HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CROSS ON THE PRAYER TABLE?

Did you wonder what it meant?

The 11 – 13 year olds studied the story of Gideon in Judges, chapter 6. Gideon was somewhat lacking in confidence and God had BIG plans for him.

At first Gideon’s response was "Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan's the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the runt of the litter." (The Message version)

At times any of us can feel unequal to the tasks set us. Our teenagers in particular, despite their bravado, sometimes feel it very acutely. After all, they are beginning to realise the importance of their studies and are not always sure of making the grade. Some are aware of problems of all kinds affecting the people they love. They are no longer shielded from life’s difficulties as they may have been when they were younger. They have increasing responsibilities within the family.

During the lesson they were asked to write down on a slip of paper an area in which they were not confident and needed to know that God was with them. Then they tied their paper to a rough cross made from garden twigs decorated with berries. As they did so, they were invited to pray and to the accompaniment of soothing devotional music (Sweet Water, Fisherfolk Renewal classics) they offered up their concerns to Jesus.

I wish you could have seen how they stood engrossed in prayer! One asked afterwards what was to happen to their offerings. They didn’t want them discarded immediately! Fortunately Rhoda had the great idea of putting the cross bedecked with their “areas of concern” on our Prayer Table.

The Prayer Group meets quarter of an hour before church each Sunday and will support our teenagers in their prayers. We ask for your prayers for them, too.