It’s been great to see a couple of breaks in the weather. The sun is peeking out every now and again. Let’s take advantage of the nice days to meet with Jesus in his creation. Risen King Community Church, here in Redding, CA(6100 Oasis Rd. if you’re local) has an amazing Prayer Path. It’s a great place to explore this time of year. A little path set apart to spend time with God. This path has 10 stations marked out on it. There are several prayer guides at kiosks at the beginning of the path with some direction for a focus for each station. I have written a few guides that are specifically for families. There are a few different ones for you to pick the one that works for your age group–if you have teenagers, use the adult guides.
If you don’t live in Redding or you can’t get to the prayer path for some reason, you can use the following prayer guide anywhere you would like. Maybe use an exercise path and each time you see an exercise station, stop to pray. You can make a game of your time and decide ahead of time when you are going to stop and make your own station using ‘things you see’ like every time we see a lizard or every time we see a yellow flower or every time we see a stump.
Our small step to guiding our kids to know and love Jesus this week is to use His beautiful creation to make space to spend time with God. Please share some of your ideas in the comments. What have you done? What are you going to do?
Here’s one of the prayer guides:
From the Inside Out
Station 1 – Me . . .
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalm 139: 13-14 NLT
Thank God for the special way that he made you. Ask God to show you how he made you special.
Station 2 – My family . . .
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7 NLT
Thank God for your family and the love that you have for one another. Ask God to help you to love your family more and for creative ways to share that love.
Station 3 – My friends . . .
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Ephesians 4:29 NIV
Thank God for your friends. Ask God to help you to use your words to be a good friend and “build others up.”
Station 4 – My house . . .
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT
Thank God for providing all that I need…my house, my food, my clothes….. Ask God to show you ways to share with others.
Station 5 – My school . . .
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:15 NLT
Thank God for your school and your teachers and for giving you the opportunity to learn. Ask God to bless your school and your teachers and to help you in any area of school that you may have struggles.
Station 6 – My town . . .
“But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b NLT
Thank God for placing you in your community. What are some ways you and your family ways that you can serve Him in your town?
Station 7 – My state . . .
“The Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.” Jeremiah 51:15 NLT
Thank God for the beautiful parts of our state he has made…the mountains, lakes, waterfalls, oceans…etc. What are some ways that you can see God’s character through His creation?
Station 8 – My country . . .
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–for kings and all those in authority,” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV
Thank God for the leaders of our country and for those who have served so that we can have the freedoms that we have. Ask God to bless our country and our leaders.
Station 9 – My world . . .
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem (your home town), throughout Judea, in Samaria (the areas near where you live), and to the ends of the earth (the whole world).” Acts 1:8 NLT
Thank God for his power. Ask Him to continue to guide you and give you courage as you share Jesus with people who live near you and for those who live far away. Pick a country and pray as a family for the people of that country to hear about Jesus and come to know Him.
Station 10 – My God…
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT
Thank God for his kindness and grace and for giving us freedom and forgiveness from our sins. Thank God for giving us wisdom and understanding. Tell God how much you love him.
Family Discipleship Path 