Fish Prayer Squares

This prayer practice is a tool I developed to use with the Intergenerational VBS and Sunday School at First Evangelical Lutheran Church of North Platte. I am also currently using it as a part of the Intergenerational Worship workshops I am presenting in 2023-2024.

Leading the Practice

1.  Notice the spiral. This fish is crocheted in a spiral pattern that we can trace in and out as we pray.  Hold it in your open palm and use a finger from your other hand to trace.
2. Connect to your breath.  As you expand your lungs, trace the spiral out.  As you exhale, trace the spiral in.  Do this for 3-5 breaths.
3. Think about the prayer prompts as you continue to breathe and trace the spiral.  As you breathe out and trace in, how has God been generous to you?  As you breathe in and trace out, in what ways do you want to be generous to God and others?  Do this for three to five breaths, to give people time to consider these questions.
4. Offer your thoughts to God in prayer.  Turn what you have been thinking about to God in prayer, thanking God for God’s generosity, and asking for help in the ways in which you want to be generous.  The leader may offer less and less words of instruction as you cycle through this round of breaths, for instance, “How has God been generous to you?” becomes “How has God been generous?” then “God’s generosity” then “God to me.” “In what ways do you want to be generous to others?” becomes “How do you want to be generous?” then “My generosity” then “me to God and others.”
5. Conclude this time of prayer.  After a few more breaths with no added words, add an “Amen.”  People may share what they prayed about, or keep the conversation between themselves and God.

Here is the pattern to make your own Fish Prayer Squares: https://goodgodideas.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/fish-prayer-square-crochet-pattern.pdf

Fish Prayer Square crochet patternDownload

For this project, used “I Love This Yarn” in Kaleidoscope. I used a 4.0 mm crochet hook.

Focus Verses for Praying with Beads

Here are some suggested verses to use for praying with beads. Feel free to add your own!

“Blessed are you, O Lord, for you have shown me the wonders of your love when I was under siege.”  (Psalm 31:21)

“Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” (Psalm 31:5)

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” (1 John 1:8)

“The Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)

“I call on you, and you answer me.” (Psalm 86:7)

“My eyes are turned toward you, O God.” (Psalm 141:8a)

“Take heart, my child; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

“O give thanks to the Lord; God’s steadfast love endures forever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34)

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

Portable Prayer Stations for Confirmation

Portable Prayer Stations

In order to make it super simple to engage in the Creative Prayer Practices each week, you will need to gather supplies for your Portable Prayer Station.  A Portable Prayer Station is a bag containing all the supplies you need, dedicated specifically for your prayer time.  Below, find a list of items you will need for each practice.  You may choose to gather a few items at a time as needed, or to have everything on hand and ready to go.

The Prayer Practices that coordinate with these items is available here: https://deeprootsconfirmation.wordpress.com/sc-creative-prayer-practices/

Items needed for Portable Prayer Station:

+  a canvas bag or canvas string backpack (you may decorate this with fabric markers, if you wish)

+ an LED tea light or small pillar candle

+ your prayer cards for this unit

Office Supply Prayer:

Choose one of the following:

+  a rubber band ball with multiple colors of rubber bands

+  a container of large paper clips with multiple colors of paper clips

+  one six sided die

Pray Dough Prayer:

+ a container of your favorite color of soft dough (my favorite is Crayola Dough).  You could also find a recipe online.

Praying in Color:

+ good quality unlined drawing paper

+  your favorite type of coloring utensils with a fine tip (markers, pens, pencils, crayons, etc.)

Praying with Beads:

Choose one of the following options.

+ a bracelet or necklace with 7 to 10 large beads (You might make your own with the instructions provided here:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2021/08/01/prayer-bead-bracelets/

+ a set of Rosary beads

+  a set of party beads (attach a small wooden or metal cross)

Labyrinth Prayer:

Choose one of the following options.

+  print a finger labyrinth: https://www.relax4life.com/download-paper-finger-labyrinths/

+  draw your own labyrinth: https://whitebeararts.org/2020/04/meditation-in-motion-drawing-walking-a-finger-labyrinth/

NEW Supplies needed for Unit #2

Coloring Prayer:

+  a set of your favorite type of coloring utensils (colored pencils, markers, gel pens, etc.)

Choose one of the following:

+  Luther’s Small Catechism, Enlarged Edition https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/22777/Luther-Small-Catechism-Enlarged-Anniversary-Study-Edition

+  The Illuminated Catechism by Tony Cook https://www.amazon.com/Illuminated-Catechism-Tony-Cook/dp/0758657447

+  NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Word-Coloring-Bible-Hardcover/dp/0310445574

+  An adult coloring book with Bible verses or prayers

Mosaic Prayer

+ colorful strips of paper in contrasting or coordinating colors

+  a pair of scissors

+  watercolor paper or other stiff paper for a background

+  a glue stick or bottle of glue

+  a marker or pencil

NEW Supplies needed for Unit #3

Lego Prayer:

+  3 Legos, Duplos, or other snap-together building blocks

Prayer Stones:

+ river stones with at least one flat side

+ acrylic paint for painting a background

+ medium craft paint brush

+ fine tip paint markers

Prayer Bead Bracelets

Items needed: 10 large wooden beads (large) -OR- 7 large wooden beads (small), 1 medium wooden bead (large) -OR- 2 medium wooden beads (small), 1 small cross bead, 12″ Clear Stretch Magic Bead & Jewelry Cord – 1.5mm, scissors

Large bracelet:

1.  Thread the stretchy string through the cross so that half of the string is on each side.

2.  Thread both ends through the medium round bead. 

3.  Thread one end through five larger beads; thread the other end through the remaining large beads.

4.  Tie the string using three overhand knots.  Trim the ends close to the knot.

Small bracelet:

1.  Thread the stretchy string through the cross so that half of the string is on each side.

2.  Thread one end through one medium round bead; thread the other end through the second medium bead.

3.  Thread one end through three larger beads; thread the other end through four larger beads.

4.  Tie the string using three overhand knots.  Trim the ends close to the knot.

Prayer Practice:  Prayer Bead Thanksgivings with Your Household

My husband, Patrick Sipes of The Forming Spirit, prays with beads on a consistent basis while he drives.  I owe the idea of praying beads in this way to him.  We suggest doing this as a group, but it can easily be adapted to personal use.  This week, focus on thanksgivings, but you could also pray for different people on each bead, offer confessions on each bead, ask for help, etc.

1.  Make sure that each member of your family has a set of beads to pray.

2.  Tell your family that this week, we are going to focus on giving thanks to God.  We will each take turns telling God something we are thankful for. 

3.  Begin your prayers by holding the cross and saying (repeat-after-me), “We begin our prayers in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” 

4.  The first person prays their thanksgiving to God.  When that person has prayed, everyone responds, “Thanks be to God,” and holds one bead.

3.  The next person shares their thanksgiving, everyone responds, “Thanks be to God,” and moves on to hold the next bead. 4.  Continue until you run out of beads.  Then, hold the cross while you pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

Visio Divina: The Practice of Looking for God

This year in Confirmation, our creative prayer practice is Visio Divina, or Looking for God. Each week, after we engage the Bible story for the week, we spend some time with a visual image realting to that text to let God speak to us. The video below is a guided meditation through this practice. Feel free to use the image in the video, to choose one from the images below, or to select another from your own camera roll or a key word search at http://www.flickr.com

If the pauses during the video are not long enough for you, feel free to pause the video and return to it when you are ready. God bless you as you look for God through Visio Divina!

Acts 1: Ascension images

image credit: Visual Faith Project People Pack https://vibrantfaith.org/visualfaith/

image credit: Visual Faith Project Youth Pack https://vibrantfaith.org/visualfaith/

Acts 2: Pentecost images

image credit: FIRE by stbjr on flickr.com

image credit: Wind by brraveheart on flickr.com

Acts 3: Healing images

image credit: Jesus Heals by dangermain on flickr.com

image credit: Visual Faith Project People Pack https://vibrantfaith.org/visualfaith/

Acts 4: Arrest & Persecution images

image credit: molly jail by chubiboako on flickr.com

image credit: jailed by hadock on flickr.com

Petition: Coloring Prayer Focus Word Round-Up

For our 2020 Tri-Saints Lenten Prayer Journal, one of our types of prayer is petition.  We suggest that you find a focus word and pray and color this word as your petition to God. 

You can find the prayer journal here:  https://pbsipes.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/lent-prayer-journal-2020.pdf

In the summer of 2017, I did a series of half sheet coloring pages to encourage us to grow in…(fill in the blank).  Use these sheets as a jumping off point for your own personal petitions to God.  You can use these, or come up with your own, or find another sheet to color from the thousands available for free through an image search on the internet.  I pray that these are inspirational for you in your own petitions.

Grow:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/coloring-prayer-pentecost-summer-season-2017/

Welcome:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/coloring-prayer-pentecost-summer-season-2017-week-3/

Rest:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/07/06/coloring-prayer-rest/

Patience:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/coloring-prayer-patience/

Satisfaction:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/coloring-prayer-satisfaction/

Courage:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/coloring-prayer-courage/

Trust:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/coloring-prayer-trust/

Peace:  https://goodgodideas.wordpress.com/2017/08/31/coloring-prayer-peace/

All Saints Prayer Stations

Here are the prayer stations that we had the chance to experience for All Saints Day at church.  You can adapt them for your own devotions.

We are Called

“Come to me, you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

Every Sunday morning, the bells call us to worship.  Whether you are aware of it or not, we believe that the Holy Spirit called you to be here today.  As you arrive at church this morning, what are you bringing with you?  It might be a certain attitude, or worry, or joy.  It might be exciting, or sad, or distracting.

Write one of those things on the paper table cloth, place your hand on it, and choose one of singing bowls to ring.  As you listen to the sound of the bowl, offer whatever it is that you are bringing with you today to Jesus.  Jesus will receive it, and help you bear it, and give you rest during this time of prayer.

We are Gathered

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together.  –Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 5

We believe that it is almost impossible to believe on your own.  Because of this, the Holy Spirit gathers us into communities of faith.  Each of us brings our own gifts and talents, our own abilities and experiences, and the sum total of these gifts shapes us into a marvelous whole.  What do you have to offer to the gathering of the saints on earth?

Choose a stone.  You might write a word or draw a simple picture on the stone with a paint marker, or simply your name.  Hold it in your hand as it dries, and pray a breath prayer: (Exhale) Use (Inhale) Me.  When it is dry, add it to the container of stones as a visual reminder of our gathering (you may take it with you after worship today).

We are Enlightened

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. –Matthew 5:16

Today is All Saints Sunday.  Who are the saints in your life?  They may be living or dead, a fond memory or a brand-new relationship forged in hope.  Anyone who has helped you to see the light of Christ is a saint of God for you, no matter their age, ability, or background.

Choose a candle (or two or three) to represent each of the saints that are on your heart and mind today.  Turn them on and place them on the communion railing.  You can sit in the front bench, focus on your candles, and take a few moments to pray in thanksgiving for your saints.  Ask God to enlighten you, that you might also be a saint in the lives of others.

We are made Holy

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. –1 Peter 2:9

As Lutherans, we believe that God makes us holy through the two sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  We believe that Holy Baptism is a once and for all promise that God makes to us which saves us in this life from sin, death, and the power of the devil, and for eternal life with God and lovingkindness toward our neighbor.  This gift is renewed daily, and gives us a fresh start, over and over again our whole life long.

Take a moment to remember your own baptism.  You might dip your fingers in the water of the baptismal font and trace a cross on your forehead, or in the sweet-smelling oil of healing and do the same.  If someone else is at this station with you, you might ask them to trace the cross on your forehead and say “Remember that you are baptized and made holy by God.”

We are Kept & Sent

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.  –Numbers 6:24-26

Although we are called, gathered, enlightened, and made holy in community with one another, we cannot stay here forever.  We are called back out into the world with the promise that God will go with us, wherever we are sent.

Take a few moments to conclude your time in prayer and listen to where God is calling you next.  You might sit on a nearby bench with your palms cupped in your lap, asking God to continue to fill your spirit with peace.  You might pray the Lord’s Prayer with body, mind, and mouth.  You might just take a final moment to savor the quiet.  Take the provided leaflet with you, and use it in the coming week to sustain your faith until we gather again.

Take Home Leaflet:  All Saints Take Home Sheet 18

Play Doh Prayer Guided Meditation

Ball
Make a ball shape out of your dough.  You may continue to warm it, shape it, and knead it as you listen to this word from the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 18:1-6 NRSV
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴ The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁶ Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

• What shape are you in today?  How is God shaping you?  In what ways are you working together with God?

You are the potter, we are the clay.  We are the work of your hands.

Heart
Make a heart out your dough.  You may continue to warm it, shape it, and knead it as you listen to this word from Psalm 51:

Psalm 51:10 NRSV
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

• Who are your friends?  Family members?  Teachers?  Is your heart soft or hard towards them today?  Is there any one of these relationships where your heart needs softening?  Spend a few moments asking God to soften your heart in those places.

• Who are the people who you don’t get along with?  Don’t care about?  Actively dislike?  Spend a few moments asking God to soften your hearts towards one another, to ease conflicts, to bring about peace.

• What is the shape of your heart before God today?  What is on your heart and mind that you need to share with God?  Take a few moments to do this…

You are the potter, we are the clay.  We are the work of your hands.

Figure
Make a shape out of your dough that represents you.  You may continue to warm it, shape it, and knead it as you listen to this word from Psalm 139:

Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15 NRSV
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
³ You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.
¹⁵     My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

• How do you see yourself?  How does the world see you?  How does God see you?  how are these perspectives the same?  How are they different?  Remembering that God loves you all the way, no matter what, take a few moments to thank God for the shape of you, and to ask for what you truly need this day.

 You are the potter, we are the clay.  We are the work of your hands.  Amen.

Many thanks to the ideas from these posts:
https://engageworship.org/ideas/works-progress
http://www.thesanctuarycentre.org/resources/prayer-stations-kinnecting-with-peace.pdf

© Pastor Breen Marie Sipes for Good God Ideas 2018.  Please give credit where credit is due.

Breathing with Prayer Beads

This is part two in a three part series on prayer beads.  You can find the first week here:  Making Mini Prayer Beads

Breathing with Prayer Beads

When I first started doing yoga under a teacher, she told us that the most important part of a yoga practice was learning to breathe.  I thought that this sounded crazy.  I had gotten into yoga to feel better, to get stronger, to become more flexible, and to lose weight.  None of that had to do with breathing!  However, several years down the road, I have found that she was right.  Breathing, connecting to the Holy Spirit, is the most important part of yoga, and really has the most lasting effect on my body, mind, and spirit.  This prayer bead practice will help you to connect to the breath at times and in places where it is just not feasible to roll out a yoga mat.

STEP TWO:  Learning to Breathe

After my car accident, the first thing that I had to do was to learn how to breathe again.  Pain had left me taking shallow, quick breaths, and I didn’t have the concentration to retrain my breathing on my own.  Putting beads in my hand and putting this seemingly simple exercise into the mode of prayer or connecting to the Holy Spirit helped to ground me.  It only takes about a minute and a half, and I have still found it to be a great way to prepare to pray, even after most of the effects of my accident have passed.

 

1. First, I take the time to arrive. Most of the time, I find that my body arrives in a place before my mind or my heart.  If you would like to use essential oils on your lava or wool bead, now would be the perfect time to apply them (it only takes one drop, and some oils absorb better than others).
2. I sit in a comfortable position that enables me to take a deep breath. I hold the beads in both hands and take the time to notice them.  What do they look like?  Feel like?  Smell like?  Sound like?  Once you have arrived and feel fully present, move to the next stage.
3. I begin this stage by holding the section of beads that includes the cross and lava bead in my hand. This is a time to remember who I am addressing, or connecting to, in my prayer.  I take the time to hold the cross and think about God as Son.  What is it like to know that God is your brother?  That he lived on this earth, and felt pain, cold, hungry, thirsty, tired?  That he fully knows my human experience because he experienced it for himself?
4. Next, I hold the small wooden bead above the cross and think about the Holy Spirit. How is the Holy Spirit showing up in the things of every day?  What is it like to know that God is as near to me as my next breath?
5. Third, I hold the lava bead and think about God as Father. What is it like to know that God is my loving parent, who made all things, and still sustains my life?
6. Next, I hold the three remaining smaller beads together, and ask God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be fully present, and to help me to be fully present, as I take the time to breathe.
7. The next part is the intentional breathing part. I take one full, deep yoga breath for each of the next seven large beads.  You can hold each bead still, or move it along the cord, or twist it in time to your breath, whatever helps you to stay fully present.  This is the main part of the prayer, and takes as long as you need it to.
8. When I arrive back at the smaller beads, I take some time to rest and breathe. God rested on the seventh day of creation, and calls us to rest and renew and rejuvenate, as well.  I usually continue to breathe at this place until I feel done, though you might choose to do the circuit of large beads two times, four times, seven times, etc.
9. I conclude by holding the section that I started with, praying the Lord’s Prayer, and concluding with “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” You are welcome to pray in any way that is appropriate to your tradition.

 

I hope that this practice of breathing with prayer beads helps you connect to the Holy Spirit in a deeper way.  Peace be with you!

Making Mini Prayer Beads

For the past few years, I have enjoyed an almost daily yoga practice.  It helps me to feel stronger, more flexible, and like I am taking the time to do something important for myself each day.  More importantly, however, my yoga practice has become my prayer time.  Connecting to my breath, stilling my mind, and letting God speak to me has become more important to me than any of the other benefits that got me into yoga in the first place.  Last summer, I was even able to continue my practice on the road, and so I was entering the fall feeling grounded and connected and ready to put a whole lot of energy into whatever God had in store for me next.

Then, August 15^th happened, and I narrowly avoided a high-speed head-on collision.  Both myself and the driver of the other car were able to walk away from the accident, but the deployment of air bags messed up my left shoulder, both in the front and in the back.  Suddenly, I wasn’t able to stretch my arm over my head, let alone bear the physical demands of a yoga practice.  Because of the constant pain, I felt like I couldn’t even take a deep breath.  And because of the seeming randomness of the accident, I was too angry to really want to speak to God at all.  And things sort of fell apart for a while.

As my physical therapy began, and the pain began to lessen, and I had some time to process the accident, I realized that, although I could not yet practice yoga, I was really anxious to begin connecting to God, praying, again.  After trying some of my old standbys (coloring prayer, Praying in Color, breath prayer), I returned to a prayer practice that I hadn’t done in some time:  prayer beads.  When I had learned prayer beads in the past, it included upwards of forty beads to individually pray, and, at this point in my recovery, that was too intimidating.  For those of you who are Roman Catholic, they are like a set of rosary beads, but patterned on an Episcopal method of praying the daily offices with verses of scripture.  What follows is the practice that I developed for a mini set of prayer beads, which was far more manageable for me at the time (and a bit more portable, as well!)

STEP ONE:  Making the Beads

I believe that if you are going to use something to pray, the making of it should be a holy experience as well.  Take the time to notice what you are doing.  Be fully present.  What do the beads look like, smell like, feel like?  What do they sound like as you string them together?  Are they hard or soft?  Warm or cold?  Rough or smooth?  Stop and say a little prayer as you complete each section.  Pray when you snip off the loose ends.

Materials needed:

1. 1. 21” length very thin hemp cord (you can use what pleases you, but this cord makes knots that stay and has a pleasing sound when the beads slide over it.  I got mine at Walmart.)  
   2. 1 small 7/8” wooden cross bead  (available for purchase here:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XHFMSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )
   3. 1 – 14 mm natural stone lava bead (this is for essential oils.  You can also use a natural wool ball.  Available for purchase here:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01COPTBYO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )
   4. 2 small 10 mm round unfinished wooden beads (available for purchase here:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXRWYT9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )
   5. 2 medium 14 mm round unfinished wooden beads  (available for purchase here:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXRWYT9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )
   6. 7 large oblong wooden beads (mine came from a church member who bought them for me for 25 cents a bag at a thrift store.

Instructions:

1. String about 3 inches of the cord through the top of the cross bead.  Tie three knots (one for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).  
2. String both ends through one of the small wooden beads. Tie three more knots (one for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).  
3. String the long end of the cord through the lava or wool bead. String that same end through the next small wooden bead, one medium bead, all seven large beads, and the last medium bead.  
4. Go back through the small wooden bead that is between the first medium bead and the lava bead. Tie three more knots (one for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).  
5. Clip the loose ends of the cording.  

Now that your prayer beads have been fashioned, you have lots of choices as to how to use them in prayer.   

Two blogs posts will follow with the practices that have been the most helpful for me.