Why Use Creative Prayer Ideas?
Praying can be difficult: you may not know what to pray about, where to start, or which words to use. Sometimes you may feel too tired, or not be in the right ‘mood’. If so, this page is for you! Please contact us if you have any good ideas of your own, so we can add them to our resources.
Prayer is all about communication with your best friend - the One who always answers (although not always in the way you expect). There are literally hundreds of ways to communicate with other people - through words, pictures, music... Why not try some with God?
[Please note that some ideas have been picked up along the way from experiences in services or small groups. We are not deliberately taking credit for other’s ideas, and where possible have acknowledged sources. If you find your own ideas here, we hope that you will be pleased to be sharing them and encouraging others!]
Prayer Idea of the Week
7th - 13th March
Sign Language
Knowing some basic British Sign Language signs is a very useful skill. Not only can you begin to communicate with other B.S.L. users, and make them feel welcome in your church, but it is also a wonderfully expressive way to aid prayer and worship. Signing is beautiful to watch because some signs express much more than their English equivalents. (For example the sign for ‘Jesus’ involves the signer pointing out the nail-marks in his hands.)
These days, many children’s action songs use B.S.L. (rather than any old actions), so that children learn a real skill. Any expert on learning will tell you that we learn and retain knowledge better if we use more senses: if we express the Christian message with our hands and faces as well as with our words, it will become more firmly rooted in us (and our children).
It is difficult to teach signing over the Internet, so I will not attempt to do so! The best place to start is through a friend. However, if you do not know anyone who can sign, various organisations can help. Many local learning centres offer introductory classes, which can lead to qualifications at B.S.L. stage 1, 2 and 3. There are some brilliant resources available from ‘The Forest Bookshop’ www.forestbooks.com. They also provide some Christian books and videos. I recommend Lifting Holy Hands: a Dictionary of Signs used in Church Services by Richard Chubb, produced by the Advisory Board of Ministry’s Committee for Ministry among Deaf People.
Once you have acquired some basic signs (which may take more than one week!), try using them in prayer. Begin with common words, such as ‘Father’, ‘God’, ‘Jesus’, ‘holy’, ‘worship’, and take it from there…you may end up leading prayers and songs from the front in services!
Creative Prayer Ideas
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