The lovely Lynn from Included by Grace  has kindly given us a folder of her beautiful Breath Prayers.

These prayers are suitable for all ages and abilities and can provide a wonderful way to bring peace into the sometimes overstimulating or overwhelming rhythm of life. They are easy to follow – simply CLICK THE IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD and print and you can choose one to focus on each week or each month.

As Clergy or Childrens leaders you could easily include these into an intergenerational reflective service or as part of a quiet time in your Toddler or baby group.

As parents/carers they can be great tools to use with children when they are struggling with any form of anxiety or just as a lovely addition to the bedtime routine.

Learning a new routine can be tricky, but this printout can help all ages of the family to develop a positive routine of prayer, whilst also learning about the fruit of the Spirit, how to love God’s way and our spiritual armour.

Click image to download PDF

Helping Children to chat with God about the things that worry them.

Invite children to draw around their hand in the middle of the circle, and if they want, to colour in the words of the Bible verse. The poster can be stuck up on a wall in their room or on the fridge wherever is easy for the child to access. When they are worried about things they can come and place their hand in the middle of the circle, read the verse and chat with God out loud or in silence about the things they are worried about.

Encourage your child/ren to read aloud the verse and think with you about what it means to pray and give our worries to God—does it mean that everything will suddenly be better or that the worry will disappear?

Just as a guide, you could say something like:

Giving our worries to God means that when we feel worried, scared, or sad, we can chat to God about it – we often call this prayer. It’s a bit like giving God a heavy backpack full of worries and saying, “God, this is too much for me. Can you help me carry it?”

Does God take away the trouble? Sometimes He does, and things get better quickly. Other times, the trouble might still be there, but God promises to be with us and help us through it, so we’re not alone. He gives us strength, peace, and people to help us too.

To express our gratitude and pray for all aspects of our harvest, we have a simple prayer wheel available to download by clicking the image above.

The images on the wheel can be coloured in, encouraging children to pray for various elements such as Farmers, the Land, Pollinators, Animals, the Weather, and the Oceans.

Simply cut out and pin in the middle with a brass fastener

Click any image to download the pack

If you are looking for a way to make your harvest service more interactive, why not create Harvest prayer stations around your Church and invite the congregation to take part before or after the main service.

We have put together 5 very simple station ideas, giving thanks and praying for those involved in the production and distribution journey of the food we eat: Our Farmers, Our Fishermen and women, Our Producers, Our Delivery Drivers, Our Shop Workers.

In the download you will find the outline of ideas for each station and the equipment you will need. You will also find station headings which can be printed if you wish.

We’ve kept it simple and cost effective, but you will need a lot of Sharpies!

Click the relevant file image above to download and print.

A fun and simple way to help children learn the Lord’s prayer. Download the file you want, cut out the box template, fold along the dotted lines and stick the tabs to create our prayer box. Card works best and will last longer but can be made with paper too.

This is an intergenerational activity that can be used either in your home or at church as part of an intergenerational service.

Together you create each tier and read a section of the Easter story. Using the templates provided you make the boxes that separate each tier – each box has Bible verses and a question to fill in if you choose. At each stage you stop to reflect on what that section of the story means to you, and you pray together.

The bottom tier reflects on the garden of Gethsemane and we think about things that are difficult in life, things we want to pray for.

The middle tier reflects on the crucifixion – the sacrificial love of God.

The top tier reflects on the resurrection – new beginnings, things to rejoice and give thanks for.

All instructions and templates can be found in the PDF which you can download by clicking HERE

This is a lovely active prayer which helps to bring focus, peace and calm.

You will need:

• A strong cardboard cut out of a sheep (size depending on what you are using them for afterwards)
• Wool or Yarn (put a call out for leftover wool in your church family to reduce costs here.

How to Pray:

The facilitator will read out simple wondering prayers.  Invite people to sit quietly and comfortably, breathing slowly and thinking about what they are hearing.

When the facilitator says ‘Jesus, you wrap me in your love’, invite people to wrap the wool around their sheep several times.

Prayer:

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

The Bible tells me you surround me,

You indwell me,

You go before me,

You walk beside me.

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

I wonder what the Shepherds were thinking before the angels appeared.  Maybe they felt lonely, isolated and far away from their family and friends.  Maybe they were enjoying the quiet night and they liked tending to their work.  Maybe they were worrying about something.

The promise of Hope, the arrival of Hope, can interrupt our thoughts.  What thoughts do you have that need to be interrupted by the Hope of Jesus?

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

Before the angels appeared, it was dark.  It would have been very dark on those hills.  The light of Christ comes to us in a whisper, a tiny flicker of a light or it comes in a ROAR, a host of angels filling the sky with light and song.  However it comes, it disrupts the darkness and brings comfort.  How can the light of Christ bring comfort to you now?

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

At first, the message of the Good News brought fear – to Mary, to Joseph, to the Shepherds.  But then the fear was replaced by strength and joy as they were invited into God’s plan.

The Shepherds were on the margins and suddenly they were hurrying into the centre of God’s story – hurrying to meet Jesus.

Is fear ruling your decisions and actions?  How can you let go of fear and take hold of the strength and joy that comes with being guided by the Good News?

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

I invite you now to wrap until your wool or yarn is used up.  Notice if the wrapping gets difficult and the wool slips off.  Maybe your thoughts are pulled to fixing it.  Maybe you feel frustrated to be interrupted from your flow.  That’s ok!

Invite God into the interruptions.

Invite God into the frustrations.

Invite God into the blips and bumps of your everyday.

Jesus, you wrap me in your love.

Advent Series – Service Outlines

Advent 2021 Supplementary Resources

This creative prayer enable focus and calm to encourage prayer, it is also something which families can take away and use in their own time and space.

You will need: pieces of twine or wool to offer to each person/family.

Take a piece of string or cord, and tie five knots in it to represent each of the five people or issues you have committed to pray for. You could carry the knotted string in your pocket, tie it round your wrist or place it somewhere that you’ll see it regularly. Use the knots to remind you to pray for each person or issue, that they would know God’s Hope even in impossible situations.

Adapted from Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Resources.