Youth-led Prayer
Parkland Fellowship, Surrey, BC
January 15, 2011
Normally our youth group meets on Tuesday evenings. But on the Tuesday leading up to Easter, the whole church was invited to attend.
In the youth room, we sat in small clusters of 5 to 7 people. The walls were covered in large white sheets of paper. Several youth lead in scripture reading, music - loud music with lots of motion - and prayers. Then one of the youth began to talk about the things in our community, in our schools, in our families, and individual lives that grieved the heart of God.
We were all invited to confess to God the things that broke his heart about our lives and our community by picking up a black marker and writing words or drawing images on the white sheets of paper. A few brave people started and before long everyone was writing and drawing – broken relationships, gang violence, greed, homelessness, commercialism, sexual sins, jealousy – the images and the words were a dark and discouraging list.
Then we were reminded, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7).
We were each invited to take a small container of red paint and a paintbrush and cover over the sins. It was a powerful visual experience to see the walls of sins become walls of cleansing and forgiveness and fresh starts. The sins were completely covered. They disappeared under the red blood of Jesus Christ.
by Carol Stewart