Prayer Stations

Many of us grew up thinking prayer had to happen according to certain formulas - on our knees at bedtime or as blessings before meals or as part of a worship service on Sunday mornings.  Many of us just weren't very successful at the discipline of prayer on our own.  Prayer stations provide people of all ages with creative ways to experience prayer using a variety of the senses. Stations can be designed to appeal to children, youth, adults, or intergenerational groups.  Different stations appeal to different folks depending on their learning styles and preferences, personalities, and experience. 
 
Prayer stations often engage both the right and left brain, as well as the senses. They invite us to connect with God and with our whole selves.  Some stations involve visual arts (like praying while coloring or painting); some stations involve the whole body (like yoga poses or sign language prayers); other stations involve creative writing of prayers in response to Scripture prompts or some journaling; some invite prayer in response to photos of people or nature or places in the world.  

Prayer stations are a great addition in retreat settings, as part of worship services, during youth groups, or as liturgical season prompts.  There are lots of ideas for different prayer stations on line (such as on Pinterest) but you can get first hand experience with Prayer Stations at the Arts, Recreation, and Worship Conference at Montreat, NC in May 2020.  Spend a week experiencing a variety of prayer stations, creating some new ones, and setting them up for other conferees to experience.  Go home with a wealth of ideas to try out in your own setting.  Let us pray.........

Deb Guess is an artist, gardener, lover of good food and all things creative, as well as a proud wife, mom and grandmom.
You can learn more about her ARW workshop  HERE.