. 

Prayer is such an important part of Christian life, it is even more important that our kids grow up having a strong prayer life! By giving them these tangible ways to make prayer real and alive we give them a leg up on creating a consistent prayer life. You may even find something that works for your personal life!

love + pixie dust,

sarah