Kids of the King, Arise!

As My mouth you shall be:

This was the phrase that headed up a teaching that was sent out a few weeks ago. It got me to thinking.
What does the Bible say about kids and what they say? Are there instances where words were important. As I thought these scriptures came to mind. Look over them carefully

Psalm 8:2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise… to silence the foe and the avenger.

John 14:6 Jesus answered “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life”

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:6-8 “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

1 Kings 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD—he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!”

1 Samuel 17:45-46 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

Jeremiah. 15:19 If you take out the precious from the vile, you will be as my mouth.

John 8:44 the devil…He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Now in these verses God is speaking to Jeremiah and David is speaking and Elijah. O.K. God doesn’t touch each of our mouths the same way? We aren’t all called to be prophets, but we are all called to speak truth. We have talked before how Jesus only did what he saw Father God doing, and He said in the same way he was sending us if we are to be His followers.

Do you remember the prayer picture that Cole recieved that we shared a short while ago? (March 2nd post)

Now he was not the only one that had prayer pictures about “Joseph” and his rainbow coat that evening. God was really highlighting something. He was pointing out the importance of “the church”, (not the building really, but the people that make up the church) to reach out.

Jesus didn’t send the Helper so that we can get our prayer needs met, or to help us get rid of our bad habits, although He does help us with those, but His TOP priority was that we witness to the world out there,(that is still held captive in the Kingdom of darkness) in LOVING SERVICE. He asks us to draw close to him in prayer, so we know what is on is heart…after all he sees the whole world… and then obey His promtings to reach out.

As we thought about it we decided to explore the meanings behind the colors, and use them as a springboard to ‘carry’ God’s glory out into the streets. So we designed a simple booklet and linked the various colors to a key of the Kingdom. From there we wrote a simple prayer and a scripture fleshing out the principle.

We went over the booklet with the kids and suggested that for the next month they choose one of the colors each day as a reminder to bring that ‘key of the kingdom’ into their world with God’s help.

The kids were instructed to make a necklace out of the rainbow colored beads, or place a single bead on a fine wire, that they could tie onto a necklace or bracelet they were wearing already. Another option was to encourage them to wear an item of clothing reflecting the color that they were going to choose for the day.

So this D.P.G. lesson is to help us walk that out.

Goal
To help kids intentionally carry kingdom principles into the world.
Setting
Room large enough to do crafts and a parachute game
Materials:
-Colorful Beads
-Elastic, wire or fishing line to string beads on.
-Color booklet printed out, one per child (use material below)
-Pencil crayons
Optional
-Rainbow parachute
- Cookies with colored Smarties for snack

Red

Key of the Kingdom: Love

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Lord, help me to know how much you love me. Help me to show your love to someone today, in simple acts of kindness. Open my eyes to see the need in the people you bring across my path today. Give me Your love for them and the strategy that would touch their hearts.

Orange
Key of the Kingdom: Courage
(The fire of the Holy Spirit)
Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NAS

Lord, I need courage today. You know how I face temptations to do wrong every day. Help me to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stood up for You, and didn’t follow the crowd, even when it was very hard. Help me to resist temptation. Thank you that You promise to be with me everywhere I go. (Daniel3:28)

Yellow / Gold
Key of the Kingdom: Truth
(Jesus; the light of the world!)
By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light Exodus 13:20-22 (NIV)

Show me that you are with me today. Be my guide, and help me know your truth in the circumstances I face during the day. Help me to be a child of Light and bring Your light into my world.

Green
Keys of the Kingdom: Life, hope, healing, and new beginnings
…I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10 (Amplified)

Lord, open my eyes to someone who needs a word of life or hope today. Give me Your words or acts to bring healing into his/her life.

Light Blue
Key of the Kingdom: Peace
(The water of the Holy Spirit)
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness (GOD’ S PEACE), everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. Philippians 4:5-7 (The Message)

Today when I am worried, help me to remember that You are in control. When I run into situations today where there is there is conflict or hurting. Help me to bring your peace into the problem.

Indigo / Dark Blue
Key of the Kingdom: Obedience
(Hearing God’s Voice)
… mark each corner tassel (of your prayer shawl) with a blue thread. When you look at these tassels you’ll remember and keep all the commandments of God, and not get distracted by everything you feel or see… Numbers 15:38-41 (The Message)

When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Luke 11:1-3 NIV

Lord, help me listen to your still small voice and obey. Help me to obey your still small voice, even when it doesn’t make sense. Use me today to do your will on Earth as it is in Heaven. Use my hand, my mouth and my feet, to bring your compassion, kindness and truth into my world.

Violet / Purple
Key of the Kingdom: Authority
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20 (NIV)

Thank You that You have authority over the kingdom of darkness and that You have given that authority to me. Jesus, use my voice to speak out the words of truth and blessing that You would want to say. Use me to draw someone to You today.

Pink
Key of the Kingdom: Good relationships, Unity
I (Jesus) pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21(NIV)

The goal is for all of us to become one heart and mind!!

Jesus, help me today to be like You. Show me how to get along with________ so that others will know that You are in me and believe in You.

White
Key of the Kingdom: Purity
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

…become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)

If I am in a situation where I am tempted today, help me to choose to think about the things that will bring joy to Your heart. Help me to walk as a child of Light. Help me to think about things that bring joy tom your heart.

Black
Key of the Kingdom: Humility
(Death to self & sin)
The lifestyle of the wicked is like total darkness, and they will never know what makes them stumble. Proverbs 4:19 (CEV)
… If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to Me, you’ll find both yourself and Me. Matthew 10:38 -39 (The Message)

Help me to see others through Your eyes, Jesus. Help me to remember that Your ways are better than my ways, and not insist on having my way. When I feel like being selfish, help me to remember that You gave Yourself for us.

2) Parachute game:
Purpose. -Visualize a canopy, like Gods’ glory over a person or a nation.
Pray for a person or nation, using the color principles.

1. Review of basic guidelines re: using a parachute. See websites listed below.
2. Place a map of your nation on the floor, or chose one of the participants to sit in the middle of the floor.
3. Cover the map, or person with the parachute, and instruct the rest of the kids to hold the edges of the parachute by the handles

a. Play Cathedral/Canopy
• Canopy Players lower the parachute and then on the count of three raise their arms high once the parachute is quite high. Everyone then quickly takes 3-4 giant steps toward the center and pulls the parachute behind them and sit down with their bottoms on the edge of the parachute.
• Being in the Canopy brings a sense of peace, calm and wonder. Discuss: being in the ‘canopy’ is like being in a safe peaceful “God Place” together.
• Encourage prayer for the nation or person under the canopy, using the thoughts that were learned from the colors booklet.
• E.g., Help ___________to show God’s love today. Give the leaders in our nation of __________ to have the courage to speak the truth… and so on.

b. Putting on the rainbow coat.

-Have one of the children sit in the middle of the parachute and the rest hold the handles.
-All together pray that “Johnny’ will be a carrier of God’s glory this week.
-Slowly walk in the same direction, “wrapping” the parachute around the child. (make sure it dosn’t go as far as their neck)
-When they are ‘wrapped’ in the coat, have the kids holding the handles on a count of three, pull and take a large step back wards.
-The child in the center will spin…

For information re: parachute activities:
http://www.funandgames.org/parachute_games.html

We’re at our last circle, the earth! We’ve prayed from our families, to our churches, cities, provinces, nations and now the ends of the earth.

This Month’s Prayer Focus: Praying For The World 

 

GOAL: To pray for the world in a way that is fun.
          To learn more about the needs of children in the world.
SETTING: Room with a large map of the world have words in yellow/gold on the map “Shine Jesus Shine”
               or a globe
               or a  Globall, a beach ball with the globe printed on it. To order: (prayer tools for praying for the children of the world) - google for: Esther Ilnisky, Esther Network International. 
 
METHOD: Have one or two different centers in place, each with hands on items from a nation. If possible have some food that is particular to that nation for a snack. If possible invite a missionary to come and share.
Through powerpoint or overhead aquaint the children with the needs of kids around the world.

HEART PREP:
O.K. Let us pray first: “Lord we cover this place and all of us with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that we get to pray for the world! Because of our prayers kids all over the world will come to Jesus!
Everybody hold out their hands. The Bible tells us to come to God with clean hands and a pure heart. (Ps 24) so lets all pray together, “Lord, if I have done anything to make my hands dirty by doing things I should not have done, please forgive me and wash them to make them clean.”
Instruct the kids to put their hands on their hearts. have the kids repeat: “God if my heart is not pure, make it pure right now. I want You to hear me when I pray Forgive any bad thoughts I have had.” AMEN!
WORSHIP
From the ends of the earth
to the depths of the sea
to the heights of the heavens
your name be praised
Sing: Show Your Power
This is what is on God’s heart that the whole world knows how much He loves them
Have someone recite John 3:16
ASK: Does anyone know how many people are in theworld today?
(There are 6.5 billion people on earth)
ASK: How many of these are children?
(52% of these are kids under the age of 15)
Not all children are as fortunate as you are. Let’s have a look at what many other kids are facing in the world today.

PREPARE: Beforehand on black construction paper the following statistics:
-Put the headings on one set of construction paper
-And the statistics on another set.
-Hand them out and then ask the kids to mingle and try to find the statistics that belong to the headings.

What it is like to be a kid in the world today?

CHILDREN LIVE  WITH AIDS
• about 3 million new cases of_______each year
• 13 million children’s parents die because of_________               .
• 64 % of children who have__________and are 1 to 10 years old will die this year

CHILDREN ARE STREET KIDS (HOMELESS)
• 100 million_________                                    .
• no parents to care for them
• no safety (protection)for the___________
• abandoned
• get beaten up and hurt

CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY.
• 28% of children do not have enough food to eat ( malnourished)
• 17 million children starve to death each year
• 35 thousand children starve to death each day

CHILDREN GO TO WORK (NOT SCHOOL)
• 200 million child laborers between the age of 5 and14 years old.
• 2 out of 3 children live on less than $2.00 per day

CHILDREN LIVE WITH  WAR
Because of __________in the last 10 years
• 1.5 million children were killed,
• 4 million disabled,
• 12 million lost their homes

CHILDREN LIVE WITH  WAR
• 90% of people killed in__________ are women and children, not soldiers
• 70% of refugees made by ____________ are children

CHILDREN LIVE WITH  WAR
• 300 thousand children were forced to be child soldiers
• Child soldiers are forced to find land mines.
• Child soldiers are forced to act as human shields.

GIRLS ARE NOT LOVED AS MUCH AS BOYS
• 60-100 million __________ have “disappeared” in the last 10 years
• 15 million_____________ who are 8 to 15 years old are already mothers and have their own  children to take care of
• it is not important for girls to go to school
• boys get birthday parties and presents, girls might not

CHILDREN ARE KILLED BEFORE THEY ARE BORN (ABORTED)
• 40 million children ARE ___________each year
• It used to be against the law to____________ but now it isn’t.
• 1 billion children in the world have been______________ now that it is not against the law.

After the kids have found the clues:

ASK: Do you know that Jesus loves you and all the children of the world?  Do you know that Jesus weeps at all the suffering that they are going through? Do You know that millions of them don’t even know about Jesus?

ASK: What is Jesus doing in heaven right now? (He is interceeding for us and for the people of the world)
Shall we join Him in praying for the children that are hurting like we talked about? Let us ask Jesus what we should pray for. Take turns praying.

Have time for a water break.

Mission Center
When the kids come back have a center ready with pictures and hands on items from a nation that you have chosen beforehand. Have a snack ready particualar to that nation. Share some of the needs and points of interest. Prepare beforehand a map of that nation out of bristol board. Then cut it into puzzle pieces. On the backs write down prayer points. Have the kids put the map together as they pray the points that are on the back.
CLICK on the side bar. “Other interesting sites” and go to “Operation world” for lost of ideas and information about various nations.

CLOSE: By coming back together and sitting around the world map or globe. Quiet your hearts and ask Jesus if there is any place in the world that is on His heart right now that we should pray for. Last year we asked our DPG kids that and one felt to pray for Australia against fires. He had no idea that there were HUGE fires there at that time. Someone else felt to pray for Indonesia, and there was an earthquake there that week and no one was hurt!
* Some of the ideas in this DPG were gleaned from Esther Ilinsky’s book “Let the children Pray”
* Statistics from Audio C.D. by Jennifer Toledo “Raising up the Next Genereation”

MEET WITH ME
(We will interrupt the Acts 1:8 focus for DPG for December and return to it in January)
Materials Needed:
Butcher Paper
Markers
Christmas tree
Mini Christmas lights
Construction paper
CD of quiet worship music
Pictures of nature scenes
Manger with hay
Cross
Basin and water
Towel
Invitation to meet with God (given to the kids before hand with date time etc.)

Opening activity.
Outside the room that you will be meeting. Have large table with butcher paper in place with the names of God in block letters for the kids to color in as they arrive. Have someone there to explain the different names and what they mean.

ASK:Did you know there are MANY different names in the Bible that tell us what God is like? Each of them shows us something different about Him. Some of them are:

Faithful                                  A Mighty Fortress
Our Refuge.                           God most High
God Almighty                         A Rock
Our Savior                             KING OF KINGS
Our Shield                             The God who heals us
Our Provider                          God of all comfort
The Righteous Judge             The Eternal One
The Alpha and Omega           The Ancient of Days
Our Redeemer                       Only Wise
Our Father                             The Anointed One
The Good Shepherd               The Light of the world
The Prince of Peace               The Wonderful Councilor
The Morning Star                   The GREAT I AM

Now take one of the names and think about what that might mean.
For example, Faithful One means that God is always the same and will always be there for you. He will never let you down. Thank Him for that and let those thoughts and feelings go deep into your heart. Dialog about the name you choose and why this is special to you.
Have kids sit down and talk to them about meeting God today. God has invited them to meet with Him today… You have all received an invitation, Right?
Read Exodus 3:1-8A  God is a holy God and to meet with him we need to cleanse our hearts.

Instruct: Kids to do an attitude check. Is there something you need to get right? Did you lie, steal etc. Make a plan to make things right.
When ready come to door of the room and leader washes feet of the kids as they go into the room. Instruct them to sit around the christmas tree and wait quietly.

Have room set up with stations. Worship music playing quietly or nature music in background.

Station One:
-Tree with Christmas lights…to draw on the lights from the underground church we talked about last month. Also to draw on God meeting Moses in the “burning bush”

-On tree place construction paper “Balls” with word “I am” on it. Leave space for kids to write on ornament. Kids each take one and fill it out.
ASK: What do you need for God to be to you today?
I am your friend
I am faithful
I am your healer
I am your provider
I am the way
I am the truth
I am the light 
  
 

You could project this picture on the wall behind the tree. This is what came on the wall in a school classroom in Bearns River in Northern Canada. As a result many in that town came to know God’s love for them! www.canadaawakening.com

Station 2
God has asked to meet with us. What is our response?  
To gain a greater appreciation of the depth of worship, and our response it is helpful to look at some of the Hebrew words used in worship.

a)      Rejoice
This Hebrew word we would pronounce gool. This word means to spin around (under violent emotion), its like jumping and doing a 360-degree turn in the air.
Read each of the following verses.
The Lord your God is with you, a victorious warrior.  He will take great delight in you.  He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!  (Isaiah 49:13)

ASK: How do the heavens rejoice? (they gool…spin!)
Leader: Share the scripture in Zephaniah again. Without telling them what’s coming call someone to the front. Say that you will demonstrate how God rejoices over them. Do a 360 in the air while shouting stuff like Go, Josh, Go! You can do it! It takes them a little by surprise but then talk about our image of God as our Father and that He does rise from His throne occasionally!  Many have the idea that God sits in a stately manner on His throne and never moves.
b)      Praise
This Hebrew word we would pronounce yaw daw.  This word literally means to hold out the hand, expecting to receive. This is an act of worship as we act out the knowledge that everything we have comes from God, and we hold out our hands to receive his blessing expecting Him to do so.
Read these verses.
 
Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise. (Psalm 79:13)

c)      Bow
This Hebrew word we would pronounce kaw rah. It means to bend the knee.  In other words, to sink, to prostrate, –which is lying face down on the floor–bow, bring down (low), cast down, kneel, (stoop) down or subdue.
 
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
 (Psalm 95:6)
 
Ask: different people to demonstrate as many ways of bowing as they can think of.  (From the waist, on the knees with your back straight, prostrate, on your knees with your forehead on the ground.)  Speak about kings and the respect that was expected them.
 
ACTIVITY: A game that is fun after teaching them these words is to call out a Hebrew word and have them model the appropriate action.  The faster they are called them out and the more they are mixed them up the more fun it is!
 
RESPONSE:
         Listen to “Meet With Me” by Lamont Hiebert.  Its song number 7 on Shout to the Lord Kids! #2.  
        The Hebrew words that have been taught have been put to this song to express worship. Adapt it to the age group you are working with.

Meet With Me

Im here to meet with You                              In an attitude of prayer, raise arms     
Come and meet with me.                           In (Yaw Daw position) expecting
Im here to find you.                                         God to meet with them
Reveal Yourself to me.             
                                                                       
As I wait                                                          Fall on knees with praying hands
You make me strong                                  Flex muscles
As I long                                                          Still on knees, forehead on floor (kaw-rah)

You draw me to Your arms                              Hug yourself
As I stand                                                         Stand
And sing Your praise                                  Hands move from mouth upward
You come,                                                       Sweep right hand up from left shoulder and hold
You come                                                        Sweep left hand up from right
                                                                        shoulder.  (yaw-daw position)
And You fill this place                                 Twirl once 360 degrees (gool)
Won’t You come                                              Same as You come except
Won’t You come and fill this place.              Twirling opposite direction
 
Station 3: Soaking: 
After this Go to cradle…Write “Emmanuel” on side of cradle. Hay in cradle with scripture verses on cards.
ASK: What does Emmanuel mean? (God with us)
Tell Kids that they are going to spend some quiet time with God. They can take a scripture verse from the cradle at this time. EG:
(John 15: 9) I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. When you obey me you are living in my love.
(Deut.4:31) For the Lord your God is merciful - he will not forsake you…or forget his promises to you.
(1 Peter 5: 7)  Let him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.
(Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the plans  that I have for you plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
(John 14: 15-16) If you love me, obey me, and I will ask the Father and He will give you another comforter, and He will never leave you
(Is.43:1) But now the Lord, who created you, says, don’t be afraid… I have called you by name; you are mine!

ACTION: Take these cards with the scripture verse and find a quiet spot with a pillow (if possible).
Think about what the verse says to you.
Take some time to talk to God and let Him know how you are doing. Tell Him about your day and what is on your heart. For example, you could say to him, “Lord, I had a really good day because….. “Or “Lord, it was a bad day for me because….” He loves to hear from you! Make sure to tell Him that you love Him.
After 3-4 minutes of quiet, start worship music. Some suggestions are:
“Father”. (from Kids Praise CD.)
Chuck Girrard’s CD “Fire and Light”
1)Talk to me   2) Enter In  3) Holy Holy Holy…
While the worship music is playing if possible project some beautiful nature scenes on the wall. If that is not possible, take pictures from magazines  and have them around for the kids to see.

Station 4:

Go to cross and empty tomb picture. We had a banner that said “King of Kings” behind the cross.
Response:

Kneel and thank God for what He has done for you.

Optional other scripture passages:
*(Is 9:6) gives some of the names of Jesus…and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 
*Rev. Chapter 4, gives us a picture of the majesty of God.

CLOSING:
Time of blessing for each child and anoint them with oil. (Have other children continue coloring the banner with the names of God)
LEAVE ROOM FOR GOD TO INTERRUPT

Taking this verse over the NEXT TWO MONTHS, we will continue to pray in concentric circles. We started by praying for ourselves and our families, then our church, then our city last month it was our provinces or states.  This month we will focus on our nation, and then the next time rest of the world. In other words we will take this verse and have it apply to our own “ Jerusalem ”. For me it would be from My family, to my church, to my city, Winnipeg , to Manitoba , to Canada and then to the world.  What would it be for you?

Picture of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada’s Capitol City

This Month’s Prayer Focus: Praying For Your Nation 

GOAL: To pray for your nation in a way that is fun.

SETTING: Room with a large map of your nation on the floor. If a map is not available mark out the borders of your nation and any subdivisions with masking tape on the floor. Make it large.

METHOD: Through scripture determine what is on God’s heart concerning the nations of the world. Pray these things over your nation, making a wall of prayer around the nation.
-This can be done over a period of weeks adding to it each week.

Materials Needed:

- Map of your nation.

- Markers

- Magazines and newspapers.

-Construction paper cut into 2 inch by 5-inch rectangles.

OR

-Masking tape

-Duplo blocks.
-A March For Jesus C.D.   

MEETING:

CALL TO WORSHIP:

• Read Psalm 24

WORSHIP:  Prepare The Way by (Darrell Evans and Eric Nuzum)                 

                      Ancient Of Days by (Gary Sadler)

                      Glory to the Lord Our God by (Robin Mark)  
   

SCRIPTURE: Look up Isaiah 65 vs. 17-25 (LB).
As you read it carefully look at what will take place in the New Earth. This is a picture of what is on God’s heart for the world.
“For see, I am creating new heavens and a new earth - so wonderful that no one will even think about the old one any more. Be Glad; rejoice forever in my creation. Look! I will recreate jerusalem as a place of happiness, and her people shall be a joy!And I will rejoice in jerusalem, and in my people; and the voice of weeping and crying shall not be heard there anymore. No longer will babies die when only a few days old; not longer will people be considered old at 100! In those days, whe a man builds a house, he will keep living in it - it will not be destroyed by invading armies as int eh past. My people will plant vineyards and eat the fruit themselves - their enemies will not confiscateit. For my people will live as long as trees and will long enjoyu thier hard-won gains. Yheir enemies willnot eat their harvests; their children will not be born to be cannon fodder. For they are the children of those the Lord had blessed; and their children woo shall be blessed. I will answer them before they call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw as the ox does, and poisonour snakes shall strike no more! In those days nothing and no one shall be hurt or destroyed in all my Holy Mountain, says the Lord.”

INTERACTION:
Have one of the March For Jesus CD’s, or the Revival in Belfast CD playing quietly in the background,
1) Take a large map of your nation and place it on the floor, or make an outline of your nation with masking tape on the floor. ( If you don’t have one of your nation, you can search on google, “map of——-”

2) Look at the scripture passage and in groups of 3-4 discuss and write down all the different characteristics that are found in the “New Earth”. Eg. ‘The voice of weeping and crying will not be heard anymore’. etc.
3)After you have finished looking at the whole passage in groups, come together and share what you found. Write them down on a large piece of paper or an overhead.
4) Go back into your small groups and… 
 ASK: What is the first thing you see in this passage that is on God’s heart for his people?
               ‘The voice of weeping and crying will not be heard anymore’. 
 Then ask questions that can turn these items into prayer points for your nation.
For example:
    ”What in our nation causes weeping and crying? How about children who run away from home? How could we pray for that? etc. Pray in the opposite spirit… instead of crying laughter, instead of sorrow joy…
Look through some magazines until you find a picture that would express your prayer. Then on the map that is in front of you, eg:paste a picture of a parent embracing a child, or a picture of a family having fun together. This would be a reminder that this is what is on God’s heart, unity, joy and love between family members. PRAY: eg. Father we pray that instead of families that are in pain, we ask that you would draw them together in love. Heal the hurts and misunderstandings between family members.
What are other things that cause weeping and crying? Follow the same format to process into prayer and ask questions that can turn these items into prayer points for your nation.

ACTION: Find out if there are organizations dealing with street kids in your town or city. Someone could perhaps contact them and see if there is any way to help or pray for them.

3) Now how about “my people will plant vineyards and eat the fruit themselves?” How could we pray for that?   Think of what the farmers grow in your nation. Are there many cattle? Is fishing an industry? O.K. Then using that information: Pray for the fishermen as their season opens. Pray for safety that they would catch enough fish to provide for their families. Pray that the farmers would have a good crop. Pray for rain, and that insects won’t eat the crop. Pray especially for areas that had a poor crop the year before. (Our Daniel Prayer group did that if you remember from the last DPG posting in October. Do you know what happened? Well the crop yield this year was 3 times what they usually harvested and the price of wheat went up from $2 to $7 a measure.!!)

ACTIVITY: Over the fishing areas on your map, paste pictures of a lot of fish. Over the farming areas glue Huge Potatoes, or carrots, or even glue a sprig of wheat. Pray that this will be a picture of the blessing that God will bring these communities.

4) NOW on your own over the next while take each part of that verse and think about how that can apply to your country. Look in the newspaper and ask God to lead you to things to pray for. Read the item and then look at the verse and see if there is a promise you can claim for that situation.

OTHER IDEAS TO HELP YOU PRAY:

1) Look at newspapers to see some of the things that are happening in your country that are the opposite of what is on God’s heart. Cut them out.

2) Find pictures in magazines that reflect the new heaven and earth. For example, you may have found a picture or story of an abused child.  Find another picture or story of a child happy and at play.  Place the positive picture over the first one, and pray that God would bless the children and that they would no longer be killed in war or abused. But instead that God would intervene and give them joy.

3) Place the picture on the map of your nation in the area that this took place.

4) Continue and be creative. Over the map write a scripture that reflects God’s power, God’s love, or a prayer for God’s glory to fill your nation.

5) Take pieces of cut up construction paper and write prayers for your nation on it. You can write prayers for Government officials, leaders, communities, etc on them. Each week add to these and build a wall of prayer around the edges of the map.

* For younger kids you can have them hold a duplo block and say a prayer for their community or nation, and then build a wall out of duplo blocks around the map.

6) Again spread out newspapers on the floor and ask the Lord to lead you to situations to pray for. There are many needs expressed and many times there is no one to intercede for them. Pray and add those prayers to your ‘wall’.

7) Have people walk over the map on the floor or place their hands in different places. Play a worship C.D. Stop it at different intervals and instruct the people to pray for the area that they are standing on.

Use the principals of Intercession to ask God what is on His heart for your nation. He may lead you to a specific situation or city to pray over.

9) Call out God’s promises in scripture over your nation. In Canada the scripture that God gave the Father’s of Confederation was “He shall have dominion from sea to sea”. Pray this over your nation.

10) Use Psalm 72 as a basis to pray for the government of your nation or city. For example, ‘O God, help those in leadership in our country to judge as you would, and help his advisors to walk in godliness…’ etc.

YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSLAEM AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA , AND EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (ACTS 1:8)
Taking this verse over the NEXT THREE MONTHS, we will continue to pray in concentric circles. We started by praying for ourselves and our families, then our church, then our city.  This month we will focus on our provinces, (or states). Next month our nation, and then the rest of the world. In other words we will take this verse and have it apply to our own “ Jerusalem ”. For me it would be from My family, to my church, to my city, Winnipeg , to Manitoba , to Canada and then to the world.  What would it be for you?

This Month’s Prayer Focus: provinces or states
Let’s look at some information about what the governments of the provinces are responsible for.  In Canada there are 10 provinces and 3 territories.  Each has its own capital city and is headed by a Lieutenant Governor (provinces) or a Commissioner (territories), and advised by the Premier (provinces) or a Government Leader (territories). The Provincial government in Canada is responsible for property and civil rights, administration of justice, natural resources and the environment, education, health, and welfare. The government meets in the Legislative building in the Capitol City.

Go to the site below to click on the map that comes up to find information on each province in Canada.  If that doesn’t work cut and paste the link into your search engine. When the link pulls up, click on the “Government of Canada” section.  Then scroll down to the “see also” section at the bottom. Click on Provinces and territories.

http://www.linktolearning.com/government/responsibilities.htm

There is also a neat site which has a puzzle game, to find hidden treasures in Canada.
 
http://www.tvokids.com/framesets/play.html?game=9&

O.K. now you know a bit more about Canada. You can probably find similar information about your own province or state if you live outside of Canada on the web.

A) Look back and see what the Provinces are responsible for.
• Property and civil rights
• Justice
• Natural resources
• The environment
• Education
• Health
• Welfare (or caring for the poor)

That is a lot of things! Take a closer look, these are very important areas aren’t they?  How do you think we can pray for some of these?

1.Take justice for example. This includes the judges and lawyers that decide how to rule over things that happen in the province. How do they decide who goes to jail or gets fined or is let go? They need a lot of wisdom don’t they. Well the Bible promises that God will grant wisdom to all who ask Him for it.

James 1: 5 But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

ACTIVITY: Go to a Law office building, or the provincial court. Ask ahead if there is a time that you could see one of the criminal lawyers or judges. Before hand make up a card to hand them saying that you appreciate what they are doing for justice in your province and that you are praying for them that God would grant them wisdom. If he or she is open ask if there is something that you can pray for them regularly.

2.Now let’s look at another area. How about Education, that’s an easy one. The schools and universities in our province are a provincial responsibility. The schools have a HUGE responsibility and a lot of power as they influence what kids are taught which affects how they live. Timothy is encouraged by Paul in 2 Timothy 3: 14-17 to “continue in the things you were taught from childhood…so you may be fully qualified and equipped in every good deed.”

ACTIVITY: Pray for your teachers at school and ask God to help them to teach in ways that would equip you to do what is right.  Bake some cookies for your teacher and thank them for teaching you. Tell them that you are praying for them. Ask God to help you see ways in which you can encourage them. Then Do it.

Parents a really good connection is “Mothers Who Care”. They operate in many different schools and pray for the teachers and the students. You can click on www.breakthroughprayer.com/home/welcomemwc.html for more information.

REMEMBER the best teacher is the Bible.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

3.How about thinking about the Natural resources in your province? In Manitoba farming is very important. There are a lot of farmers and many grow wheat or canola. A year ago there was a flood and then there was no rain at all, not very good for the crops. The farmers were very concerned, and it was mentioned in the news a few times. Well Our Daniel Prayer group heard about it and decided to go to a little town called Morris in Manitoba which is right in the farming area. We took some wheat seeds and a watering can and off we went. We went to a farmer and asked if we could pray for their farm for rain and for God to bless their crops. He said yes and came along. We took the seeds, held them in our hands and asked God to bless the crop this year with a 100 fold harvest. We picked up some soil and thanked God for creating the soil. Then we took a watering can and poured out water onto the ground and asked God to send rain. The farmer thanked us for coming.

Guess what happened? The next morning we woke up to the sound of rain. It had rained all night! One of the people that were with us talked to a farm insurance person the next day and he said, “the rain last night was ‘A million dollar rain’ as it saved the crop!”

Now you too can keep your ears open to discover an area of your province that is in some kind of difficulty. Ask God what you can do to pray for or go to and encourage the people there.

4.Take one of the other areas of government responsibility and think of a creative way to pray for and encourage the people that are involved in those areas. It may be a phone call or going to where they work or making a banner or gift to present to them. Let me know what you come up with in the comment section below. I’d love to post your ideas!!!

B) Another idea would be to go to the legislative building in your province. Walk through the building and look at the pictures on the walls and the statues on the grounds. Ask God to open your eyes to see why these pictures or statues are there.
Beforehand one of the leaders can go to the site and do some research. Then have the kids go to these different points and pray.

For Example: In Manitoba there is a statue of Louis Riel on the grounds. He believed strongly in standing up for the oppressed and poor. He stood up for the rights of the Metis, and wrote the “List of Rights” that was passed by the Canadian Government in 1870. He believed that God had everything in control and the Prayer and fasting were the two great keys to success.

So we prayed at his statue that
• God would hear the cries of the Metis and First Nations people in our province
• that Justice would be done in areas affecting them.
• that God would raise up other people in our province with a heart like that of Louis Riel

Another monument at the Manitoba Legislative building is a Holocaust Memorial. There we:
• Prayed for the Jewish community in Manitoba that there would be no discrimination against them
• Prayed for the peace of Jerusalem as God tells us to do in Ps.122 vs. 6-9 using those verses as a prayer.

You could also go to the Legislative building in your province when it is in session and sit in the visitors seats and pray as the session is going. Pray for wisdom for the leaders that they would make Godly laws. You could even ask to pray for the Premier or one of the other leaders that are there. A group of Kids/youth did that and they were SO encouraged to realize that there were youth that cared. These youth also shared that it was important to them that they passed laws that protected the poor, the unborn and were against drugs and violence.

Don’t forget to add to your poster of praying from Jerusalem –> the ends of the earth.

YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSLAEM AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA , AND EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (ACTS 1:8)

Taking this verse over the NEXT FOUR MONTHS, we will pray in concentric circles. We started in the spring by praying for ourselves and our families, then our church, today we will focus on our city. Next month we will pray for our province, then nation, and then the rest of the world.  In other words we will take this verse and have it apply to our own “Jerusalem”. For me it would be to my city, Winnipeg. Can you find it on the map of Canada? What would it be for you?

This is what a part of Winnipeg looks like. 

THIS MONTH’S PRAYER FOCUS: CITIES                                        
From church to city scripture: Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor …to comfort all who mourn.”

This verse is what you could call Jesus’ mission statement. What do you see that Jesus was called to do?
1. _________good news,
2. _____________the sad or brokenhearted.
3. To set the ___________free…what are things that keep people prisoners?
4. To ________all who mourn

Let’s look at a day in the life of Jesus.
Mark 6:34: When He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

If you look back in Mark chapter 6 you will see that this was a day where Jesus had just heard about the death of his cousin John. He wanted to be alone with his friends, so had gotten on a boat to escape the crowds.  It was a bad day for him. How do you think He felt?How would you have reacted when, you came back to shore way on the other side of the lake, and saw all those people?  I know myself I would probably have quickly gone another way and tried to sneak back without anyone noticing, and text messaged a friend to come and get me from another location. (Oh yeah, He didn’t have a cell phone.)

But no, Jesus didn’t try to sneak away.  He looked at the people with compassion. The word compassion has a HUGE meaning, it actually means that you feel another person’ pain in your gut.  Have you ever felt your heart or tummy hurt when you heard something that made you really sad? When Jesus looked at a crippled boy he would feel the limp, He would feel the loneliness of the leper, and there were times that Jesus wept.  No he could not leave the people alone.  Then at the end of the day, after teaching them and healing the sick, what did he do, he cared enough for them that he didn’t send them away hungry but fed them!

As God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us. If we want to be like Jesus, we need to make Jesus’ mission statement ours!

So today we are going to put on Kingdom goggles and go out into the streets and ask Jesus to direct us to someone that needs to be encouraged today.  We will ask Him to help us be His hands and feet and to bring His love to our city.

Activation:
Have 2 kids, one at a time come to the front. Have them and ask God to highlight someone in the group. Then have them ask the Lord for a word of encouragement for that person.  Wait a few minutes for God to speak to you.
Then share the thoughts that God gave you.
Ask if the word of encouragement that you shared actually did encourage that person.

ACTIVITY:

1) Joanne in Winnipeg felt that the Lord wanted her to go to the streets every Thursday to hand out muffins to the street people and other people that worked on the streets. The kids in our Daniel Prayer group heard about that and thought that was a GREAT idea. So one Saturday we did just that. Boy did they enjoy going out, and did the people receiving the muffins appreciate it. One girl, Katrina, didn’t have chocolate chips at home, but she did have Hershey kisses, so she and her mom made banana muffins with Hershey kisses in them. When she went to the first lady on the street that she saw, she proclaimed “I made these muffins and they have kisses in them just for you.” You can imagine how the lady responded.
So the first activity is to bake muffins ahead of time. Then ask the Lord to show you what area of the city He wants you to go to. In groups of 3, one adult and 2 kids, go out on the street, carrying the muffins. Ask the Lord to “highlight” people on the street and go up to them and offer them a muffin. As you do tell them that God loves them. One boy Jeremy when he went out, ended up talking to one man for awhile and had the opportunity to pray for him.

2) Prayer walk a part of the city that God brings to mind. Look for:
      • Something that brings joy to God’s heart.
      • Something that makes God’s heart sad.
      • Someone or something to pray for.

Jennifer Toledo tells a story of how she took a group of kids out on the street. She had instructed them to ask God to highlight someone and then go to that person with a word of encouragement. One 6 year old girl was drawn to a middle aged lady. She took out a scrap of paper and on it drew a happy face. Then with her partner she walked up to the lady and said, “I just want you to know that when God looks at you He smiles.” The lady burst into tears and said “I was just feeling so sad and thinking that no-one loved me, you have no idea how much that means to me!”

3) Prayer walk a part of the city in your church.
      • Take numerous pictures of a part of the city that the Lord highlights beforehand
      • With masking tape outline the streets on the basement floor, or large open area. Label the street names.
      • Place the pictures around the street signs, where they are found in the city.
      • Put on worship music and march the streets.  E.g. the song “Hosanna” by Paul Baloche in his No Greater Song CD is a wonderful song to pray for the city, asking for God to come into the street, hearts to turn to Him.
      • Have the kids look at the pictures and ask, “What do you think Jesus would see here? How can we pray for that? Take Jesus’ mission statement and ask Him to give you ideas of how you can walk that out. You can check out the ”Yopps heard” section on the blog to get ideas of what other kids have done. 

4) At home, during this month have the kids take city newspapers and look for things to pray for the city. Have them cut these out and bring them to the next meeting. Glue them on the poster that is in progress. (See DPG meetings 1 and 2 on the blog.)

Hosanna by Paul Baloche
Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You
‘Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

Hosanna, hosanna
You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises
Hosanna, hosanna
Come have Your way among us
We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

Hear the sound of hearts returning to You, we turn to You
In Your Kingdom broken lives are made new, You make us new
‘Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

*Daniel Prayer Group meeting ideas will be posted once a month. We usually run the meetings for 11/2 hours, once a month. However  they can be shortened, and you could meet weekly or bi weekly, and you could do one of the different activities each time. These are just ideas to get you going. It is suggested that you start each meeting with a time of worship and sharing and end with a debriefing if you are going out to minister. We finish with the Lord’s prayer and shout out “KINGDOM COME!” while we are focusing on the Kingdom theme.

Activation: HEARING GOD’S VOICE

Objective: Both as individuals and as a group to discern God’s voice. This is written for leaders so the language is a bit more difficult.  Adapt as necessary for the age group you are working with.  At the end is an insert with these points for younger kids that can be printed off.

SETTING: A comfortable room with worship music playing.

METHOD: Using scriptural steps to prepare our hearts through worship, confession, and waiting on God.

Materials needed:
* Bibles
* Large piece of paper or whiteboard
* Markers
* Worship music, either worship C.D. or worship leader familiar with songs of praise and adoration.

We have been called, we are ready to go but where and what are we to do? As ambassadors of the Kingdom we need to have strategy and orders to follow. How do we hear what is on God’s heart? In her book, Intercession, Thrilling and Fulfilling, Joy Dawson shares some steps that have been widely used as a guideline to hear what is on God’s heart. In the work that I have done with King’s Kids God has given us incredible guidance this way. This is not the only way but it is a helpful guidline as to how we can together hear what is on His heart. 

Procedure:
PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE INTERCESSION:

WORSHIP: 
• Spend time in worship, praising God for who he is.
• Choose familiar Hymns or choruses that focus on the character of God, who He is and what He has done.
• Encourage people to call out short prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

CONFESSION:
• Read Psalm 139: 23-24  “Search me oh God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  This is asking the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your heart that makes Him sad. Pause and allow time for the Holy Spirit to point these things out
•Check carefully to see if you resent any one in your heart, and make sure that you have forgiven those who have wronged you.
• Allow time to make things right reconciliation in the group if needed,
• Ask someone to lead in a prayer of confession. 

ACKNOWLEDGE:
• That you can’t really pray effectively without the Holy Spirit’s help. (Romans 8: 26b)
• Invite The Holy Spirit to fill you, guide you and control you as you pray. (Eph 5:18b)
• Pause and again deal with anything that the Lord may bring to mind that you need to repent of.
• Ask someone to lead in a prayer inviting the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance.

REBUKE THE ENEMY:
• Read James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
• Have the leader come against any thoughts or intents of the enemy during this prayer time in the name of Jesus.

SURRENDER: (Since you want to hear what is on God’s heart)
• Your own imagination, or what you are thinking about at the moment.
• Your wishes.
• Your burdens as to what you think we should pray for.
• Read: Proverbs 3:5b…”Lean not on your own understanding.”
                 Isaiah 55:8a…”For my thoughts are not your thoughts.”
Pray silently

PRAISE GOD:
• TOGETHER Praise God and thank Him that He is a God that wants to speak with us.

WAIT SILENTLY
• Have your Bibles with you and respond to the direction of the Lord to passages in the Bible. (Psalm 62:5, Micah 7:7,)
• Listen for His direction. God may bring to mind a scripture, a picture, a name of a person or a place.
• Allow 3-5 minutes for this. (Younger children often receive from the Lord much quicker than older people.)

GATHER TOGETHER
• On a large piece of paper that everyone can see, ask the group what the Lord brought to mind. It is important that everyone share his or her thoughts.
• Don’t worry if what they receive doesn’t make any sense. It may well be apart of the puzzle and a necessary part of the bigger picture. It may also be somthing the Lord will to bring to mind at a later time.
• Go over what you wrote down and see if there is a common theme or sense of direction.

THANK HIM
• Thank God for the time with Him.
• Ask God for further confirmation.
  Take action to what God brought to mind in faith.

YOU CAN COPY THIS REMINDER AND PUT IT IN YOUR BIBLE.

ILLUSTRATION:

Let me tell you of a time that a Daniel Prayer group I was leading, was praying as to what the Lord would have us do in the summer of 1999. The Pan Am games were going to be in Winnipeg that summer and we thought that the Lord wanted us to be involved in an outreach at the games. We followed these principals and the Lord gave one of the kids a very clear picture. It was of an apple that fell on Canadian soil. It was a nice red shiny apple.  After a little while it was picked up, and passed around, but no one wanted it. It was then tossed back to the ground, but this time it had a swastika engraved on the side. She had been reading a book awhile back of the story of Hansi, the girl with the swastika.

We wrote it down along with some other thoughts but it really did not make any sense.

A while later, I went to a conference and there someone gave me a tape of a message that David Demian had received from the Lord for Canada. It was a message that burned in his heart. In a nutshell it told of how he had been seeking the Lord for insight as to what was hindering a move of God in Canada. The Lord revealed to him that it was a root of anti-Semitism that had come to Canada via Europe. The Lord then revealed to Him that this was evidenced most clearly by Canada refusing entrance during WW2 of a boat full of Jewish people fleeing Nazi Germany. They had sought refuge in Cuba and the USA and Canada was its last hope. The response to their plight was “None is too many!”
The boat was subsequently turned back and two thirds of the people died under the Nazi Regime.

When I came home from the conference, the Lord strongly impressed on me to look back at what He had given the kids a few months before. Here I once again read the story of the apple. All of a sudden it became clear. The apple represented the Jewish people, also known as the ‘Apple of His eye”. So how did this effect what we were supposed to do the summer of 99?

A short while later it became clear that God was leading many Christians in Canada to have a ‘Gathering’, in Winnipeg, the heart of Canada, the summer of 1999. This would be a first step to repent for this anti-Semitic act and was the beginning of a Journey of repentance for Canada’s anti-Semitism. It culminated in the bringing of the survivors of this ship, the St Louis, to Canada for a formal apology. The kids that had heard from God that fall of 97, were an integral part of this whole journey.

Carolin Sadler, taken from book Warrior Bride Arise.

Right now in Canada, and LOTS of other nations, many people are praying and asking God to show them what is on His heart. Why not take this teaching and the lessons on hearing God’s voice in the last three Keys of the Kingdom posts and ask God to speak to you. I would love to hear from you. You can do so either by commenting on the blog below or contacting me at carolin@watchmen.org As we have seen on the blog God speaks to kids too and their YOPPS need to be heard. Look forward to hearing from you.

There will also be other times we will be teaching on prayer and having special prayer focuses. For example there will be one coming up later this month on the 17^th… Check it out then!

At the bottom of each post there is a comment section. This is where you can send in a prayer request or answer to prayer or something that God spoke to you about. Just send your first name and age when posting. If you want to connect with me send me an e-mail to kkarise AT shaw DOT ca

O.K. Let’s start.

YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSLAEM AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA , AND EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (ACTS 1:8)

Taking this verse over the NEXT SIX MONTHS, we will pray in concentric circles. We will start by praying for ourselves and our families, then our church, then our city, then our province, then nation, and then the rest of the world. In other words we will take this verse and have it apply to our own “ Jerusalem ”. For me it would be from My family, to my church, to my city, Winnipeg , to Manitoba , to Canada and then to the world.  What would it be for you?

 O.K. let’s start. First of all there are different kinds of prayer. Let’s look at some that we can use to pray for ourselves and our family.

Supplication:

This is praying for our own needs. Right now grab a piece of paper.  On it write some of the things that are on your heart that you would like to share with God. They could be concerns that you have, or things you are happy or unhappy about, or needs, whatever you like. It is between you and God. When you’re done, take some time to pray about these things.

Short, or “Arrow Prayers”:

During the day there are times that you may have a problem, or are in a difficult situation, and then you may say “God I’m stuck, please help me here.”  Or you may have had a delicious tomato sandwich and are thankful and say “Oh God that was SOOOO good. Thank You for making tomatoes!” In other words, these are prayers that you say throughout the day, just like you would talk to your best friend.  Through out this month consciously make a point of sending short arrow prayers, and see how you draw closer to the King. He LOVES to hear from His sons and Daughters.

Intercession:

What is intercession? The easiest way to explain it is that intercession is praying for others.  Picture yourself standing beside someone and God standing on your other side.  In intercession you take the concerns that person has and offer them up the God, like a go-between.  It is not that they are not able to pray to God directly themselves, but in this case, you are praying on their behalf. Sometimes God may bring someone to your mind, if He does just say a short arrow prayer for that person. You don’t know what situation they may be in at that time where they need someone to “Stand in the gap’ for them. There are many stories of situations changed dramatically in a response to these prayers.

THIS MONTH’S PRAYER FOCUS                                        

Families: If possible gather as a family to pray:    

Scripture verse: “And I will restore the hearts of the Father’s to the children and the hearts of the children to the Fathers. ( Malachi 4:6)

If you are in a school or church group you could still do this and designate someone to be the “dad” the “mom” the “brother’ etc. The following are just suggestions. Each family group is different so adapt the scenarios to fit your particular family.

A) Materials:

Before hand;

-gather objects that reflect a “dad”, eg some tools, a briefcase, a baseball cap etc.

-Gather objects that reflect a “mom”, eg an apron, a briefcase, etc.

-Gather objects that reflect a brother, or sister, both older and younger.

Holding the objects that reflect your “dad”, together think of some things he may need prayer for.  The person that suggests the need comes and lays their hand on “dad.”  Eg. Pressure to provide for family, time to spend with the family, problems that he may have, thanks for things that he enjoys and so on.  If you are in a family setting, ask dad to share some prayer requests.

When ideas stop go to ‘Mom’.  Have her wear an apron, or gardening gloves or hold a briefcase …depicting both home and outside work.  Again together think of some of the areas she many need prayer for. Eg: Patience, time to rest, wisdom to care for her children, joy at work, how to juggle her work at home and work and so on.  Then ask her for things that she would like prayer for.

Continue in the same vein with younger siblings. Again have objects that reflect younger children, and pray for the younger children’s needs.  In a group setting have someone stand in for “Younger brothers or sisters” and ask for their needs and pray.

Then teens: have someone stand in for them or pray for the teen in your family.  Mention how difficult it is to be a teen, the pressures and that they are between being young and older and are trying o find their place…

B) Pray for things that distract our communication in the family…Brainstorm. T.V., money, computers what ever is brought up.  Ask how each of these is a distraction. Then talk about how we can encourage more interaction and how each of these things can be better used.

Pray : Ask God to help you better listen to one another and love one another. Look up 1John 4: 11

ACTIVITY 1: On a piece of paper write down all the names of your family members on he left of the page, one above each other. Leave a space between each one. This month ask Jesus to open your eyes to ways you can show love to them. Write down what you said, or did in response to God’s promptings.

ACTIVITY 2: Take a LARGE piece of butcher paper. In the center either draw or glue a picture of your self and your family. Around it write in small letters or type out and then cut and glue, prayer requests. It could be the ones you shared today. In another color, type out answers to the prayer requests, then cut and glue them around the requests. Each month you will be putting pictures of the areas of the world we are praying for that month. At the end of 6 months you will have a huge poster of what you have been praying for.