Olympic Prayers

The 2016 Rio Olympics and Para Olympics are almost upon us! With the Tour de France, Wimbledon and Euro 2016 this has been a real summer of sport.  Over the last few weeks we have seen great feats of endurance, of sportsmanship and importantly of team-work.  Jesus reminds us that in prayer we are not alone. 

He said, ‘when two or more are gathered together I am there with you’. (Matthew 18:20)

This month’s prayer activity very much picks up on this focus of ‘togetherness’.

What follows are descriptions of corporate prayer ideas based on the Olympic theme:

• The Prayer Wave: Come together as a group and form a prayer circle. Begin with a time of praise, inviting people in turn to offer up a short sentence or word of praise, which is also mirrored in an agreed action (lifting arms, moving from sitting to standing, etc.).

• The Prayer Relay: Identify your prayer partners who will form your prayer chain. These may be people you see and pray with regularly, family and friends or the wider church community. It may be that you can physically meet with them or if this is difficult it may be that your contact is via the telephone or e-mail. Take a focus and commit to praying for this at a particular time. Then pass on the prayer and what God is laying on your heart to the next person in the chain. Don’t forget to also share how God is answering your prayer.

• The Prayer Marathon: This very much builds on the theme of the prayer relay. As a church community identify a 24 hour period for prayer on a particular theme. Each person commits to a specific time slot over the 24 hour period when they will pray.