Engaging Faith

Here are some prayer suggestions you might consider using with your teens during the Advent season. Also, consider having the teens create their own Advent prayers (see below) as a part of this liturgical season. Advent Prayer During Exams Come, Lord Jesus. You bring joy and salvation into the world. Give us the strength to find joy amidst the stress of semester tests And the wisdom to find truth in our studies. We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Advent Prayer for the Poor Gracious God, You bring glad tidings to the poor. Create in us this Advent season, the desire to help those in need That we may recognize in them the face of Christ We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. Advent Prayer of Reconciliation Merciful Father, You have given us your Son as your loving presence in this world. Create in our hearts the room for your love to grow. Forgive our shortcomings and prepare our hearts for your coming. We ask this in the name Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, one God, forever and ever, Amen. Advent Prayer of Light Son of God, You are the light of the world. Shine your light on all our choices this day. Create in us the ability to let your light shine forth for others. We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Prayer from The Unsheltered Heart for the Third Week of Advent (abbreviated) Jesus, Only you help me not to find my identity amid people’s misfortunes. You are the one I seek because I no longer trust my own thoughts and reactions. Your life teaches me to live amid the shackles of people’s sufferin In these Advent days, I slowly find my heart awake and singing. Faith creeps out of the cracks of my soul from my uncertainty. Gratitude lights up the morning inside me and relaxes my silence in my still body. Amen. Advent Prayer Activity Consider providing students with the opportunity to create their own Advent prayers. Give them the opportunity to share these prayers with the class or divide the students up according to the number of meetings leading up to Christmas. These prayers need not have the structure of the examples above, so invite students to speak from the heart

This guided meditation is based on Luke 17:11–19, Jesus' healing of the ten lepers. Use the meditation with your students to help them to reflect on what gratitude means to them.Quiet down.Relax.Let go of all your distractions.Settle.Breathe in.Hold.Breathe out.Breathe in.Hold.Breathe out.Be still.Relax.Let all your worries fly away.Breathe in.Hold.Breathe out.Breathe in.Hold.Breathe out.Imagine . . .It has been a long journey.You are tired.You have been walking with Jesus and all his disciples for awhile.You have learned a lot.Allow yourself to feel exhausted.As you approach the town you see men—in looks like ten of them—yelling at your group from a distance.Look over at them.They are lepers.Hands, mouths, noses, ears have seemingly disappeared.Look at them again, but do not stare.It is an ugly sight.They cry, "Jesus have pity on us."When Jesus seems them he walks over to where they are gathered.You follow, but at a distance.Are you scared you will catch it?He tells the lepers, "Go present yourself to the religious leaders."They all depart.A little while later a man who is a foreigner comes up to your group, knees before Jesus praising God.You recognize the man as one of the lepers that Jesus cured.Watch his jubilation!Share in it!Jesus says to the man,"Didn't I heal all ten of you?Where are they other nine?Why is only the foreigner here to give thanks to God?"Think about Jesus' words.Jesus tells the man,"Stand up, and go your way; your faith has been your salvation."The man gets off his knees and continues to give praise to God.Jesus looks at you and asks, "Why didn't the others not come and thank God?"He continues, "Have you thanked God lately?"Answer him.It is time to renter this space.Say good-bye for now.Ask Jesus to lead your way into the rest of the day.Say "thank you."Come back gently.Open your eyes.Remember.Sit up.This meditation was written by Patty McCulloch and originally published in Touching Jesus: 20 Guided Meditations on His Care and Compassion.

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