Helping children to pray for each other: prayer stones

This is something very simple that I want to introduce this term as part of our prayer routine.  A lot of our prayer stations are to do with praying for ourselves and about ourselves so this activity is intended as a way of praying for others in the group, which will also (hopefully!) lead to more of a sense of family and community.

I bought a bag of stones for £1 from the Range and used a permanent marker to write on them the names of everyone in the group (including leaders!).

The plan is that, as a prayer station, children can choose one of the stones at random, hold it and ask God to bless that person.  They can they lay it on a cross shape.  We can also use the stones when we gather together after the prayer station time.  Everyone can choose a stone, ask God to bless that person and then remember to ask God to bless them every day that week.  If the person they are praying for is in the room, they could also ask for any requests to bear in mind!