This article was originally published in Edition (5) of Prayer Magazine,  Jan-Mar 2006.

Arrow Prayers

An ‘arrow’ prayer is simply a quick prayer to God, like an arrow shooting up to heaven!  It is a good way of praying a simple thought, especially in the middle of a busy situation or if you find long wordy prayers difficult.  God is just as willing to hear short bursts as great long eloquent prayers: He is always listening!  An example might be, ‘Lord, please help me be patient with (name of person) right now!’ or ‘please let me know what I can say / do to help (name of person) in this current situation’.  (N.B. It would be wise to discern when to pray these out loud with the person in question and when to keep them silent, between you and God!)

Clay shapes

Playing with clay or praying with clay can be a really fun experience.  Many of us have not played with clay or play dough since we were children.  However, most adults who have a go seem to become completely immersed in what they are doing and really enjoy getting their hands dirty!  There are many different activities you could try using clay.

1) Take lumps of clay and mould them into shapes of different parts of creation, for which you would like to thank God.

2) Mould a lump of clay into a shape, which might represent how you are feeling at the moment, or perhaps how you would like to feel and then pray to God asking him to help you.

3) Just enjoy the tactile experience of playing with clay!  It's very therapeutic.

Request Box

Put a cardboard box marked ‘Prayer Requests’ in the corner of your office / staff room / student common room with some notepaper and a pencil to hand.  Invite your colleagues / fellow students to put in any requests for prayer that they may have, anonymous or named.  You can promise to pray for them, either on your own or in a regular prayer meeting with other Christian colleagues / students.  People are often touched by the thought that someone is praying for them, even if they have no or little faith themselves.  Offering to pray for someone in this way may also open up further conversations about prayer and your faith in Christ. 

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