Prayer Prompts
Welcome to the Prayer Garden
The Prayer Garden is a place to still our bodies, minds, and hearts. It has four areas. You can stay in a single station or move between different stations. You can stand, sit, or walk around the garden. Feel free to linger as long as you want, sitting in silence or reflecting on the provided prayer prompts. The prayer prompts are refreshed monthly, often reflecting the sermons for the month. Other prayer prompts help develop various contemplative prayer models.
In this place, we are invited to break from the frantic pace of life and rest in the presence of our loving God, recentering our minds and hearts in God’s presence. God is eager to be with you, asking you to bring all you are now and “sit” with Him. The stations in this Prayer Garden invite us to rest, reflect, and restore by reflecting on short Bible verses.
We hope this place will help you connect with your heart and experience God’s loving presence as He lovingly listens to you.
Romans 8:26-27
The Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we do not know how to pray as we should. The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
This month, The Prayer Garden invites you to ponder the role the Bible plays in the lives of Jesus’s followers. We desire that your mediation on the nature of Scripture ignites in you a desire to spend time with God as you rest in the words of Scripture.
MURAL
Jesus Loves You
This mural invites us to consider the profound phrase “Jesus loves you.” We acknowledge that those who stop to ponder this art piece will have diverse views about Jesus. That is okay. We are delighted you are here. You are invited to ponder the mural for a few minutes. If you are interested in the Bible’s perspective, we have provided several verses claiming Jesus loves you. Pretty audacious! But what if it is true that Jesus knows and loves you regardless of your story? As you read and consider the Bible passages, imagine Jesus is with you. Tell Him what you think about the verses and notice what comes to mind.
Romans 5:8
But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.
Fear and anxiety surround us, arising from the demands of life, a chaotic world, and an unsure future. Is the promise that Jesus loves us merely a “warm blanket” or an “emotional hug,” or does the love of Jesus help us face life’s fears and anxieties? Before you enter the prayer garden, ponder the following passages:
1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares about you.
1 John 4:16,18
And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us…There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment.
Don’t Rush. The key to contemplation is to slow down and pay attention, giving yourself time to notice and be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and God’s presence.
STATION ONE: God is For Us
God is always with us and helps us navigate the fears that threaten us.
Romans 8:31-35
What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. How will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword?
Reflection
We want God to remove the source of our fears, but that rarely happens. When or if it is removed another fear takes its place. But God does not abandon us in our fears. He stays with us in His love and with hope. The above passage from Paul offers this promise of God’s faithful presence in all situations.
- Slowly read through the above passage several times. Pause between each reading. Identify your emotions, thoughts, reactions, and physical responses. Use these observations to initiate a conversation with God.
- What was your initial response to these Bible verses? Can you imagine what it would be like if Jesus joined you here in the prayer garden? What do you think He would say to you?
- Share with God what you have experienced here, trusting that God is listening with a heart full of love for you.
Don’t Rush. The key to contemplation is to slow down and pay attention, giving yourself time to notice and be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and God’s presence.
STATION TWO: God is the Source of Peace
Our circumstances do not limit the peace of God.
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.
John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
REFLECTION
- Slowly read through the above passages several times. Pause between each reading. Identify your emotions, thoughts, reactions, and physical responses. Use these observations to initiate a conversation with God.
- Allow enough silence to notice God’s presence. Can you feel it in your body? If so, where and what does it feel like?
- Remember, God loves you and is present with you right now. As you consider the verses above, share what you are experiencing with God. As you wait in quiet, do you sense an invitation from God? How do you want to respond?
Don’t Rush. The key to contemplation is to slow down and pay attention, giving yourself time to notice and be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and God’s presence.
STATION THREE: God’s Love Is Foundational
God’s love for us is not simply a concept to be remembered and affirmed. God’s love is to be experienced. Love is not a concept. God’s love is an experience. God’s love was demonstrated in the incarnation of Jesus and experienced by His disciples, followers, and casual observers. However, God’s love remains available today because Jesus was raised from the dead, sent the presence of the Holy Spirit, and He is returning to bring us home to live in His love forever!
Romans 8:37-39
Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.
REFLECTION
- How do you picture God? Is God close to you? Is He smiling, distant, happy, or sad?
- What does it mean to you that God claims to love you?
Don’t Rush. The key to contemplation is to slow down and pay attention, giving yourself time to notice and be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and God’s presence.
STATION FOUR: God’s Love Overcomes Anxiety
We are a culture that experiences more than its share of anxiety. In fact, many individuals experience anxiety as normal and constant. However, Jesus offers His love as an antidote to anxiety
Luke 12:22-32
Then He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest? Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you — you of little faith? Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.”
REFLECTION
- Slowly read through the above passage several times. Pause between each reading. Identify your emotions, thoughts, reactions, and physical responses. Use these observations to initiate a conversation with God.
- Have you ever wondered if God knows how you feel when life is full of confusion, anxiety, and fear? These passages paint a picture of God delighting in us and planning to give us a home with Him and His other children.
Don’t Rush. The key to contemplation is to slow down and pay attention, giving yourself time to notice and be aware of yourself, your surroundings, and God’s presence.