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Praying in sad times: oil and water prayers


Often we avoid speaking to children about sad and traumatic times, but to do so is to do them a disservice.  This activity helps children to pray for themselves or others who are going through sad times and gives an opportunity for discussion to be opened up.

It is helpful, in this activity to use the verses from Revelation 21: 3-4 where the new heaven and new earth is described and we can see that, in God's kingdom, all sadness and pain will be taken away for ever:

I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”

You will need: Strips of paper (5cm by 2cm is a good size), ready mix paint, water, baby oil (or vegetable oil, but this will give yellow drops!), containers for the paint.

Water down some paint so that it is very thin and drip some drops of oil on top of it. If you like, you can stir the droplets so that they become smaller and more dispersed.  

Ask children to think of sad situations in the world or people they know who are sad. Take a piece of paper and lay it on top of the liquid. The paper will soak up the paint and oil, with the oil droplets making a 'tear drop' effect amongst the colour. They might want to write a name or a place on the paper before they put it in the paint. 

Leave the paper to dry and pray that God will wipe away the tears of those you are praying for.

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