Prayer
Dear God, today we pray for children and give thanks for their ongoing questions.
Questions which don’t let us off the hook. Questions which seek to get to the bottom of things. Questions which make us think about life and meaning and you God.
May we be open to both children’s and our own questions…to the honesty of not knowing…to the wisdom of our years which is our gift for others…to the exploration together about this life which we share.
We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen
Practising asking the questions
Sit and make a list of ten questions you have about the world. What have you always wondered about…about science, abouit technology, about the environment, about your body, about God. How might you go about exploring your questions, who could you ask?
Treasuring the questions
Sometimes there aren’t good answers to our questions. These are questions to sit with, to make friends with, to hold on to and approach from different sides, to listen to different responses and to be patient as you learn more, understand more – or, as you encounter unknowing, you begin to do the mature work of learning how to live peaceably with uncertainty and mystery.
Reflect on Scripture
Read the short passage below slowly, slowly, slowly, letting the words sink in and letting the images fill you, then sit quietly for a moment or two.
Hold a wondering space within you – I wonder what Spirit might be saying to me today?
It might be that as you read, a word or phrase catches your attention, or perhaps a word returns and stays with you as you sit quietly at the end. Take this word or phrase into the day with you and listen for the ways it offers connections in your living.
You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.
I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes.
1 Corinthians 2:1-7
the message
Prayer
Thanksgiving
Gracious God
for your love for us
gentle as a shower
healing our pain
binding our wounds.
We give you thanks
For your love for us
sure as the dawn
transforming our darkness
revealing your truth
We give you thanks
For your love for us
mercifully steadfast
calling us to you
raising us up
We give you thanks
For your love for us
encouraging questions
open to doubts
making us vulnerable
We give you thanks
Urge us on, O Christ
to find wholeness
through serving you
by serving others
in the power of your Spirit
Amen
From The Pattern of our Days: liturgies and resources for worship. Edited by Kathy Galloway, The Iona Community. (1996), Wild Goose Publications. Administered in Australia and NZ by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd. www.willowpublishing.com.au. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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Praying for Children 